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| Bernard Sahlins | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bernard Sahlins |
| Birth date | 1922-11-10 |
| Birth place | Chicago, Illinois |
| Death date | 2013-06-16 |
| Death place | Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation | Theatre director, writer, educator |
| Years active | 1946–2013 |
Bernard Sahlins
Bernard Sahlins was an American theatre director, writer, and educator best known for co-founding The Second City improvisational troupe. He played a central role in postwar American comedy and theatre through work that connected Chicago institutions such as the University of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune, and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company with national stages like Off-Broadway and festivals including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His collaborations and mentorships linked generations of performers and writers associated with Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live cast members, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Sahlins attended local schools before enrolling at the University of Chicago, where he studied alongside contemporaries connected to the Chicago Renaissance and professors influenced by the New Criticism and Harvard University visiting scholars. He served in the United States Army during World War II before returning to civilian life and engaging with theatrical circles associated with the Playwrights' Theatre and regional companies in the Midwest United States. His early contacts included practitioners and educators linked to the Group Theatre, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and the burgeoning postwar American theatre scene.
In 1959 Sahlins co-founded The Second City alongside Paul Sills and Howard Alk, establishing a company in Chicago Loop theatrical venues that drew on traditions from the Commedia dell'arte, Vaudville and the work of Charlie Chaplin, Bertolt Brecht, and Molière. He produced revues that toured to New York City and Toronto, and that connected with institutions such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Lincoln Center. Through partnerships with producers and directors tied to Joseph Papp and Off-Broadway producers, Sahlins positioned The Second City as a feeder to television programs like The Tonight Show and as a launchpad for performers who later worked with National Lampoon and Saturday Night Live.
Sahlins codified management and repertoire strategies that helped transform improvisation into a commercially viable theatrical form, linking practices from Paul Sills to ensembles that included future stars connected to John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Tina Fey, and Chris Farley. He stewarded repertory approaches resonant with methodologies from the American Conservatory Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and the Second City Training Center, while maintaining relationships with festivals like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and venues such as The Public Theater. His innovations intersected with media formats produced by NBC and CBS and influenced comedic writing traditions found in publications tied to The New Yorker and National Lampoon.
Beyond improvisation, Sahlins adapted and produced classical and modern plays drawing on texts by William Shakespeare, Molière, Anton Chekhov, and Samuel Beckett, and he mounted revivals that toured to Stratford Festival and regional houses connected with the Kennedy Center. He authored books and essays that discussed staging, rehearsal practice, and dramaturgy in conversation with critics from the New York Times, editors at the Chicago Tribune, and scholars affiliated with the Curtain Call tradition. His productions engaged directors and designers who had worked for institutions like Goodman Theatre and Arena Stage.
Sahlins taught and lectured at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and conservatories associated with the Juilliard School and the Yale School of Drama, influencing students who later joined companies such as The Second City, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Broadway ensembles, and television writers' rooms for Saturday Night Live and Late Show with David Letterman. He participated in workshops alongside educators from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the People's Republic of China's cultural exchanges, and artist residencies at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and the MacDowell Colony.
Over his career Sahlins received honors from institutions like the Tony Award community, municipal proclamations by the City of Chicago, and lifetime achievement acknowledgments from organizations including the Joseph Jefferson Awards, the Chicago Tribune arts critics, and foundations connected to the National Endowment for the Arts and the MacArthur Foundation. His company and protégés earned Emmy Award and Grammy Award nominations through television and recorded performances, and his role in cultivating talent was recognized by festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Sahlins's personal circle included collaborators and friends from networks tied to Paul Sills, Lois Sahlins, and performers who later worked with Saturday Night Live and Second City Television. He remained based in Chicago, Illinois where he contributed to civic cultural initiatives and left archival materials to institutions like the Newberry Library and the Chicago History Museum. His legacy persists in training centers, alumni who populate Broadway and television, and in the institutional pathways linking regional theatre to national platforms.
Category:Theatre people from Chicago Category:American theatre directors Category:1922 births Category:2013 deaths