BEFORE
At school
Reading texts, discussing themes, introducing characters... It’s important to get students involved in organizing a theatre outing. Théâtre français de Toronto (TfT) will help you prepare for your outing by providing you with an information kit for each show and by holding free workshops in your classroom in the weeks leading up to the performance, our cultural mediation officer is available to help you find educational materials and to organize activities based on the level of your students and your expectations.
Transportation
TfT does not provide transportation for students to the theatre. It is the responsibility of each school to choose the most appropriate means of transportation for their visit.
We encourage you to use public transportation whenever possible. The closest streetcar stop to the Berkeley Street Theatre, where most of our shows are performed, is the King Street East at Parliament St stop on line 504. The service on this line is smooth and regular, it connects with the Underground Line 1 and is very close to Union Station.
Please note: if you come by school bus, TfT is not responsible for any delays due to traffic and will not be able to start the performance late.
On arrival
We invite schools, whenever possible, to arrive 30 minutes before the performance begins. This allows students who have not had a preparatory workshop to hear a presentation of the play before it begins. It also allows for a quiet time to settle in and to be able to go to the bathroom without rushing.
If you arrive late, you must wait for the theatre staff to let you into the theatre (where possible). For some shows, the stage set-up prevents latecomers from entering.
Address of the theatre
Before you leave, be sure to check the address where the show is playing. Some shows are at the Berkeley Street Theatre. The address is: 26 Berkeley Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 2W3.
Other shows are performed at the Spadina Theatre of the Alliance Française.
The address is: 24 Spadina Rd, Toronto, ON M5R 2S7.
It is not uncommon for schools to end up at our 21 College Street office because they did not check the address and simply put “Théâtre français de Toronto” on their GPS. Be sure to check the destination with the bus driver before you leave!
Accessibility
Unfortunately, the Berkeley Street Theatre is not adapted to receive people with reduced mobility: it is necessary to climb stairs to get to the theatre. We are currently working on a solution.
DURING
A Few Rules
To ensure that your experience at the theatre is a pleasant one, there are a few rules that everyone should follow. While TfT is particularly concerned with the safety of everyone and the smooth running of the performance, teachers and volunteers also have a role to play during the performance!
- Make sure that everyone respects the actors and other spectators and enforce order if necessary.
- At the theatre, just like at the movies or at a baseball game, some students may experience moments of boredom. They may want to chat with the person next to them or, more generally, make noise. This distracts the actors on stage and disturbs others in the audience.
- In this situation, the teachers/volunteers must ask the student to be quiet and if the student continues, the teachers/volunteers will be asked to lead the disruptive student out of the theatre.
- Urgent bathroom break!
- Before the performance, TfT’s team encourages all students and their teachers/volunteers to use the washroom. However, there may be times during the performance when a child has a pressing need.
- In this situation, a teacher/volunteer must accompany the student to the bathroom. The accompanying person must then wait with the student until the end of the performance, as it is not possible to enter the theatre space once the performance has begun.
- Make sure to respect the theatre space.
- As stated in rule #1, noise can disturb actors and other spectators. However, other behaviours can also disrupt the performance: snacking, drinking, playing with your phone, etc. Teachers/volunteers must ensure that their students are respectful of their environment and point out to them, if necessary, that their attitude is disturbing the other people in the room.
- In this situation, the teachers/volunteers should ask the student to stop disrupting the performance and if the student continues, the teachers/volunteers will be asked to lead the disruptive student out of the room.
Avoid
During the show, so that everyone can enjoy it to the fullest, we ask that students keep their phones on airplane mode, stay seated until the end of the show and avoid talking to their neighbours. It is also forbidden to eat or drink in the theatre.
AFTER
Discussion with the artists
After each school performance, TfT organises a discussion with the artists lasting about 15-20 minutes. Students and teachers are then invited to ask questions and make comments freely.
Depending on the show, it is also possible to organize meetings with some of the artistic team at the school after the performance dates.
After the performance
TfT is sensitive to feedback from teachers and students and pays particular attention to the work they might produce after the performance. It is also possible to organize a workshop in class with our Cultural Outreach Officer to work on writing one’s feelings after the performance.
