Student Matinees - Geva Theatre Center

Announcing Geva’s 2022-2023 P.L.A.Y. Student Matinee Series

For information and tickets, contact Associate Director of Education, Lara Rhyner, at 585-420-2058 or lrhyner@gevatheatre.org.

All tickets on sale now!

2022-2023 Matinees:

Somewhere

By Matthew López
Directed by Zi Alikhan

November 10, at 10:30am

It’s 1959, West Side Story has taken Broadway by storm, and the young Candelaria siblings dream of glamorous careers in show business. When the opportunity arises for this talented Puerto Rican family to audition for roles in West Side Story itself, all their dreams seem poised to come true – until a neighborhood-wide eviction abruptly threatens everything they have worked for. From Tony Award-Winner Matthew López.

Recommended for grades 7-12 (Also: Diversity and multicultural clubs, Spanish language or Latinx culture classes, performing arts students, musical theatre enthusiasts, and midcentury American history and social science classes)

Topics: The Golden Age of Musical Theatre • The Puerto Rican and Immigrant Community Experience in 1950s New York • Displacement • Family Dynamics • Gentrification • The Intersection of Dreams and Reality • Chasing the Allure and Fallacy of the American Dream: Loss, Coping, Perseverance, and Sacrifice • Centering People of Color in the Classic Midcentury Musical Theatre Cannon • Legacy and the Stories We Tell

A Christmas Carol

By Charles Dickens
Adapted and Directed by Mark Cuddy

December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, and 21, at 10:30am

This classic tale of the redemption of Ebeneezer Scrooge, the most despised man in London, will awaken the heart and rekindle the spirit in Geva’s critically acclaimed adaptation.

Recommended for ages 5 and up (Also: English and literature classes, art and design students, performing arts and technical theatre students, world history classes, and social science and social justice students)

Topics: Traditions and Winter Holiday Celebrations • Cautionary Tales and Second Chances • Transformation and Redemption • Forgiveness • Classism and Wealth Inequity in 19th Century London • Literary Adaptations • Ethics • Cultivating Empathy • Charles Dickens • Celebrity and Social Justice

Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical Show

Conceived by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Murray Horwitz Directed & Choreographed by Jeffrey L. Page Co-production with Barrington Stage

February 2 and 9, at 10:30am

Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a vibrant tribute to jazz pioneer Fats Waller’s extraordinary career. This new production from Beyoncé choreographer Jeffrey L. Page reveals the masks Fats Waller and his musicians assumed while performing for white audiences – as they created the music of a new era. Featuring classics from the Harlem Renaissance such as “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Your Feet’s Too Big,” and “T’Aint Nobody’s Business if I Do.”

Recommended for grades 7-12 (Also: Diversity and multicultural clubs, music enthusiasts, vocal music, composition, and instrumental music students, dancers, American history and social science classes, and Black history and social justice classes)

Topics: Fats Waller • The Harlem Renaissance • The Art of Subversion • American Jazz History and Stride Piano • Harlem Rent Parties • Musical Revues and African American Musical Theatre History • Social, Economic, Gender, and Race Relations • The Jim Crow Era • Music and Mood

And So We Walked: An Artist’s Journey Along the Trail of Tears

Written & performed by DeLanna Studi
Directed by Corey Madden

April 11, April 13, and April 18, at 10:30am

DeLanna Studi, Cherokee performance artist, shares her powerful and dramatic memoir, And So We Walked: An Artist’s Journey Along the Trail of Tears. She recounts the experience of embarking on the 900-mile journey with her father, retracing the path her great-great grandparents took in the 1830s.

Recommended for grades 7-12 (Also: Diversity and multicultural clubs, performing arts and creative writing students, American history and social science classes, and classes centered on feminism or Indigenous peoples)

Topics: Exploring Ancestry • The Trail of Tears in the Past and Present • Challenging Expectation and Stereotype Socially, Historically, and Culturally • Navigating Family History, Self-Discovery, and Cultural Identity • Parent-Child Dynamics • Being Native in America • Fantastical Storytelling • Displacement and Forced Relocation • Cherokee Nation History •Disrupting Traditional Concepts of Class, Gender, and History

Details:

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 and full payment is due 3 weeks in advance of the Student Matinee performance
Student Matinees begin promptly at 10:30am. Groups are advised to coordinate their transportation to arrive at 10am and depart at approximately 1pm, following the post-show talkback with cast members
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
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 exploration
Post-Show Talkback: Performances are immediately followed by a dialoguewith cast members so that students and teachers may respond to the performance and ask questions about the creative process

Seating accommodation for persons with disabilities or special needs are available, and we offer free and convenient bus parking
Tickets can be reserved by contacting Lara Rhyner at lrhyner@gevatheatre.org or 585-420-2058

Passport Program:

If you are an RCSD teacher interested in attending a performance with your students, contact Lara Rhyner, at lrhyner@gevatheatre.org or 585-420-2058 to inquire about the possibility of free tickets through the Passport Program.

About Geva’s P.L.A.Y. Student Matinee Series

Every year we select the productions we most want to share with student audiences for our P.L.A.Y. Student Matinee Series. You bring your students to an exceptional, professional school-day performance; we’ll make it easy, enriching, and fun.

We produce work that celebrates the human experience. The purpose and power of a theatrical event has always been to come together in the theatre to discover a new understanding of ourselves. Common Core Learning Standards say our 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.

Additional Resources for Teachers

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.