Longer Is Better: Why Second City Hollywood’s New Long Form Program Will Make You A Better Performer (and Human)

The Second City Hollywood has retooled its Long Form Improv Program! After talking with Jeff Award-winning Artistic Director (and Emmy-nominated composer for Key & Peele) Joshua Funk and Second City Training Center teachers, we’ve discovered 5 ways the new and improved Long Form program is going to rock any aspiring actor or improviser’s world.

You Can Start From Anywhere

You no longer have to wait a few terms to establish basic improv mechanics before jumping right in to Long Form training. SC Hollywood now offers three levels of Long Form for those with little to no improv training. Wanna play with some advanced Long Formers? There’s an advanced program that students can audition for after the initial three levels, which culminates in ensemble performances.

Give Your Acting Chops An Upgrade

Unlike other improv schools, Second City’s new Long Form program focuses on grounded scene work built from rooted characters and real emotions, giving you the chance to investigate character objectives and obstacles--like a Daniel Day-Doppelganger. Funk stressed, “We’re not panicking and aggressively attacking the bit; we’re trying to develop a relationship that the audience can relate with and when the laughs do come. They are heartfelt laughs, because we’re connecting to the characters.”

Land The Gig

Long Form teacher Craig Cackowski shared, “So many comedic TV shows and films expect that the actors they hire will be able to improvise and handle curve balls, both at the audition and on set. Strengthening your improv scene work is helpful to begin with, but Long Form allows you to focus on callbacks and character arcs, which give you even more tools for your tool belt!” (With all the experience Craig has on shows like Drunk History, Veep and Community, we can’t disagree.)

Disconnect & Reconnect Like An Actual Human

We’ve all “zombied out” more than we’d like to admit by avoiding humans and hiding behind brain-numbing tech devices. That ain’t good in large doses! Second City’s program is designed to help you connect with others, and connect more. Funk believes the new program is “like going to the gym, but going for your mind. It forces you to be in the moment. It forces you to connect with people. The more we move into this digital world of our iPhones, iPads and televisions--this ‘disconnect’ culture--the more we need things like this, where we actually get in a room with a bunch of humans and turn off our phones and just connect. That will help everybody on the planet.”

Blaze A Trail And Make History

Students accepted into the Advanced Long Form Level 4 class will showcase an original form created by your student ensemble, putting you on the map of format inventors! You might just be a co-creator of the next “Goon River.” Congratulations, laugh architect.

Explore Second City Hollywood’s Long Form Program now. Term 4 classes start June 25th.

Andrew Thorp is the Head of Online Education for The Second City Training Centers. He also teaches Stand-Up, Improv, and Comedy Writing in the Kids & Teen Program.