2025 Auditions for Sea Tea Comedy Theater!
May 3rd through May 18th
Sea Tea Comedy Theater is looking to fortify and expand our diverse cast of talented improv comedy performers. Auditioners are invited to learn, grow, and adapt with us as we strive to create high-quality, intelligent comedy for Connecticut and beyond.
Note: At this time, we are not requiring current house teams to re-audition. However, if you’re dreaming of forming a new team, we encourage you to build it and audition.
Sea Tea will be holding the following types of auditions:
- Individuals interested in the Sea Tea Touring Company
- Individuals interested in joining a short-form theater team
- Individuals interested in joining the Family Show
- Individuals interested in joining a long-form theater team
- Individuals interested in joining the cast of the weekly show, The Deep End
- Teams interested in performing as part of our regularly scheduled shows
Audition Process for 2025
Rather than selecting your time slot, you will select your availability for multiple time slots and we will get back to you swiftly with your audition date. This allows us to make sure groups are evenly sized and spaced.
The deadline to submit your audition availability is Friday, April 25th. You may find out your time slot earlier (we will fill them as we go). If you still have questions, email us at auditions@seateaimprov.com
Audition Forms
I am an individual wishing to audition for one or more of the above opportunities:
Individual Audition Form
I represent an improv team wishing to perform regularly at the theater:
Team Audition Form
FAQs
What should I expect at the team audition?
You will perform a 20-minute comedy set that is representative of the show you would be performing at the theater.
There will be a brief interview so we can better understand what your team is all about
Audition with whatever form you want! Short Form. Long Form. Sketch.
What should I expect at the individual audition?
- Arrive for your scheduled audition time at the Sea Tea Improv Studios.
- A cast member from Sea Tea will begin warm-ups.
- For long-form auditions, the entire group will then be brought into Sea Tea Comedy Theater. For short-form, Family Show, and TourCo auditions, auditioners will remain in the Studios for their audition.
- Long-form auditioners will be put into randomized groups, who will each perform a 15- to 20-minute long-form montage. This set will start with a living room opener. This set will use sweep edits between scenes.
- Short-form auditioners will rotate through a series of well-known short-form improv games.
- When you are not performing, you’ll be part of a supportive audience for the other players.
What will we be looking for during the audition?
Sea Tea Comedy Theater’s Artistic Team wants to see you do the following:
- Support your scene partner’s ideas and make them look good.
Play to the top of your intelligence. - Carry a strong stage presence.
- Commit to your scenes and the choices you and your scene partners make.
- Ground your scenes in reality, and make bold choices to follow the fun!
Ahh! I have plans. What if I can’t make the auditions or callbacks?
Email auditions@seateaimprov.com to find out about makeup dates.
If I’m cast, when would I perform? And how often?
Our theater typically has shows on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with plenty of one-off shows occurring on weeknights or during special occasions.
Most short form and long form teams perform monthly, with some variation around holidays, special events, and the team’s availability. These teams regularly perform in our Friday and Saturday night show slots, at 7 and 9 pm.
Our family show runs weekly on Sundays at 2 pm, though it is not expected that you perform at every show. Each show is cast based on availability and overall cast size.
The weekly Deep End show is routinely at 7 pm on Fridays (subject to change).
In addition to performing in our theater space, TourCo presents opportunities for participation in weekday and weeknight gigs.
When will I know if I am cast and when would I start?
The Sea Tea Comedy Theater will release the cast lists for all auditions simultaneously at the end of the entire theater audition process. Announcements will be no later than Sunday, June 8th.
Teams will begin performing after a short ramp-up period that allows performers to rehearse and mesh as a team.
What are the expectations if I am cast?
For teams and individuals placed on teams:
- Teams are expected to rehearse regularly with a coach
- Depending on your team’s availability, you will be assigned monthly show slots as part of our theater schedule.
- It is expected that teams contribute to a healthy and supportive community in all of our shared spaces. This includes abiding by our Community Guidelines and Artistic Principles.
Can I audition for more than one opportunity?
Yes, you can audition for any combination of the available opportunities: with a team or as an individual to be placed on a new team.
In order to be considered for any of the categories, you must audition separately for each opportunity.
If you audition for multiple opportunities, please be sure to accurately indicate your “dream rank” in your individual audition form, so that we know which opportunity is your top choice.
Which opportunities are paid?
Sea Tea Improv is a volunteer-run organization and performances at the Sea Tea Comedy Theater are unpaid. As the theater grows, we will continue to evaluate our sustainability model, and consider whether we can begin to pay performers. This is a long-term goal for our theater.
Although theater performances are unpaid, Sea Tea offers paying opportunities for House Managers, Bartenders, and Tech Operators for our shows. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact comedy@seateaimprov.com or come talk to us at a show.
Additionally, our Touring Company routinely offers select paid opportunities as part of outside gigs, trainings, and corporate workshops. As no two TourCo gigs are the same, these opportunities and their compensation are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Can I audition as a sketch team?
Sure! Bring the team and a variety of live sketches to perform on stage to showcase your writing and performance talent. No tech will be provided. Please keep props, costumes, and set pieces to the minimum necessary.
What if I want to pitch a one-off show with a one-time/flexible cast?
If you can’t commit to writing and performing regularly, then instead of auditioning, whenever you have a show ready, you can pitch it to the theater via the Pitch Form. We also encourage you to pitch shows to Show Lab, our monthly experimental show where teams and performers can try out new ideas in front of an audience.
What if I am not cast?
Auditions are far from the only way to perform at the Sea Tea Comedy Theater! Sea Tea hosts jams, mixers, lotteries, mixed groups, guest performers, pitched shows, guest teams, and more. Auditioning lets us know that you’d like to perform, so we’ll keep you in mind for special shows and mixed group events. Please keep performing, practicing, and stay involved in the Sea Tea community!
Keep studying the art of comedy. Sea Tea Studios offers classes, workshops, and coaching to strengthen the qualities we look for in the performers we cast. Many of our classes end with a performance at the theater. We’ll be happy to offer you guidance on what improv skills you should focus on so that you’ll be ready for the next round of auditions.
I haven’t completed the improv classes at Sea Tea Studios yet OR I am an advanced improviser who has recently moved to Connecticut. Should I still audition?
Yes! Some of our most wonderful performers have made their way to us from other improv communities. You do not need to complete our specific program to audition. That being said, it’s a great idea to jump into a class or workshop to get a sense of our style and values before auditioning, along with seeing some of our shows. We’re all lifelong students of improv and there’s always new perspectives to explore.
As for being a current or prospective student, it’s perfectly normal to take classes and perform concurrently.
I don’t have a lot of performance experience. Should I still audition?
We can’t promise that you’ll be cast, but auditions are a great way to get performance experience. If you feel nervous, just focus on having fun and making your scene partners look good.
Even if you’re not quite ready to be cast on a team, your audition will let us know you’re interested in gaining experience and performing someday, so we might reach out to invite you to perform in a lottery show, mixed group, or other special one-off improv or sketch projects to help build up your performance experience.
How long does an improv team remain a team at the theater?
You are committing to rehearse and perform with your team for a minimum of one year.
Our goal is to have successful teams that stick around for a long time – we will work together to make sure your team is functioning smoothly, attracting a good audience and doing the best shows you can do.
A team or performer can be removed from the schedule and/or the roster at the discretion of the Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Directors if there are performance quality issues or inappropriate behavior.
I want to write sketch comedy. What should I do?
Stay tuned for more information on sketch classes and programs! In the meantime, you can pitch individual sketches to Show Lab (showlab@seateaimprov.com) or full sketch shows in the pitch form.
What if I have a question that isn’t answered here?
Please email your question to auditions@seateaimprov.com