Information for Teachers

We’re excited to offer Special School Group Performances for schools in the region's newest theatrical venue, the Lewis Family Playhouse. The following instructions and information is provided to make the booking process easy for you. Please feel free to call us with any other questions, and we look forward to hosting your class at the Lewis Family Playhouse!

Booking:

To Book your School Group for a performance, please print the Booking Form, fill it out and fax it back to us at 909-477-2753. If you have trouble downloading or printing the form, call us at 909-477-2752 and we can fax you or mail you an order form.

Please fill out all of the information required, including which play you’d like to see, and the date and time of the performance that your class would like to attend. Please provide an alternate date and time, in case your first choice cannot be accommodated.

Indicate the number of seats you’ll be purchasing, including any adults who will be joining the students on their field trip. We strongly suggest a ratio of 1 adult for every 15 children in the group. One Complimentary Admission, for every class of 20 or more students, will be provided for the teacher.

If you’d like to Book a Reservation for more than one play or for more than one date, we ask that you fill out a separate order form for each specific date and time.

Once we receive your deposit, we will send you a confirmation. Curriculum guides will be available on our web site and will include suggested activities and background materials on the plays. Most of the time, curriculum guides will be available 6 weeks prior to the opening of each play.

Payment:

A 50% deposit or an approved Purchase Order is required within thirty days of receipt of the Booking Form in order to hold the seats. Orders will be filled on a first come, first served basis, so it’s best to reserve early! We realize that in many cases you won’t be able to finalize the actual seat count until closer to the date of the performance. You are welcome to change the order, but the final number of seats and the balance due must be paid in full three weeks prior to the performance.

Once we receive the final payment, we’ll send you a final confirmation, confirming your final date, show time and number of seats. Please look this over closely. Individual tickets will not be distributed to every student-- your Confirmation will help us seat your group in your designated area.

Please note that once we receive the final payment, there can be no refunds.

If you need to cancel your booking after we receive your deposit but before the final payment is due, you may do so, but will forfeit all or part of your deposit. A percentage of your deposit will be refunded, depending on how many weeks prior to the show the cancellation is received. Please call us for more details if you find yourself in that situation.

Arrival and Seating:

A Lewis Family Playhouse Usher will meet your school bus in the special Bus Drop-Off Area for the Playhouse. The Usher will verify the number of seats indicated on your Confirmation Form with the number of people on the bus. The Usher will then lead you and your students to your designated seats. Please note that no one will be allowed into the theatre without a reserved seat.

Please arrive no later than 20 minutes before the performance time, so all School Group classes can be seated and the performance can start on time.

Directions for Busses:

The bus drop off area is located just north of the West Parking structure, at the intersection of Monet and Cultural Center Drive.

After the show, busses will be told where to pick up the students, and ushers will escort your group to your bus.

Click here for Driving directions and maps.

Access for disabled students:

There are several designated wheelchair locations inside the theatre, and easy access into the lobby area. Please let us know ahead of time if any of your students will be arriving in wheelchairs, so that we can reserve those seats with the rest of your group.

Lunches and backpacks:

While we realize that some classes will be coming to the theatre directly before their lunch breaks, we ask that students not bring backpacks or lunches into the theatre. If it isn’t possible to leave belongings on the bus, please let us know before your visit, and we will designate a place in the Playhouse Lobby or Celebration Hall to check backpacks, which can be collected after the show. Food and drinks are not allowed inside the theatre at any time.

Enjoy lunch in a local park - Victoria Arbors Park is only two blocks away, at the end of Arbor Lane. There are several picnic areas in the park

Library Tours:

The Rancho Cucamonga Public Library staff is available to provide tours of the Library to schools. Teachers who are planning a field trip to the Playhouse to see a performance, and would like to schedule a visit to the Library for a tour are required to make a reservation in advance.

For more information about scheduling tours, please call Heather Fredrics at 909.477.2720.

Etiquette & House Rules:

We ask that you share these simple “rules” with your students before arriving for the performance. -These rules will ensure that everyone has a positive experience at the Playhouse. They will also be included in the teacher curriculum guides.

• Everyone must sit in his or her own seat, with their feet on the floor.

• There is no photography of any kind allowed in the theatre. Please turn off all phones, beepers, video games and alarms. The sounds can disrupt your neighbors and the performers on stage.

• Please don’t bring any food or drinks into the theatre, even candy or gum.

• The wonderful thing about theatre is that the actors are live and are performing the play just for the audience. The actors can be distracted by hearing members of the audience talking, so please do not talk during the performance.

• Even though talking during the performance is discouraged, students should be encouraged to have fun! They should know it’s ok to laugh if they see something funny, or even cry if they see something sad.

• At the end of the show, encourage students to show their appreciation to the actors by applauding. The actors love hearing responses to their performance.

Other useful information and suggestions:

After the show, Ushers will hand out printed show programs for each of you to distribute to your class. These are yours to keep, and will include biographies of the cast and crew, and other information about the play.

Have your class think about what the play says, and ask them how some of the ideas or themes relate to their own lives.

If your class enjoyed the show, please tell them to share their experience with their friends and family!

We love hearing from you, too, so please have your class send us letters or drawings telling us what they liked (or didn’t like!) about the show.

Post Show Discussions:

The 11:15 am performances will include a short question and answer session with the actors after the show. Please have your group stay in their seats once the house lights come back up.

Please feel free to call us if you have any other questions. We look forward to seeing you at the Lewis Family Playhouse!