Hollywood filmmakers may still be roiling from accusations about the lack of diversity in light of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy that hovered over the 2016 Academy Awards. But the comedy makers of The Second City can boast about its long-standing outreach initiatives to attract and promote diversity within its ranks, and it's reflected in The Second City e.t.c.'s critically acclaimed 40th revue, titled A Red Line Runs Through It.
This new Chicago revue, which debuted in late April, stands out for featuring four women in the six-member ensemble. In past years, many revues struggled to feature just two women, while they later evenly divided things between three men and three women.
And among the revue's four women, African-American actresses Lisa Beasley and Asasia Lashay Bullock get to shine alongside castmates Katie Klein and Julie Marchiano.
There's also diversity among the male cast members with openly gay Korean-American performer Peter Kim appearing alongside Scott Morehead. The two even perform a sketch in the revue where Kim plays a drag queen schooling his straight friend, played by Morehead, on what it takes to create a successful drag persona.
Now, openly gay cast members appearing in Second City revues are nothing new. One of the most famous is Brian Gallivan, who would go onto become a viral sensation starting in 2010 by creating and starring in the Sassy Gay Friend online video sketches through The Second City Network.
But it is Kim's Asian-American heritage stands out in the world of comedy. Sure, many can immediately point to the success of actress/comedian/activist Margaret Cho and standup comedians like former MADtv cast member Bobby Lee as well as former Sullivan and Son sitcom star Steve Byrne. The acclaimed Eddie Huang-inspired ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat is also doing its part to showcase Asian-Americans in comedy.
But these examples are outliers, since many Asian-American performers and writers have to contend with unimaginative casting directors and recalcitrant studio executives. They also have to deal with their own relatives, since pursuing careers in the performing arts is often frowned upon by Asian-American families.
A native of New York ( Flushing, Queens to be exact ), Kim had a rather circuitous route to pursing a comedy career. It started in his late 20s while he was working in data analytics in Silicon Valley with a few tech companies.
"I was working and making money and doing the dutiful first-generation son duties," Kim said. "And I was truly depressed and also coming out there and I was just trying to make friends, and it all just came to this boiling point where something had to change."
Although Kim described his coming out and decision to perform in comedy as a "double hit to his mom, for sure," he said ultimately his family came to support him.
"Most parents, if not all, want their children to be happy," said Kim about conversations with his parents. "So I think that knew that this wasn't just a fling or me being confused in college. I was a grown-ass man and I knew that this was going to make me happy, so at the end of the day they came around and now they're very supportive."
While Kim pursed many performance opportunities in the Bay Area ( including co-founding a troupe called EndGames Improv ), he found Chicago to an ideal fit to further his comedy training starting in 2012. He has stuck around because the comedy performance opportunities in improv, standup and theater around Chicago were so abundant.
Kim worked his way up through The Second City by being part of the company's outreach and diversity programs. And since Kim was also putting on so many of his own shows around Chicago, he was invited to audition and then cast first in a Second City touring company, and now for the new Second City e.t.c. revue.
"It truly was a quintessential magical Second City experience. I praise the cast for sure, but it really was all the director, Matt Hovde," said Kim about his experience in helping to develop A Red Line Runs Through It. "[Hovde] was always five steps ahead of us and he knows how to make an ensemble build together and he knows how to showcase all of us and how to champion all of our voices."
Although Kim isn't sure if he'll move back to the East Coast at some point to be closer to his family, he's thoroughly enjoying his time in Chicago and at The Second City. He also hopes his appearance in A Red Line Runs Through It will inspire others like him to maybe consider careers in comedy.
"There's a certain thing where if you see yourself represented in the media or anywhere else, you are given the right to dream. I never really had that," Kim said about remedying his relatively late comedy start. "I never even thought that entertaining would be a thing. It wasn't a job. It was something that white people did."
A Red Line Runs Through It continues in an open run at The Second City e.t.c., at Piper's Alley, 230 W. North Ave. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursdays, 8 and 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $23-$48. Call 312-664-4032 or visit www.secondcity.com .
