For Schools

All Signature Theatre workshops are taught by the staff of the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre and professional theater artists. One-off workshops can be a great aid to teachers and students. Whether you’re needing a theatre professional to come in and reiterate and build upon the work you’ve already done or you’re wanting someone with a set of theatrical skills that aren’t your own to come in, there’s great advantage to bringing someone else in. And when that someone else is regularly creating theater in the professional world, the benefits to your students are innumerable.

If you have an idea for what you’d like to work on, we encourage you to reach out via email to us at education@sigtheatre.org. We’ll set up a phone call to chat with you about how to best help your students. You can click here to see a list of some of the workshops we’ve done at other schools in the past (along with suggested pricing). Don’t see what you’re looking for? That’s alright! Share with us what you’re looking for and we’ll do our best to make it happen.

There is no limit to how many workshops you can book. All workshops though are available pending instructor availability.

Many schools decide a year-round residency is a better help for their students. A year-round residency allows the students to build a relationship with Signature Theatre and allows a constant evolution in approach to ensure that the students are growing with Signature’s artists. No two residencies are the same; each is custom made to fit the needs of the school. Some schools bring Signature in to work with each of their classes every month, some opt to only bring in Signature to work with specific classes, some do an every other month schedule, etc. It’s flexible but the goal of all residencies is the same: to provide the opportunity for students to grow over time with Signature’s professional artists.

Residencies in the past have been established with theater classes, English classes, social studies classes, ELL  classes and are available for a wide variety of subjects. Regardless of the subject, Signature guarantees a hands-on and theatrical approach to assisting the classroom teacher in teaching their students. Costs for residencies and workshops are minimal and determined between Signature Education and the school’s teacher, based on the school’s budget and economics and the expenses of the programming.

To begin designing your residency, e-mail education@sigtheatre.org

Signature Theatre Education believes in the power of field trips. Study after study has shown that field trips increase student engagement in the classroom, empathy, critical thinking skills and curiosity.

Signature in the Schools Student Matinees

Signature in the Schools produces a world premiere play each winter featuring a cast and crew of high school students from throughout the DMV area, a professional actor and professional design team. All tickets for student matinees are free and include a brief post-show discussion with the cast and crew. Transportation is free for groups from Arlington Public Schools. These productions are designed for 9th grade through 12th grade.

Check back later for more information about the 2026 production.

All participating school groups receive free teacher and student websites and can receive a free preshow workshop in the classroom prior to their fieldtrip.

Click here to learn more about the program. To book tickets, email sigschools@sigtheatre.org.

Signature Theatre Mainstage Student Matinees

Signature Theatre is proud to announce that the 2025-2026 season will feature special student matinee performances for area schools on the following dates and times:

Fiddler on the Roof

• December 10, 2025 at 11AM
• January 8, 2026 at 11AM

Based on Sholem Aleichem stories by special permission of Arnold Perl
Book by Joseph Stein
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Produced on the New York stage by Harold Prince
Original New York Stage Production directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins
Directed by Joe Calarco

The iconic musical gorgeously staged like never before in Signature’s intimate setting and featuring the glorious score including “Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset.”

Content Warning
This show explores social and political issues including religious intolerance/threats and has one scene depicting anti-Semitic violence. Recommended for ages 13+. To discuss any content concerns, reach out at education@sigtheatre.org.

Running time is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.

Ticket Lottery

Due to the overwhelming demand for tickets, tickets to mainstage student matinees are only available to schools via a virtual lottery system.

• Lottery submission has now closed.
• Schools that receive tickets will be notified on September 26 and will have until 6PM on October 3 to confirm their reservation. Upon confirmation, you will receive an itemized invoice and a highlighted seating chart to show your school’s placement. The 10% non-refundable deposit will be due by October 3; the remaining balance will be due by Oct 17.
• Reservations that are not confirmed by Oct 3 will be released and offered to other schools that participated in the lottery. Schools that do not initially receive tickets will remain on a waitlist for tickets and will be notified if they become available.
• Questions about the ticket lottery should be directed to groups@sigtheatre.org.

Email education@sigtheatre.org to be added to our “Field Trip Update” notification list and you’ll be the first to know all that we have to share about this year’s field trip performances.

Backstage Tours

Open your students’ eyes to what makes the magic happen onstage at a Tony Award-winning theater with a backstage tour. Tours last approximately an hour and show students professional facilities and discuss job possibilities as well. Tours can be customized to focus on specific needs of the group. Backstage tours happen on a limited schedule based on our production calendar and price is determined by the size of the group. For more information, email education@sigtheatre.org.

Additionally, Signature Teaching artists have brought arts integration into high school classrooms for years. Below is a sample list of subjects Signature’s team have helped classroom teachers teach. Don’t see the subject you’re looking for? No worries. Reach out to us at education@sigtheatre.org to begin a conversation about how we can best help your students.

• McCarthyism
• The Arab Spring
• The French Revolution
• America at War and PTSD
• Global Imperialism
• Civil Rights and Race in America
• The Suffrage Movement and Feminism
• Homer’s Odyssey
• Contemporary immigration issues
• Freedoms of Expression and the First Amendment
• Principles of citizenship
• The New Deal
• Contemporary relevance of The Great Gatsby
• History of institutional abuse of women in America
• Playwrighting
• Page to Stage: Visualizing the Play You’re Reading