In-School Performance Technical Requirements

Thank you for booking an in-school performance with Childsplay.  We are so excited to be sharing a professional theatre experience with your school community! We ask that you review the following technical requirements for our productions, in order to ensure the performance goes as smoothly as possible.

Parking

We will need to park our van within 16 feet of the performance space to unload the set.  This may mean driving on campus, unlocking gates or re-routing buses / morning arrival traffic.  Childsplay personnel are always happy to walk alongside the van when children are present.  If necessary, we can re-park our van in a parking lot as long as we are able to easily re-park in the loading area at the end of the performance.

The Space

Childsplay tours are designed to perform in a variety of spaces: multipurpose rooms, gyms, cafeterias, auditoriums, and meeting halls. We are proud to bring professional-quality sets into your community.  Accordingly, the space we perform in needs to meet the following requirements:

• Be indoors
• Be 25 feet wide by 25 feet deep by 11 feet tall (floor to ceiling)
  • This area must be clear – nothing should be stored within it
  • It must be level (If this area is raised, it must be able to be accessed by a ramp)
  • The parking area must be on the same level as the performance space.  Exceptions can be made if there is a freight elevator or a ramp.
  • We cannot perform on a tarp or floor covering due to safety concerns for the actors. Please let us know if you have concerns about the set on your floor and we will discuss options. 
• There must be additional and adequate space for the audience (max. 300 people)
• Access to two electrical outlets
• Access to adult bathrooms for our performers to change into costume
• A dedicated door, that is not in use by students, for us to load in and load out the set
• The route from the van to the performance area must be free of student traffic: this is for the student’s safety as our set/prop pieces are often heavy and large.  This may mean re-routing morning or lunch traffic.
• We may need to control the light in the room

• We may need to borrow a table and chairs to keep props and costumes organized.

We will need to maintain use of this space for the entire time we are in your school.  If our time at your school crosses over lunch-time, we are not able to dismantle our set or put it back into the van.

Timing

The company will arrive one hour prior to the first performance.  The school and the performance space must be available upon arrival.  If a gate needs to be unlocked for us to get on campus please notify appropriate staff of our arrival time so they are ready for us.  Childsplay shows typically run one hour, including a question and answer session.  Please begin seating students 15 minutes prior to the start of the first performance so we may begin on time.  We require an hour to load back into our van.  If necessary, the question and answer session can be skipped to accommodate lunch and/or bus schedules. 

Please remember that every Childsplay show is unique and different.  Therefore, accommodations made for previous productions may not be applicable to the show you are currently booking.  If you have any questions or concerns or would like a Childsplay staff member to visit your space please contact:

CEducation@childsplayaz.org or (480) 921-5759

Childsplay in Schools