Little Red Riding Hood: A Musical Adventure
A classic tale of courage and kindness, retold with songs the whole school can sing along to.
Book This ShowMusical Theatre Programs for K–8 Schools & Families
We bring the stage into the classroom.
Play'N Around Children's Theatre Company designs musical theatre programs that turn any auditorium, cafeteria, or classroom into a place where K-8 students learn through story, music, and performance — built to fit inside a real school day.
Most schools reach out 4–6 weeks before their target date — get in touch now and we'll hold the dates that work for your calendar.
K–8Grade Range
45–90 minProgram Formats
LA CountyService Area
1–5 DaysResidency Length
Why schools choose us
Built for the school day
Formats sized to fit a single period, an assembly block, or a multi-day residency.
Every student participates
Programs are built around singing, movement, and response — not passive viewing.
Tied to real learning goals
Each program links to literacy, social-emotional learning, or arts-standard outcomes.
Local to LA County
One point of contact, responsive scheduling, and no cross-country tour logistics.
Our Repertoire
Stories your students already know and love
Every production is adapted into a school-ready format — assembly-length or residency-length — built around music, movement, and a story kids connect with instantly.
The Elves and the Shoemaker
A heartwarming favorite about generosity and teamwork, perfect for a winter assembly.
Book This Show
Rumpelstiltskin
A clever, high-energy retelling built around problem-solving and keeping your word.
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BullyProof the Musical
Our bullying-prevention program, following a student who takes a stand for a friend. Addresses bullying, cyberbullying, physical violence, and inappropriate behavior — built for assemblies as a conversation-starter, not just a show.
Learn MoreWhy It Matters
Arts time keeps shrinking. Kids still need it.
Between testing schedules and tight budgets, many K-8 students get fewer chances to sing, perform, or even see live theatre during the school year — and after-school options aren't always accessible to every family.
Musical theatre gives students something a worksheet can't: a reason to read closely, speak clearly, work as a team, and manage nerves in front of an audience. Our job is to make that available inside a normal school schedule and budget, and to make it easy for the family who wants more of it at home.
Picture the student who never raises a hand in class finding their voice in a sing-along, or a cafeteria that's usually loud going quiet for a talkback that keeps going back in the classroom days later. That's the moment every program is built around.
What a good program should do
- Fit the time and space a school actually has — not the other way around.
- Give every student a moment to participate, regardless of prior experience.
- Connect clearly to what teachers are already responsible for teaching.
- Be simple to book, explain to administration, and schedule around testing.
Two Ways to Work With Us
Whether you're booking for a school or signing up your own kid
For Educators & Administrators
Bring a program into your school
Assembly shows, artist-in-residence programs, and grade-wide workshops — scoped to your calendar, your space, and your budget, with the logistics handled for you.
- Single assemblies or multi-day residencies
- Standards-aligned learning outcomes
- Works with PTA, Title I, and enrichment budgets
- Bookable with your school's Prop 28 arts funding — no application needed
For Families
Enroll your child directly
After-school classes and seasonal camps for K-8 students who want more stage time than the school day allows — no prior experience required.
- After-school sessions during the school year
- Seasonal & summer camp weeks
- Grouped by age, not audition
Program Formats
Three ways to bring theatre to your students
Every format is scoped up front — group size, timing, and space needs — before anything is booked.
Assembly Shows
A single performance for the whole school or grade level, built around a specific theme — literacy, kindness, perseverance, history — with a talkback or sing-along built in.
In-School Residencies
Our teaching artists work with one or more classes over several days, building toward a short student-performed musical scene that the class presents to parents or peers.
Classes & Camps
Ongoing after-school classes and seasonal camps for families who want their child to keep performing beyond a one-time school program.
How Booking Works
From first email to opening number
Tell us about your school
Share your grade levels, group size, space, and preferred dates through our booking form.
Get a scoped proposal
We reply with a program recommendation, timing, and pricing based on what you actually described.
Confirm & prep
Once booked, we send a simple logistics checklist — space, AV, schedule — so nothing is a surprise on the day.
Program day
Our team arrives, sets up, runs the program, and handles teardown — your staff can stay in the room, not run the show.
Why Schools Choose Us
Theatre as the method, not just the event
A lot of school assemblies are built to entertain for an hour and end there. We build ours around a specific outcome — a reading skill, a social-emotional idea, a piece of history — and use music and performance as the way in, because it works better than a lecture for this age group.
- Programs are designed around participation, not passive watching.
- Formats scale from a single assembly to a full residency, so you can start small.
- We serve LA County directly, so scheduling and site visits are straightforward.
- Families can continue with us after a school program through our classes and camps.
Common Questions
What educators usually ask first
Cost depends on program length, group size, and travel distance — there's no single flat rate. We give you a specific number after a short conversation about your school, not before. See our full FAQ for how pricing is structured.
Most assemblies can be scheduled 4-6 weeks out; residencies typically need more lead time to coordinate with classroom teachers. If your date is sooner, ask — we'll tell you plainly if it's realistic.
Yes. Anyone working directly with students completes a background check before being placed in a school, and we're glad to provide documentation your office requires ahead of time.
What's Usually Holding Schools Back
The three things administrators ask about first
We'd rather address these directly than have you wonder about them.
"We don't have the budget."
Most LA County schools already have Prop 28 arts dollars sitting in the budget for exactly this kind of outside partnership. For most schools, booking us is a matter of directing funds that are already there — not finding new ones.
"We don't have room in the schedule."
An assembly runs in one 45–60 minute block you already have on the calendar. No substitute teachers, no lost instructional day, no schedule rebuild.
"Will it actually stick, or is it just a fun hour?"
Every program is designed backward from a specific learning goal, with a talkback or sing-along built in — so what students take away outlasts the performance itself.
Your students are ready. Let's get a date on the calendar.
Tell us about your students and dates — we'll follow up with a program recommendation within one business day.