Day 19: The End...

Hey Friends! I'll do a real quick summary of the day and then an overall reflection so let us get going. My mother and I spent a final morning in Starbucks. In the morning my class had a tech rehearsal. Then we all got pizza for lunch, hooray food! Then we had our show. It went super duper well and I am really proud of how it turned out.
These past three weeks have been truly incredible, and easily the best days of my life. Second City is the happiest place on earth (sorry not sorry Disney). The loving and supportive environment is unparalleled to anywhere else. This has helped me dive even further into comedy in order to pursue my passion for it. Comedy has been a life changing thing for me and these past three summers have meant the world to me. This is what I want to do. I want to work weird long hours. I want to do shows with my friends. I want to work odd jobs in order to make a living while I am creating. I want to do comedy and laugh. Forever. This next year will be really hard for me, there is no hiding that. I so badly want to be able to go off to college and start pursuing theatre and comedy. It is also hard that I don't have anywhere to exercise my comedy muscles (but you can count on me hitting up some open mics hopefully). On top of that next year my closest friends will be leaving for college (this is not related but important to mention, love you Emma and Olivia). Luckily, I do have some things to fall back on. I have a lot of people who support me and want me to succeed. I also plan on busying myself with student senate activities whilst serving as the secretary. I also plan on continuing my cookie business and of course do some theatre.
Next come the thanks. Thanks to Anthony, Jeff, Bryan, Brad, Scott, Jess, and all the other Second City staff members/ teachers who helped make this experience awesome. I learned from the best and had a great time doing it. Thanks to my ensemble, you guys were all amazingly talented. We were able to grow and learn all while creating an unbreakable bond. Thanks to Ann, for putting up with me for three years and always supporting me. Thanks to everyone who bought cookies, every little part helped. I am so happy so many people supported me through cookie purchases along with encouraging thoughts. Thanks to all those who have supported me throughout this journey and throughout other parts of my life. Thanks to Linnea and Terry for being my other mothers and always pushing me to pursue my dreams. Thanks to my grandparents, and dad for making this journey possible. Last but not least, thanks to my mom. She gave up three weeks of her life to come up and live with me. On top of that she is endlessly supportive and will always go along with anything I do (even if it is using her in my standup routine). I don't care how lame I look but my mother is one of my best friends. Thanks mom, for being you.
This experience was above and beyond any expectations I had. I got to perform on the Second City mainstage, see 10 live shows, meet one of my comedy idols, eat amazing food, learn from the best of the best, and spend time in the city I love. To quote the Broadway musical Wicked, "So I'll be back for good someday. make my life and make my way. But for today, we'll wander and enjoy".  I will be back Chicago, and I cannot wait. It was a great time these three weeks and I hope my writing has made it clear how much I loved it. I don't have anymore words and will never have the right words to describe this amazing experience. Thanks again to everyone.
Yes And,
Grace

Day 18: Preparations

Hey Friends! Tomorrow is our final show for class and then I will be leaving. Today in class we worked on stuff for the show all day. Mostly practicing running it and getting transitions down. I think its going to be a great show and am excited to see how it goes over. After class, my mom and I headed to Lincoln Park (where Depaul is). We went to an Urban Outfitters outlet store. That was super great because cute clothes at cheap prices, hoorah! Then we went to Pasta Bowl for dinner. My mom read about pasta bowl and being as pasta is my favorite meal she thought it would be a good choice for our last night in Chicago. I had some gluten free noodles with chicken and a creamy sauce with mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. It was delicious. After dinner, we went straight home to the apartment. We are now spending the night packing up are stuff. I also have to get stuff together for the show tomorrow.
M&M
Just some observations as our adventure draws to a close.  I have, in the three summers Grace has done this, sung the praises of improv and the philosophies Second City promotes.  That continues.  Yes and, working to make the people around you look good as your focus, etc. are all  great life lessons as well as what Second City uses as the basis of their comedy and improv work.  This year we witnessed the very kindness that SC always speaks of.  In all Grace's work here it is heavily emphasized to be kind to everyone and good to work with if you want to succeed.  We have gotten to meet some extremely successful people on the improv scene while we were here and all were gracious and wonderfully kind.  I have been impressed in how Grace has been treated by people whose shows she has watched and equally impressed that her teachers from prior years remember her and address her by name when she has run into them.  Grace has had nothing but a wonderfully positive experience that has fueled her passion and for that I am grateful.

I am trying very very hard to not be sad right now. I am trying to focus on getting through tomorrow and then getting emotional. It is very hard. I think I'm going to sign off for the night so I can finish packing up.
Yes And,
Grace

Day 16&17: Excitement!

Hey friends! Im writing two days in one and I am pretty tired so this may not be as detailed as other posts.
Tuesday
After class my mom and I headed to Wrigleyville to go to a store called Strange Cargo which is a custom t-shirt place but also sells fun trinkets and hip Chicago gear. After that we went to Deuces and The Diamond for dinner. It is my friend Kendall's (mentioned in other posts) dad's restaurant. I had a turkey burger and some fried pickles-- both of which were delicious. Then we headed to iO to see some shows. The first show featured my TA at Second City, Scott, so five kids (including myself) went to see the show. It was two different teams, each doing long form improv. It was a great show and Scott was hilarious! After that show Leela and I headed straight downstairs to watch a benefit show featuring Katie Rich and Holly Laurent along side a few standup comedians, and another long form improv team. After sitting down, Scott messaged us that he wanted to meet us and we insisted we were at another show that was about to start. After some haggling, we decided to go meet Scott anyway. We met him in the lobby and he told Leela and I to follow him. Not sure what was going on, we did. Next thing you know he took us to a backstage room at iO, and then it hit me what was happening. Earlier that day I was asking him if he knew Katie Rich, and explained to him how much I love her as a comedian and I think she is a great person. Well, long story short Scott had taken Leela and I to meet Katie Rich!! Even as I am typing this I cannot believe it happened. I love Katie and that fact Scott went out of his way to do this for Leela and I was amazing. Talk about best TA ever!! We met her briefly and I also kind of met a lady who is on Virgin Daiquiri's (my favorite team at iO-- see week one for more on them). Anyway, the show was amazing and Scott is my favorite person ever. It was super late by the time my mom and I got home so I went to sleep right away.
Wednesday
Today in class we pretty much solidified a running order for our show on Friday, which is pretty exciting. After class, my mom and I headed to the loop to eat Portillos for dinner. A classic Chicago dog and some cheese fries-- what more could you want?? We headed up to where iO is and did some browsing before heading to another show. Tonight was the free show where three teams do the Harold. Virgin Daiquiri (VD) performs as the second team. I saw my teacher from last year, Dana, who is on VD and got to talk to her during intermission. All three teams had super strong shows and it was fun to get to watch how well the ensembles work together. After the show I saw Abby, the woman on VD who I met last night and I got to talk to her briefly. And then my mother and I headed home.
(no M&M because she is tired and needs her sleep)
So yes, I got to talk to three amazing women comics who I love and it has been a great time. These past two days were very exciting and I want to do comedy forever. I can't wait.
Yes And,
Grace

Day 15: Jamming Out

Hey Friends! Today was an amazing day of classes. In improv we did some object work and started to pick out games we want to do for our show. In sketch, we worked on coming up with an overall theme for the show and writing things based off that theme. Now standup class is done and instead we have musical comedy/improv class. We discussed some songs that our class is working on for our show. Then we did musical improv. Doing musical improv was hands down one of the coolest expierences ever. We all stood on the back line with our jaws dropping because we had no idea how it would turn out. The fact it turned out so great was mostly because we have a great musical director but it does feel awesome because you contribute to the art that is happening. So yeah, that was simply an amazing experience.
After class my mom and I headed down towards the magnificent mile. First we went to a cute stationary and trinket store aka my favorite places ever. Then we went to Flacos Tacos, a great Mexican place we've eaten at in the past for some dinner. I had a steak taco with rice and beans. It was super good and reasonably priced. We went to Nordstroms Rack in hopes to find some business casual clothing and then headed back to our neighborhood. We indulged in Scooters, the local custard place, for dessert. I had a chocolate shake and it made me very happy.
M&M
Nothing to add except that tonight Grace and I are jamming to an AMAZING CD that one of her classmates Ann recorded and I am in love with it.  She is amazingly talented and will do great things someday.  I only wish she had recorded more.

Ok well my closer was going to have to do with how awesome Ann's CD is but looks like Mary took care of it. Really though Ann is amazing and her album will be on Spotify soon Ann Kathleen Sometime in Feburary look it up she is awesome. Tomorrow night we're seeing another late show and then Ann is sleeping over so I may not post until Wednesday. That is all folks.
Yes And,
Grace

Day 13&14: Weekend Roundup

Hey Friends! Last night time got away from me and I forgot about posting. So here is another two for one post. Saturday morning my mother and I went to Dinkels, a bakery in our neighborhood, for breakfast. I had a delicious almond bear claw and she had a donut. Then we went to Grant Park and explored the Grant Park Art Fair with my mother's friends. It was very fun and I got a lot of business cards because I love free things, even if they are tiny card sized objects. We headed to Potbelly for lunch and it was delicious, and then parted ways with my mother's friends.
Next my mother and I went to Stage 773 for the Chicago Womens Comedy Festival. The first thing we watched was Improv Nerd interviewing Katie Rich (who I mentioned a few blog posts before). I am a huge fan of Katie and this interview made me love her even more. She carries herself with such class and there are I took away some great lessons. I plan on seeing her again this week once more. Side note- I tweeted at her after the interview and she responded with a reference to something I tweeted her a year ago. I freaked out so hard. She is so amazing, cue internal screaming. My mother and I headed to Blaze pizza for some dinner. Blaze is a great build your own thin crust pizza joint and it totally hit the spot. The next show we saw was Hi Betty which was a sketch group. They had some funny material. With two hours until our next show we went and ate some guacamole at a Mexican restaurant. Then we headed to see two groups perform-- The Basemints and Anarchy. Both were musical improvisation groups, not like instruments, full on singing with piano accompaniment , all made up. Anarchy was specifically a rock opera improv group. This was some of the best improv I have ever seen. It was so amazing. I love rock operas and improv and mixing the two were great. After this we headed home. Altogether an amazing day.
Sunday
Today started with my mother and I heading to a place in our neighborhood for brunch, Wishbone. I had delicious fruit pancakes and my mother had eggs benedict florentine. It was very cute and delicious. Then we headed down to Navy Pier. A lot of walking later, we got to the Ferris Wheel. I have never ridden the ferris wheel in all my visits here because I was terrified. Turns out, it was not that bad. It was a little freaky at the top but the beautiful view of the city was so worth it. Honestly, I think Chicago is so gorgeous and it was awesome to see it from that point of view. Then we headed to the beach. The beaches in Chicago are my favorite spot in the whole wide world. Sitting in the sand and looking at the skyline and the water makes me feel so peaceful and happy. Next, we headed to Argo Tea, a tea/ coffee place that is amazing. I had iced espresso with acai flavoring and coconut milk which was just what I needed at that point in the day. My mother had an earl grey vanilla cream tea which was also amazing. After that little caffeine pick me up we were back to adventuring. We headed to water tower place and did some shopping. Rather unsuccessful, but still a great time with my mom. Then we headed to the L and took the train to dinner. We at at Chicago Bagel Authority again because we struggled to find places that were open. It was super good. I had a bagel with ham, thousand island dressing, pickles, dill pickle chips, cheese, and some other things. CBA has become a new favorite of mine for sure. Then we went and did some tiny errands at Whole Foods and headed home.
M&M
Not much to add.   It was, as it always is, a blessing to get see our friends the Neslers.  It was so kind and wonderful of them to come down from Milwaukee to see us.  We enjoyed going to the Art Fair with the them as well as lunch before they left.  The shows Grace and I saw were fun and I was extremely impressed with Katie Rich.  I approve of her as someone Grace looks up to.  Her advice with regard to both life and improv/comedy was excellent.  Moreover, she handled some awkward questions regarding gender with class and made her point.  You can find the podcast of the interview with her on Improv Nerd's site I believe.

That is it for today. Hope you all enjoyed!
Yes And,
Grace

Day 12: Stand Up

Hey Friends! Today was my first time doing standup, however it was not my first time standing up (I didn't actually tell that joke, don't worry). My mother and I started off the morning with Starbucks as usual. Today instead of improv we had a physical comedy workshop. My class got to work on using physicality to show status, and some mime things. I thought it was all super interesting and very fun. After lunch we got to go watch another group of campers do their show (camp shows were today for most people but my class still has another week). In sketch we spent time working through old pieces and writing some songs. Next was standup, where we had our open mic. I was terrified and freaking out all day over it. It actually went pretty well. I was third, which was my choice spot for when to go. I thought most of my jokes landed pretty well. Being on stage by myself was pretty scary. I did enjoy the art of stand up though and hope to continue performing and getting better. The only downside is Cedar Falls lacks open mics besides every few months at a coffee shop. So if you hear someone telling jokes on a corner, it is me (just kidding).
My friends from CF, Tommy, Holly, and Daniel decided the fact that I had a show going on was a great excuse to take a weekend trip to Chicago. They watched my standup and then I took them out to Cheesies Pub and Grub for dinner. Cheesies has the most original and delicious grilled cheeses (some with fries on them, some with mac and cheese, etc). I ordered a caprese sandwich and it was amazing. Then I headed down to the loop to meet my mother and her friends at Quartinos for some Italian food. I didn't eat anything but dessert but got to enjoy some great conversations
M&M
I am not going to add much other than I was very proud of Grace - and her classmates - for doing standup.  Grace had no experience going into this and did a really nice job writing material and doing her set despite her afformentioned nerves.  I don't even mind that some of the jokes involved her mother.  It was also extremely nice of her friends to travel and see the show.  She is lucky to have supportive friends.  As for me, I was blessed to see my very dear friends the Neslers tonight and enjoy a great dinner at one of our favorite places in Chicago.  Look forward to seeing them again tomorrow before they return to Milwaukee.

On a closing note-- go do something your'e afraid of. I was terrified of standup forever, and I did it, and I'm still alive!! Seriously so worth it. We only have so much time on this earth, so make the most of it. Go do whatever it is you want to do that you are afraid of... I dare you.
Yes And,
Grace

Day 11: insert clever title

Hey Friends! Today started out the usual way with my mother and I sitting in Starbucks. Class was really good today. In improv we worked on one exercise most of the time. Then in sketch class we got to work on some songs and other sketches we've done before. Standup was spent preparing for our open mic tomorrow which I am terrified for. Thats about all the details on class I have because I am tired and forgetful.
After class, I went to the brow bar at benefit to have a lady  (who I am convinced is a goddess) do my brows. Then my mother and I headed to Sedgwick Stop, a restaurant we love near Second City to eat dinner. I had a cheese burger that had onions, thousand island dressing, and friend pickles (what more could I ask for?) it was great. Then we went to see Soul Brother Where Art Thou at Second City. This is a show my sketch teacher directed and it was great. It uses comedy to discuss and take stances on important issues and hot topics. It was an amazing piece with a lot of depth and a lot of laughs. After that we headed back home.
M&M
Today I headed down to the Art Institute with plans to hear a lecture on architecture.  After battling the sea of Blackhawk fans crowding the streets to celebrate the Stanley Cup win, I discovered that the Chicago Humanities Festival event featuring Judd Apatow that I had read about was actually at the Art Institute.  Goodbye architecture lecture - Hello comedy lecture.  Judd Apatow, if you don't know, is a well known writer, director, and producer of comedies and has just written a book titled, "Sick in the Head - Conversations about Life and Comedy."  Admission to the event included the book which I had planned to purchase anyway so it was a double win.  Interesting talk on comedy, women in comedies and movies, and even his opinion on the Bill Cosby sex scandals.  Following the presentation, I was able to get the book autographed. A number of fabulous sketches.  We opted out of the third act which is the improv portion and headed home as Grace has a big day tomorrow.

That is it for today, sorry it is short but once again I am tired.
Yes And,
Grace