First Stage's THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, 2018. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

Teacher's Field Trip Guide

Find all of the information you need to prepare for your school's field trip to a First Stage performance at the Marcus Center's Todd Wehr Theater or the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center.

Call (414) 267-2962 or fieldtrips@firststage.org with any questions or other school group needs.

Before Your Field Trip | Getting to the Theater & Bus Instructions | Upon Arrival to the Theater | Seating Assignments & Accessibility | Sign Language Interpreted Performances | Theater Etiquette | Opportunities Beyond Your Field Trip | Download your Field Trip Guide

Before Your Field Trip

ORDER CONFIRMATION
Seating is based on a date-paid and date-reserved basis. If payment is not received on or before the due date, your seats may be released for resale. Please contact us at (414) 267-2962 or fieldtrips@firststage.org if you need to adjust your order.

REFUND AND CANCELLATION POLICY
School groups have up to 30 days prior to their scheduled performance to adjust or cancel their order. Once final payment is made no refunds are issued, nor are deposits refunded.

COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS
Masks are required to be properly worn by all patrons while anywhere inside the performance venue, regardless of vaccination status. Our venues will remain at limited capacity to allow for social distancing among school groups. Hand-sanitizing stations will be available throughout our performance venues.

If any member of your group is feeling ill or are presenting any COVID-19 symptoms, please do not attend the performance. Refunds will not be issued for students that are absent from school for any reason.

For the most up-to-date safety information, please visit FirstStage.org/safety.

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Getting to the Theater

Marcus Center's Todd Wehr Theater

Marcus Performing Arts Center’s Todd Wehr Theater
929 N. Water Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202
The Todd Wehr Theater is located on the west side of the building, along the Riverwalk.

Bus Instructions
Drop Off/Pick Up of Students
Drop off and Pick Up area is located along the north side of Kilbourn Avenue, between Water Street and the Milwaukee River, just south of the Marcus Center. Drop offs and pickups are NOT permitted on Water or State Streets.

Bus Parking During the Performance
Bus drivers are NOT ALLOWED to remain parked in the Drop Off location while the performance is in progress. There is no bus parking on Kilbourn Avenue, Third Street, State Street or Water Street. Parking tickets may be issued to busses parked on these streets.

Drivers are directed to go to a staging area on Harbor Drive by the Summerfest grounds. The directions to the staging area are as follows:

  • Proceed west on Kilbourn Avenue to Plankinton Avenue—TURN LEFT
  • Proceed to Second Street—TURN RIGHT
  • Proceed to Michigan Street—TURN LEFT
  • Proceed to Harbor Drive—TURN RIGHT AND PARK


Bus Driver Return, Pick Up, and Departure
Bus drivers should return to the same Drop Off location on Kilbourn Avenue for Pick Up and Departure. To return to the Marcus Center from the staging area:

  • Proceed south on Harbor Drive to Chicago Street—TURN RIGHT
  • Proceed to Milwaukee Street—TURN RIGHT
  • Proceed to Clyborn Street—TURN LEFT
  • Proceed to Water Street—TURN RIGHT
  • Proceed to Kilbourn Avenue—TURN LEFT


Please call (414) 267-2962 or email fieldtrips@firststage.org if you will not be arriving by bus, and you have any questions about parking.


If your group is running late, please call (414) 267-2962 as soon as possible.

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Getting to the Theater

Milwaukee Youth Arts Center

Goodman Mainstage Hall at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center
325 W. Walnut Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212
The Milwaukee Youth Arts Center is located at Martin Luther King Drive and Pleasant Street.

Bus Instructions
Drop Off/Pick Up of Students
School busses may drop off students and teachers at the front entrance of the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center on Walnut Street, then may proceed to the east side of Fourth Street to park. Upon arrival, a First Stage representative will meet your bus and help direct you to the performance.

Bus Parking During the Performance
Busses may park on the east side of Fourth Street during the performance.
Parking is not permitted in the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center parking lot, or along Walnut Street.

Bus Driver Return, Pick Up, and Departure
Busses may return to the front entrance of the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center on Walnut Street for pick up.

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Upon Arrival to the Theater

Marcus Center's Todd Wehr Theater

When You Arrive
Send one adult representative from your group to the theater lobby to report to our House Manager. Your representative will be instructed when to bring the group into the theater. If you arrive five minutes or less before show time, please bring your entire group to the theater upon arrival.

When Entering the Building
Form a single-file line prior to entering the building. Instruct students to refrain from talking, and to remove hats or hoods in order to hear instructions given by the House Manager and ushers upon seating.

An usher will escort each group to their seat location. Each group must take their seats by order of entry into the theater. Chaperones may rearrange the students’ once everyone in your group has seated, and we have accounted for one seat for each individual in your group should time allow. Please do not rearrange students once the performance has begun.

You may allow your students to use the restroom after your entire group has seated, and we have accounted for all seats in your reserved area.

Remind your students that their behavior represents your school. Courtesy to our house manager, ushers, and performers before, during and after the performance is expected.

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Upon Arrival to the Theater

Milwaukee Youth Arts Center

When You Arrive
A First Stage representative will meet your bus, and help direct you to the performance.

When Entering the Building
Form a single-file line prior to entering the building. Instruct students to refrain from talking, and to remove hats or hoods in order to hear instructions given by the House Manager and ushers upon seating.

An usher will escort each group to their seat location. Each group must take their seats by order of entry into the theater. Chaperones may rearrange the students’ once everyone in your group has seated, and we have accounted for one seat for each individual in your group should time allow. Please do not rearrange students once the performance has begun.

You may allow your students to use the restroom after your entire group has seated, and we have accounted for all seats in your reserved area.

Remind your students that their behavior represents your school. Courtesy to our house manager, ushers, and performers before, during and after the performance is expected.

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Seating Inside the Theater

Marcus Center's Todd Wehr Theater

Seating Assignments
Seating assignments at the Todd Wehr Theater are based on a number of criteria, including accommodating students with special needs, reservation and payments and the sizes of other groups booked for the show.

There is no guarantee of seating placement either on the main floor or in the balcony. Schools or individual classes may need to be split up between the different sections of the theater to better maximize available seating.

Limited Seating Capacity in the 2021/22 Season
For the safety of all audiences, actors, and theater staff, seating capacity is limited to allow for social distancing among school groups.


Wheelchair Accessible Seating
A First Stage representative will assist any students in wheelchairs into the theater via the accessible entrance located directly below the steps leading into the Todd Wehr Theater lobby. If you require wheelchair seating, please contact us at (414) 267-2962 or fieldtrips@firststage.org to ensure the proper accommodations are made when seating your group.

Adult Supervision
First Stage recommends a ratio of at least one chaperone for every 20 students. Please limit your number of chaperones attending to no more than one chaperone per 10 students. We ask that teachers and adults sit among students, so any disruptions may be kept to a minimum.

You will receive one complimentary chaperone seat for every 20 seats purchased to ensure adequate supervision for your group. Your complimentary tickets are reflected in your invoice.

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Seating Inside the Theater

Milwaukee Youth Arts Center

Seating Assignments

Groups for performances at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center are seated on a first-come, first-served basis.

A First Stage representative will direct groups to an appropriate seat location based on the sizes of groups attending.

Limited Seating Capacity in the 2021/22 Season
For the safety of all audiences, actors, and theater staff, seating capacity is limited to allow for social distancing among school groups.


Wheelchair Accessible Seating
Wheelchair-accessible ramps are available at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. If you require wheelchair seating, please contact us at (414) 267-2962 or fieldtrips@firststage.org to ensure the proper accommodations are made when seating your group.

Adult Supervision
First Stage recommends a ratio of at least one chaperone for every 20 students. Please limit your number of chaperones attending to no more than one chaperone per 10 students. We ask that teachers and adults sit among students, so any disruptions may be kept to a minimum.

You will receive one complimentary chaperone seat for every 20 seats purchased to ensure adequate supervision for your group. Your complimentary tickets are reflected in your invoice.

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Sign Language Interpreted Performances

For audience members who are hearing impaired, we offer a limited number of interpreted performances for school matinees. If your group is unable to attend one of these scheduled performances, you may bring your own school interpreter. To compensate the group for providing its own interpreting service, we offer two complimentary tickets for the interpreter to preview the show and ten additional complimentary tickets for your school order.

Please contact (414) 267-2962 or fieldtrips@firststage.org to inquire about these services.

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Theater Etiquette

Please share the following guidelines with your students to follow during their field trip to the First Stage performance. Teachers and adult chaperones are responsible for ensuring that students behave appropriately during the performance:

No talking once the lights begin to dim. Once the lights dim, that is your cue that the show is about to begin and the actors are taking their places. This is the time to focus all of your attention to the stage.

Sit still, please. Moving around or changing seats once the performance has started breaks everyone’s concentration on the play. Once the play has started, you must stay in your seat. Please use the restroom before or after the performance, with permission from your teacher or chaperone.

No food, drink, candy or gum is allowed in the theater. Please dispose of any gum, food or beverage in an appropriate trash receptacle before entering the theater.

Electronic items are not permitted in the theater. This includes cameras, electronic games, tape recorders, walkmans or iPods. If these items are brought to the theater, they will be kept by the House Manager during the performance and returned once the performance has ended. Also, please silence all cell phones.

No spitting or throwing objects. Unfortunately, on occasion, there has been spitting or objects thrown from the balcony. Under such circumstances, the actors have the right to leave the stage and stop the play. This might also result in your removal from the performance.

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Opportunities Beyond Your Field Trip

Enrichment Guides
Teacher Enrichment Guides are available online approximately one month prior to the play’s opening. Enrichment Guides are available for download and to use based on your classroom's needs.

Pre and Post Show Workshops
Get the most out of your live theatrical experience at First Stage with a pre-show or post-show workshop. These interactive workshops are 45-minute sessions that take place right in your classroom. Led by professional First Stage Teaching Artists, they engage students in discussions of production elements, as well as lead theater exercises thematically related to the play.

For only $50 (for up to 30 students), these workshops provide an opportunity for your students to gain an understanding and awareness of the play’s subject, while developing a strong, personal connection to the themes explored throughout the play. Learn more or contact (414) 267-2978 or education@firststage.org for more information.

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Download your Field Trip Guide

Learn More
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