Shoulders shaking from laughter nudged those in the seats next to them in the crowded auditorium.

The room went dark in between scenes, giving the audience time to catch their breath and anticipate what was to come.

When the lights came back on, you saw simple props of just chairs and three men and three women prepared to keep room 1100 laughing.

Jamrich Auditorium filled Friday and Saturday evenings for two sold-out performances by The Second City comedy group. Based in Chicago, the Second City has been a starting point for comedians and actors such as Tina Fey, Bill Murray and Chris Farley.

The Second City opened in 1959 and has grown into the world’s prime comedy club, theatre and school of improvisation with new locations in Toronto and Hollywood.

“As someone involved in theater, it was really cool seeing how they performed—sort of half scripted, half improvisation,” said junior Melissa Neal. “It’s an interesting style.”

The audience was coaxed into shouting out suggestions for scenes and characters to the group on stage.

Sketches ranged from being light and silly to poking fun at current events.

They gave attention to racism, political correctness, and the current election. Despite being potentially touchy topics, the audience was never less than entertained.

“We have done Second City in the past, and they always do really well here. We haven’t had them in a couple of years and wanted to do something fun for family weekend,” said Kelsey Segerstrom, treasurer of Northern Arts and Entertainment.

Segerstrom said feedback from students is heavily considered when Northern Arts and Entertainment is looking for performances to bring to campus.

“We encourage students to respond to our survey when it comes out. A huge way for people to let us know what they want to see, would be to join our group and be apart of the entire process,” Segerstrom said.

She explained that it’s difficult to find an act that everyone will like and will fit into the Northern Arts and Entertainment budget.

The survey given out each year is what helps them determine what genre will be most popular on campus.

“We hope to be able to continue to bring great entertainment to Northern,” she added.