Mick Napier
Encyclopedia
Mick Napier is an actor, director, teacher and author living in Chicago
. He is the founder and artistic director of the Annoyance Theatre
and an award-winning director at The Second City
. He has worked with people such as Stephen Colbert
, Tina Fey
, Rachel Dratch
, Horatio Sanz
, Nia Vardalos
, Andy Richter
, Jeff Garlin
, and David Sedaris
as well as others. Napier directed the Comedy Central
show Exit 57
and the Troma film Fatty Drives the Bus which also featured notable Chicago
improvisers and actors still living and working there today, including Susan Messing
, Joe Bill and Mark Sutton. He founded The Annoyance with the philosophy that training improvisers to be individually powerful is the best way to support those with whom one improvises, an answer to the Yes, And philosophy, which he found led to weak, polite improvisation more often than powerful, good improvisation, a subject that he elaborates on in his book, Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out.
In 2008, he directed a revival of the classic Annoyance show Co-Ed Prison Sluts: The Musical
, the longest running musical in Chicago
.
Napier is an Artistic Consultant to The Second City
and recently directed their 50th anniversary mainstage show. He has directed several other reviews, notably including "Red Scare" and "Paradigm Lost" for which he received a Jeff Award
. He also teaches Advanced Improvisation at The Annoyance, the final level of the improv comedy training program.
Napier performs weekly in the partially nude male improv show Skinprov at The Annoyance as well as making appearances at different improv shows.
He also served as a judge on The Second City's Next Comedy Legend
on the CBC
.
Mick attended Indiana University
in Bloomington.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. He is the founder and artistic director of the Annoyance Theatre
Annoyance Theatre
The Annoyance Theatre, or Annoyance Productions as it is sometimes called, is a theater and associated ensemble based in Chicago that deals mainly in absurd, pretentious and outrageous humor. Many people that have performed with the ensemble have gone on to become successful stage and screen actors...
and an award-winning director at The Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
. He has worked with people such as Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
, Tina Fey
Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls and Baby Mama .Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the...
, Rachel Dratch
Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
, Horatio Sanz
Horatio Sanz
Horatio Sanz is a Chilean-born American actor and comedian best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998-2006. Sanz most recently starred alongside his former SNL castmate Chris Parnell in the Comedy Central series Big Lake.-Early life:Sanz, the youngest of three sons, was born in...
, Nia Vardalos
Nia Vardalos
Antonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos is a Canadian-American actress, screenwriter, director, singer and producer. Her most notable work is the 2002 Academy Award–nominated film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.-Personal life:...
, Andy Richter
Andy Richter
Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS...
, Jeff Garlin
Jeff Garlin
Jeffrey "Jeff" Garlin is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, voice artist, director, writer and author, best known for his role as Jeff Greene on the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm...
, and David Sedaris
David Sedaris
David Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist, writer, comedian, bestselling author, and radio contributor....
as well as others. Napier directed the Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
show Exit 57
Exit 57
Exit 57 was a 30-minute sketch comedy series that aired on the American television channel Comedy Central from 1995 to 1996; its cast was composed of comedians Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert, Jodi Lennon, and Mitch Rouse, all of whom had previously studied improv at The Second City in...
and the Troma film Fatty Drives the Bus which also featured notable Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
improvisers and actors still living and working there today, including Susan Messing
Susan Messing
Susan Messing is a director and actress living in Chicago. She graduated from Northwestern University and was a performer on The Second City mainstage. Messing is an ensemble member of Annoyance Theatre. She has performed in The Real Live Brady Bunch and directed What Every Girl Should Know......
, Joe Bill and Mark Sutton. He founded The Annoyance with the philosophy that training improvisers to be individually powerful is the best way to support those with whom one improvises, an answer to the Yes, And philosophy, which he found led to weak, polite improvisation more often than powerful, good improvisation, a subject that he elaborates on in his book, Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out.
In 2008, he directed a revival of the classic Annoyance show Co-Ed Prison Sluts: The Musical
Co-Ed Prison Sluts
Co-Ed Prison Sluts is a musical revue that originally opened at the Annoyance Theatre in April 1989, closed in June 2000, making it the longest-running musical in Chicago, Illinois, a title that still holds to this day....
, the longest running musical in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Napier is an Artistic Consultant to The Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
and recently directed their 50th anniversary mainstage show. He has directed several other reviews, notably including "Red Scare" and "Paradigm Lost" for which he received a Jeff Award
Joseph Jefferson Awards
The Joseph Jefferson Awards are given annually by a volunteer non-profit committee to acknowledge excellence in theatre in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are given in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson...
. He also teaches Advanced Improvisation at The Annoyance, the final level of the improv comedy training program.
Napier performs weekly in the partially nude male improv show Skinprov at The Annoyance as well as making appearances at different improv shows.
He also served as a judge on The Second City's Next Comedy Legend
The Second City's Next Comedy Legend
The Second City's Next Comedy Legend was a summer reality show that aired on Canada's CBC in 2007. Contestants improvise and create characters for their chance to win a spot on the Second City Canadian Touring Company....
on the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
.
Mick attended Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in Bloomington.