Carleton Players produces three faculty- or guest-directed productions a year. Staff members of the Carleton Players handle vital areas of these productions. They also help determine play selection criteria, student technical capacities, budget allocations and other aspects of the organization. Though tied to the department through faculty direction, design, and coordination, retains a student voice in its larger community by coordinating upcoming theater events, workshops, and productions at meetings twice a term.

CHELSEA 11:17 is an open performance group dedicated to encouraging student writing and performance. The group meets every other Friday night at 11:17 in Little Nourse Theater and is open to anyone and everyone on campus who is interested in performing, having their pieces performed, or simply watching. CHELSEA (“Creative Handwritten Episodes Lovingly Submitted or Extracted from Ass”) provides Carleton students a creative outlet in which to stick their metaphorical forks.

Cujokra is Carleton’s longest-running comedy troupe. We perform both long-form improvisational comedy in the style of Del Close and the Second City in Chicago and short-form improv games such as those featured on “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” We work with traditional forms such as the Harold, and have pioneered several of our own forms, including our popular music/comedy fusion: A-Ca-Pimp-Prov. Our alumni have gone on to work with groups at the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis, The Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater in New York, iO Los Angeles, and the Colbert Report. We have around three shows per term, and are available for performance at other events. Auditions are held at the beginning of the year.

The Experimental Dance Board (EDB) was founded in fall 2013 and modeled after the Experimental Theater Board. The entire group is completely student run, and the idea is that anyone on campus has the opportunity to choreograph a piece and to participate as a dancer. It is designed to bring together people of all backgrounds to discover new perspectives while creating an environment where people feel comfortable expressing their ideas freely. EDB produces a showcase of student work during winter term for pieces rehearsed throughout the fall and winter, and casts all dancers who audition in at least one piece.

The Experimental Theater Board (ETB) funds and assists in the organization and publicity for student-directed plays for performance in Little Nourse Theater. Students submit proposals in the term before they would like to direct, complete with an itemized budget request and summary of needs such as cast, crew, and tech. Most shows are accepted and financed for production by vote of ETB officers, though in competitive terms shows are assigned by seniority and feasibility.

The Lenny Dee Players are Carleton’s premier sketch comedy group. Lenny Dee provide students with an outlet to write, perform, and enjoy the high art of sketch comedy. The group holds auditions at the start of each fall term and performs at least once every term, in shows which are completely student written, acted, and directed.

Queens of Comedy is Carleton’s stand-up comedy troupe. Queens has two to three shows a term and occasionally hosts open mic nights at the Cave. Official auditions occur at the beginning of every Fall term, but the open mic nights can also be used as as a platform to audition (when confirmed with the group’s directors).

Student Musical Theater (SMT) selects and organizes two student musical productions every year, one (funded by the Kristi Snowden Memorial Fund) in the fall and a second in the spring. The productions are student-directed and produced in Little Nourse Theater.

Synchrony II is a student-run dance company open to beginners, experienced dancers and everyone in between. Originally named Ebony II, the group was founded by Debra McCray in 1974 with 20 black students for a Black History Week observance program at Carleton. The company now includes more than 200 students and performs once each term. All levels of experience and all styles of dance are welcomed.

Whoa! Hip-Hop Dance Company is a 100% student-run selective company that allows for the practice and performance of non-classical folk and concert styles of Hip-Hop dance. Combined, Whoa!’s dancers bring years of experience in all forms of dance, not just Hip-Hop. They include breakers; poppers; lockers; professional cheerleaders; award-winning choreographers, directors, and producers; dance instructors; and former members of Hip-Hop dance companies around the country. Whoa! presents at least three performances a year, in addition to other informal appearances throughout each term.