Everything you Need to Know: A Step by Step Guide

We’re excited to welcome you and your students to Bard on the Beach this season! To help you make the most of your trip, please review this information carefully and share it with your students prior to your visit.

 

Booking Your Tickets
  • Before you request tickets: create your account and provide a Visa or MasterCard so we can process your booking.
    • If you already have an account, please ensure that a Visa or MasterCard is on file.
    • If you need assistance with your online account or this process, please get in touch with our Box Office at 604.739.0559.
  • Beginning Wednesday, February 27 at noon, fill out the booking request form for June performances.
  • If we’re able to fulfill your request, we will process 50% of your total payment to the credit card on file within 1-5 business days and send you a receipt.
  • All payments received are non-refundable, so please check the number of tickets your group needs carefully and contact the Student Group Coordinator with any changes before the final payment due date.
At Least 2 Weeks Before Your Trip
  • Learn more about the 2019 plays: The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare in Love, All’s Well That Ends Well, and Coriolanus. Check back for more resources in May!
  • Contact our Student Group Coordinator or Box Office at 604.739.0559 with any accessibility requirements, if you haven’t done so already.
  • Tell your students to dress casually but remember to dress for the weather! Bring a jacket or sweater with you, and wear comfortable shoes.
  • For your planning purposes, our runtimes are usually between 2.5 to 3 hours. If you need a more precise estimate, please call our Box Office after June 5 at 604.739.0559. Please keep in mind that our productions are still changing during June previews, so we will only be able to provide an estimate.
  • Our Box Office staff can only release the tickets to the person who is named on the booking request. If another adult is picking up the tickets, please notify our Box Office staff know beforehand, so your group can receive their tickets with ease.
At Least 1 Week Before Your Trip
  • Visit our maps and directions page for information on how to get to our festival site. Remember to check traffic conditions before heading out!
  • Everyone in your group should arrive 45 – 60 minutes before show time. Please remember it takes time to distribute the tickets to your group and to find your seats while hundreds of other students are looking for theirs.
  • Groups arriving later than 30 minutes before show time may miss some of the performance.
  • Make your plan for lunch:
    • Packed lunches: Students can eat them on our site, we just ask that they do so responsibly.
    • Concession: Snacks, beverages, and sandwiches for sale. We accept cash, debit, Visa, and MasterCard.
    • Outside the park: You’ll find the nearest takeout/cafes/shops on Cornwall Ave. Please allow 50 minutes to give yourself time to walk, order your food, and be back in the Bard Village 45 minutes before curtain.
On the Day of Your Visit
  • If you encounter delays, please notify our Box Office immediately at 604.739.0559.
  • Starting 1 hour before show time, the designated chaperone can pick up the tickets and a theatre map of their seats under the school’s name at the Box Office. The group must wait outside our main entrance gate.
  • Please distribute a ticket to every individual in your group before entering the Bard Village. Students must sit in the seat indicated on their ticket, but they are allowed to trade tickets with other students in their group before entering the theatre.
  • Please ensure that your chaperones are seated strategically in order for your students to get the most out of this theatre experience!
In the Bard Village
  • The Bard Village will open one hour prior to curtain time, and the performance tent will open 30 minutes prior to show time.
    • Student matinees at 1pm: Village opens at 12pm (noon) and Theatre opens at 12:30pm.
    • Evening performances at 7:30pm: Village opens at 6:30pm and Theatre opens at 7pm.
  • Our concession sells snacks, sandwiches, and hot and cold beverages. Alcoholic beverages are not available at student matinee performances.
  • Our boutique sells books, clothing, and other gifts and memorabilia.
  • The concession and boutique will be open before the play and during intermission only – they will not be open after the show. Both accept cash, debit, Visa, and MasterCard.
  • Remind students to use the washroom before the performance begins, during the intermission, or after the performance. Leaving the theatre during the performance is highly disruptive and discouraged. If it’s unavoidable, please exit through the back of the theatre. You will be able to re-enter only at the discretion of the House Manager.
  • No smoking of any kind is permitted on our festival site.
Inside the Theatre
  • All seats are reserved, and our ushers can help you find your seats. Students must sit in the seat indicated on their ticket, but they are allowed to trade tickets with other students in their group before entering the theatre. Please do not trade tickets during seating as it delays the performance.
  • Use your discretion when eating or drinking within the theatre, so as not to make noise or create a distraction.
  • No electronic devices are permitted during the performance. We ask that you turn off and put away phones, tablets, music players, cameras, and all other devices for the duration of the performance. There is absolutely no photography or recording of any kind permitted during the performance.
  • Please remind students that their participation as audience members affects the performance! We encourage them to laugh, cry, gasp in response to what they see and hear on stage. But to help us make the theatre experience enjoyable for all, please coordinate with your chaperone team on how best to support your students’ engagement. We know that you know your students best!
After the Show
  • Please take out any trash and dispose of it in our recycling and trash bins around the theatre and Village. Our theatre and site are cleaned by our lovely Volunteers and they appreciate your help.
  • Tell us how much you loved the performance! Like us on Facebooktweet about us, and/or post a photo on Instagram and tag us.

If you have any questions or comments about bringing students to the Festival, please feel free to contact us at 604.739.0559 or [email protected].