This article orginally appeared in the Chicago Reader, February
23, 2001  The Mysterious Martin de Maat  The city loses one of
its leading but least known Second Citizens.   Martin de Maat
was one of the few remaining improv teachers in Chicago who'd
studied with Viola Spolin, the mother of Second City-style
improvisational theater. His death last week in New York City
left a lot of Chicagoans wondering about his legacy.  Improv
classes always stress the importance of teamwork, but in reality
most improvisers go for laughs. At first glance, de Maat,
artistic director of the Second City Training Centers, seemed
surprisingly charitable, open, and straightforward, a good-
hearted mensch in the midst of an often competitive world. If
anything was on his mind, he'd talk about it. He routinely
discussed with his students his unrequited love for unattainable
young men, and after he had colon surgery two years ago he
described the experience to a class I was in. The details were
so specific everyone was squirming.  "T