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

Day 9 & 10: Two for One

Hey Friends! I'm going to write about Tuesday and Wednesday today so you are getting two for the price of one! What a deal! (its free to read this blog anyway but I thought this sounded more fun)
Tuesday
After complete downpour Monday into Tuesday we woke up with some water on the floor of our living room that seeped in because the rain. Luckily, not a lot of the carpet was wet because my clothes in my packing cubes soaked up most of the water. Yep, I started off my morning with most of my outfit choices being soaked with rain water. Not ideal, but I am over it now. Then we headed to Starbucks for our morning drinks.
Class was very fun as usual, I don't have any groundbreaking details to report besides extreme fun. After class my mom and I headed to the loop for dinner. We went to a place on my list called Pierogi Heaven, which is a place that only serves pierogis. It was fun to try, but not a top choice (I think I'll stick to making Mrs.T's frozen pierogis for now). We did a bit of shopping just for fun, not resulting in any purchases, and then headed to iO (iO is another big comedy theatre in Chicago). We saw a long form improv show featuring two teams. The first team was The Late 90's and they were super great. The other team was a pair of ladies, Katie Rich and Holly Laurent. Katie Rich writes for SNL and I am a huge fan of hers so I was geeking out the whole time. Holly is super successful as well and talented and the whole thing was amazing. My friend from class, Leela, was also at the show so we got to sit by each other and completely fangirl over Katie and Holly. It was so amazing and comedy is an awesome art. The only downside is my mother and I did not get home until a little after midnight so it was rather late by the time I got to bed. For the record- it was so worth it.

Wednesday
I did not wake up to any wet clothing so Wednesday morning was a win. My mother and I went to Starbucks in the morning and I worked on some sketch stuff and reading my way through Mindy Kahling's book. Class today was awesome. We played some new advanced games in improv that were mind-blowingly awesome. Sketch was spent going over some sketches and a free pitch day which is always fun. I am working on a song for sketch that I am pretty excited about. And then in standup we started working on picking things we liked to use in our show (sidenote- I am completely terrified for the standup show. Performing in front of class has been ok but doing it for a group of people scares the living daylights out of me).
After class my friends Kendal (from year one) and Ann (all three years) went out to dinner. We went to a nice Italian restaurant. I ate some delicious rigatoni ala vodka. I had a great time chatting it up with my friends. Its cool how we all have very different lives and don't see each other often but still get along great and I feel close to both of them. After stuffing ourselves with Italian food we went and got coffee at Starbucks (not the smartest choice but defiantly the tastiest). Then my mom met me in the Starbucks and she and I decided to head home for the night because of three reasons 1- We are both super tired from being out late last night, 2- I feel disgusting after eating so much food (worth it, but still), 3- I have quite a few things to work on for class tonight.

M&M
Not a lot to add.  The improv show we saw Tuesday evening was very good - especially Katie and Holly.  Katie, in addition to writing for SNL, helped write Cecily Strong's material as host of the Washington Press dinner this year.  Katie and Holly truly commit to the characters they create as they improvise and their show was funny and sometimes even touching.  I spent Tuesday cleaning up Grace's wet clothes and today went to the Art Institute to hear a docent speak on modern art.  I plan to hopefully go tomorrow to learn about architecture.  While we had toyed with returning to iO tonight for their Wednesday Harold show (a form of long improv created at iO), it is nice to have an early evening as we are catching a show that one of Grace's instructors is directing tomorrow night at Second City.

Well I have sketches and stand up material to work on so I better go do so. :)
Yes And,
Grace

Day 8: Track Jackets

Hey Friends! Little known fact about me- ever since I was young I have dreamed of owning a track jacket. Not just for the fashion sense, but for the sense of belonging to a group. Growing older, I realized that this would probably not be possible. I decided not to do dance team (which is probably divine intervention), and the word sports is a different language. However, today a dream came true. Thats right folks-- we got track jackets! The track jacket is the only reason I signed up for this program (ok not the only or the main reason, but it was a huge selling point for me).  Not only do I have a killer looking jacket but it is also exclusive. They ordered us navy, which means there are only nine of them in existence. I am geeking out over this and have no shame, at all.

Per Mary's request here is a picture of my class in track jackets (the man on the far left is my teacher but we were missing a kid so he was our stand in for picture purposes)
But track jackets are not the only thing that made today special, we also had our first music workshop. We get our own musical director (MD) and today we met with him for the first time. Next week we have sessions with him instead of stand up sessions. Today we just went over some basic song writing info so we can jump in full swing next week. Stand-up today was great as well and I am starting to feel more comfortable making jokes by myself.
After class it was pouring outside. My mom and I sat in Starbucks for a while and realizing the rain was only getting worse decided to head out anyway. We hiked to the red line L in the pouring rain. Finding the positive in it-- on the walk I got more ideas for stand up bits. We took the red line to Watertower place. The important part of this was eating Wao Bao for dinner. Delicious little bao, how beautiful. We shopped around and I ended up getting one pair of reasonably price high waisted leggings (this is a big deal because leggings are never long enough, or they are see through, or they are overpriced). We also got some cheap flip flops from Forever 21 to wear to trek back home in. After a lot of walking or swimming, I'm not sure which, we made it back to the apartment
M&M
It has rained essentially every day we have been here and it has readily become apparent why so many Chicagoans own knee high rubber rain boots.  The street drains here are easily clogged and plain out awful.  This has resulted in what can only be called "puddle parkour" for Grace and me on our walks to and from the "L" every day.  We employ such things as curb balance beam routines, hugging and swinging around trees, and serpentining from one side of the street to the other in order to navigate our way over and around the often ankle deep puddles on the streets and sidewalks.  I am ready for some sunshine soon please.  My day was really uneventful otherwise.  I took care of the house management things for our existence here like laundry and groceries.  It is a glamorous job but someone has to do it! :-)

Ok I am going to go spend time working on my juggling and reading before I go to sleep. Tomorrow night my mother and I are going to a late night show so the post may not be up for a while or I may do two days in one on Wednesday.
Yes And,
Grace

Day 7: Out and About

Hey friends! Today was another great day so lets hop right in. This morning my parents and I headed down to the loop right away. We ate breakfast at the Corner Cafe and then headed to the Art Institute. A few days ago my mom decided to become a member because it will pay for itself. With a membership you and a guest get in and so can any of your kids under 18. So this morning we took some time to saunter through the galleries. I went to the modern art wing because a lot of modern art is super cool and the rest is super weird. The weird stuff is always my favorite. My favorite thing I saw today was a video of baby chicks in different mini rooms with music playing in the background. Art doesn't always make sense and I like that. My mother and I also spent some time in the members only lounge. I felt classier than ever and got free tea, so it was worth it. At noon there was a classic wing gallery tour that my family decided to go on. It was very interesting and took a fun look into historical art. After the art museum we headed back to the apartment and my dad took off back to Cedar Falls. My mother and I headed to Woodfield Mall out in Schaumburg. If heaven is a giant mall, this mall would be it. It is huge and has great clean stores with an excellent variety. I love that place so much. I made a good haul getting two rompers (rompers almost never fit me so this itself was a win), more of my favorite T-shirts from H&M (shirts that were not in the one downtown), some accessories from Charming Charlies, and juggling balls (I shall learn to juggle yet). We then headed to Five Guys for dinner. In all our Art Institute glory we skipped lunch without even noticing so a big old burger was just what I needed. After that we drove back into the city. Tonight we spent some time cleaning up the apartment and resting our feet. I still have some work to get done yet after I finish up tonights blog.
M&M
 Not much to add.  I really loved the tour at the Art Institute today.  It was fascinating to learn some of the history and stories behind some of the art there.  I have always wanted to learn more about art and this certainly was a step toward that.  I plan to go do some more of the tours/lectures while here to fill my time and hopefully increase my knowledge and appreciation of art.  Other than that, it is good to be resting our feet tonight.  Perhaps it is a sad reflection on how sedentary my life usually is that my feet have screamed at me this week.  I am glad to get in all the walking we have been doing and hope I can keep it up when I get back home.  I have easily tripled or quadrupled the amount of daily walking I usually do according to my tracker on my phone.  Hopefully there will be some payout with a few firmer muscles as a result!  Mary

Thats all for now guys! Hope everyone has a great week this coming week!
Yes And,
Grace

Day 6: Live From Chicago

Hey Friends! Today was quite the long but great day so lets dig in. Because I don't have class on the weekends I had all of today to explore with my mom and dad. We started the morning getting donuts at Glazed and Infused which I found to be delicious as I consider myself to be a donut connoisseur. Next we headed down to the loop to go to the Chicago Museum of Broadcasting Communications. Not my dads favorite, but I found it to be very interesting. I also wanted us to focus this trip on doing stuff that isn't always cliche Chicago tourist things. This museum definitely feel under that category.  After what was a longer walk then expected we ate some lunch at Portillos. We each had a Chicago dog and loved the meal. It was cheap and great which are two things we enjoy here in the Gubbrud household. Later on, we headed to Grant Park to check out the Chicago Blues Festival. The event was free and we were able to hang out and listen to some blues which was quite fun. We also sat on the lakeshore for a while which was super beautiful. We also spent some time in the Art Institute and are planning on returning tomorrow. Next up was dinner. Tonight we went to my favorite restaurant of all time, Quartino. This place is real authentic Italian cuisine with an atmosphere to match. We had fondue as an appetizer, which is the first thing that started my love affair with this place a few years back. I had potato gnocchi with pesto, my dad had steak, and my mother had soup and salad. We then decided to get a banana foster style dessert which was so dreamy (plus it had a mint leaf on top so it was technically a salad and salads are healthy).  I kid you not this place is my favorite place in the whole world and if you find yourself in Chicago you have to go try the fondue. After dinner, we headed up to the Park West neighborhood to catch a film. It was a documentary on Saturday Night Live called Live From New York. I heard about it a few months ago and was crushed when I saw it was only going to be realized at certain theaters (none in Iowa). Lucky for me it just so happened to playing in Chicago while we where here. This specific screening included a talkback with the director of the film afterwards. The documentary focused on the history of SNL as well as how it has reflected and influenced the american story. It was a remarkable film and took a deeper view on it, making it much more interesting then expected. We then headed back to the apartment.
(No M&M today because Mary says she has nothing to add)
That is all for today. It has been a lot of walking (over 10 miles) and my feet are sore. So it is time to call it a night.
Yes And,
Grace

Day 5: Titles Are Hard

Hey Friends! Today was really fun so lets just get into it. We started off our morning with Starbucks (shocker, I know). This morning instead of improv we had a special workshop on physical comedy/ clowning. It was way more fun than I expected. We did some exercises to make us more self aware of our natural body movements and we also learned how to juggle! I am not a juggling pro yet but I can never start a project without finishing it so juggling balls are on my shopping list now. In sketch we focused on blackouts. Blackouts are very short scenes that are just a set up and then a punch line. It was super fun as well. Stand up was super laid back today which was a nice change of pace and a good opportunity to mesh as a group more. I know I mention it everyday but I completely love my class, our teachers, and what we are learning.
After class we spent some time hanging around old town. We ate dinner at a Mexican place called Adobe which was delicious-- I've never met a Mexican food I didn't like. Then tonight we went to a show at The Second City called Date Me. It was super cool and unique. Based on a real social experiment in which 38 fake dating profiles were created on OkCupid to see how people would react it combined a documentary style of reporting information alongside sketch, improv, and of course some humor. It was set up in such a way that made it very unique to anything else I've seen. The tables were filled with activities to do as well (such as make a dating profile for yourself and make an online name to go by). After that we trekked back to the apartment.
M&M
Grant and I spent our morning on an architectural tour via riverboat today.  Nice tour despite not nice weather.  We then ate at Eataly - a large Italian space filled with 9 Italian eateries and various Italian stores and groceries.  We toured the Driehaus museum and then Grant headed to the Cubs game which I decided to sit out because of the cold damp weather.  Grace handled the details of the rest of the day but I will say that I really enjoyed the show we saw at Second City's Up Comedy Club tonight - a combination sketch, improv, and social experiment show.  Very good, funny, and even a bit tender.  We had some fun/funny/drunk table mates which added to the fun.  I think Grace may have gotten a date if she hadn't been with her parents!  That is all from me.  Mary

Thats it for today folks!
Yes And,
Grace

Day 4: Marys Day

Hey Guys! It has been another great day here in Chicago. To start my parents and I went to a great place by Second City for breakfast. I do not do breakfast well so I sat for a while until heading over to Starbucks for iced tea. Class today was fun as always. In improv we learned some new variations on games I have played before and it was super fun. Today in sketch we wrote sketches based on current headlines which was a fun exercise. During stand up we worked on characters. I'm so thankful to come and partake in this each summer. The kids always talk about all the fun improv/sketch things they take part in during the school year. It makes me jealous because I wish Cedar Falls had more outlets for these types of activities. One more year and then I can be here doing stuff like this all the time (while I'm not going to college or working a weird job to pay for these things).
After class my parents and I headed to Wrigleyville to eat and see a Cubs game. We walked to what was a favorite place for my mom and I last year (Flacos Tacos) only to find out it was closed. Luckily a pizza joint that is on my food list, Dimos, was right across the street. Dimos is full of wacky pizza flavors. I had a slice of chicken and waffle pizza which was odd, yet perfect in every way. Afterwards, we headed to the Cubs game. It was around 65 degrees outside with high winds (windy city am I right?). I wore shorts to class today and you could say the game was a rather cold experience for me. I am not a sports fan (shocker) but still managed to amuse myself between looking at the skyline and people watching. The rain started sprinkling and we headed back to the apartment.

M&M My day started with a ripped contact - bummer.  My vanity lead me to try the day with only one lens - poor decision.  I am going to suck it up and have to be bespectacled the remainder of the trip as I failed to bring extra contacts along.  Grant and I headed to the Chicago Art Institute which we love and go to every time we are in Chicago.  We spent some time there as well as exploring various places nearby.  We stumbled into a fabulous old building called the Fine Arts Building and started nosing around.  The architecture was fabulous and the building housed many many interesting studios - voice and piano lessons, dance studios, art and photography studios, and even a corsetiere.  Grant and I wandered into a glass paperweight gallery and the woman working there gladly showed us around and gave us a great background in the art.  She even unhoused some of their pieces and had us hold them.  Perhaps she was hoping we would break them and have to buy them as one we held was valued at $3500.  We also took in a display of photography on Dandyism at Columbia College called "Dandy Lion."  Then we returned to Old Town for some cold drinks at the Ale House across from Second City.  It is a well known bar and Grant had wanted to see it after it was frequently mentioned in a documentary on Roger Ebert.  It used to be a favorite of many local journalists.  Then we picked up Grace and headed to Wrigley.  In addition to my bad decision regarding my vision, I was woefully unprepared for the cool weather tonight.  Hoping to use better judgment tomorrow!

Marys moments was a little long but it was an exciting day for her so I'll let her have this one (I love my mother its ok).  That is all, much love to everyone (even Mary).
Yes And,
Grace

Day 3: Short and Sweet

Hey Guys! Its late at night and I am about to get what I'm sure will be a great nights sleep on an air mattress (not). So I shall keep this short and sweet. Today at camp we one of the touring companies performed. Everyone at camp (8 year olds included) watched the show, meaning it was censored a lot and a bunch of things were cut from the full show for both time and appropriate-ness. Also my sketch teacher talked us through how people get hired to perform at Second City which was super cool and interesting. Besides that we did a bunch of things which I am too tired to geek out on right now.
After class my mom and I headed down to a little shopping area by iO (iO is another large improv place in Chicago best known for long form). We ate dinner at a Whole Foods Cafeteria which is so beautiful and made me feel like my life was really put together. And then we caught the free eight o clock show at iO. We saw three teams do a harold (long form improv structure). One of my favorite teams, Virgin Daiquiris, performed and my teacher from last year is with them now. This was super awesome because I love love love them and wow fangirl moment. Carl and the Passions, a very well known team was also there. If you have heard of Tj Jagodowski he is on that team (the guy in the sonic commercials, brilliant improviser). By the time the show was done my dad had arrived in Chicago. He is staying with us until Sunday so the next few days we will be doing super touristy stuff with him.
(No M&M today because Mary is sleeping)
That is it for today, I am very tired and have no idea what I wrote so if it is awful, just run with it. Sorry to all the grammar people for whatever is wrong in this.
Yes And,
Grace

Day 2: I'm Loving It

Hey Guys! I don't know how to start this so we'll just get straight into this. The morning started off taking the L and then getting morning Starbucks before class. All parts of class were amazing today. Improv was amazing and the group is getting super comfortable working with each other which leads to good scenes (yay!!). For lunch I had a variety of snacks from Trader Joe's which were all amazing. In sketch we worked on some premises that we brought into class in groups of four. There were a lot of funny sketches and none were killed today which is always a good thing. Standup was fun as well and I feel as if I am getting the hang of it (and by that I mean I do not completely want to pee myself when I am performing it, which is a plus). Overall everything is great. My class is bonding well and we seem super close even though it has only been two days together. I completely love everything we are doing and everything has been fantastic and fun (I don't mean to drag on but honestly I am so happy).
After class my mother and I went to State Street to do some shopping. We got some great deals in Macy's ($14 dollar dress pants that fit me?? Amazing!). We also ate dinner in the Macy's cafeteria because their tuna pasta salad is a guilty pleasure of both of ours. We did some brief shopping in H&M and a few other short runs through stores and then headed home. We got back to the apartment and I ate leftover custard from last night (it was delicious).

M&M's
I don't really have anything to add today.  I went to State Street in the Loop to scout out shopping for tonight.  Grace and I love bargains and tonight we left with 2 great dresses and a pair of dress pants for Grace from a couple really nice clothing lines we like and spent only $60.  I so wish we had a Macy's more accessible to us in Iowa.  I love walking the city and riding the L.  It is great for me to get moving more than I ordinarily do and I have been tracking my distance on my health app on my phone.  Significantly more steps than I usually do which is a very good thing but I must admit "my dogs are barking" as they say.  I am happy to see Grace so joy-filled and truly love the principles on which Second City bases their work. Amongst my books along is one on their ideology which I hope to get to before we leave.  Lots of reading left to do. :-)

In conclusion, I am so happy right now. I love everything, class time, the great people, even rides on the L bring me joy. Chicago is amazing and I feel such a strong sense of belonging, that this is where I am supposed to be. It is simply exhilarating. I know, this whole thing sounds super cheesy but I love it here and am having the time of my life. I can't wait till I can live here, I know this is where I am supposed to be. Sorry for the cheesy-ness kiddos.

Yes And,
Grace

Day 1: Blastoff!

Today was the first day of camp. My mother and I left the apartment super early to get on the L train down to Second City. Both of us being the compulsive early type we arrived over an hour early. So in traditional Grace and Mary take Chicago style we sat and had ice tea at Starbucks. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity my friend, Ann, arrived. Ann and I then headed upstairs and Mary went her merry way.
This is the first time and session ever of Second City having Advanced Comedy camp. They referred to us as the "Apollo" of the camp. There are nine kids in my class, this is because they want us to become a well oiled ensemble (such as the ensembles that perform at Second City). Ann is the only person I knew in my class (however, we do have three friends who are doing the normal session again). There are four girls, including myself, and five guys. Two other people are from out of town, however they both have lived in Chicago when they were younger. One of them currently lives in Iowa City (woo! Go Iowa!), and the other lives in California. So far our group has been getting to know each other but we already seem to work really well together.
To start our morning we did improv. Most of this class was us dusting off our improv skills and learning how we work together. Our improv teachers' name is Jeff and he is super loud and funny. Next we had lunch which my class spent as not just time to eat, but also time to bond. After that we went to sketch. Our sketch teacher's name is Anthony and is currently directing a show at Second City. He is super cool, smart, and of course hilarious. We talked a lot about how we should write about things that we care about and send a message with our work. We also reviewed some basics of sketch writing.
The last part of the day was spend doing stand up. I have never done standup and am completely terrified of it. The teacher Bryan (side note- also super cool and funny), never asked us if we have done stand up before and I think most, if not all, kids in my class have besides me. Thats a little scary to say the least. However, we hit the ground running doing an activity that ultimately lead to us improving a stand up routine on why we got a certain tattoo that our partner drew on us (mine was a classy croissant thanks to Ann). It was scary but fun and I am excited to learn more.
After class, my mom and I picked a bagel sandwich place on our list of places to eat and headed there. My navigational skills were a bit off and we got off at what I thought was the right L stop, walked five blocks to the restaurant, only to realize there was another L stop right by the restaurant. Lucky for us we earned those bagels after the walking. They were delicious, I got a tuna salad one, and my mother got a vegetable one. We also stopped and looked through a boutique by our apartment (all the clothing was suspiciously short, was it a petite store? I do not know). Then we headed back to the apartment to relax, avoid torrential down pour, and get work done.

M&Ms - My day wasn't nearly as exciting as Grace's.  After leaving her at Second City,  I went down to the Magnificent Mile and checked out a few stores where I have had luck in the past.  Grace and I love deals so I did some initial scouting of a few stores we will go to later in the week.  I then ended up hitting a sub shop that I love that we don't have back in Iowa - Potbelly's.  In the past 2 years, I have fallen in love with their mushroom melt and though I meant to return to the apartment and eat, I caved.  Mushroom melt with hot peppers - Yum!  Then I returned on the L to the apartment and spent some quality time reading a book that my son Jacob recommended to me dealing with Jesus and religion.  My son knows me.  I am loving the book!  I brought an eclectic stack of books to read while I am here and hope to get most of them read.  In addition, our lovely apartment is full of great books (as was our apartment last year).  What a great thing to have available!  There are a number of books here that I have read or want to read.  Grace and I were browsing the titles last night and when she saw several we both have read and enjoyed she commented that she felt comfortable staying at a place where the owner has great taste!  Back to some reading now and then a possible hike to a frozen custard place in the neighborhood for a late night treat!

As my mother mentioned we may go get some custard later. But as a little wrap up I just want to say how happy I am to be back at Second City. The environment is the best ever. It is so so so lovely and encouraging and no one, no one, is ever negative. I can not describe how great it is to be in such an uplifting environment. Also extreme joy being reunited with Ann, one of my best friends. I am so happy being in the city I love and can not explain my excitement.

Yes And,
Grace

I'm Back

Hello friends! It has been a while, huh? Anyway this year my mother and I have once again ventured to Chicago for me to participate in camp at The Second City. This year I will be taking part in the advanced camp (ohh, ahh). This means the camp will last for three weeks instead of two and will also be two hours longer each day. This is the first year Second City is offering this camp and I could not be more excited! My dear friend, Ann, has been at the camp both summers and will be this year as well. This past year she and I have communicated almost daily and we are filled with excitement to be reunited. Our "third amigo" so to speak, Logan, will not be back as he is currently living in Germany. The advanced camp covers improv and sketch as usual but will also be standup, musical comedy, and some clowning. Also we get track jackets, so you could say it is going to be awesome.

Today my mother and I took off around eleven. We stopped at what may have been the slowest subway to grab sandwiches for lunch, and arrived in Chicago around four o clock. We are staying in a rented out apartment in the Lakeview neighborhood. This means we will take the L about three stops to get to Second City. I am very excited because we have never really explored Lakeview and I love discovering new places. Our apartment is a quaint one bedroom with a lovely kitchen and bathroom (that is very important). Once we arrived we dropped our stuff off and headed to Trader Joes, one of my favorite places on earth (next to Ikea and the Container Store). We picked up groceries for me to take lunches as well as some frozen meals to eat for dinner tonight. Currently we are settling in and trying to find out how to live stream the Tonys online.

M&M ( This is the part of the blog where my lovely mother writes her input for the day, better down as Mary's Mom Moments)
I don't have much to add other than to say we are going to try to minimize our eating costs by eating in more this year since we have a nice kitchen in our apartment.  We hit Trader Joe's which we love and are planning to explore some of their foods we haven't before.  I brought along my ice tea brewer and tonight we brewed a pitcher of their Organic Coconut Green Tea and it is fabulous!!  We also tried their quinoa and black bean tortilla chips and we will definitely also be stocking up on those.  We enjoyed them with some pineapple salsa.  Both products are low in sugar which is great for Grace's dietary restrictions and also good for her mother.  I am excited for Grace to get to partake in Second City again.  She worked hard to be able to do this and I know she will garner great skills.  As for me, I will explore the city and get in a bunch of reading.  Now to find the Tonys.

Grace again, as a final sign off I just wanted to let you know that this year I am thrilled to be back at blogging but yall should know that these may get a little behind because we will be staying super busy during our time here. That is all. Much love to everyone.

Yes And,
Grace