The Second City.
Equity Foundation has launched comedy scholarship that will give one Australian or Kiwi performer the chance to spend three months at The Second City’s Chicago Training Centre.
The recipient of the scholarship will also receive $20,000 and spend a week in Los Angeles with CBS Television Studios to meet with casting and comedy development executives, as well as attending a table read, run through and taping of The Late Late Show with James Corden.
In order to apply for the scholarship, applicants need to submit a self-test of a one-two minute video of a self-devised character/song/monologue/piece or an existing comedic piece. In addition to The Second City and CBS, the scholarship has been supported by ITV Studios Australia, Media Super and Showcast.
Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Joan Rivers and Martin Short are among those who have trained at The Second City, the world’s premier name in improv-based sketch comedy and education.
“We’re looking for students who are ready to learn our art form and dive into life without a script, or at least life where the script is built by the students and not someone else,” says The Second City managing director Rosie Chevalier.
“You don’t have to worry about being funny; you only have to worry about being brave and committed.”
CBS TV Studios’ senior vice president of talent and casting Matt Skrobalak, says he is excited to discover the region’s next great comedy talent: “New Zealand and Australia have an amazing track record of producing unique comedy voices and performers like Taika Waititi, Chris Lilley, Rebel Wilson, Flight of the Conchords and Madeleine Sami to name just a few. CBS TV Studios is proud to be partnering with the Equity Foundation to discover, cultivate and promote the next great comedy talent.”
For more information and to apply, go here.