Second City Tackles Diversity

BY Kerry Reid

Former Second City performers talked the world of improv for people of color.

On Nov. 19, two weeks after Barack Obama and his family stepped into the spotlight at Grant Park, Second City’s Outreach and Diversity program hosted a panel discussion entitled “Casting Call: Diverse Actors Strongly Encouraged to Improvise.” So, though we may not know whether or not Maya Rudolph will make regular return visits to “Saturday Night Live” to play Michelle Obama, as she did in a guest stint before the election (there being no black female cast member on “SNL” as of now), the impact of having an African American First Family ready to move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was keenly felt in the packed Second City e.t.c. space.

Moderated by Dionna Griffin-Irons, the director of the outreach and diversity program, the panel featured Second City vets Claudia Michelle Wallace, Gregory Hollimon, Lamorne Morris, and the husband-and-wife team of Joshua and Nyima Funk—all of whom were introduced with video reels of their work at Second City and elsewhere. With the exception of Joshua, the panel was entirely African American, though many Asians and Latinos were in the audience. (The Korean-born, Texas-raised University of Chicago law student seated next to me came to the free event, she said, because she’s trying to decide between iO and Second City for improv training.)

Much of the advice offered by the panel makes good sense for anyone thinking of breaking into the improv and sketch comedy world (or acting in general), regardless of race or ethnicity.

“If you don’t learn to listen, then it’s going to be hard,” said Hollimon (still fondly remembered as Principal Onyx Blackman on Comedy Central’s “Strangers With Candy”). It was a point that he would return to with humorous regularity throughout the evening.

Wallace, who has several film and television credits on her resume, including Fred Claus, pointed out that she was once the only minority member of a Second City touring company. “Every time I stepped out on stage [in an improv], no matter what accent I had, they made me into a black woman—a slave, or a secretary—but something other than what I set out to be.”

“They didn’t listen, then,” Hollimon riposted.

Nyima Funk also recalled battling stereotypes. “As a black woman starting on stage in 1998, the political atmosphere and the things we had to bring to the stage were very different than on September 12, 2001.” After the 9/11 attacks, said Funk, “It was like, ‘You can be a terrorist—a black terrorist, an Arab terrorist, anything, but definitely a terrorist.’” And of course, with the rise of Michelle Obama, “Now we can be the main character.”

Joshua Funk noted that the 2002 Second City e.t.c. revue, Curious George Goes to War, featured a sketch about a black American president. “We thought, ‘Well, that will never happen.’ Now, you can’t talk about that.” “So welcome, Asians” Nyima Funk deadpanned in response.

Morris, who studied at Second City and was a member of BrownCo, the touring company focused on actors of color (just as GayCo started out for gay and lesbian performers), currently hosts “Hot Wyred/BET Now” on BET. In response to a question from an Asian woman in the audience who is breaking into stand-up and hopes to break through stereotypes in commercial auditions, Morris said, “You have to make [the casting directors] see you. They don’t know what they want.” Hollimon agreed. “Casting directors think in terms of stereotypes.”

Joshua Funk pointed out that improvisational skills are increasingly prized by both commercial and film directors. “You can really tell who knows how to build characters and understands them. It’s a deeper level that improvisers bring to scripted material.”

But though he is white, he admits to facing a different kind of hurdle as an actor of some girth.

“I get called in for ‘the fat guy,’ but I’m never the fattest one there. I’ve literally had casting directors look up when I come in for an audition and say, ‘Sorry, you’re not fat enough.” As further proof that racial stereotyping can cut both ways, he also broke up the audience with a story about auditioning for a project that Nyima had already been cast in. “They said at the audition, ‘We just hired a woman with the same last name.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know. She’s my wife.’ And they said, ‘No, it’s a beautiful black woman.’ The punchline was them asking, ‘Why would she marry you?’”

Josh Funk, left, says one casting director didn't believe he was married to Nyima, right.

Nyima Funk pointed out that, though opportunities in Los Angeles, where she and Joshua now live (both teach at Second City Los Angeles and are regulars on MTV’s “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out”) are greater than in Chicago, the tendency to stereotype can be even worse. “Voice-over in L.A. is like stuck in the 1940s. I’ve had people tell me, ‘We’re looking for an African American voice, but intelligent.’” Interestingly, she also maintained, “Many shows that I’ve booked in L.A. have been from people calling up Second City here and looking for me.”

Wallace, who still lives in Chicago, said, “I told my agent that I don’t want to be pigeonholed, and that I want to get sent for things that aren’t specifically black—something beyond the angry black female security guard.”

All of the panelists agreed that the sense of solidarity and trust they gained from working with ensembles at Second City had served them well in their careers. Morris said, “You always hope that if you screw up, there’s somebody around who can help you pick up the pieces.” Hollimon said, “Once you’re in a great ensemble, that’s when you connect. I started out as an improviser, but then I became more of an actor.” After watching an old sketch featuring herself and Keegan-Michael Key (who went on to “MADtv” and to host “The Planet’s Funniest Animals” on Animal Planet) as both a pair of “Buppies” and as recently relocated former residents of Cabrini-Green, Nyima Funk said, “Second City allows you to present two different viewpoints at the same time. I got to be who I am—a black woman from Ann Arbor, Michigan—but also a white woman from DC and an Arab-American woman from Colorado.”

In his closing audition advice, Joshua Funk urged the aspiring actors in the audience to “come in with a strong choice. I’ve always liked that saying about ‘Don’t ask for permission. Ask for forgiveness.’ And keep setting reachable goals.”

Even a president-elect could probably agree with that.

For more information about Second City Outreach and Diversity, including upcoming auditions and the free e-newsletter, email outreach@secondcity.com.