Up for Seconds
improv comedy has brought Jacob Shuda to Second City
Success may seem to have fallen in the lap of Eau Claire’s boy next door, Jacob Shuda, but in reality his hard work is what paid off. Shuda was raised in Eau Claire and part of improv teams at South Middle School and at Memorial High School. At 22 years-old he has landed a dream position of musical director at prestigious improvisational theater group Second City out of Chicago.
This is also not just a weekend job or a paid hobby, either. This is Shuda’s full-time job and, as he put it, “How he pays the bills.” Shuda is in charge of all the sound and music that goes into each show he works on. Sometimes the music is planned out, and sometimes, in true Second City form, Shuda improvises. According to Shuda, if the music is actually part of an improv scene, then the music itself is also improvised.
“I definitely think improv is what I’ll be doing for a very long time.” – Eau Claire native Jacob Shuda, now working with Second City in Chicago
The shows may consist of short form or long form. Shuda explained that the difference between the two being that long forms are scenes with possibly the same plot and recurring characters, but short form is a mixture of scenes, or games as some may call it. “It’s like improv games, but they’re not called games. They try and avoid that,” Shuda said. Shuda has estimated that he has run 35 shows and usually has a show three nights a week. He said the most rewarding aspect is “working in a company that has so much history and has worked alongside comedians I look up to.”
Through this position he had the opportunity of a lifetime – to be the musical director for a four-month running show on a cruise ship (The NCL Pearl). Shuda has most recently been sailing (and entertaining) the seas of the Caribbean, Honduras, Belize, the Virgin Islands, and Mexico. The show has a cast of five who share a warm camaraderie, according to Shuda, and have no need for rehearsal since they do the same show four times a week.
In his free time, Shuda reads books, watches movies, practices, and sits back while enjoying the scenery. “The beauty of the paradise lulls you into this state of laziness,” Shuda explained. He added that the position was not all glamour, and had some down sides. The most challenging part being “the isolation from other live performances and my family and friends in general, with no cell phone reception,” he said.
Sometimes the days also seem to blend together. Shuda compares his life on the ship to that of Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray (a Second City alum) found himself in a time loop, re-living the same day over and over. “It was kind of like that. You wake up not even knowing what time it is even anymore,” Shuda said. Even with the negative side, Shuda said he would definitely do it again in the future.
Shuda’s other future plans are to work on an album (hopefully) set for a June release and to return to Eau Claire three times a year with his old Memorial High Improv Team buddies, JP Fry and Jesse Wood to perform their show, “Illocal Comedy Club” at the Grand Little Theatre.
“I definitely think improv is what I will be doing for a very long time,” he added.
