Student Matinees
2024-2025 Student Matinee Performances
Theater J is dedicated to providing access to world-class performing arts to students of all ages.
Student Matinee Performances Offered for the 2024-2025 Season
How to Be A Korean Woman
Middle School and High School Audiences
Friday, September 20, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Written and performed by Sun Mee Chomet Direction and Dramaturgy by Zaraawar Mistry
Back by popular demand after its sold-out January 2024 run. How to Be a Korean Woman is a hilarious, heartfelt, and personal telling of Korean-American adoptee Sun Mee Chomet‘s search for her birth family in Seoul, South Korea. This poignant one-woman show — told from the perspective of an adult Jewish adoptee — uses text, music, and movement to explore themes of family, love, adulthood, and the universal longing to know one’s past.
- Run time including audience talkback: 90 minutes
- Content Standards: History, Social Studies, English, Theater.
- Recommended Residency: Solo Slam.
Prayer for the French Republic
High School Audiences
Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at 10:30 AM
Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 10:30 AM
By Joshua Harmon Directed by Hayley Finn 2024 Best Play Tony Award® Nomination Winner of the 2020 Trish Vradenburg New Jewish Play Prize
The Benhamou family has lived in Paris for five generations. A visit from their American cousin, Molly, is quickly overshadowed by an anti-Semitic attack on the family’s son, Daniel. The turmoil of the event awakens even the most dormant fears as each family member advocates for ways to move forward – or away. Just outside their window, the mounting pressure of Marine Le Pen’s extreme views winning over the populace shows no signs of waning.
A new-play favorite on Broadway and recipient of the inaugural Trish Vradenburg Jewish Play Prize, Joshua Harmon’s Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award-winning epic family drama Prayer for the French Republic breaks open the global question “Where are we safe?”
- Run time: 3 hours. Please note that this play runs 3 hours including 2 intermissions. Students should bring lunch and a snack.
- Content Standards: History, Holocaust Studies, Social Studies, English, Theater.
- Recommended Residency: Costume Design: Rise of the Superhero.
Tiny Lights
elementary school Audiences
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Adaptation by Aaron Posner
Based on the Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Directed by Erin Weaver
Three masterful storytellers take on more than 40 roles as they bring us into the magical world of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s famed folktales. Created and directed by award-winning artists and Theater J favorites Aaron Posner and Erin Weaver, this funny and fast-moving show uses simple props and the art of storytelling to transport us to different worlds. Get ready for laughter, surprises, and lots of participation!
- Run time: 45 minutes.
- Content Standards: History, English, Theater, Music.
- Recommended Residency: Flying with Dragons: Acting Folktales.
Out of Character
Middle and High School Audiences
Friday, January 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Written and performed by Ari’el Stachel
Directed by Tony Taccone
A Berkeley Rep production co-presented by Theater J and Mosaic Theater Company
Tony Award-winner Ari’el Stachel’s one-man show brings to life a full ensemble of characters from his past, availing uproarious laughter, insight, and transformative performance to illuminate what it means to pursue – and accept – our complex identity. From hilarious sweat-gland cures to earnest investigations, Out of Character weaves an expansive autobiographical tale of his Yemeni Jewish mixed ethnicity, mental health, and success – all to the tune of relentless humor and extraordinary talent.
- Content Warning: Adult language, including use of the “n” word (spoken by an Ashkenazi/ Yemeni person, not used pejoratively.) References mental health issues.
- Content Standards: English, Theater.
- Recommended Residency: Solo Slam.
TICKETS: $25 Ticket cost a barrier? Theater J is dedicated to providing access to world-class performing arts to students of all ages. Please contact hester@theaterj.org about reduced-cost and free tickets.
STUDY GUIDES and PRESHOW WORKSHOPS All participating schools coming to Theater J productions receive a digital study guide and a pre-show workshop at their school for every attending class.
LUNCH ON SITE Schools may coordinate with Theater J to bring their packed lunches and eat them in the building before or after the performance. Please note that no food is permitted in the theater.
SCHOOL RESIDENCY PROGRAM Deepen your Theater J experience with a residency program led by a professional artist in your classroom.
TO RESERVE TICKETS AND GET MORE INFORMATION Contact hester@theaterj.org
Workshops
Pre-show workshops in the classroom are required for students attending matinee performances. Post-show workshops are also available. These hands-on workshops deepen the students’ experience and prepare them for their trip to Theater J by introducing them to the content, themes, and style of the plays – and giving them the opportunity to act themselves!
For more information and pricing, please contact Hester Kamin, Education Programs Manager.
Theater J school programs are made possible by the Robert M Fisher Memorial Foundation Theater for Youth Fund, the Shapiro Family Foundation, and Share Fund.