Signature Theatre’s Education Department aims to be a flexible and collaborative partner with high schools and middle schools throughout the greater DMV area. Each school that Signature partners with receives a customized approach created in consultation sessions between the classroom teacher and Signature’s Education Department. Whether it’s a one-period workshop, a year-long residency, a field trip to Signature or even teacher trainings, we seek to be a true partner with each school we collaborate with, tailoring the approach to ensure that each student and teacher is served according to their needs.

Workshops

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.

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Residencies

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.

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Field Trips

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

Now in its 30th year, 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.

The 2025 production will look at contemporary anxiety over failure by looking at figures throughout history who were deemed failures but were actually revolutionaries.

Student matinees are at 10:15AM on March 3, 4, 7 and 10. The production and post-show discussion are approximately 75 minutes long.
All participating school groups receive free teacher and student and 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 2024 – 2025 season will feature the special, student matinee performances for area schools on the following dates and times:

In the Heights
Wednesday, March 12th, 2025, at 11AM

Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lights up on Washington Heights, NYC where the streets are full of music, and everybody’s got a dream in this joyous Tony Award-winning truimph that energetically bursts off the stage in Signature’s immersive style.

Content Warning
This show contains adult language and will use strobe lights and theatrical haze. For more information or content concerns, please email education@sigtheatre.org.

Performance is expected to be two and a half hours long, including intermission.

Ticket Lottery:
Due to the overwhelming demand for tickets, we have modified the ticket distribution policy for all mainstage student matinees. Tickets will now be distributed to schools via a lottery system.

• To enter the lottery, please click the button below to fill out the form and submit it no later than January 26 at 8PM
• Schools that receive tickets will be notified on January 28 and will have until 6PM on February 4 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 February 4; the remaining balance will be due on February 19.
• Reservations that are not confirmed by February 4 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 notified if they become available.
• Questions about the ticket lottery should be directed to groups@sigtheatre.org.

ENTER LOTTERY

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.

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Arts Integration Experiences

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

Book your virtual workshop, ongoing residency or arts integration experience with the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre today by emailing education@sigtheatre.org.