Up and rising comedy star Tim Stoltenberg will be one of the many featured acts during The Second City’s touring show “Fair and Balanced” at 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, March 3, in the Bologna Performing Arts Center on the campus.
The Second City is recognized as the premier training ground for the comedy world’s best and brightest and has produced some of America’s top names in comedy.
Originally from Wisconsin, Stoltenberg has appeared in The Second City productions Too Busy to Hate, Too Hard to Commute, and Girls Night. He also spent four months on the Norwegian Cruise Lines performing with Second City. Stoltenberg enjoys the opportunities touring gives him. “It’s great to visit the different places to see the different cultures and ways that people live.” He says as a performer, traveling is an advantage. “It gives us the chance to bring material that’s topical and socially relevant to a wide variety of audiences.”
Stoltenberg’s family influenced his interests in comedy. “I’m the youngest of three, so I constantly had to act out or be funny as a way of getting noticed.” His clever tactic soon evolved into a passion for comedy. “I really enjoy making people laugh,” he says. “It’s an awesome sight to see hundreds of people laughing together.”
Although he has been touring for just over a year now, Stoltenberg says he still gets excited no matter how many times he’s done a particular show before. “It never gets old. Every performance holds something new.”
Stoltenberg has made his mark as an expert in slow comedy which he defines as letting the audience watch the characters try to figure things out or make connections. “A mind in panic is a terrific thing to watch,” he says. “So, in a sense the audience is ahead of the character, but then we change the scene and something unexpected happens so the character is ahead. Attempting to figure things out is always fun to be a part of.”
Stoltenberg is confident the audience will enjoy The Second City’s newest touring show Fair and Unbalanced. “The show relates to what’s going on in America right now,” he says. “It gives different people’s perspectives on changes that are fair and unfair; but we don’t just stick to one side. We try to cover all viewpoints.”
Stoltenberg encourages everyone to come out and see the show. “There’s going to be some classic concepts Second City has done for years and years, but then we’ve added new scenes everybody can relate to.” Members of the audience can expect to become involved in the show too. “We get suggestions from the audience to create an improv show,” he says. But the main reason Stoltenberg believes everyone should come out is because “…it’s funny, and people need to laugh.”
Tickets for The Second City’s Fair and Unbalanced are still available and can be purchased at the BPAC box office, online at www.bolognapac.com or by phone at 662-846-4626.
