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
SISTERS
Written by Matthew Libby | Directed by Jessica Thebus
A riveting and thought-provoking new play about AI and the future of family.
Matilda and Greta have always been there for one another, through joy and grief and homework and boyfriends. They’re as close as sisters can be—even if Greta is artificial intelligence. As Matilda ages and Greta longs for independence, their relationship begins to be tested like never before.
Told over the course of 90 years, Sisters is a riveting and thought-provoking new play about the future of family.
This production is recommended for grades 8 and up.
Curtain Time: 10:30am
Estimated Run Time: 90 minutes (no intermission),
followed by a 15 minute talkback with the actors. Estimated dismissal at 12:20pm.
THE ROYALE
Written by Marco Ramirez | Directed by Tyrone Phillips
A Black boxer in the Jim Crow era risks it all for his shot at making history.
Jay is a really good boxer, so good they call him “The Sport.” He’s won his last seventy-six fights and has his sights set on being crowned the next heavyweight champion. But it’s 1905, and in the Jim Crow era, a Black man doesn’t get to fight a reigning white champion. When a surprising chance at the title appears, Jay gears up for the fight of his life—where the stakes are staggeringly high inside the ring and out.
Inspired by real-world boxer Jack Johnson, this adrenaline rush of a play by Marco Ramirez (Orange is the New Black, Buena Vista Social Club) is a kinetic and poetic portrayal of what it takes and what it costs to make history.
This production is recommended for grades 8 and up.
Curtain Time: 10:30am
Estimated Run Time: 90 minutes (no intermission),
followed by a 15 minute talkback with the actors. Estimated dismissal at 12:20pm.
Noël Coward's BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Adapted for the stage by Emma Rice | Adapted from the play Still Life and the screenplay Brief Encounter, both by Noël CowardDirected by Shana Cooper | Music Direction by Matt Deitchman
One of the greatest love stories of all time brought to dazzling life on stage with songs, movement and theatrical magic.
An ordinary commute becomes a whirlwind instant of once-in-a-lifetime possibility. Laura, a suburban housewife, and Alec, a married doctor, meet by chance in a busy railway station. As their weekly encounters continue and they fall more passionately and wildly in love, the pair is forced to reconsider their settled lives and decide if this romance is undeniably hopeless or worth risking everything for.
Based on the beloved Noël Coward film, this critically acclaimed stage adaptation features live performances of an indelible selection of Coward’s best songs. You won't want to miss one of the greatest love stories of all time brought to dazzling life with music, movement and theatrical magic.
This production is recommended for grades 9 and up.
Curtain Time: 10:30am
Estimated Run Time: 2 hours 15 min (including intermission),
followed by a 15 minute talkback with the actors. Estimated dismissal at 1:10pm.
Wednesday, Mar. 11 & Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2027 at 10:30am
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