The Second Beat

I've been on the Chicago improv scene for about nine years now. I tend to bifurcate my improv story into two parts: before and after 2013. Four years of fledgling, followed by five years of modest success. When I write my comedy biography, 2013 will be the transition from the first to the second beat.

This year marks several fifth-year anniversaries for me: the founding of Flower Shop Bangers, the creation of Stu News, the first show I ever produced, joining a house team at a prominent Chicago venue, and (most crucially) graduating from the Second City Conservatory. I also witnessed a slow upheaval in my social life that year. I had improv friends moving out east and west, a natural attrition and transition for professional actors. After realizing that improv was dominating my social interactions, I took up another hobby of sorts and make new friends that weren't performers. That, however is a story for another time.

I put that into perspective while doing coffee with my friend Bess in New York. (I previously mentioned her in my tribute to Jason Chin.) I last saw Bess in person in March 2013, before most of the aforementioned milestones had happened. There was so much to discuss and catch up on, but due to a schedule snafu we only met for 45 minutes. Bess remembered me as a persistent underdog, grasping for an opportunity. Over five years later, I was more comfortable and on firmer footing, but not leaping on auditions and new projects like I used to. She summed up her five years succinctly, but I babbled on and on. It was still a pleasant chat, but I felt bad for self-aggrandizing. Then again, I had something to boast about for once.

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