The Writers

It was fate (and scheduling conflicts) that brought the Better Off Wed team together.  The writers met as students in Second City’s Core Writing program.  As they progressed in levels, one of their instructors, Nancy, asked them to make a spreadsheet of all their sketches in preparation of entering the final levels of the program.  After listing, and analyzing, and color coding and other things women do with lists, they all looked at each other and said/admitted “Errr, we write a lot about weddings…”

The magical comedy gods (Second City Training Center staff… whatever…) smiled upon these women when they put them in Bina Martin’s class for their final two levels.  Bina mentioned in passing that she and her mother had just finished writing a book about wedding etiquette.  A collaboration began to form. After a stint in vaudeville, many emails, meetings at bars and a very successful Writing 6 Show, Better Off Wed was born.  We’ve been DVRing Bridezilla, interviewing hitched friends and scoping the wedding blogs – the transformation to our altar egos is complete.  We hope you enjoy it!

The creators:

Director – Bina Martin has been a faculty member at The Second City Training Center since 2001. She is also Artistic Director of CarniKid Productions whose critically acclaimed improvised play, Chairs, has appeared in theaters around Chicago and in festivals around the world. Bina has directed CarniKid’s Reel, Cathcart & Olson, Off-Book and Segue, (all at Donny’s Skybox at Second City) and last summer, as part of Joe Janes’s 365 Sketches at Straw Dog. This summer she will participate again in his (frankly less ambitious) 50 Plays. As an improviser, Bina has performed Off-Broadway in the improvised production, Lifegame, and played on numerous teams at iO, most notably as a founding member of Jane. She has also made several appearances in sketches on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (the original). Bina is a graduate of Harvard, The Actors Studio MFA Program at The New School and the co-author of Miss Manners Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding.

Johanna Meyers hails from the Golden State of California. She is a graduate of comedy writing and advanced sketch writing programs at Second City Training Center. As a result, she’s written and performed in a handful of productions at Donny’s and the DeMaat. Jo also works with iO’s children’s show – Storytown. At the last wedding she was in she borrowed a golf cart that ended up stalled on the country club golf course. That couple is also now divorced. She is convinced both incidences are unrelated.

Martha Robbins is a graduate of the Second City Core Writing Program and has assistant directed and co-written a small medley of shows that have graced the Donny’s Skybox stage. Ms. Robbins has appeared in six wedding productions (all performed in her native Massachusetts), and has received critical acclaim for her emotional performance as Bridesmaid #3 in the Bolduc-Tierney Wedding. She is thrilled to be reunited with the very talented cast, writers and director of Better Off Wed.

Stefania Rudd began her improvisation training at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York, and then moved to Chicago in to study and perform improvisation and sketch comedy. She is a graduate of the iO program and the comedy writing program at Second City. Stefania is originally from Lawton, OK where most people get married by the age of 19. She came close, but narrowly escaped and is now an old maid at 31. Her favorite part about weddings is eating cake. She will also make your guest feel awkward when she says a tasteless comment during her toast or dancing inappropriately with your 14 year old cousin.

Cayenne Sullivan is originally from San Francisco. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, and is a graduate of the comedy writing program at Second City. Her parents were married in the middle of a blizzard, and their wedding song was Jingle Bells.

Musical Director - Rebecca Marquardt is not married. She is, however, thrilled to contribute to this fantastic show! Hailing from Texas, she studied music at Louisiana State University and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music then moved to Chicago to pursue improvisation and comedy. If you look in the right places you’ll see her playing piano or doing stand up. If you want guidelines on how to make a wedding completely stress-free, please contact her sister Rachel and mother Ginna.