Performances for Students

Performances for Student Groups

A love of the arts starts with arts education! We offer opportunities for students groups to experience exceptional live theatre at the Arvada Center throughout our theatre season. 

Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA): Engaging performances specifically designed for young audiences, 1 hour long and geared towards K-5th graders. This year bring, your K-5 students on a field trip to see Lyle the Crocodile.

Student Matinees: Specially scheduled performances for students, typically during school hours, to expose them to theatrical productions. These are full length shows and typically run over 2 hours and are geared for older students.

Special matinee performances of Waitress, Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Once Upon a Mattress, Clybourne Park and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder geared specifically for students are held on select Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.

Upcoming Events

November 2024
December 2024
January 2025
FILTERS
apply filters

Lyle the Crocodile

January 21 - May 10, 2025

Lyle the Crocodile: Weekends

February 15 - May 10, 2025

Lyle the Crocodile - ASL Shadow Interpreted Performances

February 27, 2025

Lyle the Crocodile - Sensory Friendly Performance

February 14, 2025

Theatre for Young Audiences

Bring a group to see our 2025 TYA Title: Lyle the Crocodile

Interested in bringing your class or group to see a show? Reserve your spot for our Spring 2025 Theatre for Young Audiences production of Lyle the Crocodile! Fill out our TYA Request Form below to bring your class next spring. It plays January 21 - February 28, 2025 in our Main Stage Theatre, and April 18 - May 10, 2025 in the Black Box Theatre.

TYA REQUEST FORM

For any other show at the Arvada Center please fill out the Student Matinee Request Form - keep reading for more details and to find the link.

Student Matinees

Special matinee performances specifically for students are held on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. plus one Tuesday 10:30 a.m. performance in December for Once Upon a Mattress. The rate is $22 per student and non-staff chaperones for all shows.

For Title I schools tickets are $16 per student and non-staff chaperones for all shows. School staff and teachers are free of charge. Each 10:30am Student Matinee performance includes a special Talk Back after the perofrmance with members of the cast and/or creative team.

Additionally, school groups with 10 or more students can attend any scheduled performance of these productions with arrangements through the Student Matinee Request Form. Tickets are $22 per student and non-staff chaperone for all shows.  For Title I schools tickets are $16 per student and non-staff chaperones for all shows. School staff and teachers are free of charge.

Please note that any performance that isn't specifically a 10:30 a.m. Student Matinee will not have a Talk Back after the show.

Teachers can add a hands-on arts workshop, drama class, or gallery visit to any theatre reservation for a full day of arts programming. A list of offerings per age group can be found at this page.

Please fill out the form below to connect with our Theatre Education Coordinator to book a student matinee for your student group!

STUDENT MATINEE REQUEST FORM

2024-2025 Theatre Season

We're excited to be offering Student Matinee performances for every production in our 24-25 Theatre Season! Read more about the titles and dates below.

Once Upon A Mattress

Student matinees: December 12 (Thursday) and 17 (Tuesday). 

Prince Dauntless’s outspoken Queen mother and quiet King father decree that no one in the kingdom may marry until their son finds someone sensitive enough to be a true princess. Will goofy, awkward Winnifred the Woebegone from the swamp finally be the one to pass the seemingly-impossible test?

In this laugh-out-loud musical version of "The Princess and the Pea," Once Upon a Mattress redefines what it takes to be a princess. Perfect for the whole family, this hilarious tale zany enough to launch the Broadway career of Carol Burnett celebrates the uniqueness in all of us.

Clybourne Park

Student matinee: March 13

The scene is one house on Clybourne Street in Chicago’s South Side. In 1959, a Black family moves in. In 2009, a white family does. In between, everything changes - attitudes, demographics, and property values. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play, Clybourne Park is a razor-sharp satire about the politics of race, housing, and gentrification.

Loosely inspired by Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Bruce Norris's pitch-black comedy takes on the specter of gentrification in our communities, leaving no stone unturned in the process.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Student matinee: May 8

Getting away with murder is just so much fun. Charming and cunning, Monty Navarro discovers he’s in line for an earldom in the aristocratic D'Ysquith family. Eighth in line, to be exact. Monty plots to speed up the line of succession through any means necessary - all while juggling his mistress, his fiancee, his reputation, and an increasing body count that’s raising suspicions of the law.  

Each of the eight heirs stand on the chopping block of Monty’s ambitions, hilariously played by one scene-stealing actor swapping from role to role. This Tony Award-winning musical romp gleefully tells the story of wrongfully getting what is rightfully yours.

Content Warnings

Please note that Waitress, Dracula - A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really, and Clybourne Park include mature content and recommended for upper middle grades, high school and college.

Please click on the title to review the synopsis of any of these shows and determine their suitability for your group.

Home,Reignite the Arts,Donate Now,Donate Now,Corporate Giving,2024-2025 Theatre Season,Renew,Visit Us,Dining Partners,View All Events,Roland Bernier: In Other Words,Word Play,Lola Montejo: After Another After,Floyd D. Tunson: Ascent,Anthony Garcia Sr: Pigment,Pamela Webb: Hand + Hammer,Lauri Lynnxe Murphy: Seeing the Trees For the Forest,Pink Progression: Collaborations,Imprint: Print Educators of Colorado,528.0: Regional Juried Printmaking Exhibition,Wood.Works,Carley Warren: Three Pieces,Viral Influence: Art in the Time of Coronavirus,Brady Smith: (Don’t be embarrassed by) Your Trouble with Living,Melody Epperson: 100 Years + 1,Blurring The Line,Narkita Gold: Black In Denver,Art of the State 2022,One Sheet,Colorado Abstract +10: A Survey,Gary Staab: Second Nature,Flora: Scientific Botanical Illustrations of Colorado Plants,Art + Science,Jeffco Schools Foundation High School Art Exhibition,Wendy Kowynia: Following the Thread,Bueno: Mark Bueno,Ramón Bonilla: The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me.,Drawn: From The Source,Day of African Culture,Big Draw Colorado,Allyship & Advocacy in Action: Supporting the LGBTQAI+ Community,Beautiful - The Carole King Musical,A Year With Frog and Toad,Kaleidoscope,Spring Pottery Sale,53rd Annual Jeffco Schools Foundation High School Art Exhibition,Matt Christie: Between Then and Now,Robin Cole: Genesis,3rd Law Dance/Theater,Emilio Lobato: A Mi Manera A 40-Year Survey,Latitude 37° Art of Southern Colorado,The Laramie Project,The Laramie Project Talkbacks with Judy and Dennis Shepard,Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella,Noises Off,Sue Oehme Inclusions,Artist Proof: Print Process at Oehme Graphics,So…You Want to be a Public Artist: Navigating Rejection in Art,Voices of Honor,Standing for Humanity in Gaza and Israel ,Colcha Embroidery of the San Luis Valley,Denver Gay Men's Chorus: Shout!,Spin Doctors with Cracker,Orquesta Akokán with Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen,Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble: Prisms,Denver Brass presents: Brass, Camera, Action,Kingfish,CJRO Presents: Lady Sings the Groove with Tatiana LadyMay Mayfield,Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder,Mozart Under Moonlight,Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken Tour,Preservation Hall Jazz Band,A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder,Summertime in Winter: The Music of Gershwin and more,Tower of Power,A Tribute to Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops,Waitress - Audio Described Performance,Clybourne Park - Audio Described Performance,A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - Audio Described Performance,Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812,Honeymoon In Vegas,Funkin’ it Up,inFORMed Space: Perspectives in Sculpture,I Regret to Inform You…Rejected Public Art,Waitress - ASL Performances,Clybourne Park - ASL Performances,A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - ASL Performances, Community Cultural Celebration and Concert with Baaba Maal,Big Richard,Corinne Bailey Rae,The High Kings and Gaelic Storm,Yola,Swingin’ Through Time with the CJRO and Marion Powers,Hazel Miller and the Collective: Christmas with Soul,Clybourne Park,Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really - Audio Described Performance,Rockley Instrument Sale,An Evening Remembering the Holocaust,Waitress,Once Upon A Mattress - Sensory Friendly Performances,Once Upon A Mattress - ASL Performances,Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really - ASL Performances,Guitar Gods: Metheny, Montgomery, and More,Wright Place, Wrong Time: Triumphs & Flops for Mid-Century Modern Table,Bebe Alexander: Impact & Influence,Holiday Pottery Sale,Fine Art Market,MUGSHOT: Artistic Drinking Vessels,Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really,Lyle the Crocodile - Sensory Friendly Performance,Lyle the Crocodile: Weekends,Lyle the Crocodile,Lyle the Crocodile - ASL Shadow Interpreted Performances,Stories on Stage: Making Merry - Celebration of the Season in Stories and Song,Once Upon A Mattress - Audio Described Performance,Winter Wonderland Dance Performance,Once Upon A Mattress,Accessibility Events,Amplify,Theatre,Upcoming Shows,Group Tickets,2024-2025 Theatre Season,Renew,Performances for Students,Auditions,Galleries,Current Exhibitions,Gallery Events,Upcoming Exhibitions,Art Sales,Art Submissions,Sculpture Field,History Museum,Archive,Education,View All Classes,Summer Camps,Full Day,Summer Camp Performances,FAQ,Spring Break Camps,Classes for Kids,Classes for Adults,Ceramics,Front Range Youth Symphony,FRYS Concerts,Dance Classes,Links and Forms,Arts Day,Arts Day Outreach,Ageless Adults,Scholarships,Field Trips and Outreach,ECE Field Trips,K-5 Field Trips,Middle and High School Field Trips,Outreach Programs,Preschool Partnership Program,Music and Dance,Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra,Summer Concerts,Humanities,Private Event Rentals,Caterers,Vendors,Arvada Center News,Getting to Know The Big Tuna,Getting to Know: Keith Ewer and his Hammered Dulcimer,Understanding Farce in Theatre,2024 Summer Concert Series Playlist Volume 1,2024 Summer Concert Series artists and who they sound like,Introducing the opening acts of the Arvada Center 2024 Summer Concert Series,Adapted for the stage - the previous lives of the 2024-2025 theatre season,Getting to know Baaba Maal,Adapting Waitress: From Screen to Stage,Final Girls and Gothic Heroines,5 Reasons To Love Waitress,Behind the Scenes: Lighting the World of Waitress with Jonathan Dunkle,Getting Medieval with Once Upon a Mattress Costume Designer Madison Booth,Inside the Arvada Center,Humans of the Arvada Center: Meet Collin Parson ,Christina Noel-Adcock,Humans of the Arvada Center: Meet Christine Moore,Humans of the Arvada Center: Ashi K. Smythe,City of Arvada to install new sculpture in Hoskinson Park,Humans of the Arvada Center Jessie Page,Humans of the Arvada Center Cal Meakins,Supreme Court workplace ruling hits home for Lisa Leafgreen,'Time for talk is over': Arvada Center launch 'Amplify' series to raise black male voices,Humans of the Arvada Center Jon Olson ,Revealing The Dialogue,Amplify Epiode 3 launches, series expanding to include black women,Humans of the Arvada Center: Gabriel Morales,Cleo Parker Robinson dances back in the box with Arvada Center,Amplify turns the mic over to local Black women ,Humans of the Arvada Center: Meet Emily King,Amplify Women Episode 2,amplify-series-comes-to-powerful-conclusion,Humans of the Arvada Center: John Hamilton,On being Black in Denver and all the colors that it brings,2020 True West Awards: Buntpivot ,2020 True West Awards: Lily Bradford,2020 True West Awards: The Scenesters,2020 True West Awards: Podcastic,2020 True West Awards: Phamaly takes 'Honk' to Japan,2020 True West Awards: Christine Moore,2020 True West Awards: Alive Inside,2020 True West Awards: Michael Ensminger,True West Awards: They Wrote the Book,True West Awards: Rent-A-Pals,True West Awards: Of Spacious Skies,True West Awards: Christopher Page-Sanders,2020 True West Awards: Suffer the little children,2020 True West Awards: Spirit of Giving,2020 True West Awards: Secret Gardeners,2020 True West Awards: Denis Berkfeldt,2020 True West Awards: Amplify,2020 True West Awards: Reclaiming One Star,2020 True West Awards: William Hahn and Jessica Robblee,2020 True West Awards: Lisa Wagner Erickson,Meet the Frasers,Reunite the Arts Collin Parson,Jodie Steeves and Nancy Terry,Reunite the Arts Lisa Leafgreen,Remembering John Gratkins,Reunite the Arts: From our CEO,Danielle Johnson Q&A,Reunite the Arts Lynne Collins,The Show Must Go On,Diana and Mike Kinsey,Meet Suzanna Champion,The Gear of Million Dollar Quartet,Stories From the Studio,Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet Lares Feliciano,An interview with Geoffrey Kent: The Liar,An interview with Jada Suzanne Dixon: Stick Fly,An interview with Jessica Robblee: Animal Farm,Fast Facts About Kinky Boots,Costume Department Boots Up,Rod A Lansberry Announces Retirement from Arvada Center,Lynne Collins Named Artistic Director of Arvada Center Theatre,Setting the mood: Into the Woods Set Designer Brian Mallgrave,What is Magical Realism?,Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet Ana María Hernando,Meet Ceramics Artist Luanne Burke,From student to teacher: Hadley’s story,Tackling the Beast,Things to Know About Our Town,Creating the Look of Our Town: A Q and A with Set Designer Brian Mallgrave,Whatever Lola Wants - A Deep Dive into the Damn Yankees Signature Song,Selling Your Soul - A Pop Culture Favorite,The Book Club Play Reads,Metatheatre Elements in Our Town - When a Play Knows It's a Play,90s Throwback Vibe with Arvada Center 2023 Summer Concert Series,Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra at the Arvada Center,Opening Acts of the Arvada Center 2023 Summer Concert Series,Big Draw Highlights,The Music of Keb' Mo,Getting to Know Lucero,Listen to the hits of Carole King with this playlist,Carole King: The Writer Behind The Music,Songs inspired by Matthew Shepard,Summer Internship at The Arvada Center,Arvada Center journeys to Southern Colorado : A Photo Diary,Arvada Center and Colorado Chapter of Free Mom Hugs share the love,Costume Inspiration for Cinderella with Costume Designer Madison Booth,The Many Faces of Cinderella,Arvada Center awarded Social Impact Theatre Grant from Biller Family Foundation,The music that influenced the music of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,Volunteer,Accessibility,Web Accessibility,About Us,Ticketing Policies,Authorized Ticketing,Ticket Discounts,Contact Us,Health and Safety,Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access,Careers,Tours,Temp,Land Acknowledgement,What To Expect at the Theatre,One Sheet Music,Gift Certificates,Privacy Policy,Gala,Gala Sponsors,Art of the State Submissions,Errors,404,Concessions