2024-2025
 Season

Education

Columbia Education tour

Bringing quality live theatre to your students for FREE!

Columbia Theatre presents our Education Tour! Bring our Main Stage productions to your school or performance venue complete with original cast members from the show.

Education Tour events are an hour in length and include:

  • A brief performance from the show
  • A live Q&A with the cast following the performance
  • An acting workshop led by the actors and Columbia teaching artists.

For available tour dates and times, see the sign-up links below!

Sign-Up Forms

Clue25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Touring Productions

Looking for something a bit more than our Education Tour programming? We are now offering two full-length touring productions! With The Big Bad Bullysaurus by Tommy Jamerson and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by le Clanché du Rand, we have something for students of all ages. These performances will run around 45 minutes in length followed by a Q&A session with the actors.

To sign up for a touring production event, see the link below.

Sign-Up!

Columbia Theatre After School Program

Have you Heard?

The Columbia Theatre is now offering after-school theatre programming to schools and organizations in the local area! We know that arts funding is something that many schools just don’t have in the budget and therefore students of all ages miss out on the amazing opportunity of getting to engage with the arts during their formative years. As part of our mission, the Columbia believes in discovering, cultivating, and celebrating the talent of our local community. What better way to do that than going out into the community itself and engaging with its future generations?

How does this programming work?

The Columbia Theatre will send its qualified and highly skilled teaching artist(s) to your school to teach the students all about theatre! Students will meet once a week for 90 minutes after school over an 8-week period. During this time, the students will learn all about what it means to be an actor from memorizing lines and putting on a performance to playing ensemble-building theatre games. This programming is fun, rigorous, and sure to leave the students wanting more!

FAQs

For more information, see our FAQs  below.

What is the cost for each student?

The cost is $135 per student. This price includes the cost of the class, a t-shirt, a play script & family admission to the showcase at the end of the session. This is typically provided by the student’s families, however at the school’s discretion it may be sponsored by school arts funding, the parent organization, etc. All fees will be paid to the Columbia Theatre.

What is the schedule like for the program?

The students and teaching artist(s) will meet on the school’s campus for 90 minutes once a week during an 8-week session. The students will stay after school for the class session each week. There will be a brief snack break immediately following dismissal where the students can bring a small snack to enjoy, and then class will begin! The exact times of the class sessions will depend on the school’s dismissal schedule.

Will the students be putting on a performance?

If the school and space permit, there WILL be a showcase to share all of the work that the students have been doing throughout the session!  This will take place on the last day of the session and the performance will consist of a short play (about 15-30 minutes in length).  The students will be given a t-shirt which will serve as their primary “costume” for the showcase. We use no sets, and props and other costume pieces are minimal. If parents want to provide extras, that can be coordinated with the teaching artist(s).

Will there be a lot of work needed from the school for this programming to happen?

There is very little work for the schools to do when it comes to the program. You simply pick the location for the classes and the showcase to be held, and we take care of the rest of the details from there!

Is every student welcome?

In each session, there are a limited number of spaces available, so spots will fill up quickly! However, we would love to come back for many more sessions to accommodate as many students as possible. Please let us know if your student is in need of any accommodations so that we can best work with them throughout the session!

Are all grades welcome?

We offer programming for the following grade groups. Students will work and perform together across the following grade levels:
‍
2-5 Grade
6-8 Grade
9-12 Grade

What play will they perform for the showcase?

There are multiple script options available for this programming that are written for students of all ages. For each session, the school will be able to choose one script for the students to rehearse throughout the session. All script options are open to all age groups, however, we suggest the following scripts for the grade ranges below:
‍
2-5 Grade
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for Kids
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for Kids
Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book for Kids
‍
6-8 Grade
Edgar Allen Poe Mashup for Kids
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for Kids
Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer for Kids
Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol for Kids
‍
9-12
Grade Romeo & Juliet for Kids
Macbeth for Kids Hamlet for Kids
Julius Caesar for Kids
The Great Gatsby for Kids

How do I get this programming to come to my school?

Reach out to our Education Coordinator, Taylor Wingate, at taylor.wingate@selu.edu. We offer 8-week class sessions throughout the school year and would love to find a time that works for you to get started. We can’t wait to work with you and your students very soon!

School Workshops and Private Lessons

Are you an educator or principal who would like to host a theatre-based workshop for your students or staff? Are you a parent with a student who is interested in theatre but not quite sure where to start? View our additional educational offerings at the link below!

Other Educational Offerings

Take a Field Trip to our Historic Theatre

We are always happy to welcome educational groups wishing to visit and tour our incredible facility. Members of our staff will take you behind the scenes and can even lead interactive workshops as part of your visit.

The field trip package is offered at $5 per student and FREE for teachers and chaperones!

To schedule a field trip to the Columbia fill out this online form:

Sign-Up Today!

We look forward to seeing you and your students at the theatre!

For more information about any of these exciting Columbia Education opportunities, contact Columbia's Education Coordinator, Taylor Wingate at (985) 549-3470 or taylor.wingate@selu.edu.