What an amazing experience! I have always wanted to see a play at the Allen Elizabethan Theatre in…read moreAshland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and I'm so glad to have finally have done so. It was better than I could've imagined. I've always been a fan of Shakespeare, so made a mental note to check this place out someday. Like the famous Globe Theatre in England, the Allen Elizabethan Theatre is inspired and designed by such. It's Ashland's most prized setting and primarily what brings tourists to the area. My partner's grandma got us tickets to see The Twelfth Night, which was showing the one night we spent in southern Oregon. Since she is a local, she was able to get discounted tickets, which was nice. We were seated on the bottom level, close to the stage near the center. They were fantastic seats! However, just like the Globe Theatre, this theatre is outdoors, so rain or shine, the show must go on. Being from the Pacific Northwest, that bothered no one here. Everyone came prepared with rain jackets and parkas. Acoustics, lighting and design were all on point. We loved the performance, especially when the actors interacted with the crowd! There's a parking garage nearby, and is close to the main street where many of the restaurants are located. Bathrooms are right outside the theatre, as well as a concession stand that serves wine, beer and more. If you're in the area, you must absolutely see a Shakespeare play at the Allen Elizabethan Theatre! Truly a treasure!

It's a truly unique experience to see a production here! I got tickets for Into The Woods on a…read morebeautiful July evening and couldn't have been more pleased with it all. I got the lowest tier seats in the balcony and felt like my seat was still great! Highly recommend seeing at least one production here if you come to OSF to experience the ambience of this historic theater.

The Black Swan served as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 3rd theater from 1977 to 2001. I was…read morehere sometime in the late 1980s when a friend's parents lived in Ashland and our gang would come up a weekend of revelry and theater. This Building was originally an automobile dealership, and was acquired in 1969 as a second-floor scene shop and first-floor rehearsal hall for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Company members began using it to stage "Midnight" readings for one another, and is a practice continued to this day. They invited friends who brought other friends, and the place became an underground hit. The Artistic Director at that time recognized the opportunity to take risks with unconventional staging and subjects, and called for its development as a third OSF theater. That was a challenge as the place could hold only 138 seats, all within five rows of the stage. That required a certain amount of "tucking and squeezing." Each director also had to solve the problem of an immovable roof support in the middle of the stage, which inevitably became an integral part of many plays. For example, in one scene, with a horizontal piece added, it became a painting of a crucifixion. The Black Swan reverted to its earlier roles as working space in 2002 when it was replaced by the New/Thomas Theater. In 2011 it also became the home for the Black Swan Lab, which serves as an incubator for new writers and cutting edge dramatic works. Each year, several OSF actors are assigned to the Lab as one of their three regular repertory assignments. One graduate of the Black Swan Lab that I particularly enjoyed during the 2012 Season was "All The Way".

I studied with Sarah through middle school and throughout high school. Sarah always emphasized the…read moreimportance of vocal health, breathing, and ingrained in me from an early age the importance of protecting my instrument. I make my living as a singer-songwriter in Los Angeles. I write mainly for TV and Film. However, I spent many years prior playing multiple leading roles in musicals. The fact that I knew how to protect my instrument is the reason I work. These days I'm singing everything from intense full voice rock songs to simple breathy ballads; knowing how to protect my instrument in all situations is vital. And Sarah planted the seeds for me to maintain this journey I am on. Sarah offered a loving, nurturing safe place to study, during a time in my life where that support made a huge difference. It's not easy being 14. At least it wasn't for me. But I will always hold dear the time I spent in Sarah's studio. I'm so grateful for what she gave me. I can't recommend studying with her enough. There is a lot more that goes into being a great singer, then just being born with a gift. Knowing how to protect your instrument, having a safe place to work your instrument, The importance of singing an Italian aria, even when maybe you'd rather sing a rock song :). These are things that Sarah gave me, that perhaps even at the time I didn't understand, but at this point in my life I am so truly grateful for!

Unlike the other reviewers, my son has only studied with Sarah for two months. He was cast as the…read morelead in the Middle School musical, The Seussical. While he has a passable voice, had never had voice lessons. Sarah was able to take him from raw talent to performance in less than two months. Not only did she impart skills for him to use onstage, she also instilled in him the confidence that he COULD carry the part. In my son's words, "She gave easy to understand instructions for someone who had never had lessons before." His performance brought glowing reviews from classmates and parents alike. One community theater director even invited him to audition with them. What's more, while my son is the typical fourteen-year old, interested in playing computer games with his friends, he wants to continue his voice lessons with Sarah even though the musical is over.

Had a wonderful time! Melissa is a great instructor, and I got to take something back home I'm…read moreproud of. Definitely recommend.

I really enjoy the way we are guided through creating a painting. Makes painting fun and there's…read morea painting to take home.

Love this studio! All the artists here put a lot of thought into the designs so you have something…read morelovely to take home.

I've had the opportunity to join Tika for two paintings and I enjoyed them both greatly! In fact,…read morethey are a couple of my favorites of the 7 or so that I have done at various establishments! Tika's business is a tiny bit hard to find...your GPS will tell you that you have arrived and you will be in the middle of Crater Lake Avenue wondering if you are drunk or crazy. You might be, but Visions of Wonderland is a tucked away corner of one of the three buildings on the corner lot there. Essentially, pull in like you are going to Squeeze-In Sandwich shop and drive around the building to the back. Tucked in the corner you will find Visions! Tika has a great attitude, a fun style, serves up coffee, tea and sometimes a sweet snack. You can bring your own beverages and snacks, as well. Tika is patient and talks the class easily through the painting, even challenging ones! I've been following Visions of Wonderland on Facebook for the last few months, and I love how Tika keeps it interesting, promotes the different classes, for kids, different media and she also takes suggestions for new ideas! If you have ever wanted to try a "sip and paint" or are looking for a different place to try, check out Tika at Visions of Wonderland!

Love the Varsity! Perfect theater for Ashland. Excellent programming. The independent films are…read moremuch better than the mainstream ones.

Great local theater!! And many interesting movies are booked there. Clean with friendly service.read more

This is the huge new production facility for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival…read more It's *huge*. There is an entire bay inside just for recreating the trap areas of the three theaters, which allows the production staff to fully build and test the set and lifts for any production. There's a separate huge bay for actually building the sets, and the usual set of metal and wood shops, including a dedicated CNC room. Then there are the props and costume storage rooms--enormous multistory rooms with everything visible, ample aisles for forklifts (in the props room) and rolling stairs (in the costume room). It's an amazing asset for the Festival!

Would you drive 800 miles round trip to see a music festival?…read more This used to be called the Southern Oregon Jazz Festival, but jazz hasn't drawn enough of an audience, and they had to broaden their appeal to include other classes of music. I'm probably one of the few Asian Americans who is a big fan of Cajun, and Zydeco music, along with oldies from the fifties and sixties. My ex from Hong Kong absolutely can't stand Cajun music, which is why she's my ex! We make hotel reservations in Medford, Oregon for the Southern Oregon Music Festival, unable to get a room at festival headquarters, Inn at the Commons, booked up months in advance. Friday mid day the parking lot at the Commons is packed, along with the overflow event lot adjacent on Riverside Ave. We park at the 3 hour multi story garage across the street, and go register at the Commons. The festival has obtained unlimited parking at all street and public garage parking from Friday noon through the entire weekend. When you fork over $180 for two all weekend tickets you can park anywhere! This is one of the very few events without a senior discount. Sacramento once had a half price for seniors 60+ for their Memorial Day weekend music festival, only to find they were losing money, as the majority of their patrons were seniors. And when I turned 60, they changed the half price policy to apply to the shortened final day, having to pay full price the other 3 days. Story of my life -it is what it is. Two of the five venues are at the Commons, but you need a shuttle to get to the other three locations, two of them a mile away. The wife and I find a 24 passenger shuttle just leaving, belonging to a nursing home. Turns out that is the bus, as many of the attendees are at that age! On the bus we meet a guy my age, accompanied by his father. We will see the father on the dance floor, still moving at 94 years! The first events we see are at the NBC Studios 5, across downtown. Looks like an aircraft hanger, with huge hanger doors. Inside, ceilings 30 feet tall, with a 1000+ square foot dance floor. Tom Rigney, in his red boots, and colorful cape fiddles away, with the group Flambeau, cranking out Cajun music, both blues and fast paced dance music, and the occasional waltz. They finish up with the old favorite "Jambalaya". Dozens of couples dancing, even some women-women couples. Don't have a dance partner? No problem, there are dance hosts of both genders, identified by their red badges, who will dance with you. That 94 year old man came all the way from the Castro Valley to dance with these gals! They even have boxes of new dance shoes for sale. Just what the wife needs -more shoes to match up in numbers with Imelda Marcos! Gator Nation follows, having been here 20 + years in a row. Hard hitting Zydeco (black Cajun music) tunes, accompanied by an accordion player. The pace and volume picks up. A band called the Young Bucs comes next, with retro music from the 1950s -do wop music. Hungry? No problem, as the local church serves a great pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw on the premises. We catch the shuttle back to the Commons, this one labeled as a senior assist living bus. Next day we are at Howiee's bar, 15 minutes before opening time, in a long line of old folks just like us. Sign says nobody under 21, but the bouncer does not check anyone's id for this crowd! Inside, mirrors on both side walls, lined with beer bottles, with record albums glued to the ceiling. Dave Bennett and the Memphis Speed Kings are playing fifties rock, with Dave doing an incredible imitation of Jerry Lee Lewis on the piano, standing on the piano bench, boots on the keyboard, hands rising a foot off the keyboard, while pounding away in a super paced tempo, with such hits as "Whole lot of shaking going on". We end the second day listening to Danny Maika playing the ukulele and guitar, and such songs as "Over the Rainbow", and the Righteous Brothers "Unchained melody". Father from Hawaii and mother from Kentucky, Danny calls himself pineapple moonshine! Final day my wife is into Swing music -music from the big bands of the 1940s, and falls for Carolyn Martin's Swing Band, including western (cowboy) swing music, even though she's not a fan of contemporary country music. Other bands like Midiri Brothers and Wally's Warehouse Waifs are more traditional jazz, and more in tune with the wife. We're certain to come back next year, hopefully with reservations at the Commons, to enjoy the music and the atmosphere, even though I have two left feet, when it comes to dancing!