Covering an array of educational topics, the shows in the Youth Matinee Series that come to Stephens Auditorium are all education-based.

Since the Youth Matinee Series covers educational topics, the plays cover subjects in science, history, popular books taught in the classroom, and of course fine arts, music and dance.

Sara Compton, outreach coordinator at Stephens Auditorium, said the shows are scheduled much like the Performing Arts Series at Stephens Auditorium.

“It’s essentially just like we do like with the main stage series. We work with agents. A lot of times it’s different agents because I work primarily with folks who specialize in youth theater and theater for young audiences,” Compton said. “We try to find a balance across curriculum and across age groups and then based on available space and available product, or what shows are out there being toured at any time, and we put together the series.” 

As the outreach coordinator for the children’s shows, Compton is the go-between when scheduling performances with touring shows and tying those shows in with the teacher’s curriculum.

“[I] make all the pieces fit. So I book the shows and schedule the auditorium and then advertise to the schools and then coordinate their registrations,” Compton said.

Filling only the main floor of seats in the auditorium, the audience that comes to these children’s plays are classrooms from around the state, parents and grandparents with their children and grandchildren and high school classes.

Tickets bought in advance are $4 per student and go up to $5 the day of the show.

Any student enrolled in the federal lunch program is considered a scholarship student and are admitted to the show free of charge. The federal lunch program provides free or reduced price lunches in community schools.

The Youth Matinee Series offers these shows for the rest of the Spring Semester:

Four Score & Seven Years Ago — Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Taking place during the Civil War, a runaway slave named Lemuel and a confederate soldier Jacob become friends.  

The Monster Who Ate My Peas — April 1 at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Based on the book “The Monster Who Ate My Peas” by Danny Schnitzlein and Matthew Faulkner, is a story about a boy who doesn’t want to eat his peas.

Five Little Monkeys — April 16 at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Five monkey siblings drive their mother crazy when they try to bake a cake, shop for clothes, have a picnic and more.

Laura Ingalls Wilder — April 28 at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

A musical based from the books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder depicts the struggles her family faces when they travel in a covered wagon.

Tickets for the Youth Matinee Series cannot be paid for at the north entrance of Stephens Auditorium like the show for the Performing Arts Series.

Tickets can be bought online when the ticket buyer may register underneath the education tab at Stephens Auditorium’s web page: center.iastate.edu. Also, ticket buyers may call, mail or fax Stephens or Sara Compton.