Happy 60th anniversary, Second City!

The most complicated relationship of my life has been with this giant. A painful, frustrating, depressing entity in my life, while simultaneously being the most joyful, nurturing and loving experience. The most loss, the most hope. I had a front row seat to an incredible parade, but I was never able to join it. I’m still battling to reconcile that side of things.

But I was able to see greatness. The stuff of comedy legend. On more than one occasion I was given the rare opportunity that most people never have. The gift of being able to look one of my idols in the eye, shake their hand, and thank them for their work and what I had been able to learn from it.

And I gained new idols. People whose names and faces you know well, and people whose names you don’t know, but whose work has kept you laughing for decades. I was able to watch them mold themselves into the legends they have become from the very beginning. There is no part of comedy today that has not been in some way touched by Second City, and just having that on my resume is a source of great pride for me.

I walked out those doors in late 2001. I have never been back. If I am 100% honest, it just isn’t a healthy place for me. I didn’t get what I wanted from it, and I don’t think I was ever really viewed as a creative entity. That is not Second City’s fault by any stretch of the imagination. It is my own gap between reality and expectation, and my personal great white whale.

In the end, however, it was worth every moment for the people. I still learn things from the extended family The Second City bestowed on me. They have given me a view of the world, of life, of comedy, that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. They continue to delight and amaze me, make me laugh myself silly, and I love them with all my heart.