The Second City & Woolly Mammoth Team Up to Support Early Career Artists of Color in D.C.

The Second City and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company will offer two engagement opportunities during the run of "Black Side of the Moon" at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (641 D Street. NW, Washington, DC) on Tuesday, November 15 and December 5 as part of an ongoing commitment to support early career artists of color with an interest in improv and sketch comedy.

On Tuesday, November 15 at 8:00 pm, Woolly Mammoth will host a college promo night and post-performance Q & A with the featured cast of "Black Side of the Moon" following its 8:00 pm Pay What You Can (PWYC) performance. Students can line up for PWYC tickets in the afternoon for distribution starting at 6 pm. In addition, Woolly and Second City will be offering a limited number of $10 priority advanced tickets to students from neighboring colleges.

On November 28, from 5-8pm Woolly will host a free introductory improv workshop taught by visiting Second City professionals: Lisa Beasley, lead facilitator (Second City e.t.c. resident cast alumni, Bob Curry Fellow, and HBCU alum) and Dewayne Perkins (Second City Touring company actor and Bob Curry Fellow). The goals of both events are to engage and identify emerging artists of color with an interest in comedy, and increase both access to Second City career opportunities and exposure to the art form.

The Second City celebrates 57 years of cutting edge satiric revues and continues to deliver the leading voices in comedy while touring the globe. A 23-year history supporting diversity and inclusion in sketch comedy and improv increasing representation of diverse talent with Training Center scholarships, NBCUniversal Bob Curry Fellowships and career opportunities in the field, the legendary theatre is also home to the largest school of improvisation and sketch comedy in the world. "Our partnership with Woolly Mammoth is a perfect vehicle to engage new artists from the DC area by bringing our work to their city with new opportunities," states Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Dionna Griffin-Irons. Second City will offer scholarships onsite to prospective talent to attend their annual summer intensive in Chicago tuition-free. Information about Second City's Diversity and Inclusion programs can be found at www.secondcitydiversity.com.

Now in its 37th season, Woolly Mammoth continues to hold its place at the leading edge of American theatre. Acknowledged as "one of the most influential outposts for the best new American plays" (Washington Post) and "known for its productions of innovative new plays" (New York Times), Woolly is a national leader in the development of new works and one of the best known and most influential mid-sized theatres in America. Woolly is also the birthplace of Connectivity, a groundbreaking strategy for community engagement that has diversified and energized our audiences, embedded our work within the broader civic discourse of the nation's capital, and become a model for arts organizations across the country. Woolly's partnership with The Second City is part-and-parcel with its ongoing Connectivity initiative.

Students interested in advance priority tickets for the November 15th performance should contact the Woolly Mammoth box office at (202) 393-3939 and mention the code WOOLLYSC when completing their purchase. Those interested in participating in the workshop should email Connectivity Director Kristen Jackson at Kristen.Jackson@woollymammoth.net. Scheduled events will take place at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (641 D Street NW, Washington, DC) RSVP is required due to limited space availability.

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