How Do We Get There?

• Submit your transportation request to your district ASAP if you’ll be taking a bus. Double check that your district’s buses can accommodate the travel times for your show.
• Paramount Theatre: 713 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701
• State Theatre: 719 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701
• This performance begins promptly at the indicated time and is 1 hour long, unless otherwise noted.
• Please double check the day and time of the show for which you are registered. In some instances, your first choice was at capacity, so we honored your second choice.
• For shows at 10:00am, plan to arrive at 9:30am or earlier.
• For shows at Noon, plan to arrive at 11:40am. We may still be dismissing the morning schools when you arrive. If so, please circle the block until we are ready for you.
• We work with your bus driver to coordinate pickup after the performance.

How Do I Update Ticket Numbers?

• You may decrease your numbers no later than one month before the show.
• You may request more tickets, space permitting, no later than a week before the show. This MUST be approved by one of our staff.
• There are NO CANCELLATIONS past your one-month due date.
• Update your ticket numbers here.

How Do I Schedule Pre-Show Workshops?

• If you expressed interest on your reservation, you will be contacted prior to your show date to begin scheduling.
• $25 per workshop for non-Title 1 schools. $15 per workshop for Title 1 schools.
• For more info, contact Brian Nguyen, Education Program Manager at bnguyen@austintheatre.org

How Do I Plan Seating Accommodations?

• Special seating accommodation must be made 60 DAYS BEFORE the show date (wheelchair accessibility, visual impairment, sign interpreter, etc.).
• If you have a student who needs breaks during the show, let us know so we can plan your group’s seating.
• We have a wheelchair accessible restroom at both the Paramount and State Theatres. A house manager can guide you.
• If you have questions or need more adults due to students with special needs, contact Abril Robbins, Education Coordinator, arobbins@austintheatre.org.

How Do I Pay?

• Payment is due one month prior to your field trip. Your school will owe the full amount of your original ticket request after this deadline since there won’t be time to fill your unused tickets.
• Payment options can be arranged if you tell us before payment is due.
• By Check: In the form of one check per school, checks should be mailed to the Paramount Theatre once you receive your confirmation e-mail and accompanied invoice.
  Please make check payable to:
  Austin Theatre Alliance
  Remit to: Austin Theatre Alliance
  Attn: Education Department
  PO Box 1566
  Austin, Texas 78767
  Tax ID: 74-2975922
• By Credit Card: Pay Here
• By Phone: Contact Abril Delgado Robbins, Education Coordinator, at (512) 233-0124.

Can Parents/Adults Just Walk Up on the Day of the Show?

• No. Adult tickets must be requested when you make your reservation. Your ticket numbers may change in accordance with our policies above about updating ticket numbers.
• 1 adult per every 10 students is free. Additional adults tickets are $15.
• All adult tickets must be paid to the school and the school pays the theatre. Teacher must be the liaison for parents attending your field trip.
• Do NOT have parents call us to reserve tickets.
• Please send this webpage to parents!

How Do Parents/Adults Get Inside on the Day of the Show?

• Adults attending must:
• Obtain an ID/visitor sticker from the school for the day of the show.
• Wear their school badge if they are an employee.
• ALL OTHER ADULTS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ENTER THE THEATER. For students’ safety, we need to know that the adults attending have been cleared by your school.

Arrival

• Arrival and dismissal are a challenge because of our limited space, but we have a system in place that requires your much appreciated cooperation!
• For shows at 10:00am, plan to arrive at 9:30am or earlier.
• For shows at Noon, plan to arrive at 11:40am. We may still be dismissing the morning schools when you arrive. If so, please circle the block until we are ready for you.
• Upon arrival, please stay seated on your bus. A greeter from the Paramount will come and explain the procedure for unloading safely into the theatre.
• We will coordinate with your driver with time and directions for pick-up. It is crucial for drivers to follow our directions and plan. Just in case, please do exchange phone numbers with your bus driver.
• Have a lead teacher or chaperone make a note of your bus number since this will help your group get back on the correct bus when loading out.
• DO NOT tell your bus driver that you will call when you are ready. We have a detailed plan for the order of buses coming to pick you up.
• If you do not plan to have your bus drop you at the theatre and haven’t communicated this to us, we need to know ASAP!

Personal Items

• Students should leave lunches, water bottles, and belongings on the bus.
• If you need to bring items inside because a different bus is picking you up, please bring a bin to hold your items. We can keep it until after the show.
• No cameras, video recorders, smoking, food, or drinks are allowed in the theatre.
• We ask that all cell phones are dark, silent, and put away for the duration of the show.
• For Field Trips, we do not enforce our Clear Bag Policy.

Personal Cars

• You will be responsible for your own parking. Be sure to leave yourself plenty of time to find parking.
• We DO NOT allow personal cars to unload children on Congress Avenue. It is dangerous and causes congestion.
• The closest parking garage is “600 Congress”. It is a block away from the theater. The entrance is on 7th Street, between Congress Ave and Colorado Street, across from Perry’s Steakhouse. You will take a right turn into the garage. They only accept credit cards (no cash) and charge $3.00 every 20 minutes.
• Downtown Street Parking: https://www.austintexas.gov/paidparking

Getting to Your Seats

• Once you are off the bus and onto the sidewalk, line up your group safely out of any flowing traffic. Congress Ave is busy with pedestrians, cyclists, deliveries, and now scooters!
• When the House Manager is ready for you, you will be instructed to lead your group inside. An usher will take you to your seats. Please respect our volunteer ushers by following their instructions.
• Seating is planned by our House Managers depending on group size, student age, and special needs accommodations.
• Please get fully seated before taking students to the bathrooms or changing seats. If there is an emergency or a child with special needs, please communicate that info to one of our ushers.
• Adults must accompany students leaving their seats.
• If you have not coordinated special accommodation seating for adults or students, let us know ASAP. We want everyone to enjoy the performance.

Chaperones

• Adults attending must:
• Obtain an ID/visitor sticker from the school for the day of the show.
• Wear their school badge if they are an employee.
• ALL OTHER ADULTS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ENTER THE THEATER. For students’ safety, we need to know that the adults attending have been cleared by your school.
• Chaperones must enter with their school. If they arrive before their school, they should wait in the designated waiting area in front of the State Theatre (adjacent to the Paramount), there will be a sign.
• In the unlikely event that you have more parent chaperones than the number you reserved, teacher or administrative staff must communicate this with us before the show date and parents will still need to follow our chaperone guidelines stated above. Additional parent chaperones will be admitted as space allows and is NOT guaranteed.

Homeschools

• Your entire group must be present before we bring you inside. Use the designated waiting area outside the theatres to congregate your group.
• DO NOT BLOCK THE ENTRANCE TO THE THEATER. We have hundreds of students to seat. Do not use the doors to the theatre as your waiting area.

Theatre Etiquette

• You can show your students this PREZI to prepare them for the field trip.

Dismissal

• School groups will be dismissed from the stage in the pre-planned order. Stay seated until your school group has been called. Once called, ushers will direct you to your bus.
• Assign an adult lead to guide the group in a single file line.
• We tell every bus driver the exact time to be at the theatre for pick-up. If your bus driver shows up late, which keeps you longer than expected, that is out of our control.
• Do your headcount AS STUDENTS ARE LOADING THE BUS for departure, not once you are loaded. It is important that buses leave promptly once they are fully loaded.