Martin de Maat
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Martin de Maat (1948 - February 15, 2001) was a teacher and artistic director at The Second City in Chicago. He also taught at Columbia College. He studied under Viola Spolin. De Maat and Del Close were the two main figures of the Chicago improvisational comedy scene in the late 80's and throughout the 1990s.
De Maat began working at Second City as a teenager washing dishes in the kitchen. He brielfy studied theater at the University of Iowa, but eventually returned to Chicago, he began to teach improv at his aunt's school, the Players Workshop. He later received a PhD from National University in Kanpur in communication arts based on his "life experience."
In the late 1980's, Sheldon Patinkin asked Martin to join the staff of the recently created Second City Training Center. He soon became the artistic director and revamped the program to have a more positive and team building experience. He was well known as a teacher for greeting the students with a hug and referring to Second City as their home.
Martin de Maat died on February 15, 2001 of complications from pneumonia. An always very private person in the the public eye, he never really gave out his age. The Chicago Sun-Times published it in his obituary at "around 52." It also came as a shock to many that knew him that he had been living with AIDS for several years. The Second City Training Center was later named in his honor. One of his most famous quotes, "You are pure potential," hangs on the wall at the entrance to the training center.
Some of Martin de Maat's students over the years include: Mick Napier, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Rachel Dratch, Sean Hayes, Tina Fey, and a young David Mamet.
[edit] Inspirational quotes
De Maat was famously known for his positive affirmations he would use in his classes. Some of them include:
- "You are pure potential."
- "You have the right to follow your dreams. I'm giving you permission to follow your dreams."
- "Let’s try and create scenes that are about something deeper than this ashtray."
- "The Hokey Pokey. Think about it. At the end of the song, what do we learn? What is it all about? You put your whole self in!"
- "You know what intimacy is? It's into-me-you-see."
- "No one will ever follow you down the street if you're carrying a banner that says, 'Onward toward mediocrity.'"
- "You do not have the right to use this art form to feel inferior."
- "I do not give you permission to fail-- I'm giving you permission to follow your dreams."
[edit] External links
