Red Hot Poker is a New Haven-based sketch comedy

Sketch comedy

A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...

 group at Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

. The group performs 6 original full-length shows per year and also performs with other comedy groups.

Most recently they have performed with Purple Crayon

Purple Crayon

The Purple Crayon of Yale, or the Purple Crayon, is an improvisational theater group at Yale University in New Haven, CT, United States. As of the 2010-2011 academic year, the group has ten members and specializes in longform improv, such as the Harold...

 of Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, The Oxford Revue of Oxford University, and comic duo Frangela

Frangela

Frangela is a Los Angeles-based comedy duo composed of comedians, Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton, both of The Second City. Callier and Shelton regularly appeared on the VH1 weekly comedy news review, Best Week Ever, the NPR radio show, Day to Day and the Fox News late night show, "Red Eye w/...

.

Rush

At the beginning of each academic year, Red Hot Poker begins its formal rush process. Potential new members attend open auditions to read sides from the previous years' shows. Callbacks are offered to the top auditionees. The group typically "taps" 3-5 new members per year.