Elm Shakespeare Company is dedicated to employing folks as passionate about our work as we are and represent the diverse nature of our community. Please see the open opportunities below.

 

About Elm Shakespeare

  • Elm Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company located in New Haven, CT, renowned for providing FREE outdoor Shakespeare performances to 30,000 people each summer for 27 years. It also offers extensive education programs reaching over 1,000 students annually. Based at Southern CT State University, the company employs a small year-round staff and a seasonal staff of nearly 50 artists and technicians. It prides itself on fostering community engagement and dialogue through Shakespeare, supported by partnerships with prestigious local institutions.

  • Mission and Community Engagement underscore Elm Shakespeare's dedication to uniting the diverse communities of the greater New Haven area through Shakespeare. The company is recognized as a cherished tradition, a platform for youth voices, and a catalyst for meaningful community dialogue. Its educational initiatives have significantly expanded, more than tripling in the past five years, alongside the completion of a new semi-permanent playhouse stage, highlighting its growth and continuous contribution to local culture and education.

  • Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility are central to Elm Shakespeare's operations. The company is committed to promoting equity and anti-racism in all aspects, evolving its approach to diversity and inclusion to facilitate positive change toward racial equity in employment and artistry. It encourages participation from groups historically underrepresented in theatre, adhering to ADA and state laws to provide reasonable accommodations and foster an inclusive environment.

  • Employment Policies and COVID-19 Safety detail Elm Shakespeare's stance as a fully vaccinated workplace, requiring COVID-19 vaccination for all members. The company follows local, state, and union safety protocols, including ongoing testing, to ensure a safe environment for staff and participants. This reflects its commitment to the health and well-being of its employees and the community it serves, alongside its dedication to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Performance Contracts

Each summer, ESC’s free Shakespeare in the park is produced outdoors in New Haven’s historic Edgerton Park. We work with a cast of approximately 16 made up of mostly AEA professionals along with a selection of high school and college students.

What We Are Looking For

Elm Shakespeare Company aims to work with classically-trained actors who also are strong singers and musicians. Our actors will be playing and singing music in an opening act that kicks off each summer production performance. Musical ability is not a requirement for employment.

Elm Shakespeare Company is committed to equity in the workplace, and takes pride that who’s on and off-stage represents our diverse community. All interested artists and technicians are encouraged to submit their materials. As most characters in Shakespeare’s plays are referred to with the he/him or she/her pronouns, our casting seeks to be as inclusive as possible and we invite gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, non-binary actors to submit for the roles they most identify with. As an ADA compliant theatre, we welcome performers of all abilities and will make all reasonable accommodations in order to cast performers, regardless of disability, in any role possible. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or if there are any accommodations we can provide. audition@elmshakespeare.org

Audition Submissions for the 2025 season are now being accepted. Auditions for the 2025 season will occur through the last two weeks of February. Casting decisions will be communicated by April 1.

Actors’ Equity Association–EPA

We are currently scheduling auditions for our 2025 summer production. EPA is February 19th from 10:00AM-6:00PM in New Haven. Email for an appointment Audition@elmshakespeare.org

Non-Union Professionals

Audition Submissions for the 2025 season are now being accepted.

Non Union Auditions are by invitation: 
Please submit a picture and resume (see details below) to audition@elmshakespeare.org

  • Resume should be in PDF format (no larger than 250k)

  • Pictures should be in JPG format (no larger than 250k)

  • All file names should be your first and last name (i.e. John Smith.jpg)

  • If you are invited to audition, our Casting Associate will reply to set up an appointment on February 22 between 10-6pm at Southern CT State University. Please no, follow-up calls or emails.

  • If you are currently attending college or are planning to graduate in May, you will only be considered for a college position, please read below.

College Students

Current college student (including those graduating this May) are eligible to be cast as a Summer Apprentice, which is a training program that allows student actors to gain valuable professional experience and EMC points.  As an apprentice you receive a $1,250 stipend and have certain technical duties as well as classes.  It is highly unlikely that we will be able to provide housing to any college apprentices. Apprentices must be available through September 2.

If interested please submit a picture and resume (see details below) to audition@elmshakespeare.org

  • Resume should be in PDF format (no larger than 250k)

  • Pictures should be in JPG format (no larger than 250k)

  • All file names should be your first and last name (i.e. John Smith.jpg)

If you are invited to audition, our Casting Associate will reply to set up an appointment on February 21st between 1-4pm or February 22nd between 10-6pm at Southern CT State University. Please no, follow-up calls or emails.

Teaching Artists

Elm Shakespeare Company provides educational opportunities to students of all ages, and we are always looking for experienced teaching artists. Preference is given to folks with specific skills in Shakespeare, Playbuilding, and special needs students. We also offer teacher training workshops in our teaching methodologies throughout the year by invitation.

Please send a letter of inquiry, resume, and 2 references to Education Program Manager Liz Daingerfield here.

Production Staff

Producing outdoor theater is no easy feat. Elm Shakespeare Company aims to work with a diverse and talented team of professionals. We are currently looking to hire the following local production positions:

Publicity Assistant
Company Manager
Ass’t Technical Director
Audience Ambassadors/Front of House
Sound Engineer

Email for More Information

To be notified when audition dates are published, or for more information on a particular role, submit this form.