A University of Nebraska-Lincoln student spent last semester at a high-profile comedy club called The Second City in Chicago.
Mattison Merritt, a junior English major at UNL, attended a program through Columbia College in Chicago called “A Semester at Second City.”
Columbia College has a comedy studies major and created the program for students around the country to learn from the comedy training center with alumni such as Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Stephen Colbert.
She took classes on sketch writing, the history of comedy, improvisation, acting and a professional comedian class that was about the industry.
Merritt knew someone from her high school who participated in the program and is currently in Chicago. She talked to him about the program and applied when he suggested it.
Merritt said the goal of the program is different for every person. Some people were focused on writing, while others focused on acting. Some planned on auditioning for The Second City at the end of the program.
“Everyone kind of comes in at a different level,” she said. “The nice thing about comedy is there’s a lot you can do with it.”
One of Merritt’s classmates, Liv Levine, said in a phone interview the program was great because it emphasized collaboration, support and fun.
“I learned more about myself in this program than at any other point in my college career,” she said. Levine graduated from Flagler College in Saint Augustine, Florida and now works at Universal Studios.
Specifically, she said, by working with a group of others, she figured out the person she wants to be in an ensemble. Because it’s like a family, everyone has to let go of their ego and come together to make it work, Levine said.
Merritt said there were many projects in the program to get involved in. She did a lot of stand-up comedy and open mic performances because of all the opportunities across the city. Merritt also did a few improv shows and went to shows.
Burton said in a phone interview that the program was a positive experience that everyone involved grew from. She said one of the best parts was meeting the people she was paired with.
“The program really is more than just you learning about comedy,” Burton said.
Merritt said the program isn’t very well known, so she was lucky to have heard about it ahead of time.
“I think the program was amazing,” Burton said. “It felt like a real thing I was doing, not just school.”
