Acclaimed sketch comedy troupe the Second City visited Elon on Sept. 6 and 7, featuring cast members Barry Hite, Lyndsay Hailey and Nicole Hastings. They performed a college-themed show, "The FAFSA and the Furious," as well as their standard touring performance. Their Elon connection also runs deep: junior B.F.A. Acting major Sean Liang had the opportunity to study with Second City over the summer.
Q: What did you think of the shows at Elon? Hite: They were great. You guys have such a great campus and community. Very welcoming. Hailey: You're what we call "hot houses." You were very responsive, which allowed us to do some of our racier acts.
Q: How was it working with Elon student Sean Liang? Hailey: Barry and I each had him for a week and that was great. Hite: He's very positive and has a great heart. And he's just a great kid. Hailey: He was just a little light in that class. He's naturally funny, so he doesn't even have to try hard.
Q: What other campuses have you visited? Hite: Syracuse University, DePaul University, St. Mary's College of California, Boston University and Santa Barbara City College. Hailey: But this is the start of our college tour.
Q: How long have you performed as a group? Hastings: This is our second college show but first college tour as a group. There are different groups that travel each year and this is our first time as this particular group. Hailey: We've worked with this specific group for four months.
Q: Why did you choose comedy instead of drama or another genre? Hastings: I was always cast in comedic roles when I started out, and there's just something about eliciting a laugh when you perform. It's addicting. Hite: I'm not good at sports, can't sing. The gigs made me a student of comedy.
Q: What brought you into comedy? Hailey: I was always the person to break the tension, to say, "Everyone, be happy." I was a diver and I'm an adrenaline junkie. As an adult, there's only so much you can do and this is one of those things. Hastings: I've always been someone who dealt with hard situations with laughter. There's nothing parallel to having something to heal like laughter.
Q: What's the next step for you? Hailey: Making it big. I don't know what that means, but making it big. Hastings: We may or may not make it to a resident city group. Some of us have auditioned for "SNL" and some of us haven't. Hailey: Beyond that, anything in the realm of comedy is the next step. We write our own material, so anything that allows that would be great.
Q: What do you think is the role of women in comedy? Hailey: In short, a comedic woman is a ballsy woman and she has a lot of power. If you can be a brave, unapologetic woman, then comedy's for you. Hastings: Women are rare enough in comedy and when we perform, we don't do it so people can say, "Look at those women trying to be funny." We do it because we love it. Hailey: There wasn't a Tina Fey before there was a Tina Fey who wrote and produced her own stuff. There are a lot of famous and local women we can think of who've been pioneers — Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Gilda Radner. Hastings: Being women in comedy, we dream of a miracle. Use it as a platform to create change.