The Second City's Next Comedy Legend - Episode 3
Welcome to Toronto
Destination: Toronto, where eight contestants were about to arrive from across Canada - Nova Scotia, Alberta, Quebec, B.C. and England. That last one turned out to be a problem. Turns out Jamie didn't qualify since he's not a citizen. Oops. As Trish told him, "You're so funny. You're just English." That meant Ali, brutally rejected in last week's show, got a mysterious call to come back, "I'm a little confused because I don't know what the hell I'm doing here," Ali said. "I'm hoping it was 'we want to spice things up so why not bring him in – he's brown.'"
The eight finally met each other (Megan - "I feel like every body was a lot better dressed than me."), checked out the swanky loft with its exposed bathroom (Sean – "I think the bathroom is awesome, you'll probably be seeing some of the old man carpet."), and scrambled to claim their bunk beds (Robert – "I'm on top for once!"). They were tired from their trips, but no rest for the funny – they had to head out to that night's Second City show. Megan was thrilled. "I'd planned on going to a show there anyway, and this means I won't have to pay... At least I hope I don't – I don't have any money on me." At show time, an absurdly large limo showed up. Trish climbed in and took off leaving the rest to cram into a cab – with A.rae in the trunk. After the show, they got called up on the stage to do improv, which spooked Ali. "I remember in America's Top Model once they eliminated this chick right off the bat," he said. "I didn't want to be eliminated." Luckily, the shredder wasn't in the audience.
On Day Two, the group met their Second City mentors – Paul Bates, Matt Baram, Anand Rajaram and Naomi Snieckus – and got their assignment. They have 11 days to write and rehearse an original Second City show – a process which usually takes 8-10 weeks. "Eleven days is a ridiculous number made up by the creators of the show, it's impossible," said Matt. The mentors, all seasoned Second City performers, are a little worried by the group's lack of experience (Rajaram – "There's not a Crayola colour to describe how green these guys are."). That night comes with another surprise: a party at a downtown pool hall. And there, after a few too many drinks, they find out the shredder had been invited too – one of them was about to be eliminated. They're called on to do another improv show. When it's over, the judges' criticism flowed as freely as the drinks. The judges dished out their critiques: Ali seemed to be playing himself, Jeannie did everything a little too big, A.rae spent too much time in her own head, Sean kept doing a drunken country guy, and Robert was a bit too highbrow.
Finally, Elvira stood solemnly with eight photos. One of them was William Shatner's, the others belonged to the seven hopefuls who got to stay: Sean, Ali, Robert, Megan, Kayla, Jeannie and Ian. That means goodbye for A.rae, but not before being followed around the party by the show's cameras.
A.rae's final words to the rest left on the island, er, loft: "You're all on your own. I'm the only one who can fish. Without me you're all going to starve."
Stills from show »source: cbc.ca/nextcomedylegend
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