Students at the Fox is a program that provides free tickets to students (elementary school through college), for shows that come to the Fox Performing Arts Center each season.

Many are surprised to learn that The Fox Performing Arts Center is a municipal entity and that it belongs to the public; however, not everyone has the capacity to buy tickets to the myriad shows and concerts that are presented (sold at the market rates by the hired venue manager, Live Nation).

The Fox Riverside Theater Foundation fills that accessibility gap for area students by providing these complimentary tickets – which often dovetail in to public school educational/arts programs – that would otherwise be inaccessible due to cost, as 67% or more of families in local school districts live at or below the Federal Poverty Line. While our partner educators and school districts work diligently to provide opportunities for their students, there are still serious funding limitations for out-of-the-classroom experiences – which is where our programming is so vital to their enrichment. For the majority of our students, this is their very first live theater experience.

Our distribution of tickets is strategic, ensuring that each high school in both of our city school districts and Sherman Indian High School have access. We also serve school groups from surrounding communities, including San Bernardino, Grand Terrace, Colton, and Moreno Valley. For focused outreach for at-risk youth, the Foundation additionally provides tickets to non-profit organizations with youth clientele, including a homeless shelter, a shelter for endangered teens, and an organization that works with foster kids aging out the system.

Our Students at the Fox program also creates in-depth learning opportunities whenever possible. Our under-served students take master classes with professional performers from these shows, have opportunities to interact directly with cast members for Q&A sessions during “cast chats” after shows, and experience customized assemblies with performers who provide Q&A sessions after their performances. When needed, our program also provides transportation to our venue – all activities that would simply be out of reach if the payment/cost barrier was at play.

The demand is higher than ever before for this program, with thousands of tickets requested, along with requests for the wrap-around programs of assemblies and master classes. Each year we work diligently to meet this demand for tickets and activities, but to do so it is critical for our success to continue to expand our ticket-purchasing ability. Each year we have had to turn away organizations due to demand being higher than we are able to supply, and that is simply a terrible loss for our students, whose educators are often counting on our programs as their primary cultural/arts field trip. So we ask if you’re so moved, please consider donating to this outstanding program, by clicking below!

Students at the Fox’s companion program, Seniors at the Fox, focuses on the same type of ticket outreach for area senior citizens. You can learn more about that by clicking here.