FAQ

General FAQs:

All of NTC’s programs are completely free thanks to the generous support of sponsors who fund our programming for schools within their communities.

Seriously – there is no catch. There are no hidden costs or products being sold. Everything’s simply covered as a result of the funding from our sponsors.

Our programs come with digital and/or printed educational materials that expand upon the content covered in the show. And no – there’s no cost for the materials either! All of our programs align with state educational standards and pair excellently with what students are learning in class.

You have three options:

In-School Show FAQs:

  • Proof of vaccination is required for all NTC actors.
  • NTC actors will take COVID tests while in rehearsal and on the road. In the event of a positive test, NTC will contact your school to cancel performances.
  • NTC actors will follow CDC guidelines and recommendations for mask-wearing in your school’s building and will otherwise adhere to mask-wearing requirements per your school’s rules.
  • If your school requires smaller audiences to ensure social distancing can be met, we will defer to your school’s requirements.

  • Elementary school shows last for 25 minutes, middle school shows last for 40 minutes and high school shows last for 45 minutes.
  • The actors arrive at the school about 30 minutes before the show’s scheduled start time to set everything up in the performance space. If you have more than one show scheduled, it takes about 10 minutes between shows for the actors to re-set and for the student groups to transition.

Any room that is large enough to comfortably seat your students and provide space for the actors to perform – cafeterias, gymnasiums, libraries, classrooms, you name it!

You won’t have to provide anything except a location for the show to take place. The actors will bring everything else they need.

  • We recommend our elementary school programs for grades K-6, middle school programs for grades 6-8 and high school programs for grades 9-12. However, there is flexibility for age-appropriate content around grades 5-6 and 8-9.
  • Just so everyone can see and hear, we prefer to accommodate no more than 350 students per performance. For larger student populations, we’d be happy to do multiple performances back-to-back.

Livestream Special FAQs:

Elementary school shows last for 35 minutes; middle and high school shows last for 45 minutes.

We recommend our elementary school programs for grades K-6, middle school programs for grades 6-8 and high school programs for grades 9-12. However, there is flexibility for age-appropriate content around grades 5-6 and 8-9.

For elementary programs, there will be specified livestream performances for grades K-2 vs 3-6.

The K-2 scenes feature puppetry and a sing-along, and the live host will cater questions and extended information toward a younger learning level.

The 3-6 scenes do not feature puppetry or a sing-along, and the live host will offer more advanced information and challenging questions for an older learning level.

No, this is not a two-way video call. While our show broadcasts live through our streaming platform, it is presented as a video that your students and teachers simply click to view. The interactivity of the show happens through our livestream host, who leads pop quizzes and poses questions for the audience. Viewers are also invited to type questions and comments into a text box on the webpage where the video is playing. Our host will see these questions and comments and respond to audience input throughout the live show.

When you book, you'll be sent a livestream link to share with participating students and teachers. All you need is a connection to the internet and somewhere for the students to watch. If classes are watching from classrooms, we recommend using one screen for the best collective experience.

Yes! You can share the link with students to watch at home on their own devices, or teachers can screenshare through their digital classrooms. The livestream show was tailored to be viewed by individual classrooms, students from home – or both!

No. Our platform supports unlimited viewers, and multiple schools will be tuning in at the same time.

We use BoxCast, but the video will be housed on our own website, NTCplayworks.com.

Yes, this is possible. However, the sound and video quality may not be as good as it would be with the students viewing individually.

Instead, we'd recommend that teachers set up their Zoom calls or digital classroom normally, but ask each student to separately  open the livestream link in another tab. As long as everyone is muted, each student can see and hear the show on their individual device while still being on a call together.

No. We are not asking for sign-in information or collecting any personal data. All anyone has to do to view the show is to click the link and watch the stream.

For further information, see our privacy policy at https://ntcplayworks.com/privacy-policy/.

Yes! Our booking process allows teachers to book independently from one another, which means that they can pick their own date and time for their classroom (or grade level) to tune in. Selecting multiple times for multiple classes is also possible.

Yes! When you book with us, you will receive a link to our livestream for the date(s) you selected, and to a recording of the show for anyone who can't attend live. If desired, you can book to view only the recording.