Second City Film School Announces New Partnership To Support Up & Coming, Diverse Voices

The Second City Film School, the legendary launching pad for the biggest names in improv and comedy, today announced a partnership with the Catalyst Story Institute, a nonprofit that helps creators of every age and background find traditional and nontraditional outlets for the content they develop.

Under the new agreement, The Second City Film School and Catalyst will offer in-depth seminars and workshops designed to help budding writers, producers, directors, and performers expand their knowledge of satire, improvisation, animation, and the structure of situation comedies and late-night television. Programming including the Business of Comedy, Creating a Web Series, Adapting Content for Television, and The Second City Improv Method will be introduced this spring, while the Second City Showcase will make its premiere during the Catalyst Content Festival in the fall of 2022.

Headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota and with locations in New York, Los Angeles, Savannah, and cities around the Globe, Catalyst works with industry advisors and partners to help up-and-coming talent advance their careers, enhance their creative skills, and build business relationships.

"The Second City Film School was established to inspire creative voices and comedic content creators; the writers, directors, and showrunners that are changing the way we think about television. Partnering with an innovative training ground like Catalyst is perfectly aligned with our mission and allows us to bring Second City's methods to promising new talent," said Patrick Wimp, Program Lead, The Second City Film School.

More than half a century ago, The Second City, a small comedy cabaret, made its debut in Chicago. Since then, it has since grown to become the world's most influential name in improv and comedy. Second City's stages, touring companies, and training centers across North America have served as the incubators for many of the most iconic names in comedy, including John Belushi, John Candy, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Keegan-Michael Key, Eugene Levy, Tim Meadows, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Suzy Nakamura, Catherine O'Hara, Amy Poehler, Gilda Radner, Sam Richardson, Joan Rivers, Amber Ruffin, Jason Sudeikis, and Steven Yeun among others.

In 2021, following its 16th annual festival-a showcase and marketplace for independently produced programming-Catalyst announced a partnership with the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), the group that presents the coveted Emmy Awards for excellence in television, expanding its mentorship initiative through NATAS' 19 regional chapters around the country.

"Our new collaboration with The Second City Film School is a natural extension of our partnerships with NATAS and other influential industry organizations. Together, we will work to help the next generation of innovators make their mark on the television industry, hone their skills, build their professional relationships, and get their projects funded, produced, and distributed to global audiences," said Philip Gilpin, Catalyst CEO & Executive Director.