Reviews for Days And Nights At The Second City

The average rating for Days And Nights At The Second City based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-08-22 00:00:00 Tristen Waters This was part mini memoir, part "staging a review" manual. I enjoyed reading Sahlins's recounting of the formation of the Second City, and the ups and downs of the first twenty-five years of the company. It's fascinating to read about the people that came through the Second City and to realize just how many of them were such talented people. It was also interesting to hear how lucky they were in those first few years to get the chances they did, and to read him recount how incredible their success was, and how surprising it was to them. Sahlins has a very conversational way of writing, and it feels as though you're sitting in someone's living room listening to him tell great stories of the good ole days, without sounding as though he can't move past them. He even details the understanding he had of when it was time to step back, or depart completely. I didn't thoroughly read the second section of the book, as it seemed it was more a =n instructional text for acting classes. I did skim it, and found what I did read to be quite informative and interesting. Generally an entertaining read.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-06-04 00:00:00 Brian Landers It was interesting to read a behind the scenes account of the formation of The Second City. There are stories about the first shows in Chicago, talent poaching that occurred when they tried to branch out to New York, and the wildly successful evolution of the Toronto Second City. The second half of the book is a guide for putting on a stage review. I disagree with Sahlins' argument that pure improv is not a valid theatrical format, but many of his insights on listening, character development, and interacting with the stage environment apply equally to improv and scripted scene work.