Sunday, September 21, 2008
Quick, Q&A

Going to Second City with Tim Stoltenberg

A Quick Q&A

Tim Stoltenberg, director of improv at Dad’s Garage Theatre, took some time out of his busy schedule this summer to go to Chicago and follow in the footsteps of comedic geniuses (think Gilda Radner, Tina Fey and Steve Carell) at the city’s famed Second City. Stoltenberg and fellow local Amy Roeder join forces with members of the comedy troupe to poke fun at life in the ATL in “The Second City: Too Busy to Hate …Too Hard to Commute,” which runs through Oct.26 on the Alliance Theatre’s Hertz Stage. The show focuses on all things Atlanta, from Coca-Cola and sweet tea to Michael Vick, Buckhead Betties and, of course, traffic. We caught up with Stoltenberg to chat about the show.—Larissa Erin Greer

Q So what’s it like to be working on a project with Chicago’s Second City?

A This is the first time I’ve worked with Second City, and they’ve been incredibly supportive throughout the entire process of putting the show together. Everyone in the crew is amazing, and I’ve enjoyed working with Amy Roeder. The cast is really, really funny, and rehearsals have been great. A lot of fun. I’m an actor, and we’ve got some fantastic sketches that Second City wrote—so [the time spent in Chicago] was kind of about putting together the show, and working on all the little pieces.

What else do you have going on?

I was doing a show at Agatha’s [A Taste of Mystery, the Atlanta murder-mystery dinner theatre] before I left, and before that I did a show with Synchronicity [Performance Group]. After this show is over, I’m doing a show with Dad’s Garage called “Rockola,” then I have some time off before I start “The Glass Menagerie” at the Aurora Theatre.

What was it like to relocate to Chicago to work on a show about Atlanta?

I definitely missed family and friends. I missed Dad’s Garage and all of the people there. I didn’t own a car in Chicago, so it was nice to be a pedestrian in the city. I missed family and barbecue, but definitely not the weather. We’ve got a lot of work to do [in Atlanta], but hopefully I can meet up with some of my old friends and check out some shows during the performance run. 

Finally, why should Atlantans buy a ticket to the show?

The production is going to be really great. It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s fast—so that’s fantastic. There’s a little something for everybody within the script, and it’s very connected to Atlanta. I think the locals will really get it. It’s great to be able to laugh at Atlanta. And there’s dancing bears. Well, not really—but you should come check out the show anyway. SP