Announcing the 2026-27 In-School Performances!
Find the descriptions and details below. Schedule form includes pricing information and specific available dates. Info for the 2025-26 season may be found further down the page.
Schedule In-School Performances 2026-27
Kick-Off Performance
MAN & (MUSE) MACHINES
Presented by musician & storyteller Terrell X
Experience Man & (Muse) Machines with acclaimed beatboxer, songwriter and storyteller Terrell X. Terrell guides audiences through a fast-paced, interactive journey through the evolution of beatboxing and the influence of hip-hop culture on music, technology and the world. Blending call-and-response with looping and effects, he will build music from scratch with you—transforming voice and rhythm into dynamic improvisations that showcase the art form’s innovations and the human body’s limitless possibilities!
• Scheduling: Available on selected dates Sept 10–Oct 2, 2026. Please see scheduling form for specific dates.
• Curriculum Connections: Fine Arts: Music; Social and Emotional Learning
• Technical Requirements: Coming soon!
I HEAR AMERICA SINGING
Presented by Dayton Opera
In his 1860 poem, “I Hear America Singing,” Walt Whitman heard not a single anthem but “varied carols” of the laborers, mothers and pioneers who built a nation. Dayton Opera Artists in Residence take this vision of America into the 21st Century through Broadway and opera, from Oklahoma! to Ragtime. Through call-and-response, audiences join a living poem full of the melodies of a people in constant motion, sometimes in harmony, sometimes in discord—but always singing.
• Scheduling: Available on selected dates Oct 26–Nov 20, 2026. Please see scheduling form for specific dates.
• Curriculum Connections: Fine Arts: Music & Theatre, American History, English Language Arts
• Technical Requirements:
1. A cleared, well-lit 20’ by 20’ performance space
2. A recently tuned piano and bench or a full-size, 88 key electronic keyboard on a stand with a chair
3. A microphone on a stand
4. Access to a nearby power outlet
5. Room-temperature bottled water for five
6. A microphone for Q & A
7. Private area, such as a dressing room or classroom, for artists to change within close proximity to the stage (restrooms are not adequate for changing)
8. Access to restroom
9. Load-in door close to the performance area, accessible to roll cart/equipment
IMPORTANT: The company will arrive 30-40 minutes prior to the program and will need access to the performance space upon arrival.
LISTEN UP!
Presented by improv performers Jake Lockwood and We Bring the Funny
Get ready to laugh out loud as Jake Lockwood and the team from We Bring the Funny use improv to demonstrate the importance of listening in this highly interactive performance. Stressing the value of teamwork and being present, these comedic performers will guide the audience down a hilarious path of creative collaboration, illuminating the keys to better communication along the way!
• Scheduling: Available on selected dates Dec 2026 and Feb–Mar 2027. Please see scheduling form for specific dates.
• Curriculum Connections: English Language Arts: Speaking and Listening; Fine Arts: Theatre
• Technical Requirements: Coming soon!
An optional in-school workshop—also from Jake Lockwood and We Bring the Funny:
Heads Up, Devices Down!
We have to talk to each other? Scary.
Using the basic tools of Improv, Jake and the team lead your group in exercises that will increase confidence through active engagement with the world around them. This deeper dive encourages participants to learn new skills together and recapture the joy of conversation!
Suitable for individual classrooms, Muse clubs, drama clubs, etc. Muse will work with you to schedule a date and time during or after school.
Find additional details on the scheduling form!
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Presented by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Step into a magical forest where love, mischief and mistaken identity collide. Young lovers, mischievous fairies and a group of amateur actors find their worlds turned upside down in a single night. This abridged interactive production by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company brings Shakespeare’s most playful comedy to life!
• Scheduling: Available on selected dates March–May 2027. Please see scheduling form for specific dates.
• Curriculum Connections: English Language Arts: Literature; Fine Arts: Theatre
• Technical Requirements:
1. An open performance area of no less than 20’ wide by 20’ deep
2. Access to a nearby power outlet
3. Private area or restrooms for actors to change
IMPORTANT: The performers will arrive 30-60 minutes prior to the program and will need access to the performance space upon arrival.
PLEASE NOTE: “In the Making,” presented by Dayton Dance Initiative, will not be offered this season while one of the artists recovers from a medical procedure.
Schedule In-School Performances 2026-27
Previous In-School Performances Archive
In-School Performances 2025-26
In-School Performances 2024-25
Performance Space Survey
Advisors: You may have already been asked to respond to a very brief, multiple choice survey about the space where your in-school performances occur. If you have not already taken that survey, you may do so below. We are adding exciting elements to the in-school performances and this information will be tremendously helpful for our new shows – thank you!
The last question will direct you to a particular worksheet. This will be an interesting task for two reliable students with a sizable tape measure and they can complete it in approximately a class period. Use the links below to open and print the worksheet as suggested by your survey. After your students complete the worksheet, you (or they) may conveniently submit measurements below.