W e l c o m e Dear Educator, Welcome to the Sacramento Ballet’s annual production of the Nutcracker. Please use this teacher information guide to help make your Theater-going experience enjoyable and edu-cational in accordance with California K-12 arts education standards. We believe that arts education is an invaluable aspect of learning, development, and growth for California stu-dents, and strive to contribute quality arts education in our community. We look forward to sharing this classic Christmas tale with you and your students, and thank you for joining us at the ballet where we hope your visit with Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy is absolutely magical! Our education packet includes an array of information, activities, and materials to use with your students before and after your visit to the Nutcracker. It is intended for you to use and/or modify for students in grades K-12. Thank you again for your support of the Sacramento Ballet. Ron Cunningham, Carrine Binda, Artistic Directors Vanessa Bautista, Education and Outreach Coordinator

INTRODUCTION

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MISSION The Sacramento Ballet entertains, educates, inspires and engages people through the powerful vehicle of dance.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is Ballet? 4

History of the Nutcracker Ballet 5

Sacramento Ballet’s the Nutcracker—Choreographer 6

Nutcracker Word Search 7

Writing Activity 8

The Nutcracker Music—Composer 9

The Sacramento Philharmonic 10

Auditory Activity 12

Visual Arts Activity 13

Community Center Theater, Theater Etiquette 14

The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet 15

Nutcracker Word Scramble 17

California Visual and Performing Arts Standards 18

1.0 Artistic Perception Activity 19

2.0 Creative Expression Activity 20

3.0 Historical and Cultural Context Activity 22

4.0 Aesthetic Valuing Activity 23

5.0 Connections, Relationships, Applications 24

Glossary of Ballet Terms 25

Coloring Activity 26

Nutcracker Crossword Puzzle 27

Resources 29

Inside this issue:

BALLET IS DANCE AND DANCE is ART A painter uses color and elements of design to paint a picture or communicate a message, a writer uses words, and dancers use their bodies. Dance is an art form that uses physical movements to express emotions, culture, or as social interaction. Dancers use their arms, legs, heads, and torsos to twist, bend, jump, and turn through space making their bodies their “instrument” or “tool” of communica-tion. There are many types of dance throughout the world with different sets of movements that make up their techniques, however most dance forms are rhythmical or accompanied by music and are presented in a performance, spiritual, or social setting. Ballet is a form of dance that dates back approximately 500 years and is rooted in European culture and French Court Dances. Ballet is unique in the positioning of legs with outward hip rotation called turn out, and is the only form where female dancers wear special shoes and dance on their tip-toes, or en pointe. Ballet has a codified set of steps that make up the technique, and each has a French name, which means ballet utilizes its own movement vocabulary. Professional Ballet is a performance dance that is executed by trained dancers, however classical ballet training is considered a strong foun-dation for many other dance forms such as jazz, tap, modern and contemporary. Dance Around the World Dance is a universal art form, and is found in cultures in all parts of the world. In Africa, Asia, Europe, and North, Central and South America, indigenous people have dances for many purposes including, but not limited to performance art. Dance around the world is enjoyed for social and/or religious reasons in addition to the viewing pleasure of an audience. Some dance forms have been fused to create new forms for performance, such as Jazz, Modern and Musical Theater which create new movements and/or take elements of world dance and mix them with the codified techniques of classical dance. Many new styles and forms have emerged around the world as dancers, teachers, and choreographers have used fusion to create dance which offers a broader vocabulary, mixing elements from different styles. Other forms of Dance include but are not limited to: Ethnic Liturgical Jazz Spiritual Modern Contemporary Social Hip Hop Tap Breakdancing Musical Theater Can you think of some of the ways these dance forms are similar? Can you describe 5 ways these dance forms are different? You can think about movement styles, costumes, settings, and reasons the dance is performed.

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WHAT IS BALLET?

The Nutcracker Ballet is an American Christmas pastime and many dancer’s first experience performing. The Nutcracker’s origins trace back to Russia in the late 1800’s where a “dream team” matching Chore-ographer Petipa and Composer Tchaikovsky to create the ballet based on ETA Hoffman’s story the Nut-cracker and the Mouseking. Petipa became ill while choreographing the ballet and his assistant Lev Ivonov completed the choreography. The ballet was not highly received at its debut in St. Petersburg, and not until 50 years later did it become the famed American Christmas icon. In the 1900’s touring Russian ballet companies brought the Nutcracker to the U.S., leading to the bal-let’s American popularity. Four years later The Nutcracker was born as a full-length Ballet when William Christiensen choreographed it for the San Francisco Ballet. In 1954 George Balanchine created his Nut-cracker for the New York City Ballet which CBS aired in living rooms across the nation in 1958, making ballet and specifically the Nutcracker, more accessible to American audiences. In the United States some reasons the Nut-cracker was disliked in Russia, the use of children in major roles for example, the ide-alized Christmas scenario, were exactly the reason the ballet appealed to audiences. The ballet reflected the importance of home and the holidays. Following the suit of NYCB and SFB, professional ballet companies and ballet schools across the United States created their own versions of the Nutcracker Ballet. Every year ballet patrons relive the ballet’s Christmas magic, and new crops of dance students practice and perfect ballet performance in prepara-tion for the ballet. Most versions of the Nutcracker share elements of ETA Hoffman’s original story and the use of Tchaikovsky’s music. Many versions include both professional dancers and roles for younger dancers. In 1987 Sacramento Ballet continued the legacy of the Nutcracker by staging an original version. Our current production is choreographed by Ron Cunningham with beautiful sets and dramatic costumes. It includes a cast of over 500 children. Each year the company and cast rehearses 3 months for the 2-week run continuing the Nutcracker legacy and magic to share with audiences of all ages. The Nutcracker has become a cultural icon in the United States and a cornerstone in the Ballet reper-toire reflecting our values of children, home, holidays, and magic with the excellence and beauty of bal-let.

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HISTORY OF THE NUTCRACKER BALLET

The Nutcracker has become a cultural icon in the United States and a cornerstone of ballet repertoire, reflecting our values of

home, holidays, and magic.

RON CUNNINGHAM

The Sacramento Ballet features a full-length version of the time-honored Christmas classic The Nut-cracker Ballet, choreographed by Ron Cunningham. The current version made its debut 24 years ago with beautiful sets and brightly colored costumes. Mr. Cunningham incorporated many elements of de-sign and detail in his version of the Nutcracker. He included many roles for students which allows lo-cal dance students to begin the performing experience early in their dance training and experience per-forming on a full-size stage . Mr. Cunningham’s version of the Nutcracker has over 500 students per-forming along side the Sacramento Ballet Company members each year and is the longest running holi-day event in Sacramento.

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CHOREOGRAPHER

CULTURE Culture stems from a group’s set of values. A value is a belief that you/your family or your community thinks is important. Use the space below to write down three values that are important to your family. Why are they important? ASSOCIATIONS Have you ever seen a movie, play, painting, dance or heard music that reminded you of home? What images, sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures remind you of home? CONNECTION Does your family celebrate any holidays? What is your favorite holiday tradition or something your family likes to do on a regular basis?

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WRITTEN ACTIVITY

HISTORY Match Match the dates to the corresponding events

Sacramento Ballet premiere’s its version of 1958 Ron Cunningham’s the Nutcracker The Nutcracker is first performed at the Marinskii Theatre 1987 George Balanchine’s Nutcracker airs on CBS 1892

Peter IIlich Tchaikovsky was born in 1840 to a working class family with expectations of raising him to be a civil ser-vant. Early on he showed an inclination towards music de-spite little encouragement from his parents. He began studying music on and off at four years of age. He also attended the school of juris-prudence. Tchaikovsky turned to music to release emotion, dedicating his first waltz to his mother after her passing. After a brief career as a civil servant Tchaikovsky quit his job to

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COMPOSER

study music full time at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music. He graduated in 1865 and his first symphony was performed publically in 1868. Tchaikovsky’s work was often harshly judged by critics, yet popular with audiences. He was the first Russian com-poser to incorporate Western European ideals into his com-position and move away from nationalistic themes. Tchaikovsky wanted to incor-porate a worldly professional-ism, high skill, and standards into his compositions while pleasing a broad, interna-tional public.

Despite difficulties in his per-sonal life Tchaikovsky ex-celled professionally, He was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory and as a com-poser. He secured private patron ship and gave up his professorship to focus on composing. Tchaikovsky was recognized by the Tzar of Russia and made Russian nobility. He received a lifetime pension, and in 1893 received an hon-orary Doctorate of Music from the University of Cambridge in Britain.

MUSIC OF THE NUTCRACKER: PETER IILICH TCHAIKOVSKY

The music of the Nutcracker is a swirling and vivid score which allows for a wonderful expression of movement and story. Its har-monious melodies have delighted audiences since the late 1800’s and it is a masterwork Russian composer Peter Iilich Tchaikovsky’s body of work.

Tchaikovsky's music created a bridge between the old and new styles as the world approached the turn of the century. Although he included harmonies, melodies and tempos reminiscent of folk tunes he also created a Western-European sound, scale, color, and sequential style. He infused his compositions with an emotional intensity. He made tremendous strides for dance music in composing for the ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and the Nutcracker, displaying danseuse (quality where the melody matches physical movement perfectly). Tchaikovsky paved the way for a new generation of Russian composers which in-cluded most notably Igor Stravinsky who went on to create a new sound for classi-cal music in the 20th century. Tchaikovsky's music has been described as romantic, charming, unpretentious, technically challenging, elegant , nationalistic, lyrical and intensely emotional, yet in all his music one can hear his thoughtfulness to craftsmanship and tunefulness. He passed in 1893 at the age of 53, leaving behind a legacy of internationally recog-nized music which audiences delight in to this day.

SACRAMENTO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Lover of Harmony The Sacramento Philharmonic partners with the Sacramento Ballet to play the Nutcracker music live, creating another layer of magic and excitement to the holiday tradition. The Sacramento Philhar-monic is a well-respected, professional orchestra providing Sacramento with high quality music and re-viving the city’s passion for classical music. The Philharmonic is a large group of musicians that re-hearse and play classical music in Sacramento for large audiences. The group is conducted (lead) by the Conductor and Music Director Michael Morgan. The conductor’s job is to make sure all the musi-cians are playing the correct section of music at the correct time, to lead the group in tempo (how fast or slow the music is played), volume (how loud or soft the music is played), and artistic direction. The Sac-ramento Philharmonic boasts world renown guest conductors and musicians. It is in its 14th season and is a leading orchestra in the central valley. They currently have an orchestra comprised of over 83 musi-cians with over 22 different instruments and give back to the community through outreach, family pro-grams, and partnerships with other local arts organizations such as the Sacramento Ballet and Sacra-mento Opera. For more information about the Sacramento Philharmonic, their season and outreach programs visit them online at: http://www.sacphil.org/

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SACRAMENTO PHILHARMONIC

INSTRUMENTS The Instruments of the Sacramento Philharmonic

Violin, Violin 2

Viola

Cello Bass Flute

Piccolo Oboe English Horn Clarinet Bass Clarinet

Bassoon

Contra Bassoon

Keyboards

Tuba

Bass Trombone

Trumpet

Trombone

French Horn

Timpani

Percussion

Harp

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INSTRUMENTS

AUDITORY ACTIVITY Supplies: CD Player, CD of Nutcracker Ballet Music by Peter Illich Tchaikovsky Directions: Play Trepac from second act of Nutcracker. Play Arabian from Second Act of Nutcracker. Discuss using discussion questions below. 1) What were some differences you head in the two pieces of music? 2) Which piece of music was faster? Which piece was slower? 3) How did the first piece of music make you feel? 4) How did the second piece of music make you feel? Have students lie down (or sit depending on space available) and close their eyes. Play the first piece again and ask students following question: • With your eyes closed did you see anything while listening to the music? Pictures, colors, places,

people? Have students lie down or sit with eyes closed and play the second piece of music and ask same ques-tions: • With your eyes closed did you see anything while listening to the music? Pictures, colors, places,

people? • What are differences in what you saw between the two pieces of music? • What about the music made you see what you saw? • What about the music do you think made you feel what you felt? • If the music were a color, what color would it be and why? • The second piece of music is called Arabian—why do you think it has that title? MOVEMENT COMPONANT To be done after a physical warm up, such as walking and running around the room, jumping jacks, or as a component of a dance class: Directions: play the first piece of music. Have the students dance how the music makes them feel. As you watch them dance, describe what you are seeing, i.e. “I see jumping, spinning, big shapes ” - give the students directions such as: • Dance as fast as you can • Dance as slow as you can • Dance as big as you can • Dance as little as you can • Make large shapes • Make small shapes

• Dance on the floor • Dance as if you were under water • Think of an animal, dance like that animal • Roll • Jump • Run • Walk

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ADITORY ACTIVITY

VISUAL ARTS ACTIVITY: Design a set and costume for the dancer and the stage.

COMMUNITY CENTER THEATER The Community Center Theater is the premiere home to the performing arts in Sacramento. It is a large theater where people can view live performances, located at 13th and L Streets in the heart of Down-town. Locally it hosts the Sacramento Ballet, The Sacramento Opera, the Sacramento Philharmonic, and The Sacramento Broadway Series in addition to many other world famous performers, speakers, and events. The location is part of the Sacramento Convention Center Complex and can seat over 2,000 in its 3-level Theatre. THEATER ETIQUETTE

Please inform your students of the following guidelines. We want everyone to enjoy their magical ex-perience at the ballet. We encourage you to use the following live performance guidelines as a teaching

tool for good behavior at the performance.

No late seating: Please arrive early to allow time for parking and entering the theater. Once the per-formance has begun, we will not interrupt the performance by opening the doors to the seating area. No food or drink may be brought into the theatre: No refreshments are sold during student mati-nees. No outside food or drink is allowed in the theatre. No electronic or recording devices of any kind: All performance elements are protected by copyright, taking photographs or making a recording of any kind is prohibited by law. In addition: The dancers use a red light at the back of the theatre to help them turn. They focus on this light (called “spotting”) to help keep them from getting dizzy. A camera flash, cell phone light or video light could confuse the dancers and possibly cause them to fall. Stay in your seat: Once the performance has begun, no child is allowed in the lobby without an adult. Please note: you will not be allowed back into the seating area of theater if you leave your seat. Patrons will be allowed to return to their seats when the performance has ended or at intermission. No talking: We would like everyone to appreciate the live performance and not be distracted. Applause: Show your appreciation with thunderous applause. Do not scream. If you wish to express your enthusiasm with words, yell “Brava!” for the ballerina and “Bravo!” for the male dancer. No throwing: It is distracting to your fellow audience members and especially to the dancers on stage. Adults are requested to remove disruptive children: Students may be asked to leave the theatre for inappropriate behavior. Please keep your feet off of the seat in front of you. Turn off your cell phones and ENJOY THE SHOW!

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COMMUNITY CENTER THEATER

PRE-PERFORMANCE BRAINSTORM ACTIVITY Ballet is a wonderful door that opens discussions and learning about dance, music, art, storytelling. Ask your students a few questions to get them ready for seeing and learning while at the ballet. Some pre-performance questions and cues are below. Have students as a group or on a piece of paper as a writing activity answer the following questions:

1) What do you think of when you think of the word ballet?

2) Can boys dance ballet?

3) What are costumes?

4) Where do ballet dancers dance?

Have students save their answers and have them answer the same questions on a separate sheet of paper after viewing the ballet. Compare the answers.

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1.0 ARTISTIC PERCEPTION ACTIVITY

MOVEMENT ACTIVITY– Warm Ups Warming up is an integral part of any dance or movement exercise. Like athletes Ballet dancers must warm up their bodies to prevent injury and maximize their physical ability while training and performing. Warming up the body does not have to be simply executing steps. Movement games are a great way to get the body moving and introduce students to a physical self awareness, their physical connection and relationship to fellow students, and a familiarity with movement before stepping into dance steps and/or movements. As an instructor, experiment with different ways to warm your students up. When weather permits take them outside to do the warm up games in a larger out-door area. Grades K-2 Musical Chairs Materials: Circle of chairs, mats or cushions (something for each student to sit on), one per student, CD player or radio Place the chairs in a circle, start each student seated on a chair. Have all students stand and remove one chair. Explain that students will circle the chairs going counter clockwise, moving to the music. When the music stops they must find a chair/mat/cushion to sit on. There will be one person who does not find a chair. Have them sit outside the circle until the next round. Encourage students to try different movements as the make their way around the circle, clapping, stomping, and turning are all great ways to move in a circle. Also encourage students to be aware of their physical space so they don’t bump into one another. Each time the music stops and one person steps out, also remove a chair. Continue until one chair and two students are left. Continue through the last round until one student is seated in one chair. After each round replace the chairs and begin again. Continue game at least 3-4 times. While engaged in the “game” students will experience an increased sense of physical awareness, both of themselves and in relation to their fellow students. Students will also gain increased experience moving to music, familiarizing themselves with the beginning stages of dance.

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2.0 CREATIVE EXPRESSION ACTIVITY

MOVEMENT ACTIVITY– Warm Ups Continued Grades K-12 Name Game Materials: Space for entire group to stand in a circle Have group stand in a circle. Begin with one person making a movement, shape or gesture (like jump-ing, or waving) while saying their name. You can give the prompt for older students to do a gesture that reflects how they are feeling (i.e. if they are happy they can jump up and down, if they are tired they could rest their head on their forearm). Have entire group in unison copy the shape/movement and say the first person’s name. Continue to the next student. Have the second student say their name and make a movement. Group does the first person’s movement and name, then adds the second person’s movement and name. Continue around the circle until all students have said their name and created a movement, shape or gesture and entire group is doing all the movements and names in a row. By the end, there will be a series of movement/names reflecting all participants. Discuss how a series of movements is a basic dance, thus, all participants have contributed to choreo-graphing dance: a series of prescribed movements. As the instructor you can also encourage a wide variety of movements. Allow all appropriate movements to be valid, if a student is having trouble coming up with something give them to the count of three, if they shrug their shoulders or nod their head this can be their movement. Movements can be simple! This exercise is a good warm up to get the body moving, the brain stimulated, utilize memory, and stimulate creativity.

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2.0 CREATIVE EXPRESSION ACTIVITY

CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD In the Nutcracker story Clara’s family celebrates the Winter Holiday of Christmas. What are other holi-days that people celebrate around the world? As a class research different holidays celebrated around the world answering the questions: 1) Who celebrates this holiday? 2) What do people do on this holiday? Are there games they play, songs they sing, food they eat, etc.

that is part of the holiday tradition? 3) When is this holiday celebrated? 4) Where is this holiday celebrated? 5) Why do people celebrate this holiday? 6) How is this holiday celebrated—what are customs and traditions people do when celebrating this

holiday? Your class can stick to winter holidays, or can explore holidays celebrated around the world all through-out the year. This activity can be as a group learning project presented by the teacher for younger grades, or can be assigned individually to students who write up their findings and/or present their find-ings as in-class presentations. In addition to presenting the information verbally or written have students draw a picture relating a visual element of their findings. For example, students can draw a picture of people celebrating their holiday, a flag from the country where the holiday is celebrated, or an item used in the celebration. For the Nut-cracker and Christmas a student might draw a picture of a Christmas tree.

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3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT ACTIVITY

POST PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1) What is one thing you remember about the performance?

2) What was your favorite part?

3) Ballet dancers dance to music. What does the music sound like in the Nutcracker?

4) What kinds of costumes did the dancers wear?

5) What was your favorite costume?

6) How did the dancers move?

7) What kinds of shapes did the dancers make with their bodies?

8) What colors did you see in the ballet? When did you see those colors?

9) Both kids and adults dance in the Nutcracker. What kinds of parts do kids play in the Nutcracker?

10) What time of year does the story take place?

11) Where does the story take place?

12) What time period is the story set? Is it today, in the past, or in the future?

13) Who are the main characters in the Nutcracker?

14) What does an audience do when they like the dance they have seen?

15) Do you have any holiday traditions you celebrate with your family?

16) Clara goes to a magical land of sweets and candy, if you could go to a magical land what would it be

like? What would you like to do there? What would it look like? What would it smell like? What would

you eat there? What kinds of sounds would you hear there? What kinds of things could you touch?

VISUAL ART ACTIVITY 1) Have students draw a picture of their ideal imaginary land using the cues above. This project can

also be done as a multi-media collage using found objects, pictures from magazines, etc.

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4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING ACTIVITY

BRAIN BUBLE: 1) Write down one thing you would like to be when you grow up. For example, a make-up artist. 2) Brainstorm a list of all the places we find dance, for example, on tv, in cultural ceremonies, in dance

classes, etc. 3) Brainstorm all the people that help those dance forms happen. For example a highschool dance

team needs a coach. 4) Keep finding layers and groups that connect until you can connect to your chosen profession. For

example, a TV dance competition needs dancers, dance instructors, show producers, costumers, fund raisers, a director, and make up artists.

Want to be a Make Up Artist

DANCE

Dance lessons

At a Wedding

TV dance competition

Cheerleading

Coach

Costume designer

Team captain

Make up artist

Parent volunteers

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5.0 CONNECTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS AND APPLICATIONS ACTIVITY

Resources Peter Tchaikovsky : http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-msgr&p=peter%20ilyich%20tchaikovsky&type= Instruments: http://www.sacphil.org/ftp_only/the_instruments_of_the_orchestra.pdf www.sacballet.org

Theatre Etiquette

Please inform your students of the following guidelines. We want everyone to enjoy their magical experience at the ballet. We encourage you to use the following live performance guidelines as a teaching tool

for good behavior at the performance.

No late seating: Please arrive early to allow time for parking and entering the theater. Once the performance has begun, we will not interrupt the performance by opening the doors to the seating area. No food or drink may be brought into the theatre: No outside food or drink is allowed in the theatre. No electronic or recording devices of any kind: All performance elements are protected by copyright, taking photographs or making a recording of any kind is prohibited by law. In addition: The dancers use a red light at the back of the theatre to help them turn. They focus on this light (called “spotting”) to help keep them from getting dizzy. A camera flash, cell phone light or video light could confuse the dancers and possibly cause them to fall. Stay in your seat: Once the performance has begun, no child is allowed in the lobby without an adult. Please note: you will not be allowed back into the seating area of theater if you leave your seat. Patrons will be allowed to return to their seats when the performance has ended or at intermission. No talking: We would like everyone to appreciate the live performance and not be distracted. Applause: Show your appreciation with thunderous applause. Do not scream. If you wish to express your enthusiasm with words, yell “Brava!” for the ballerina and “Bravo!” for the male dancer. No throwing: It is distracting to your fellow audience members and especially to the dancers on stage. Adults are requested to remove disruptive children: Students may be asked to leave the theatre for inappropriate behavior. Please keep your feet off of the seat in front of you. Turn off your cell phones and ENJOY THE SHOW!

The Sacramento Ballet: 1631 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 552-5800

COMMUNITY CENTER THEATER 1301 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 (Corner of 13th and L Streets – entrances on L Street and K Street) Directions:

From Highway 50 westbound: follow U.S. 50 until it becomes Business 80 westbound. Take the 16th Street exit. At the end of the off ramp, turn right down 16th Street (northbound). Go down a little over one mile. Turn left on L Street. The theater is on your right. From Interstate 80 westbound: follow I-80 west to Business 80 westbound. After 5 miles take Highway 160 towards downtown Sacramento. Highway 160 will become North 12th Street. Follow 12th Street southbound to J Street. Take a left on J Street. Turn right onto 15th Street. Go up two blocks to L Street and take a right. The theatre is on the right.

From Interstate 5 southbound: follow I-5 south to the J Street exit. Follow J Street to 15th Street. Take a right on 15th. Go up two blocks to L Street and take a right. The theatre is on the right.

From Interstate 80 eastbound: follow I-80 to Business 80 (the Capital City Freeway). Take the 15th Street exit. Turn down X Street for one block and turn left on 16th Street. Go down a little over one mile. Turn left on L Street. The theater is on your right. From Highway 99 northbound: Take U.S. 99 North. At the interchange with Business 80 and U.S. 50, take Business 80 west. Take the 16th Street exit. At the end of the off ramp, turn right down 16th Street (northbound). Go down a little over one mile. Turn left on L Street. The theater is on your right. From Interstate 5 northbound: Take I-5 north. Bear right onto the onramp to Business 80 east. Take the 16th Street off ramp. Turn left onto 16th Street. Go down a little over one mile. Turn left on L Street. The theater is on your right.

Parking Instructions for Cars

Theater Address: 1301 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 (Corner of 13th and L Streets- main entrance on L Street)

Please note that most parking meters downtown are 1-hour or 2-hour meters. There is no free street parking surrounding the theater. Some garages may be full or unavailable to the public during the day. Please give yourself plenty of time to find parking, as there is no late seating during the performance until intermission. Parking lots nearest the theater: 1415 L St: driving West on L, turn right onto 14th and immediately turn right down the parking garage ramp (adjacent to the East side of the theatre) 1500 K St: entrance is on K Street between 15th and 16th (1.5 blocks from theater)

Other parking lots: City Hall Garage (10th & I, 11th & I) Capitol Garage (10th & L) East End Garage (17th, Between L & Capitol) Esquire Plaza Lot (13th between J & K) Memorial Garage (14th & H St) Priority Parking (16th and J) Priority Parking (1414 I) Priority Parking (1601 I) Priority Parking (1117 J) Sheraton Garage (900 13th St)