FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Mirror Lake Players, an improvisational group of members of the Jesters of the University of Saint Francis, will perform at the renowned Second City in Chicago.
The Mirror Lake Players will perform at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 in the Blackout Cabaret at Second City, 1616 N. Wells St. They will be part of a show featuring the Aspertypicals, a Chicago-based group of people with autism. Tickets for the show are $10 and available online at secondcity.com.
Since 2017, the Jesters program has hosted Second City’s Nick Johne and Lisa Bany for guest artist residencies featuring improvisational workshops for participants and the community. The Jesters’ improv group performs at community events and were part of Buskerfest and Taste of the Arts this summer. During 2020, the Jesters will continue bringing Second City artists to Fort Wayne to teach workshops and mentor an emerging integrated improv group.
Based on the work of Viola Spolin, Second City has established itself as the world’s leading school of improvisation and has developed an adaptive program for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
For more information on the Jesters, contact Jesters Director Allison Ballard at allis2b@yahoo.com.
Sponsored by the University of Saint Francis since 1978, the Jesters is a performing group of people with developmental disabilities. The Jesters program is made possible by the AWS Foundation, the M.E. Raker Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, the James Foundation, the Indiana Arts Commission and Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 70 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership and School of Creative Arts. In addition to its traditional programs, USF designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. USF Downtown houses the university’s business and music technology programs while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis campus experience includes 18 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships and is recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution. Approximately 2,200 students from a broad geographic region attend USF.