Each month, get to know different cultural innovators in Chicago. Join Beth Kligerman, Director of Talent & Talent Development at Second City, and Dylan Rice, Program Director of Creative Industries-Music at the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in a conversation about the mechanics of cultivating talent and building infrastructures that allow and encourage artists to remain in Chicago.

Beth Kligerman has been with The Second City since 1993. In that time, she has helped produce countless Second City revues in Chicago. Other Second City producing credits include work at: Vienna’s English Theatre, Vienna, Austria; Arkansas Repertory in Little Rock; numerous appearances at Charleston; Norwegian Cruise Line; South Carolina’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival; and USO tours that have included stops in Saudi Arabia, Alaska and Bosnia. As Director of Talent, Kligerman oversees casting for the three Second City Touring ensembles based in Chicago, as well as a variety of other projects. Beth is honored to have nurtured some of today’s comedy stars, such as T.J. Miller (Comedy Central’s Mash Up), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele, MAD TV) and Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live, Horrible Bosses).

Dylan Rice joined the Chicago Deptartment of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) in September 2012 as the Director of Creative Industries-Music. As head of the new Music Office, Dylan helps to promote and create policy for the economic growth of Chicago’s music industry. Rice spent seven years at as a production coordinator for cultural programming Navy Pier/Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority where he planned and produced hundreds of public events in music and dance. At Navy Pier, he launched the Neighborhoods of the World festival and oversaw the booking and operations of the Beer Garden Summertime Concerts. Prior to Navy Pier, Dylan spent five years as a public programs associate at the Department of Cultural Affairs under the Chicago Cultural Center Foundation, coordinating music, theater, and family programs. Dylan is also an accomplished rock singer-songwriter/guitarist, performing with a band at multiple local and national venues and festivals, and releasing two albums independently. He has opened for Paula Cole, Shelby Lynne and Eric Hutchinson. Currently he is lead vocalist of the band Software Giant.

More on this event here.