Student Matinees

Fill out our Interest Form. Our Interest Form goes live a few weeks after Alley Theatre’s Season Announcement.

If you’ve indicated on your interest form that you’re ready to book, we will follow up within 2 weeks to complete your process. Otherwise, we’ll confirm interest requests in the fall for the first wave of offers and throughout the year.

You will receive an email asking you to confirm:

• Performance date
• School information
• Your information
• Update us on any ticket numbers
• Add-ons: backstage tour, pre- or post-show workshop

Upon booking, you will receive an email from DocuSign containing two important documents.

• Booking Agreement – . Your reservation will not be confirmed unless we receive this form signed within 14 business days by both the Group contact and the Principal; payment is not needed until the payment due date. However, homeschools must provide payment within 14 business days from receiving the Booking Agreement and Invoice. The Booking Agreement includes: contact phone numbers, reservation and payment information, play content policies, prohibited items, and photo release agreement.
• Invoice – This document states your school’s performance date/time, number of tickets reserved, payment instructions, and due date.

For School Groups

Tickets for Student Matinees are $15 per student. Several school districts require a student to teacher ratio for fieldtrips. For every 10 student tickets, you will receive a complimentary chaperone ticket. Any additional chaperone tickets will incur the $15 student rate. Title 1 discounts may be available for select performances and based on availability.

For homeschools:

Tickets for Student Matinees are $15 per student and chaperone.

Give us a rough estimate on your interest request! You’ll have several opportunities to change the number of tickets you requested. A couple things to remember:

• You can request a new invoice and update your ticket numbers here. Ticket numbers can be changed up to two weeks prior to the payment due date listed on your Booking Agreement.
• After the payment due date, you will be responsible to pay for the number of tickets listed on your Booking Agreement or latest invoice.
• Once payment has been received, we can change your numbers however, per our company policy we do not issue any refunds or exchanges.

Payments

Payments must be made by the payment due date listed on your Booking Agreement. Typically, payments are due 6-8 weeks prior to the date of your performance. We can work within your district’s timeline and value open and constant communication. Let us know if you need an extension on your payment due date. Homeschools must provide payment within 14 business days from receiving the Booking Agreement and Invoice.

By check:

Alley Theatre
ATTN: Finance
615 Texas Avenue
Houston, TX 77002

Credit Card Payments:

Contact Monica Marcha at 713.315.3389 or MonicaM@alleytheatre.org.

ALL RESERVATIONS MUST BE PAID PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED PERFORMANCE DATE. PLEASE DO NOT BRING PAYMENT ON THE DAY OF YOUR PERFORMANCE.

Cancellations

It is the responsibility of the Group Contact to cancel any Student Matinee reservations as soon as possible and prior to the payment due date. This gives us plenty of time to give schools on the Waitlist an opportunity to visit the Alley. To cancel your reservation, please contact ElenaVR@alleytheatre.org.

The Alley is an approved vendor for most districts. If you need us to be an approved vendor, please let us know as soon as possible. The Alley will complete the remaining steps to become vendor. If you have any other required district forms, please send those to us promptly to Elena Valladolid-Rivera.

We make it easy for you! On the day of your performance, we will have a list with the school’s name and the number of tickets reserved. Our Ushers will have a seating chart that lets them know where to seat you when you arrive.

The length of the show will vary based on the production. A Christmas Carol is typically 2.5 hours long, including a 15-minute intermission. We will know the run time for other performances once they are in technical rehearsals. You can check the production pages for more information.

Alley Theatre provides content alerts, but does not censor or edit the content of a play for Student Matinees. It is the responsibility of the school representative and principal to determine whether a play is appropriate for their students. Scripts are available upon request.

We want students to have the best theatrical experience! As such, we prohibit the following items for everyone’s safety and to minimize distractions. Please refer to your Booking Agreement.

• Electronic devices (including, by way of example but not limitation, cell phones, mp3 players, video recorders, and tablets). Cell phones must be collected prior to arriving to the Alley.
• Backpacks
• Food and beverages. Please note that we do not have concessions during Student Matinee performances.
• Please contact Elena Valladolid-Rivera for any medical needs.

The theatre reserves the right to confiscate any prohibited item prior to or during the performance, to be returned afterwards.

Option 1:

Many schools bring their school lunch and leave them on the busses. They will have their lunch on the bus on their way back to school after the performance.

Option 2:

If you have a little more time to spend downtown, Lynn Wyatt Square is a great option to have lunch with your students and it’s right across the street from the Alley.

• We can hold your lunch in the theatre during the performance so you can grab and go on your way out.
• You must coordinate your lunch plans prior to your scheduled performance with Monica Marcha. We will only hold the lunches that have been previously coordinated.
• The theatre cannot accept lunch or other food or beverage delivery unless you have a post-show MAPS Experience.

Option 3:

Downtown has plenty of great locations for students/school groups to purchase food.

• Downtown Tunnel area: Chick-Fil-A, Treebeards, Otto’s Barbeque, Starbucks, Michael’s Cookie Jar, Salata, Uncle Sharkii Poke Bar, Which Wich
• Birraporretti’s
• Lyric Market
• Chipotle
• Lone Star Taco
• The Post (food hall)

Option 4:

You’ve added a backstage tour or post-show workshop! We will reserve a space for your students to have a 30-minute lunch prior to the start of your MAPS Experience. You can either bring lunches or can have food and beverages delivered to the Alley. Please coordinate your plans with Monica Marcha.

Prior to your performance, you will receive two emails with important day-of information for your trip.

About a month before your scheduled performance date:

• Student Matinee Form: Fill out this form to give us information about the day of group contact, cell phone number, lunch plans, transportation needs, talkback plans, and accessibility needs.
• Bus and Private Vehicle Parking Information: Groups arriving in busses may arrive as early as 9:00 a.m. All other vehicles should arrive by 9:30 a.m. and head directly to Homeschool Check-In in the Guest Services lobby. Click here for parking information for private vehicles.
• Alley Re-Sourced: There are several guided activities for you to explore before or after the show. I will email you as soon as the guide becomes available.
• Alley Etiquette Video: We encourage students to engage with the production during the show. Our Alley Etiquette Video provides useful tips on how to engage in a positive way!
• Show Information with run time and content considerations.

Day before your scheduled performance date:

• Bus Leader Form: Link to the Bus Leader Form should be completed on the day of and upon your arrival to the theatre by the Bus Leader assigned to the bus.
• Safety Procedures: Read these instructions to ensure the safety of your students and staff while unloading your bus.

TO GET TO PARKING

You will arrive at Alley Theatre to drop off your group. To help facilitate traffic in the Theatre District, we have been asked by the City of Houston to have school buses park on Preston between Chartres and Emancipation, near Minute Maid Park.

The city is requiring all bus drivers to remain in their bus at all times while parked to avoid receiving a ticket violation from Houston Police Department. Tout Suite is a café that is nearby that has a bathroom. Please ensure another bus driver is watching your bus if you need to step away briefly.