James Madison University, School of Theatre and Dance Is an Accredited Member of the National Association of Schools of Theatre and the National Association of Schools of Dance

James Madison University  School of Theatre and Dance  147 Warsaw Avenue, MSC 5601  Harrisonburg, VA 22807  540.568.6342  theatredance@jmu.edu.

Tickets to Theatre and Dance performances at the Forbes Center are available 24/7 online at www.jmu.edu/JMUArts where you can select and print your tickets at home, by phone @ 540-568-7000 (Monday – Friday from 10:00am to 5:30 pm)
or in person at the Forbes Center box office
(147 Warsaw Avenue, Harrisonburg, VA). 

Children’s Playshop

Since its inception in 1994, the JMU Children’s Playshop has been entertaining families from across the Shenandoah Valley with quality family theatre. It became a summer tradition for families to see young professional actors perform fairy tales, sing family friendly musicals, and bring contemporary children’s literature magically come to life. That tradition has now carried over to the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, where student performers and audiences have the opportunity to come together in the highly flexible Studio Theatre.

The JMU Children’s Playshop is an annual project of the School of Theatre and Dance. Students spend half of their days building scenery, hanging lights and creating costumes. They then rehearse the plays, learn the music and work with the choreographer. Their mornings building and decorating the sets and their afternoons rehearsing their performances. Playshop Directors William Buck and Pam Johnson have maintained a commitment to quality in all aspects of production. The sets, lights and costumes receive the highest level of care and creativity. Audiences respond by coming back summer after summer.

The goal of Children’s Playshop is to serve as many children and families as possible-regardless of socioeconomic background-while maintaining a level of excellence Playshop audiences have come to expect. Company members understand the importance of wonder and inspiration in a child’s life and are dedicated to keeping professional, high-quality children’s theatre in the Shenandoah Valley affordable and accessible.

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