By Harrison Krasner ’14 | Staff Writer

Coming a long way from starring in Second Suburb, South alumni, Megan Grano ’95, is making a name for herself in the comedy world with a recent appearance as Beth in “This is 40” as well as appearances on shows such as “Family Guy” and “Parks and Rec.” Grano dabbles in many types of comedy, and someday hopes to be in the spotlight on shows such as “Saturday Night Live,” “The Daily Show,” or “The Colbert Report.”

“But I’m pretty sure I would have found comedy regardless of my early start and experience in the industry,” said Grano. “As far as I know, I’m not God.”

Grano started her comedy career at South through Second Suburb, which, at the time, was affiliated with the school. The club did many short shows and even had an anti-smoking public service announcement that ran on the local news networks. The group consisted of six students each year, mostly upperclassmen although Grano was in the group her sophomore, junior, and senior years.

“I’m glad I started doing comedy in high school,” said Grano. “More than glad, I’m grateful my high school had a comedy group so I had the opportunity to get started.”

Originally, Grano planned on becoming a lawyer at the University of North Carolina (UNC), but later decided to major in journalism and pursue comedy because it was her true passion. UNC did not have any comedy groups on or even near the campus. When Grano realized this she decided to start her own comedy troupe The Chapel Hill Players.

“I would have found my way to comedy no matter what, but Second Suburb was huge in influencing my life,” said Grano. “It’s what made me found a comedy group in college called the Chapel Hill Players.”

After graduation, Grano decided move to Chicago to study comedy full time and try to make the cast of some of the best comedy clubs in the world.

“I used to want to be a lawyer because everyone in my family is a lawyer or a doctor or judge… Then I realized I would be a pretty crappy lawyer because I goof around too much, I somehow don’t think my clients would appreciate that,” said Grano. “I would have a totally different life if it weren’t for comedy. Scary thought.”

Grano’s master plan began to unfold as she was put on the cast of Second City and Improv Olympic which have alumni like Tina Fey, Steve Carell and Chris Farley. After living in Chicago for a while she was offered a spots on the Second City and IO Los Angeles stages and moved to LA.

Starting to work her way into the national spotlight Grano has been featured in shows such as “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” “Conan,” “Hot in Cleveland,” and most recently “Parks and Recreation.” Being a native, she also has a hit video on FunnyOrDie.com called Poor Grosse Pointe that makes fun of the economic impact of the recession in comparison to Detroit.

When asked what her favorite type of comedy was she responded “all of them” because there are so many different benefits to all the different types there are. To Grano its all one big melting pot and she uses different techniques to help aid different types of comedy.

“Sketch is all in the writing, Improv is the ability to maintain self control, and film comedy is having the patience until it is exactly right,” said Grano.

According to Grano, live comedy may be a rush but it’s all relative to location. Chicago has the best crowds. They are very positive yet aren’t afraid to give negative feedback, she said. Other cities like New York and Los Angeles are always fun but are the opposite of Chicago.

“Chicago is the perfect balance,” said Grano. “New York is the hardest to do well in.” “Los Angeles is the hardest to grow in because there are so many phonies that you don’t know if the joke, in reality, is bad.”

“My greatest success in my career so far: keeping going. Every day is a battle, this career is filled with so much rejection, So many people telling you how to be…who to be,” said Grano. “So my biggest success is that I haven’t quit.”