Writers Theatre Education welcomes students in to attend award-winning theatre! Seeing a live performance activates students’ imagination, increases critical thinking-skills and emotional literacy and creates personal connections to classic and new works of art. Each Student Matinee is followed by a talkback with the performers and accompanied by a comprehensive study guide that is Common Core and IL State Standards-aligned. Our study guides are developed by our Arts Engagement and Education team and feature useful context, classroom activities and discussion questions to enhance students' critical thinking skills and connection to the art on our stages both academically and aesthetically.
25/26 Season
AS YOU LIKE IT - A Musical Adaptation of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It
Adapted by Shaina Taub & Laurie Woolery | Music & Lyrics by Shaina Taub Music Direction by Michael Mahler | Directed by Braden Abraham
Facing exile at home, Orlando, Duke Senior, his daughter Rosalind and niece Celia seek safety and refuge in the Forest of Arden. Lost amidst the trees, these wounded souls end up finding a community of acceptance and transformational love, where all are welcomed and embraced. Featuring an original folk-pop score by Shaina Taub (the Tony Award-winning composer of Suffs), this musical adaptation of Shakespeare's classic is an immersive dream-like tale of faithful friends, feuding families and chance encounters.
Approx. 90 minutes, followed by a 15 min talkback with the cast, dismissal at ~12:30pm
Our age recommendation for this productions is 6th grade and up.
Wednesday November 12, 2025 | Tuesday November 18, 2025 | Tuesday December 9, 2025 at 10:45am
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TWO SISTERS & A PIANO
Written by Nilo Cruz | Directed by Lisa Portes
Trapped under house arrest, novelist Maria Celia and her sister Sofia can still hear the rumors of the Russians’ departure from Cuba in 1991. While awaiting news from Maria’s exiled husband and dreaming of their freedom, the two sisters find their small world unexpectedly shaken by the arrival of a romantic young piano tuner and a charismatic military officer infatuated with Maria’s writing. Pulitzer Prize-winner Nilo Cruz (Anna in the Tropics) weaves an authentic tale of oppression, human spirit, and intertwining fates in a world of shifting global politics.
Approx. 2 hours, followed by a 15 min talkback with the cast, dismissal at ~1:00pm
Our age recommendation for this production is 8th grade and up.
