Currently celebrating its home theater&s 45th anniversary, the renowned Second City National Touring Company is bringing its blend of sketch and improvisational comedy to Sacramento State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in the University Union Ballroom.Since opening in 1959 in Chicago, Second City has become famous for its brand of creativity, wit and satire. Many of Second City&s alumni, including John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray went on to become founding members of the popular television show &Satuday Night Live.& Second City&s Toronto group created its own popular television show in the late 1970s called &SCTV,& which featured comedy legends such as Eugene Levy (&American Pie&) and the late John Candy. Currently, Second City has performance groups in six cities across North America, and the National Touring Company has been making visits to colleges, performing arts centers, clubs, theaters and other venues for more than 30 years.Second City&s performance at Sac State will consist of a six-member ensemble performing two 45-minute sets of sketch comedy with a mix of classic material from Second City&s history and the best new material from its up-and-coming comic performers.This is Second City&s third appearance at Sac State, with its last performance at the University Union in fall 2001. Despite the long absence, comedy acts are always welcomed at the Union.&The volunteers of UNIQUE Programs feel that we usually get a great crowd and have a good time with comedy shows, so we like to produce comedy shows at least a few times per year,& said Dean Sorensen, program director for the University Union. Sorensen works with UNIQUE, a student volunteer group that brings entertainment and educational programs to the University Union with the goal of having low ticket prices for students and others. Although the past Second City performances were successful, UNIQUE is trying a new pricing method to entice more students to attend the event.&The reaction from their past visits here was that it was a great show and worth doing,& Sorensen said. &But the crowd size was not as big as a stand-up comedy show, so we are trying a &free for CSUS students& show (with presentation of a OneCard) and charging $10 for the general public and seeing how that works.&Advanced tickets can be purchased at the CSUS Central Ticket Office on the first floor of the University Union and through Tickets.com. Doors to the University Union Ballroom will open around 6:30 p.m.; the event is general admission with no reserved seats.8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;Nicholas Fricke can be reached at [email protected] celebrating its home theater&s 45th anniversary, the renowned Second City National Touring Company is bringing its blend of sketch and improvisational comedy to Sacramento State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in the University Union Ballroom.