Compass Players

And I said, "I thought we could have lunch together because we have something in common." He goes, "What's that?" And I said, "We're both Second City alum." He goes, "Second City? I wasn't in the fucking Second City.

I was in Compass Players.

Sit down.

You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

They work with a lot of writers too, where they just throw four or five improvisers at a writer.

Okay.

Um, one of the early places that the Second City came from, my understanding, Compass Players, uh, Playwrights Theatre, but also a thing called The Premise.

Uh, The Premise was-

Like, I don't know how v- versatile he is

... you know, well, actually he was a member of the Compass Players, the original improv group.

So he was-

Was he wh- Ed Asner?

She is the daughter of, damn it, I've forgotten his first name.

She's the daughter of some Second City people, like old school Second City people who were around when it was Ed Asner and Compass Players and all that shit.

Sorry, I distracted you from your question by getting into deeper cut esoterica of comedy knowledge.

No, any delve into esoteric comedy knowledge is fully welcome.

He then started a train station, where he began speaking to her in a British accent pretending to be a spy, and she just jumped into the improvisation with him.

After going to New York City to be trained by Lee Strasberg in method acting, Nichols was invited to join the Compass Players, the improv troupe that would become Second City, with Elaine May, Del Close, Nancy Ponder, and Shelley Berman.

From there, Elaine May and Mike Nichols became a double act, Nichols and May.

Their Broadway debut was An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May in 1960.