Read
Chicago Improv Was Dead. Can New Leaders Revive It? - The New York Times nytimes.com.Read: www.nytimes.com
I’ll be watching this with interest. Big organizations like iO & Second City, especially iO, have operated in the past on a model where the community was a product more than the comedy and the performers customers more than the audience. A lot of theaters operate on a similar model, with student tuition funding most of the enterprise and volunteer labor greasing the wheels. I think these components of models will have to change before the theaters can fully address racism, sexism, and harassment.
If you’re interested in learning more, I highly recommend Amy E. Seham’s book, Whose Improv Is It Anyway?