OnStage FAQs

If your order is for less than 100 seats, please order online at overture.org/onstage. If your order is for more than 100 seats, please call the OnStage Coordinator at 608.258.4156. When you place an order, you must use a credit card to complete your order. This card will only be used to HOLD your order unless you would like to pay immediately. You will have the option to PAY LATER with the card on file, another card, ACH or check. You will receive an email confirmation with an attached invoice immediately following your submission. If it has been more than two weeks since you placed your order and you have not yet received an invoice, please first check your spam folder for an email from tickets@overture.org. If it is not there, please contact the OnStage Coordinator.

We do not issue physical tickets. Our ushers will greet you upon arrival and help you to your designated seats.

• Schools: If you are a non-profit and not a public school, send the OnStage Coordinator a copy of your Certificate of Exempt Status; otherwise, we will request an additional $0.50 per ticket to cover tax.

• Homeschools: The seat cost for homeschools and other non-tax-exempt organizations includes $0.50 to cover the cost of sales tax.

As we have limited seats, please make your best guess at attendance (including chaperones and teachers). Your school will likely have guidelines on chaperone to student ratios for field trips.  

We understand that enrollment changes year-to-year, so please reach out to the OnStage Coordinator as soon as you know your class size. You can increase (pending availability) and decrease once (by up to 15%) until two months before the event.

We do not allow order cancellations outside of extenuating circumstances. Please make sure that you have administrator approval before placing your order.

For shows that are sold out or close to capacity, please email the OnStage Coordinator at onstage@overture.org to be added to the waitlist.

We do our best to seat groups in an order that creates the most enjoyable and rewarding experience for students. Seating is determined first by accessibility accommodations and then by the date the order was received. To receive the best seats, we suggest teachers order as soon as ticketing opens.

Please indicate any requests on your order form or contact the OnStage Coordinator . If you have any questions about accommodations or last-minute requests, please call the OnStage Coordinator at 608.258.4165.  

Please notify us at least two weeks in advance. Additional notice required, as indicated. We can provide: 

• Transfer seats for students in wheelchairs who wish to sit in a regular seat
• Wheelchair accessible spaces 
• Closer seats for students with vision impairments 
• Fewer stairs for those with other mobility issues 
• Sensory kits with noise dampening headphones and two fidgets 
• Wobble seats 
• Aisle seats for students who frequently need to leave the theater 
• Monitors in the lobby for students who need to leave the theater 
• Assistive listening devices 
• American Sign Language interpreter (please allow at least six weeks’ notice) 
• Audio Description (please allow at least six weeks’ notice)
• Health and wellness room - this space is located on the third floor and includes a comfortable seating area and low, relaxed lighting.
• Special seating with extra leg room for guests that have a service animal.

Learn more about accessibility at Overture here. For additional requests, please contact the OnStage Coordinator. 

• Schools: $9 each
• Homeschools: $10.50 each
• One complimentary seat is offered for every 15 purchased.
• We do not offer lap seats for any OnStage performances—each audience member must have a seat.

Full payment is due one month prior to the performance. There are three ways to pay for your OnStage Student Field Trip:

• ACH: If your school/district has the ability to pay via ACH, please send us the paperwork to become an authorized vendor. If you submit a payment via ACH, email a copy of your order confirmation along with payment information to accountsreceivable@overture.org
• Check: Send a check and a copy of your order confirmation to Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State St, Madison WI 53703. 
• Credit Card: Call 608-258-4156. Please do not submit credit card details in a voicemail or in an email for your own protection. You may also pay online here. Please send an email to onstage@overture.org to let us know that you paid online and include your order number.

If you anticipate being unable to make payment by the due date, please contact the OnStage Coordinator.

Yes! If 35% or more of your school qualifies for free and reduced lunch, you are eligible for a subsidy. If you are unsure if you qualify, please check the DPI Report card of the most recent year listed. When you place your ticket order, you will be prompted to include your subsidy percentage. If you have already completed your order but would like to apply for a subsidy, please contact the OnStage Coordinator. Subsidies must be applied to your order at least 10 weeks prior to the performance you are attending. 

Answer the relevant questions on the order form. If you have already completed your order but would like to apply for a subsidy, please contact the OnStage Coordinator. Requests must be made 10 weeks prior to the performance you are attending. Once your application has been processed you will receive an email with additional information and an updated invoice.

If you received subsidized tickets (this will be noted on your invoice or receipt), you also qualify to apply for a partial bus subsidy. Please pay your bus invoices in full. Bus subsidies are awarded as a partial reimbursement, first come first served, but we have plenty of funds left this year. To apply, please fill out this form AFTER your field trip and submit copies of your paid receipts from your transportation as directed on the form. You must apply by May 31. The OnStage Coordinator will be completing subsidies half-way through the season and again after the May 31 deadline.  

Unless otherwise noted, all performances are 60 minutes in length and sometimes offer an optional Q & A after this time.

Please plan on arriving a half-hour before the performance to allow for seating. Approximately one month prior to the performance, you will receive an email with arrival/departure information, including parking and bus instructions. Please share this information with all teachers attending the performance, as well as your bus drivers! 

Yes, approximately one month prior to the performance, you will receive an email with a link to an educator’s resource guide, designed to allow you to make the most of your trip to Overture before and after the show. All available resource guides can be found here.  

Please leave your large bags and backpacks at school or on the bus; they are not allowed in the theater. Food and drinks, including water bottles, are not permitted in the theater. If your group has arranged to have lunch at Overture Center, there will be a cart at the entrance to drop off lunch bags. Bags with medical devices or supplies needed for students with special needs are permitted. We recommend you bring a jacket as it can get cold. Name tags are required for all adult attendees and can be acquired from the check-in table if needed. 

We will cancel a performance for the following reasons: 

• Most MMSD schools have closed or adjusted their schedule in a way that would prevent groups from attending (i.e. delayed start or early release). 
• Madison Metro Transit buses stop running. 
• Weather makes it impossible for our performers to travel here. 
• Public health and/or safety requires it.  

We will announce a performance cancellation at least 3 hours prior to the scheduled performance start time. We will immediately send an email to all account holders with seats in the show and call each group. If you are not notified by 3 hours before the performance, assume the show is on.

We will refund payments if your school district (or the school district in which you live if you are a homeschool) CLOSES on the day of the show (regardless of the reason – snow, extreme cold, etc.), or has a schedule change that would affect the field trip. Refunds will be completed within 14 days from the performance date and will be sent either by check or refunded directly to the card used to pay for the performance.

If you are traveling in personal vehicles to an OnStage performance, there is nearby metered street parking as well as many public parking garages. The State Street Capitol Garage and the Overture Center Garage are the closest options within walking distance to Overture Center, but you may find other options and information here:

CITY OF MADISON PARKING INFO

Overture Center for the Arts has implemented additional security procedures for all OnStage guests. Our focus is always the comfort and safety of our guests, and we believe this step to be part of that goal. Overture uses walk-through security screening technology that you must move through on arrival. This crowd-screening system keeps high-volume entrances flowing by reliably detecting threatening items as visitors walk through at a natural pace. This should eliminate lines and allow foot traffic to quickly flow into the spaces. You may be asked to submit to additional screening if prohibited items are detected. Unless you have arranged to eat lunch with us or are a teacher carrying a medical backpack, please leave all bags and backpacks on the bus or at school.

For additional information, visit our security page. You may also reach out with questions.

Consider extending your day with a tour of Overture or the Overture Galleries and/or a tour at the nearby James Watrous Gallery, Capitol, Madison Public Library, Madison Children’s Museum, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art or Wisconsin History Museum.

If you need a lunch space after the show, please fill out this form to request space for your group no later than five weeks prior to your scheduled performance. The Guest Services Coordinator will confirm your lunch space three weeks prior to the performance.