SCI PERFORMANCE & CASTING POLICY

Thank you for your interest in performing with Seoul City Improv!

We wanted to make the path from participating in our community to performing on our stage easier to understand. The following policy explains how casting works at SCI and how you can express your interest in performing.

This policy is intended to work along side the SCI Code of Conduct.

SCI IS A COMMUNITY FIRST

Sunday Open Sessions are at the heart of the SCI community.

Our Open Sessions are a combination of workshop, practice, and improv jam. They give members a regular opportunity to play, experiment, learn from one another, and develop their skills. 

Performing in an SCI show can be an exciting outcome of participating in this community, but it is not the primary purpose of Open Sessions, or of being an SCI member.

We encourage everyone to participate in Open Sessions because they enjoy improvising and being part of the community, rather than attending solely in the hope of being cast in a show.

HOW CASTING WORKS

SCI plays several roles in the community, including providing improv training, hosting inclusive Open Sessions, and staging regular performances for the public.

In our role of staging performances, we have two main goals:

1. To produce the highest quality shows possible for our audiences.

2. To provide as many performance opportunities as possible without making significant compromises to the quality of our shows.

Traditionally, improv theaters use auditions to help achieve these goals. However, we believe that a traditional audition process does not fit the culture we want to build at SCI. Instead, we get to know potential performers through their ongoing participation in our community.

Each show has an organizer who selects performers based on the show's particular composition, structure, and needs.

As a general guideline, show organizers look for, at a minimum:

1. Appropriate improv training

• Short-form shows: SCI Improv 101 or equivalent experience

• Long-form shows: SCI Improv 201 or equivalent experience

2. Regular participation in Sunday Open Sessions

• As a rule of thumb, around four sessions in the previous two months

These are guidelines rather than a rigid checklist. The purpose is simply to make sure each show's organizer has enough experience with an improviser to meaningfully assess their skills, approach, and ability to work as part of an ensemble.

Show organizers identify potential performers through Open Sessions and consider things like improv skills, listening, collaboration, consistency, growth, reliability, and fit for a particular show or ensemble.

In simple terms, Open Sessions are where we get to know how someone improvises and whether they are ready for the stage.

It is important to remember that taking classes and attending Open Sessions are primarily ways to engage with our community and develop as improvisers. They can also help create opportunities to perform, but neither guarantees that someone will be cast in a show.

At the same time, improv is an art and a craft, and casting is not always cut and dry. SCI leadership therefore reserves the right to make exceptions to these guidelines based on our judgment and experience.

PURPOSE OF THIS FORM

Submitting this form lets SCI leadership know that you are interested in performing in shows. We know that performing is not everyone's goal, so having a clear way to express that interest helps us make sure people who want to perform are considered.

Submitting the form does not guarantee that you will be placed in a show. It simply lets us know to keep you in mind for future casting based on your participation and performance at Open Sessions.

PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK PROGRAM

We also don't want people to be left wondering why they haven't been selected for a show or what they could be doing differently.

Through this form, you can request Performance Feedback from SCI leadership. When SCI leadership and show organizers discuss your potential casting for upcoming shows, if we identify something that may be preventing you from being cast, our Performance Feedback Mentor (at this time, Bazil Manietta) will contact you to discuss what we have identified and provide feedback where possible.

The goal is to make the casting process more transparent and give people who want to improve useful, actionable feedback.

This feedback is not a checklist for getting cast, and receiving it does not guarantee a future place in a show. It is simply an opportunity to better understand where you are as an improviser and how you can continue developing.

Ultimately, we hope that Performance Feedback reinforces what Open Sessions are really about: getting better at improv, having fun, and being part of the SCI community.