Aimee Ambroziak joins the famous Second City Touring Company in Eat, Buy, Repeat
As of Monday, Nov. 21, Concordia theatre grad Aimee Ambroziak will be joining the ranks of hilarious female comics. Ambroziak will be a part of the Second City Touring Company’s new holiday show, Eat, Buy, Repeat: The Second City’s Guide to the Holidays.
The Second City opened in 1959 and has since become a world-renowned comedy club, theatre and improvisation school. Its notable alumni include Tina Fey, Catherine O’Hara and Bill Murray, all of whom Ambroziak said are her heroes.
“While theatre is my first love, I started thinking about who my heroes are, and I realized that all of them had something to [do] with improv at Second City,” she said.
Ambroziak grew up in Hudson, Que. and was a member of the Hudson Village Players theatre group, with whom she performed with throughout her teenage years. After graduating from Concordia in 2007 with a BA in theatre performance, Ambroziak immediately found work with Geordie Productions. For a year, she toured Eastern Ontario elementary and high schools, performing various children’s theatre plays, including a Robert Munsch adaptation.
After attending a Level A improvisation class—a weekend-long, entry-level intensive course—at the Second City in Chicago, Ambroziak auditioned for the Second City in 2013. For the past three years, Ambroziak has been a part of the Second City’s Boat Company, performing on Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Pearl and Epic ships, as well as the Second City’s Family Company, which performs children’s shows. She is now making her debut with the Second City’s touring group in Eat, Buy, Repeat: The Second City’s Guide to the Holidays.
Ambroziak said the show draws inspiration from world events, as well as themes like consumption. The show was created through various improvisation sketches performed in front of a live audience.
“We got to see what worked and what didn’t,” she said. The show includes original songs and some Second City favourite performances from past holiday shows. Because the show draws inspiration from world events, some of the sketches have evolved to fit the changing news, particularly after the U.S. election on Nov. 8. “There is actually one scene where, as I was doing, I thought ‘I wonder if this will change when Hillary wins,’” Ambroziak said. “Evidently, it didn’t.”
The show is now all planned out, excluding a few scenes that require audience interaction. Ambroziak said if there is time after a performance, the troupe will perform a completely improvised third act. As this is a comedy show, Ambroziak wants the audience to enjoy themselves and feel refreshed. “I want them to leave the theatre having laughed a lot,” she said “Ideally, I hope they feel like it is something they haven’t seen before.”
Eat, Buy, Repeat: The Second City’s Guide to the Holidays runs from November 24, 2016 to January 5, 2017 at the Second City Mainstage Theatre in Toronto. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased online at secondcity.com.
