Submissions for 2026 UCBNY Maude Teams are officially open!
CALENDAR AT A GLANCE
11/10/25: Submissions Open
12/10/25: Submissions Due
1/8/26-1/11/26: Round 1 Auditions
1/24/26 & 1/25/26: Callbacks
1/27/26: Teams Announced
WHAT ARE MAUDE TEAMS?
Maude Teams are UCB’s house sketch comedy teams. They are formed and overseen by the Artistic Directors. Maude Teams generally consist of six writers and six performers.
Each Maude Team will be assigned a director who will oversee the writing and production of a monthly sketch show. UCB will pay these directors. Maude shows are 25-30 minutes and consist of new material written specifically for Maude Night.
Maude Teams generally meet twice a week for writers meetings and rehearsals. A typical Maude schedule consists of a pitch meeting, two writers meetings, a read through, two rehearsals, a tech rehearsal, and the show. Additional time may be required, but this is up to the individual team and their director.
UCB MAUDE TEAM INFO AND EXPECTATIONS
Maude Teams are expected to put up shows featuring polished, funny, UCB-style, game-based sketch comedy. Every Maude Team member is expected to boldly bring their unique voice and sense of humor to shows.
Maude Teams must be a priority for team members. This is demonstrated by attending rehearsals and performances. Team members with a pattern of poor attendance or lateness will be removed. Commitments with other UCB house teams (Harold/Lloyd/Betty) or at other theatres are NOT excuses for missing meetings, rehearsals, or shows.
As a team member, you are expected to perform at a high level and demonstrate commitment to improving, but you are NOT expected to be perfect. Team members must show they are open to notes from their director and the Artistic Directors and be willing to work at implementing those notes.
Writers are not guaranteed to have a sketch in every show and actors are not guaranteed to be featured every month. In months where actors and writers are “light,” they are expected to support their team in any way that they can.
The Maude season’s first shows will be in March 2026. Teams will have a show every month through December 2026, culminating in a best-of show in January of 2027. Each Maude Team member may take one show off during the season. Any Maude member who misses two shows in a season will be replaced on their team.
WRITER-SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
Writers must attend all Maude Team meetings, rehearsals, and shows.
Writers must produce a minimum of one new sketch every week. Writers must rewrite sketches based on feedback from writers meetings.
Writers must provide constructive feedback on other teammates’ material and be an active participant in the writers’ room.
Writers are the “producer” of their sketch, and responsible for coordinating all necessary props, costumes and set pieces that their sketch requires (it is not mandatory to purchase props; there are Facebook groups for borrowing props and miming props is also allowed).
Material created by the writer belongs to them, even if they have accepted input from other writers, actors or the director. Dual or multi authorship should only be addressed when more than one person actively created the idea or wrote/re-wrote the sketch. (e.g. if an actor creates a character and a sketch is written around that character).
ACTOR-SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
The following are mandatory for performers to attend: Pitch Meeting, Read Through, Rehearsals, Tech, Show. It is up to the individual team if Writers Meetings are mandatory for the actors, so actors should be prepared to attend the same amount of meetings as writers (all).
Actors must prepare a minimum of 3 pitches at each pitch meeting, with a strong emphasis on their own original characters (if a writer chooses your pitch, they may write it up themselves or invite you to collaborate; it’s up to the writer). Actors will not write alone or solely with other actors.
Performers must memorize lines in a timely manner so performances are nuanced and not just a recitation of lines.
WRITER/ACTOR-SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
Writer/actors are responsible for everything a writer and actor would be responsible for.
Writer/actors should strike a balance between writing for themselves and fellow actors.
HOW TO SUBMIT FOR MAUDE NIGHT / BETTY NIGHT
NOTE: You may submit to be a Maude writer and also audition to be a Maude actor. Submitting as a writer does not disqualify you from auditioning as an actor, or vice-versa. Nor does it gain you any advantage in either aspect. Please note that writers and actors will be evaluated separately, and that no writer/performer hybrid positions on Maude are guaranteed.
MAUDE WRITER SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Submissions for Maude writers will be accepted until 11:59pm on Wednesday, December 10th, 2025.
Writer Requirements (please note they have changed from last round):
Have completed Sketch 201 at UCB in the past two years
OR
Have completed Sketch 201 at UCB, plus taken a (paid or free) course, workshop, or seminar within the past two years (there are two upcoming FREE sketch writing seminars that could help you fulfill this requirement; choose from November 30th or December 6th)
OR
Are currently enrolled in a Sketch 201 with a final class on or before December 10th, 2025
OR
Are a former Maude writer and/or Betty writer/performer at UCBNY (or UCBLA)
OR
Have been granted an eligibility exception (more on that below!)
If you are unable or unwilling to adhere to the UCB Maude Team Expectations as outlined above, do not submit.
NOTE: If you are currently enrolled in a Sketch 201 that ends after 12/10/25, you are technically not eligible, but we strongly encourage you to fill out the exception form.
WRITER SUBMISSION PROCESS:
Packet Content
Submit the following Sketches:
Three (3) Sketches of your choice
***SKETCHES SHOULD BE NO LONGER THAN FOUR PAGES IN STANDARD SCRIPT FORMAT. Improperly formatted packets may not be read.
***YOUR STRONGEST SKETCH SHOULD BE THE FIRST ONE IN YOUR PACKET
***Please note that we cannot consider material you have co-written — include only sketches you’ve written solo.
STEP ONE:
Email your packet to nymaude@ucbcomedy.com by 11:59pm on Wednesday, December 10th, 2025, formatted as follows:
Subject line:
WRITER 2026 – LAST NAME, FIRST NAME
(EX: WRITER 2026 – WESTON, WILLA)
Body of Email:
– Sketch 1: [Title]
– Sketch 2: [Title]
– Sketch 3: [Title]
Attach to email:
-PDF version of writer packet with file named in this way: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME2026.PDF (EX: WESTON_WILLA2026.PDF)
A single PDF should contain all sketches. DO NOT SEND FINAL DRAFT OR OTHER TYPES OF FILES.
STEP TWO:
Fill out this form by 11:59pm on Wednesday, December 10th, 2025:
2026 UCBNY Maude Night Writer Submission Form
Late submissions will not be accepted. Submitting late due to technical problems is not an excuse.
Have answers to the following questions ready and fill out the Google Form:
-Name
-Phone Number
-Answers to eligibility criteria.
-A link to Professional Resume
-A link to a recent photo of yourself
-In 50 words or less, why do you want to be on a UCB Maude Team, and how will Maude Night benefit from your unique voice?
MAUDE ACTOR SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Submissions for Maude actors will be accepted until 11:59pm on Wednesday, December 10th, 2025.
Actor Requirements (please note they have changed from last round):
Have completed Character 101 at UCB within the past two years
OR
Have completed any two performance-based courses (Improv, Character, Acting for Sketch) at UCB, at least one of which was within the past two years
OR
Have completed Character 101 at UCB, plus taken a (paid or free) course, workshop, or seminar within the past two years (there are two upcoming FREE sketch acting seminars that could help you fulfill this requirement; choose from November 23rd or December 6th)
OR
Have completed any two performance-based courses (Improv, Character, Acting for Sketch) at UCB, plus taken a (paid or free) course, workshop, or seminar within the past two years (there are two upcoming FREE sketch acting seminars that could help you fulfill this requirement; choose from November 23rd or December 6th)
OR
Are a former Maude actor and/or Betty writer/performer at UCBNY (or UCBLA)
OR
Have been granted an eligibility exception (more on that below!)
If you are unable or unwilling to adhere to the UCB Maude Team Expectations as outlined above, do not submit.
NOTE: If you are currently enrolled in a Character 101 (or a second qualifying performance-based course) that ends after 12/10/25, you are technically not eligible, but we strongly encourage you to fill out the exception form.
ACTOR SUBMISSION PROCESS:
The 2026 Maude actor auditions will consist of two rounds:
Round One – Solo live audition of your material.
Round Two – Callback where you will be assigned two (2) sketch scripts you will prepare and perform with another actor in the callback pool.
Have this info ready before you fill out the Google Form below:
-Name
-Phone Number
-Answers to eligibility questions
-A link to Professional Resume
-Link to Headshot
-In less than 50 words, why do you want to be on a UCB Maude Team, and how will Maude Night benefit from your unique voice?
-Your availability for live auditions January 8th-11th, 2026
Fill out this form by 11:59pm on Wednesday, December 10th, 2025:
2026 UCBNY Maude Actor Submission Form
Late submissions will not be accepted. Submitting late due to technical problems is not an excuse.
***SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT EXCEPTION POLICY — PLEASE READ***
If you do not fulfill the eligibility requirements to submit but you still wish to submit/audition, you may fill out the Exception Request Form here:
The deadline to fill out the Exception Request Form is 11:59pm Wednesday, December 10th, 2025. If you are granted an exception, you will be notified that Thursday or Friday and given a private link to fill out the regular form, which will have closed to the general public. Please do not fill out the regular submission form(s) unless/until you’ve been granted an exception.
ACTOR AUDITION PROCESS:
FIRST ROUND
Actors notified of their audition appointment days/times by Friday, December 19th, 2025.
Auditions will take place Thursday-Sunday, January 8th-January 11th at UCBNY (242 E. 14th St.). You must have availability in this window to be considered for Maude Night.
These auditions will consist of a 3 minute live performance for the Artistic Directors. The live audition should showcase your comedic acting skills. We ask for at least three characters in your allotted time. You can present material written by someone else, but you must credit the writer(s) at the top of your audition. Feel free to bring wigs and props, and whatever else you need for your set. We would LOVE if you didn’t make a mess.
CALLBACKS
Callbacks will take place Saturday, January 24th and Sunday, January 25th at UCBTNY (242 E. 14th St.). You must have availability in this window to be considered for Maude Night.
Actors will be assigned two sketches that they will prepare and perform with another actor who has received a callback. You are expected to show us that you can make strong comedic choices that showcase the game of the sketch. Costumes/props are welcome, but not required.
We expect to announce 2026 Maude Team rosters on Tuesday, January 27th, 2026.