We at Reckless strive to do exceptional work. We revel ensemble and are 100% serious about having a good time, while pushing the art form as far as possible. This aim demands a culture of yes.
We want to do work that moves both us and our audience: work that is honest and vulnerable, full of heat and weight, rich and textured, heightened and hilarious. This doesn’t just happen - it requires a change in approach. A change in how we teach in the classroom and how we enroll our students into our program.
Over the last four months we have been testing invitation-based enrollment. In that time, we feel that we have been able to curate a strong, fearless student body.
This method allows our teachers to teach to the entire room as opposed to adjusting for the novice/recreational learners, maximizing class time and allowing us to push and cover more material and techniques.
The last months have also prompted important discussions of safety across the New York City comedy scene. We recognize how much a sense of personal and artistic security has helped us cultivate the supportive and enthusiastic community we currently have. As we continue to bring more people in, we want to ensure that we are constantly developing a greater sense of togetherness and trust.
We have made a decision to make this our means of enrollment in the training program at Reckless.
Ways that you can be invited:
A resident performer, coach or instructor can vouch for you by submitting your name to our registrar. They will be looking for candidates who are high character, passionate people with a genuine joy of improv and theatre.
You may work with these people directly by applying to Instant Teams, by enrolling in any of our elective courses (which includes an Intro course for novices), or by hiring a faculty member or Reckless certified coach to work with your practice group or indie team. You can share your work with us by participating in Some Universe*, Dancing with the Star Stuffs** or submitting a Fighter Pilot***.
As our schedule allows we will also be holding drop-in workshops at Reckless. These will only be $5 and are open to anyone - a great opportunity to test out the Reckless style of play and be seen by a Reckless coach or faculty member. We will be hosting our first drop-in on Saturday, October 8th 4-6pm led by house performer and faculty member Jack Gallagher.
Financially this is stupid. Most institutions make their money offering recreational/ground level improv classes to anyone with any interest with any skill set. Recreation and creation are similar but different - Reckless is different.
We hope to work with you soon.
*Some Universe is a variety show featuring diverse personal perspectives on an issue or idea. Each month we will announce the theme and accept submissions for storytelling, characters, performance art, sketches, happenings, dance pieces, and songs ranging from the heartfelt to the hilarious. You can send your submissions to someuniverse@recklesstheatre.com
**Dancing with the Star Stuffs will be looking for new comedy dance teams starting in Winter 2017. In the meantime, come check out their shows every other Saturday @ 10:30pm
***Fighter Pilots are accepted on a rolling basis at submissions@recklesstheatre.com - if selected your script for a 12-15 minute pilot or web-series (Adult Swim length) would be featured live on the Reckless stage and compete head-to-head with other pilots to see who returns for a second episode. Each month's show is judged by an industry representative and voted on by the audience. If a show wins 5 times, it will receive it's own run at Reckless.
