Booking secures a place at an ISTA TAPS event by estimating the number of participants and paying a deposit. Registration finalises participant details, ensuring accurate planning for theatre tickets, catering, and transportation.

📅 Booking

Opens: 1:00 pm UK time on Monday, 31 March 2025

Before booking, ensure your trip is viable by checking:

• Travel restrictions and visa requirements

• Parental approvals

• School authorisation

At the time of booking, organisations must provide:

• Total number of students

• Total number of educators

• Lead educator chaperone contact details

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💰 Deposit & Confirmation

Upon booking, you will receive an invoice for a 25% deposit, based on the number of students booked. This deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable and secures your reservation. Bookings are fully confirmed once the deposit is received within 30 days.

📌 Only book spaces you are certain you can fill to prevent unnecessary reductions at registration.

📝 Registration

Opens: 1:00 pm UK time on Monday, 31 March 2025

Closes: 11:59 pm UK time on Thursday 18 September 2025

Once registration opens, schools that have confirmed their students should register as soon as possible. All registrations must be completed by 18 September 2025 to finalise event logistics.

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At the time of registration, organisations must provide:

• Finalised participant details

• Travel information

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🔄 Changes in Student Numbers

• Fewer students than booked: Deposits for non-attending students are forfeited. (e.g. If you book 15 students but only 10 attend, the deposit for 5 will not be refunded.)

• Additional students: A 25% deposit per added student will be invoiced.

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⏳ Waitlist

If the event reaches capacity, it will be marked “Waitlist”. If you wish to be added:

1. Email the Event Manager with your requested number of students and teachers.

2. Spaces will be offered in the order waitlist requests are received.

🛏️ Accommodation: All participants are responsible for booking their own accommodation in New York City for the duration of TAPS. We advise that you book hotels/hostels near the venue.


🛬 Arrival: Participants should plan to arrive into New York City by evening of Wednesday, 15 October 2025

🛫 Departure: Participants should not plan to leave the venue before 2:45 pm on Saturday, 18 October 2025 

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Please book travel accordingly and allow for ample time to travel to and from the airport/train station. 

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🛂 Visa Requirements

It is the responsibility of participants/schools to ensure they have the necessary visas.

📌 Visa applications can take time, so we strongly recommend starting the process as soon as possible.

If you require assistance or supporting documentation for your visa application, please contact the Event Manager well in advance.

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📢 Important Communication Information

ISTA business days are Monday to Friday, and we aim to respond to all emails within three business days.

📌 ISTA staff do not monitor emails on weekends (Saturday & Sunday) or public holidays. If a staff member is working at an event, response times may be longer than usual.

ISTA TAPS events follow a two-step automated payment process:

‍1️⃣ Step 1: Deposit Payment at Booking

• Upon booking, you will be required to pay a 25% deposit immediately.
• This deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable and confirms your reservation.
• Bookings will only be secured once the deposit payment is successfully processed.

‍2️⃣ Step 2: Remaining Balance Upon Registration Closure

• Once registration closes, organisations will be automatically invoiced for the remaining 75% of registration fees, plus any applicable surcharges, based on the final number of students registered.

🔄 Changes in Student Numbers

• Fewer students than booked: Deposits for students who do not attend will be forfeited. (e.g. If you book 15 students but only 10 attend, the deposit for the 5 who do not attend will not be refunded.)‍
• Additional students: A 25% deposit per added student will be invoiced at the time of the increase.

TAPS Schedule:

• Start: 9:45 am Thursday 16 October 2025
• End: 2:30 pm Saturday 18 October 2025

Participants are expected to attend all sessions of the event.

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🎭 Educator Workshops: 

All educator chaperones will take part in a specialist workshop focusing on a specific aspect of theatre. Specialist Workshop leader and session information for this TAPS Perspectives will be confirmed by May 2025

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🎟️ Performance 1 - Stranger Things: The First Shadow

October 16th 2025 7:00pm

Marquis Theatre in the heart of Times Square at 210 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036

Link to the show website - here‍

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About the show:

"THE MOST NOMINATED PLAY OF THE SEASON"

19 Tony Award®, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Nominations.

Broadway just got turned Upside Down. Critics hail STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW as “a jaw-dropping, must-see theatrical marvel” (Entertainment Weekly) that makes you ask “how the hell did they do this?” (The New York Times) over and over again. From Netflix and multi-award-winning Broadway producer Sonia Friedman Productions, and directed by three-time Tony Award winner Stephen Daldry alongside Justin Martin, this pulse-racing new adventure will take you on “a non-stop thrill ride!” (Deadline)

Are monsters born… or made?

In 1959 Hawkins, Indiana, the Creel family seeks a fresh start — especially their teenage son Henry, who is eager to escape his troubled past. Everything changes when he meets Patty, a fellow outsider, and their budding romance gives Henry hope for the first time. But when a wave of shocking crimes strikes the town, Henry is forced to confront a terrifying truth: is something inside him that connects him to the horrors unfolding around him? This gripping stand-alone adventure will pull you deep into the world of STRANGER THINGS—where suspense and spectacle lurk at every turn.

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🎟️ Performance 2 - Punch - written by James Graham and directed by Adam Penford‍

October 17th 2025 7:00pm

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 261 West 47th Street

(between Broadway & 8th Ave.)

Link to the show website - here‍

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About the show:

As Jacob tears through Nottingham in a whirlwind of drugs, girls, and bar fights, he makes a fatal mistake that lands him in prison. But as he struggles to accept the consequences of his actions and build a new life, he finds an unusual source of salvation: the parents of the boy he killed. Based on a remarkable true story, Punch is two-time Olivier winner James Graham (INK)’s “most moving work yet” (The Times of London).

This production is dedicated to James Hodgkinson and all victims of one-punch.

In association with Nottingham Playhouse.

Major support for Punch is provided by Ned Lustbader.

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📄 E-Programmes containing detailed schedules, workshop information, artist bios and other event-specific information will be sent to participating organisations two weeks prior to the event. TAPS Journals will be distributed to learners at registration on Day 1 of the event. Learners should bring pens/pencils for note-taking and reflection activities.

🍏 No meals are provided as part of this event.

👕 Appropriate attire: 

• All participants must bring clothing that is suitable for physically active workshops during the day (athletic wear, PE kit, performance blacks, etc.) 
• Outfits suitable for attending theatre performances in the evening. 

Please note:

• Participants not dressed appropriately for physically active workshops may be asked to sit out.
• Participants may be asked to remove footwear, jewellery etc. for some workshops.
• Chewing gum is not permitted in any of the workshop spaces.

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✏️ Materials: 

• Any materials requested by the Workshop Leaders (printed text, notes on pre-reading/viewing activities etc.) details will be in the e-Programme
• Pens, pencils, highlighters etc. for notetaking in TAPS journals
• Refillable water bottle