South Carolina Children's Theatre: 10 Marvelous Things to Do

Giveaway: One Kidding Around reader will win 4 TICKETS to D is For Dance at SCCT! Show runs Jan 26th – Feb 4th. Thank you SCCT for sponsoring this giveaway! Scroll down to enter.

Have you heard about all the marvelous things that the South Carolina Children’s Theatre in Greenville, SC has to offer? Maybe you are excited about an upcoming theatre performance. Or, perhaps you are curious if there are theater classes and camps for your children to immerse themselves in. Spark a little magic and wonder in your child’s life with a kid-friendly play, musical, class, or camp at SCCT! You will find all the information you need about the South Carolina Children’s Theatre below in our handy guide.

Theatrical Productions at the South Carolina Children’s Theatre

The South Carolina Children’s Theatre is pretty special, and its professional theatrical productions are a great way to entertain your children.  Productions are all family-oriented and designed to elicit wonder and excitement in your child (and you!)

The 2023-2024 South Carolina Children’s Theatre Season

Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse: October 20 – October 29, 2023

Mary Poppins: November 17 – December 10, 2023

The Watsons Go to Birmingham: January 19 – February 4, 2023

D is for Dance Party: January 26 -February 4, 2023

Pinkalicious the Musical: February 23- March 10, 2023

Dragons Love Tacos: April 5 – April 21, 2023

The Spongebob Musical: April 26 – May 19, 2024

The SCCT events calendar is the best way to keep track of what’s to come.

The SCCT Performance Stages

Bell Stage

Theatre productions are detail-oriented, bursting with color and costume, and bring to life and reimagine a popular story or play. Theatre productions run by season, with each season having around 8 performances spread out over several months. Each production has multiple showings, so you can plan a date night out with your kids! Both stages are also accessible, so productions can be enjoyed by everyone.

Bell Stage performances use large set designs, costumes, puppets, and anything else needed to help bring the story from the pages of the book or script onto the stage. You can find big musicals and plays on this stage. Bell Stage productions have longer run times with intermissions. You can find run time information on the SCCT website. There are also assigned seats for Bell Stage productions, so make sure you purchase tickets early if you have large groups that want to sit together.

Younts 2nd Stage

Younts 2nd Stage performances also offer the pop, color, and costumes that the Bell Stage productions do, but performances are more intimate and held on a smaller stage. This allows performers to really engage with the audience. These productions are shorter, approximately 45 minutes to an hour long, so they are an excellent choice for younger (with shorter attention spans) audience members. Tickets for Younts Stage are also cheaper than Bell Stage productions, so that’s great on the budget! 

Performances Right For Your Family

All theatre productions at SCCT have an age range recommendation, so be sure to check to see which performance best suits your child. SCCT does recommend that most productions are for children 3 and older.

The majority of these theatre productions are held on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, with daytime and evening showings available, so they make an excellent parent/child date day!

To find out more information about the upcoming SCCT performances on both the Bell and Younts stages, head to the SCCT website.

Weekday School Performances

Want to see a stage performance for a field trip? If you’re a teacher or homeschooling group, you can check out performances at SCCT through their weekday school performances on the Bell Stage and the Youths Stage. All students, teachers, chaperones, and bus drivers will need a ticket to view the performance. 

SCCT Flex Pass for Performances

Looking to save some money while also seeing all of the amazing upcoming shows at the South Carolina Children’s Theatre? The SCCT Flex Pass program offers first-priority seating, unlimited free ticket exchanges, discounts on classes, and discounts to downtown stores. There are three price points to choose from, Blue, Green, or Orange, that allow for a specific number of tickets per package.

Pay What You Can Tickets

The South Carolina Children’s Theatre offers a “Pay What You Can” ticket program for select performances of select shows throughout the year. You’ll find these performances labeled as a “Pay What You Can Performance” within each show’s schedule on the South Carolina Children’s Theatre Website.

The first Pay What You Can Performance of the 2023-2024 season was the September 24, 2023 performance of Charlotte’s Web. When you see a Pay What You Can Performance on the website, follow the directions on that link to purchase your tickets.

Free Performances at the South Carolina Children’s Theatre

One of the best things about SCCT is that they offer free performance events through their Tell-Me-a- Story Theatre and Once Upon an Orchestra programs.

Tell Me a Story Theatre is a high-energy telling of a popular children’s story or book that is engaging for younger children, think PreK to early elementary students.  The event is completely free, and is located in the Prisma Health Lobby. The performance and story reading lasts around 30 minutes, great for squirmy kids. You can check out Tell-Me-a-Story once per month.

Once Upon an Orchestra is a partnership between SCCT and the Greenville Symphony Orchestra that brings children’s literature and music together through storytelling. Your child (and you) can enjoy Once Upon an Orchestra three times per year, for free! Performances last around 30 minutes and are perfect for children age K3 through 5th grade.  You can find upcoming performances of Once Upon an Orchestra on the SCCT website.

Theatre Classes at the SCCT

Support your child’s interest in the performing arts with classes at The South Carolina Children’s Theatre! SCCT’s Theatre Arts Conservatory offers a variety of classes for kids interested in learning about acting, drama, stage management, directing, musical theater, and so much more!

Classes use a lot of fun activities to strengthen your child’s imagination, self-expression, confidence, and self-discipline. These classes also build a foundation for theatre arts concepts. Classes build onto one another, so SCCT encourages parents to not rush their child through the classes, but to allow them to make natural progress. Classes are grouped by age, so even your budding three-year-old Broadway star can enjoy these immersive classes!

• Ages 3-6: Children in this age range will play games, sing songs, explore characters, and engage their imagination in a low-pressure environment. Classes are typically once per week for one hour. Multiple classes are offered, with classes in theatre exploration, singing, and stage production available. 

• Grades 1-6: Children in this age range will explore theatre training through improv activities and high-energy games. There are several classes available for this age range where they can learn about process acting, singing, musical theatre, or improvisation.

• Grades 6-12: Classes for this age range become more technical and build on their knowledge of the performing arts. Kids can learn about process acting, singing, musical theatre, solo singing, and improvisation.
   
• All The Colors of the Spectrum: For children in 2nd through 12th grade with developmental or processing challenges, SCCT offers All The Colors of the Spectrum! Through modified activities, children with special needs can engage in theatre arts through immersive storytelling, sketch creation, collaboration, and more.

• Acting for Adults: SCCT offers FREE classes for adult students college age and up! Classes are for both beginner and seasoned actors to engage in the theatre arts. 

Workshops at the South Carolina Children’s Theatre

Sometimes you need a date night, or a morning out. Sometimes you even need some extra help when your kids are out for holidays. SCCT can help you out with their workshops!  

• Workday Workshops occur during school break days when children are out of school on a random Monday or Friday for a teacher workday. These workshops engage children in group-based activities but are not usually themed.

• Kids Night Out happens once per month, where parents can drop off their kids for a few hours. Kids Night Out is a fun night of themed activities, with theatre games followed by a movie and snack. Kids Night Out is from 6 pm to 10 pm, with pre-registration required. 

• Saturday Morning Mania is when parents can drop off their kids for a few hours of shopping or a fancy brunch in Downtown Greenville. Saturday Morning Mania happens once per month. There are themed drama games and activities with a picnic lunch. Parents should preregister ahead of time.

SCCT Summer Camp

SCCT’s Summer Camps are an excellent way to keep your kids busy over the summer! Summer camps are offered for ages K3 through high school. Each camp is designed to boost confidence while having fun learning about theatre.

Parents can pre-register their kids for a variety of theme camps. Camps explore musical theatre, creative drama, improv, and more in a fun and engaging way! Camps are typically half day, with full day options available for older children by combining camps. Learn more about summer camps at The South Carolina Children’s Theatre on the SCCT website.

Have you visited the South Carolina Children’s Theatre?

2023 KABOOM Winner and Finalist: South Carolina Children’s Theatre

Did you know the South Carolina Children’s Theatre was a 2023 KABOOM Family Favorites 1st place winner for both the Family Theatre and Performing Arts and Theatre Program? SCCT was also a KABOOM finalist for Indoor Family Fun and Youth Organization! Check out all of the finalists and winners in Kidding Around’s 2023 KABOOM Awards Guide.

SCCT Ticket Giveaways

D is For Dance!

Maryetta Maryanna Maryella, the XIX, Queen of Monsterburg, has commissioned a Brand! New! Play! to be performed.

Disaster strikes when the monster playwright, Thaddeus, arrives with his traveling troupe the day of the show, keeping the Queen from getting what she wants…and now she’s royally unhappy.

It becomes clear that the cast will have to put their furry heads together to create a new play and FAST. Will their new version be enough to satisfy the Queen’s call for a monsterpiece—I mean MASTERpiece? And what does a Dance Party have to do with it all?

Get ready for an actual Brand! New! Play! commissioned not by a Monster Queen, but by SCCT.

• By: Kerry Ferguson
• Directed by: Sullivan Canaday White
• Run Time: 50 min
• Age Recommendation: K4 & up
• Ticket Price: $12

Show Schedule

Purchase D is for Dance tickets online today! Get a multiple tickets discount with Flex Pass.

• Friday, January 26 at 7:00 pm
• Saturday, January 27 at 10:30 am
• Saturday, January 27 at 2:00 pm
• Sunday, January 28 at 2:00 pm
• Sunday, January 28 at 4:30 pm – Pay What You Can (date not valid for giveaway prize)
• Saturday, February 3 at 10:30 am
• Saturday, February 3 at 2:00 pm
• Sunday, February 4 at 2:00 pm

Win 4 Tickets To The Show!

One lucky Kidding Around reader will win 4 FREE TICKETS to see D is for Dance at SCCT. This giveaway runs from Jan 16th – Jan 22nd, 2024, 11:59PM. Scroll down to enter. Good luck!

• Winning tickets may not be redeemed for the Jan 28, 2024, 4:30 pm show.
• Tickets are redeemable for dates based upon seat availability. Space is limited.
• You must be 18 or older and live in the USA to enter this giveaway.
• You must use a valid email address to enter this giveaway.
• One entry per person per day.
• We will contact the winner via the email address provided within two [2] days of the giveaway ending. The winner will have two [2] days (48 hours) to respond via email. If the winner does not respond within the two [2] days (48 hours), the prize will be forfeited and another winner chosen. Directions for claiming the prize will be given via email. A valid photo ID and/or mailing address may be required.
• For a complete list of Kidding Around Greenville SC’s giveaway policies and terms and conditions, see the Kidding Around Greenville SC policy page. By entering this giveaway, you agree to comply with Kidding Around Greenville SC’s terms and conditions.
• If you have any issues with the giveaway not appearing, please contact [email protected].