March 21, 2019
Comedy clubs are more than just laugh factories these days. Increasingly they are making cameos in your office with workforce and leadership training initiatives.
The Second City – whose Chicago and Toronto theaters have produced legendary cast members for Saturday Night Live and SCTV, including Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd and Martin Short – derives one-fourth of its annual revenue of nearly $60 million from its Second City Works professional services division.
“The reason we’re successful in the corporate environment is because we can utilize our improv methods through our schools to create our training,” said company president and co-owner Steven Johnston. “If you’re a typical comedy club, you don’t have that underpinning to your business.”
