Student Matinee
P.L.A.Y. Student Series
Our P.L.A.Y. (performance = literature + art + you) Student Matinee Series welcomes student audiences into the theatre for selected performances. You bring your students to an exceptional, professional school-day performance; we’ll make it easy, enriching, and fun.
The Color Purple
June 6 and 12 at 10:30am
• Tickets may be reserved by contacting Olivia Spenard at 585-420-2052. Reservations can only be made via phone (No reservations will be accepted via email)
• All student matinees tickets are $20 per ticket.
• 1 complimentary chaperone ticket is included for every 15 student tickets purchased.
• Final confirmation of ticket numbers is due three (3) weeks in advance of the Student Matinee performance.
• All payments must be received in full by two (2) weeks prior to the date of the performance. Reservations that will only provide payment after the performance takes place (including from a third party) will not be accepted.
• Student Matinees begin promptly at 10:30am. Groups are advised to coordinate their transportation to arrive at 10am and depart at approximately 1pm (varying by show), following the post-show talkback with cast members.
• Seating accommodations for persons with disabilities or special needs are available, and we offer free and convenient bus parking
• All Student Matinees include:
Teacher Preview: Teachers who would like to attend a performance prior to bringing a group to a Student Matinee may request a complimentary preview ticket (for lead teacher(s) only).
Discovery Guide: Packed with information about the play, relevant context, suggested discussion questions, and related activities, the Discovery Guide unlocks every production’s essential issues and avenues for classroom exploration.
Discovery Workshops: A professional artist-educator will travel to your school to explore the play’s themes and production values, and inspire curiosity for the production. These interactive workshops are free, easy to schedule, take place in your own classroom and, most importantly, make a personal connection with students before they come to the theatre. (Discovery Workshops are not offered for A Christmas Carol).
Post-Show Talkback: Performances are immediately followed by a conversation with cast members so that students may respond to the performance and ask questions.
Every year we select the productions we most want to share with student audiences for our P.L.A.Y. Student Matinee Series.
We produce work that celebrates the human experience. The purpose and power of a theatrical event has always been to come together to discover a new understanding of ourselves. Common Core Learning Standards say students will be able to “interpret, analyze and evaluate narratives, poetry, and drama by making connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, personal events, and situations.” In the theatre, making such connections is the work we do each and every day; Geva’s education department is here to share the inquiry and discovery with your students. Let us pose new questions and share fresh insights. You and your students will explore each play this year as we do, inside and out. Experience the vibrant detail of a fully-staged production and the expressive power of ideas brought to life by phenomenal artists. Then talk with those very artists at the theatre following the performance. When you make a Student Matinee reservation, you’re buying more than a ticket; you’re choosing a complete educational journey for your students.
If you are an RCSD teacher interested in attending a performance with your students, contact Olivia Spenard at 585-420-2052 to inquire about the possibility of free tickets through the Passport Program.
Education Subscription
We want you to become more familiar with Geva and enjoy the full range of our productions as you plan your students’ experiences. Geva offers a discounted education subscription package for teachers and other educators. A current school ID for full-time teachers, student teachers, principals, guidance counselors, and school librarians is needed for verification. (This offer excludes some performances and seating locations) To learn about our Education Subscription, call the Geva Box Office: (585) 232-4382.
Evening and Public Performances
We also welcome student groups to our evening performances and public matinees – with many of the benefits of our P.L.A.Y. programming. A complete performance schedule is available on our website: www.GevaTheatre.org. To reserve tickets for evening performances or public matinees, contact the Box Office at (585) 232-4382, then let Geva’s education department know of your plans to attend so that we may include you in the production’s educational programming.
Cornell Weinstein Family Foundation
Donald F. & Maxine B. Davison Foundation
ESL Charitable Foundation
Richard & Joan Fenton
Dr. Tomás C. Hernandez & Dr. Keith S. Reas
Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation
William & Sheila Konar Foundation
Kathleen & Alfred Laitenberger
Guido & Ellen Palma Foundation
Eric & Elizabeth Rennert
Rubens Family Foundation
Joseph & Irene Skalny Charitable Trust
Summer Academy
Geva Theatre's Young Actor Conservatory
Summer Academy is a four-week professional theatre training program for up to 30 selected young actors, ages 12 to 18, who wish to explore, define and develop the actor in themselves. Open to students of all levels of theatre experience, Summer Academy will provide process-centered training in intimate classes taught by theatre professionals. The summer culminates in a professional showcase. Summer Academy 2024 program and audition information is now available!
Audition for Summer Academy 2024!
To schedule your 15 minute audition, please call our Education department at 585-420-2052.
Appointments required.
Education
Education Advisory Committee
Our Education Advisory Committee gives teachers a voice in Geva’s educational programming and provides a strong connection to implement that programming back into the classroom. The committee consists of educators from public, private, and charter schools (elementary, middle school, and high school levels), representing inner city, suburban, and rural schools, and representatives from organizations that act as liaisons between cultural institutions and schools. Typically, the Education Advisory Committee meets once in the fall and once in the spring.
How to Join the Education Advisory Committee
Please contact Lara Rhyner, Acting Director of Education at (585) 420-2058 or lrhyner@gevatheatre.org if you have an interest in joining the advisory committee.
Educator Subscriptions
Investigate the Possibilities
Are you considering opportunities to use theatre visits in combination with your classroom goals? We want you to become more familiar with Geva as you plan your students’ experiences.
Geva offers a discounted Education subscription package for the Wilson stage! A current school ID for full-time teachers, student teachers, principals and school librarians is needed for verification.
(Seating is available in Section A and Section B and is limited to 1 seat per educator – offer excludes Friday and Saturday evening performances.)
Mailing List
Sign Up for the Education Mailing List
Are you on our education mailing list yet? If not, this is your first step!
To stay updated on Education opportunities at Geva like Summer Academy, young artist workshops, and more, contact Olivia Spenard at (585) 420-2052 or ospenard@gevatheatre.org to subscribe. Please include your name, phone number, and email address, and let us know if you have any particular areas of interest.
Artist-Educators
We're Your Resource Too
Geva Theatre Center’s artist-educators are integrated into the theatre’s education programming to teach Geva’s artistic work to students in a variety of settings. Each year, Geva’s education and community programs serve over 16,000 students with in-school workshops, theatre trips, artist visits and demonstrations.
JACK LANGERAK
BRIGITT MARKUSFELD
JONATHAN NTHEKETHA
ANDREA PARADA
DELORES JACKSON RADNEY
MARY MÉNDEZ RIZZO
JEAN GORDON RYON
MJ SAVASTANO
TERRAN SCOTT
DAVID SHAKES
SHAWNDA URIE
KAE WOODRUFF WILBERT
PERRY GROUND (ONONDAGA, TURTLE CLAN)
ESTHER WINTER
Geva's Education Staff
We're Your Resource Too
We are always thrilled to discover how our work can fuel your teaching goals and inspire your students. We would be honored to serve as a resource for educators and students by providing resources, offering support and curricular inspiration, sharing in conversations with educators, or visiting your classroom to join a discussion with your students about any aspect of theatre.
Please feel free to call or email Lara Rhyner or Olivia Spenard to share how we may be of assistance to you and your students.
Contact Information
Lara Rhyner
Interim Director of Education
(585) 420-2058
lrhyner@gevatheatre.org
Olivia Spernard
Education Assistant
(585) 420-2052
ospenard@gevatheatre.org
