St. Charles native finds niche with Second City
Chris Witaske proved a bit of a comic long before he was paid to make people laugh.
Back at St. Charles High School, for example, he put his love of comedy to good use in plotting a senior class prank.
“We built a pirate ship float for the homecoming parade and kept it in my driveway for a while,” Witaske said. “Then at the end of the year, my friends and I showed up to school at 3 in the morning and put it on the roof; everyone was taking about it the next day.”
These days, the 29-year-old St. Charles native hopes to get people talking at The Second City, where he is starring in “We're All in This Room Together.” The show debuted earlier this month, and has been given an extended run at least through August.
Witaske also does a second show with comedian Chris Hartman in Second City's UP Comedy Club, “Witaske and Hartman: Two Man One Man Show.” The show is two sketch comedy acts in one, and runs Mondays throughout August.
Witaske's dad actually introduced his son to Second City by taking him to his first show, “Slaughterhouse Five Cattle Zero,” when Chris was still in middle school.
“It was like nothing I've ever seen before,” Witaske said.
From there, Witaske enrolled in Second City comedy and acting classes. He auditioned for Second City in 2008 and became part of the cruise ship act. He worked on Norwegian Cruise Lines, performing comedy as well as improv shows with his fellow cast members.
“We performed three days a week,” Witaske said. “The rest of the time was vacation; we hot-tubbed and mingled with the cruisers.”
He joined Second City's touring show, which took him all over the world, before moving to the Chicago stage. The opportunity gives comedians the chance to write and perform their own skits — the newest one being “We're All in This Room Together.”
Witaske describes the show as “a sketch and improv comedy show of unrelated scenes.”
“We've done a good job evolving the art of sketch comedy,” he said.
Because of audience interaction, no two shows are alike.
Second City alums include Tina Fey, Steve Carell and Mike Myers, to name a few. Much of the “Saturday Night Live” cast over the years has come through Second City, and Witaske hopes to soon be one of them.
Being part of Second City, Witaske said, is “a dream come true.”
“Second City is kind of its own special thing,” Witaske said. “We get to play our own characters.”
“We're All in This Room Together”
<b>Location: </b>1616 N. Wells St., Chicago, (312) 337-3992, <a href="http://www.secondcity.com" target="_blank">secondcity.com</a>
<b>Showtimes: </b>8 p.m. Thursday; 8 and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday; also 8 p.m. Tuesdays from Aug. 7-28; 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 29
<b>Tickets: </b>$23-$28