Auditions & Employment

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

See open opportunities

About Elm Shakespeare

Elm Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company located in New Haven, CT, renowned for providing FREE outdoor Shakespeare performances to 15,000 people each summer for over 30 years. It also offers extensive education programs reaching over 1,200 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.

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. This year we are also looking for swing dancers. 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 2026 season are now being accepted. Auditions for the 2026 season will occur through the last weeks of February. Casting decisions will be communicated by April 1.