Excellent and fun production of Mamma Mia! by the Novato Theatre Company! The cast was talented,…read morethe music of ABBA was wonderfully performed, and the energy throughout the show was infectious. A thoroughly enjoyable evening of theater that left the audience smiling and singing along at the end. Highly recommended!

It has been nearly 72 hours since the Sunday matinee MMTC/NTC performance of Alanis Morissette's…read more"Jagged Little Pill" and the choreography, the acting, and the music just continue to play in my head!  Morgan Olson and Evvy Calstrom-March are riveting talents with commanding stage presence. You simply can't take your eyes off of them! Music director Megan Schoenbohm, from whom I sat a mere ten feet from, was herself fascinating to watch as she meticulously and flawlessly conducted her musicians from one Morissette hit to another  (while on guitar and harmonica). The intimate and cozy NTC routinely delivers outstanding productions. Add this one to the long list.

Love the Improv Marin classes. I've taken classes at other schools and this is the best. I'm…read moretaking the class to be more spontaneous and to have FUN! I love the way the teacher starts us off by simply pairing us up and talking to one person before we circle up with the whole group. This helps quiet the fear and let's face it we all have fear!

My friend and I took a class here recently and loved it! Drew, the instructor made us feel at…read morehome. I have no Improv experience, but right away I felt a part of what was going on. My friend, who is a bit shy, really started to blossom in the warm fun atmosphere. There are a lot of talented people of all different ages in the class, and Drew elevates everyone there. If you haven't been to an Improv class, this one is fantastic!

Our 8-year old daughter just completed a week of musical theater camp at PAA of Marin and is now…read moregoing back for the "Triple Threat" (singing, acting & dancing) course. She loved the experience and we - the parents - loved the way she developed both her artistic talent AND collaborative skills in working as an ensemble/team. We highly recommend this for kids who want to have fun while learning important life lessons applicable to everything we do in today's world. Performing in a musical theater production involves creativity, self-expression, discipline, practice, attunement to what's going on around oneself, and working with others. A great way to build multiple skills while having a great time.

-----Adding to address Annie's comment below: Annie - if…read moreindeed you want to apply consistency across all performers, then when we fly in for the performance on Sunday we will join the show just like a number of other caucasian ensemble performers who had lower attendance and are still being allowed on stage. I plan to have my video on, so will record any interactions in which we're stopped from going on stage, and point to the caucasian students who have missed tech rehearsals this week yet still being allowed on stage. If paam is keeping our money, then we are performing on Sunday. Paam can also issue a refund and we'll be happy to go separate ways. But Paam does not get to take all our money and disallow us to be on stage yet allow others to be on stage who have lower attendance than our kids. Appreciate you doing the right thing. -----Original post: Our experience with the Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM) has been deeply disappointing -- both in terms of fairness and the overall learning outcomes. The program feels heavily commercialized, prioritizing revenue over education or student experience. Tuition is extremely high for what ultimately amounts to very limited technical instruction, the pressure of buying vanity products aimed at parents who think their kids a star is everywhere, and the refund/credit policies are rigid to the point of being unreasonable. I've never written about race or discrimination in a review before, but I feel obligated to address it here because it has affected my daughters repeatedly. In the lyrical squad, choreography has been super simple and non-technical, yet cast placements have shown a clear pattern: the same Caucasian dancers are routinely placed front and center, while my older daughter -- who is a good dancer but not Caucasian -- is continually placed in the back or off to the far side. My younger daughter was once put in the front purely due to her small size in a formation, but it wasn't part of any fair or rotating system that would give all dancers a chance to shine. The final straw has been this: Multiple Caucasian dancers have been allowed to miss tech rehearsals and still participate in shows. Meanwhile, my daughters, who need to miss a single 24-hour window for a required ski team race and assessment (and for which we arranged to return early at significant cost of flying in, tickets already purchased), were told just 3 days before that they would not be allowed to perform once they fly in -- despite knowing their choreography thoroughly and being disciplined, capable dancers. The rigidity applied to them simply hasn't been applied to others. The pattern is painful to watch as a parent. It's demoralizing for kids who have worked hard and earned their place on stage. It's their right and not someone's at the front desk to strip them of who doesn't even see them. At the start of the year parents also receive an extremely one-sided agreement through DocuSign -- which I declined to sign because it was so imbalanced. I can't say I'm surprised. But it is disheartening to pay thousands of dollars for a program that delivers minimal instruction, selectively enforces rules for preferential kids, and ultimately allows discriminatory dynamics to persist. I wish our experience had been different, but based on what we've seen, I cannot recommend PAAM for families seeking a fair, inclusive, or educationally meaningful dance program.

We had Tobias Weinberger from The Traveling Spectacular perform at our seven year old's birthday…read moreparty. He was awesome. His manner was captivating and his performance was very entertaining. He has an excellent sense of humor and all ages were enthralled. Our nine year old always tries to guess the tricks and explain them. He couldn't believe his eyes. He said he was by far the best magician he's ever seen. The adults were mesmerized by his contact juggling and sword swallowing. Definitely second to none. See him before he makes it on Broadway, Vegas or moves to Europe!

We hired Tobias and the Traveling Spectacular to perform at my 50th birthday party and we were not…read moredisappointed. Their performance and performers exceeded every expectation. All of our guests were so impressed and entertained which was exactly what we wanted. Between their live music, their amazing stage set-up (and the truck!), their props, and costumes...the Traveling Spectacular performers and show created an incredible experience for us. We felt transported to a different time and place; just the right combination of carnival + circus. The Traveling Spectaculars took my birthday party to the next level. I would definitely hire them again.

He is amazing. What can one day about these bubble shows? This guy is a magician. He comes in and…read moresets up and just does his thing and the kids are in awe. He has different bubble sticks and ropes and with different bubble patterns. The show is spectacular. We were lucky to witness this at lake temescal for a bday party we attended and it was just magical. We saw him again few weeks later in San Ramon at the wind and kite festival. Brilliant! I don't know how much he charges but we'll worth it if u can afford it.

We just hosted our 2yr olds birthday with Sterling the Bubblesmith! He was amazing. I had never…read moreseen nor hired a bubble show before but thought it would be a great idea. He arrived promptly and set himself up in the backyard. He was friendly and cheerful and excited for the show. The kids LOVED IT. We had a mixed crew of kids from 1-9 years old and all loved the bubble show. Highly recommend as the entertainment for any gathering but especially birthday parties! Can't imagine one without it now! Thanks so much, Sterling! Details: Our show was hosted in Lafayette, CA so into the East Bay and he had no problem. We requested 1hr but now wishing we had done more! Payment was easy via cash or Venmo after the show. He doesn't take any money upfront. We paid cash. And he promptly left after the 1hr and cleaned up his tools. He required no help from any one.

Our family has participated in shows with Katia and Company for the last three years, and we have…read moremany more years ahead of us. Done right, performing builds confidence, teamwork, timing, problem solving, and resilience. We've recognized all of these qualities developing in our boys, and they have an absolute blast on stage. My husband and I really appreciate Katia's whole-child approach to this work. She has long-term relationships with former cast mates who are now staff working with young thespians. We also attend the teen productions which have been stellar. If your child is curious about theatre, I suggest starting by attending a show and then participating in a week-long summer camp. I suspect they'll be hooked!

My daughter was just in their production of Frozen jr and she loved it! She gained so much…read moreconfidence and I loved seeing her light up on stage. The show itself was fantastic. The parents aren't really involved in the process so I had no expectations going into it but it was amazing! The older kids were outstanding. We will be back!

Wow! Great class! Terry McGovern is the real deal. A serious veteran of the industry with countless…read morefilm, TV, radio broadcast and VO credits to his name. The class itself is excellent. Good size, nice eclectic mix of different people of different backgrounds and age ranges - many of whom are very talented. I've attended many acting programs and worked with many instructors over the years and this is among the very best. Highly recommended! 5 stars!

Been a member for almost 3 years and loving every minute of it. Very supportive, dynamic, creative…read morebunch and couldn't ask for a better director/ coach than Terry McGovern.

Great place, great guys! Very interesting establishment. Tony's a gentleman and a scholar, and he's…read moregot great friends too. Anyone with a classic car in Marin should join this club!

The 5150 Automobile Association is a wonderful place to gather and enjoy…read more Lots fun events.