Among the swirl of thoughts going through Second City students' head during class is usually stuff like "Am I funny enough? Do these people like me? Am I good enough? Why won't that cute girl/guy pay attention to me? When will I be famous? How can I make my teacher pick my sketch for our show?"

But have you ever wondered what's running through the comedy writing teacher's head during years of classes, lesson plans, fresh faces and old jokes? Sometimes it's what you'd like to hope: "Wow, this kid's really got something," or "This one is full of amazing ideas," and sometimes it's "You're all idiots, and I can't believe I'm hearing another dick joke."

What happens when a Second City comedy writing teacher gets a chance to tell her story? Lakeside Writing Studio presents "Writing With Nancy," described as a "solo performance with posse."

"Through a series of songs, phone calls and realizations, Nancy Beckett tackles the blank page and exposes her life as a comedy writing teacher and the crisis that brought her there." Beckett is an award-winning playwright on the faculty at Second City's Training Center and Columbia College's Professional Writing Program. The show is directed by Second City's John Hildreth, who also directs the Bastion-reviewed "Wii the People," with musical direction by Rebecca Pavlatos.

"Writing With Nancy" opens Friday, November 9th at Live Bait Theater, 3914 North Clark near Wrigley Field. The show runs Friday-Sunday at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 3 pm on Sundays, through December 9th. Tickets are $20.