UP is here to help! Our offices are located at 294 Elm Street, next to Arnold Hall. The main contact at UP for comedy-related questions is Bryanna Kim. Stop by the office or email with questions.
Quick Access Resources
There are more than a dozen rehearsal studios located around campus, as well as plenty of other rooms that can be used as rehearsal venues. A list of many common rehearsal spaces – including descriptions and reservation information – can be found on the Rehearsal Spaces page.
UP manages a centralized application process for theater reservations. If your preferred venue is not listed in the application, please the follow instructions on the Other Venues page. Theater bookings will be made in correlation with the CPA award application cycles. It is strongly recommended to request a show as early as possible. Typically, at least a week is required to secure a venue, schedule a fire inspection, and secure a house manager.
Classroom booking is managed by the Registrar’s Office via YaleConnect, which is also linked to event registration. Visit the Using YaleConnect page for information on setting up registration for your event.
Groups are required to perform a fire drill and complete a Fire Drill Log before the scheduled fire inspection for your performance. You can also stop by the UP office during office hours to pick one up.
Important Information for Group Leadership
Be sure to contact UP to introduce the new leadership to our team whenever your group’s leadership changes over. Be sure to request to update your group’s leadership on Yale Connect, as well. This is a multi-step process which will require the new leadership to log on and fill out a form, once their position has been requested. These steps will ensure that your group receives all vital communication.
Undergraduate Production manages a centralized booking process for comedy groups. Performance application submissions are reviewed on an ongoing basis, but bookings are made in correlation with the CPA award application cycles. Any performance requested before the fall CPA cycle will be handled on a rolling basis. Any performance throughout the rest of the year will be booked with the corresponding CPA cycle. Complete the application as far in advance as possible, as UP needs at least a week’s notice to be sure each performance upholds to university policies. View centralized booking form.
The Creative and Performing Arts (CPA) awards are announced at the beginning of each semester. The fall cycle application is open in August/September with awards announced in September for projects presented up to the spring break period. The spring cycle application is open in January with awards announced in February for projects presented up to the end spring semester classes. CPA applications act as both a venue application and funding request. Each student group may apply for no more than one CPA award per semester. This one award may be used to support multiple on-campus performances in the same semester. View CPA information, regulations, and a link to the application.
All comedy performances must be approved by Undergraduate Production. Any changes to requests or approved performances must be submitted to UP. Your show is not approved until you have received a written notification from UP.
Once your performance is booked, Undergraduate Production will work to assign you a house manager from our HM team. The house manager will contact you with important information and questions before your performance, but there are a few things that can be prepped before they contact you to help expedite this communication:
- Ushers - It is your responsibility to recruit ushers for your show. They should arrive an hour ahead of your performance time to be trained by the house manager. You must have two ushers for a venue with up to 50 seats and an additional usher for every 50 seats thereafter. Most residential college theaters have between 51-100 seats and therefore require three ushers. There are some larger venues that may require more ushers.
- Technical Staff - The house manager is there to serve a vital life-safety function and is not a technician for your performance. They should not be asked to run lights, sound, or projections, or to stay in the booth for the performance. If you are interested in having any tech for your performance, you should find staff separately. A good resource for this is the Production Team search function on the College Arts site.
- VIPs - If you need to reserve any seats for friends, family, or performers, prepare a list of names ahead of time. Your house manager can use this info to keep pre-show running smoothly.
UP will also schedule a fire inspection for your performance. Typically, for comedy shows, this happens one hour before your performance. To properly prepare for the fire marshal to inspect your venue prior to the performance, you must hold a fire drill with the entire cast and crew. Once you have completed the drill, fill out the Fire Drill Log and have it available during your inspection. Any concerns identified during the fire inspection must be rectified prior to opening. Repeated failure by a group to attend or be prepared for fire inspections will be taken into consideration during future booking cycles.
Other Tips and Tricks for Scheduling and Producing
- There are several extremely busy times of the year, when most venues are at high demand. Be sure to request performances for these time frames early. The list of these busy times includes, but is not limited to the following: Orientation, Family Weekend, The Game, the end of each semester, etc. Note that April is traditionally the busiest month for undergraduate performances. It is extremely common to get booked in your second, third, or fourth choice of venue during these periods.
- Even outside of periods when venues are at high demand, approving a show still takes some processing time because of the multiple offices involved in the process. Request shows as early as possible to avoid any issues.
- During shopping period, your request for a classroom (including lecture halls like LC101) may not be approved by the registrar’s office until the day of the performance. This is especially true for weekdays, including Friday nights. It is strongly recommended, if possible, to avoid weekday classroom use during shopping period to reduce stress on your performance.
- Some venues are not available during reading period due to heightened noise restrictions and regulations established by the residential colleges. This list includes: The Underbrook, The Crescent, The Lighten, and The Davenport/Pierson Auditorium.
- By filling out any performance or venue application form, you will need to attest that you have read and agree to follow the Undergraduate Production regulations. Take the time to read through and fully understand these ahead of time.
- UP requires at least a half hour between the scheduled end of one show and the scheduled start of the next show in the same venue for smaller low-tech events like comedy, spoken word, movie nights, etc. to allow the audience to change over. When two performances are booked closely together in the same venue, representatives from both groups must be at the fire inspection before the first performance.