NAC Terms of Service

Planning your visit for a student matinee

Covid-19 

School buses 

Arriving by bus, students may be dropped off at the Rideau Canal side of the NAC (accessed from Freiman Lane off Elgin Street). Buses cannot park onsite at the NAC; please see here for more information about parking buses downtown. An NAC representative will greet your group upon arrival and will direct you to the performance hall.  

Public transit 

The NAC is only a 5-10 minute walk from major bus interchanges, including the Mackenzie King and Rideau Street stations. For bus schedules and maps please refer to your bus website.

NAC underground parking 

Tickets 

Your tickets will be emailed to you after payment of your invoice has been received. 

Accessibility 

All performance halls are wheelchair accessible and equipped with an Assistive Listening System; please ensure you inform us of your requirements when placing your reservation request. 

Universal Washrooms 

The NAC has designated universal (gender neutral) washrooms on the main floor of the Southam foyer and the second level of the Studio foyer.  

Lunch 

School groups will not be permitted to eat lunch or snacks on site. If you would like to purchase lunch, the NAC is conveniently located near a wide variety of options, including the Rideau Centre, Elgin Street, the Sparks Street promenade and the Byward Market.   

Financial Assistance 

The NAC can help cover the cost of artist fees for arts education activities this season, as our funds permit, for schools requiring financial assistance due to the pandemic. To submit a request for financial assistance, please follow the instructions on the online registration form. 

Know before you go… 

Etiquette 

We encourage you to review these guidelines with your students to ensure a positive event for all. 

Arrive early 

Please arrive at least 45 minutes prior to the performance in order for staff to complete screening questions and check proof of vaccination.  

Be respectful! 

Dress code: Whatever your school requires you to wear is appropriate for a performance. 
No food or drink is permitted in the performance hall. 
Please do not leave/return during the performance – it is disruptive for both the audience and the performers.  
Please don’t talk – save your thoughts to share at intermission or after the performance. 
Definitely no cell phones, cameras or other mobile devices – no texting or recording of any kind is allowed in the performance hall. Turn your phone to airplane mode or better yet, turn it right off.  

Enjoy! 

Performers on stage rely on the audience for the energy to perform – so have fun, and enjoy the experience! Everyone who views a performance will experience it in a different way. It is important to respect this process of exploration in yourselves and those around you. 
We ask that teachers and/or supervisors remain with students at all times. 
Please be advised that some NAC presentations may deal with mature themes and/or may contain coarse language, violence, sexuality or nudity. Grade level recommendations have been made with this in mind. 
For information on specific show content, please contact the NAC Learning and Engagement Team at education@nac-cna.ca   

Booking Requests, Payments & Policies 

Online Reservations 

You must make a reservation request to attend an NAC event (in-person and/or virtual). 
To make a reservation, select the event you wish to attend by browsing events from the Arts Alive homepage. Complete the online form and click "Reserve Now". Once we receive your reservation request, we will follow up by email or telephone to confirm your details. We will then send you a contract-invoice confirming the number of seats, performance date and time, amount payable, and a deadline by which you must remit payment (five weeks prior to the performance). 

Payment Process 

Immediately upon receiving your contract-invoice, please check that your order is correct. 
We will accept one payment per invoice* for the total amount indicated, payable by credit card (American Express, VISA, MasterCard), money order or cheque.  
*We cannot accept multiple payments (e.g., more than one cheque per invoice), nor can we accept one cheque for multiple invoices if you are ordering from more than one artistic discipline.  

Cheques should be made payable to the National Arts Centre. Payment in full is due no later than five weeks prior to the performance.  
Letters of Admission will be emailed to you upon receipt of full payment.  
Out of respect for groups on the waiting list, please understand that the NAC reserves the right to cancel any orders or release any tickets that have not been paid by the payment deadline. 

Conditions of Sale 

Seating policy: Arrive early! 
General Seating: Issued tickets will be general seating (i.e., there are no assigned seats; you will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis the day of the performance). 
Latecomers: Latecomers will be admitted by NAC ushers only at a suitable break in the performance. 

Ticket Policy 

National Arts Centre policy requires that every person have a ticket in order to be admitted to a performance. This policy applies to everyone, including children and infants and to adults accompanying groups to student matinees. A group consists of 10 students or more. The National Arts Centre reserves the right to limit the number of adults admitted to student matinees. 

Cancellation / Refund Policy 

All sales are final. Cancellations of tickets will not be accepted after the payment deadline indicated on your invoice. You will be liable for full payment. 
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged unless a performance is cancelled by the National Arts Centre or if school buses are cancelled by the school board due to inclement weather. Please ensure that numbers are correct before making the final payment. In the case of an event cancellation, you will have one year to redeem your tickets for a refund.  
The NAC is unable to refund or resell unused tickets due to student absences on the day of the performance. 

Virtual event registration confirmation 

• All orders must be completed and submitted online. When you are ready to submit your order form, please make sure that your valid email address is entered correctly.
• Once you have completed and submitted your event order form, you will receive an order confirmation email confirming we received your order and we will be in touch by email to coordinate. 
• Please allow up to fourteen (14) business days between the receipt of your order and the anticipated date of the event. We recommend verifying your junk email box in case any of your virtual event email(s) are caught by spam filters. 
• All events are pending availability of the artist(s).
• Once a virtual event has been confirmed with the artist(s) and the school, an invoice will be emailed to you at the email address provided in the order form, confirming your event(s) date and time, the amount payable, and a payment due date.
• You may receive additional information related to the event(s) for which you registered at the email address you provided on your virtual event order form.
• The school is responsible to ensure that at least one member of staff is present and retains custody of the classroom throughout the entirety of the NAC teaching artist(s)’s visit / virtual event in question.

NAC Digital Access Policy