My wife whispers in my ear, I want to be in bed by 11pm. Challenge accepted! And that's the great thing about Staller Center for the Arts, its very close to my home. Over the years we've seen some incredible performances over the year, from Vic DiBitetto - Tara Cannistraci, Christmas performances to various concerts. Did I mention free parking? I mean, you have free parking at Westbury Music fare but its a nightmare once the concert is over. At The Staller Center, everyone leaves in an orderly fashion, there's no rushing after you leave the performance. Hey, we're polite in Stony Brook! The Staller Center has a very nice seating arrangement. The seats are positioned where you aren't contorting to the side if a giant sits in front of you. The acoustics for the theatre are also of high quality, I heard iLUMINATE rock this theatre with their amazing sound! We're all proud of our town and The Staller Center for the Arts is the crown jewel of the neighborhood. read more

The Staller Center provides excellent entertainment and the money expended for tickets helps the university. read more

Staller Center for the Arts - Main Stage - Performing Arts Near Me - Stony Brook, New York

This is for the Annual Film Festival, usually held mid-late July. It lasts about 10 days and each day there is an offering of two feature films and two short films. There is usually a Q and A for each film, which can extend the movie schedule times. Many of the films are foreign with subtitles. I've never seen a bad film here - the films tend toward political or darker subjects and lean towards progressive or woke philosophy. So if thats going to rattle you, check the film description before you go. Otherwise, its nice to view non-comic book films with no name actors and if you go with an open mind, it can be an enjoyable night out. read more

Staller Center for the Arts - Performing Arts Near Me - Stony Brook, New York

We've been to the Staller Center many times, and it's always been a really great experience, thanks to the amazing staff, beautiful venue and the awesome director, Alan Inkles! Alan makes sure to bring in shows for everyone to enjoy so their is always a wide variety of entertainment to choose from. This past weekend we saw Vic Dibitetto, and for those of you who don't know him, he is absolutely hysterical! His comedy is so funny because he talks about real life events and situations. The entire audience loved his act! The comedian who opened for him was Tara Cannistraci, and she was equally as funny, and also talked about real life things that everyone could really laugh at. I have never seen either comedian in person before, but I have to say, that this was one of the best comedy shows I have ever seen...and everyone in our party agreed. We can't wait to go see these two again wherever they are playing. They are both also really friendly, nice people who were really appreciative of their audience, and showed it by doing a meet and greet for everyone in the lobby! We were so happy to meet them both, and they spent a lot of time with each person who wanted to meet them, even after their long day and performances. This really is the perfect venue to see all kinds of shows, which you should check out on their website calendar. And if you have any special requests, and he can accommodate you, Alan will do everything he can to ensure you have the perfect night at the center! If you haven't been here, or if it's been a while since you have, definitely check it out again, you won't be disappointed. Thank you Alan and your awesome staff for another great show and night! read more

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Came here for the 2021 film festival. It was a very nice experience overall. The center is on the stony Brook campus and there is a large parking garage not far from the theater at all. The campus is beautiful. The theater can hold a lot of people. No idea how many, but it was very comfortable. Sometimes the theater seats are narrow and you feel like you're touching the person next to you. But these seats were very nice. It was wasn't too cold in the theater either. Sometimes they overcompensate the ac for the all the people, but not here. It was perfect. I believe the downstairs connects to an art gallery but I didn't go in. I saw others did. Lot of stairs going up but they have an elevator of course. Bar was downstairs with drinks or snacks. Not sure I'll be back since I only came because I wanted to see a specific movie. But if you're going to events at the school you'll have a good experience here. read more

I've gone to a few events here, and would never go back. Parking is super far - even handicapped parking. Which means that in order to see a show with my mom (who can't walk without her walker), I have to drop her off at the front and make her wait about 20 minutes for me to find a spot, park, and then walk all the way to the entrance. It's surprisingly not handicapped friendly. My mom has always notified them that she's handicapped. And every time, we have to go upstairs and where are our seats? In the middle of a row that there's no way she'd ever be able to get to. At the last show, she was told to sit on an end while her friend and I were all the way in the center of the same row. Nowhere near her. While her walker was taken away and placed way too far for her to even think about getting to. There's an older man who volunteers as an usher. He's rude and doesn't pay any attention. Last time I was there, he ripped a friend's ticket for an upcoming show. Even though he had just seen our already ripped stubs for the current show. When I asked him to assist my mom to her seat, he snapped at me and said "well I can't lift her." Ummmm no one was asking him to! The acoustics were atrocious. The music was way too loud. I've been to heavy metal concerts that weren't this loud. The microphone gave feedback the whole time we stayed. The performer asked the audience to stand up and the floor felt like it was about to give way. We ended up having to leave at the intermission. You couldn't pay me to go back to this venue. read more

My second time there, and it was as much a waste as the first time. We saw David Sedaris, expecting a comedy show. Instead, we got an occasional chuckle peppered into a creepy and uncomfortable therapy session about his father sexually abusing him and his siblings. People were walking out. If my party had gotten up to do the same, I'd have thanked them. It was tediou and we couldn't wait for it to be over. You have a responsibility to describe the event clearly and gf or the benefit of the Staller Center in general, to present events that are actually enjoyable. It'll be quite a while before we will be back I think. read more

I was a studio art major in Stony Brook University and for a school that's not known for their arts program, I think they're pretty decent and funded quite nicely. I've taken numerous painting, drawing, sculpture, and other design classes at Staller. The art professors I've had so far in Stony Brook have all been outstanding. Some are no longer working there but here are some names. Grady Gerbracht - ARS 205, Idea and Form. Grady was really laid back and groovy dude with a very creative mind. He was a very kind person in class but a even greater person outside of his workplace. He's a fantastic person and I wished I took more of his classes. Amy Marinelli - Oil Painting. Amy was the nicest oil painting instructor ever. She loves her bluegrass music even though I don't and she always brought a positive vibe to the painting studio. William Oberst - Oil Painting. Tough but fair. He's a very smart and intellectual man and observes everyone's final work very carefully. He can be a bit critical at times and I also felt he sometimes heavily favored teacher pets. Nonetheless, I've learned a lot from him and he pushed me further in my oil paintings technique. Nobuho Nagasawa - Sculpture. "Nobi", she was a real sweetheart. Very fun to work with and her experience was second to none. Her pieces were always very powerful and her class was always very intuitive, hands on, and in your face. It was probably one of the most fun classes I've ever had working with clay, plaster, chicken wire, and other mediums. As for all of the art history professors I've had in Staller, you guys are the death of me. Not only was your classes boring and dreadful, the assignments were just a million times worse. I have a appreciation for art history but just not in lecture and slide form. It puts you to sleep faster than ambien. Verdict - My years in Staller was certainly some of the best times of my life. Pulling all nighters painting with fellow classmates, late night food runs, and the studio was always open as long as you knew the person who had the key. The doors were never locked at Staller and it was literally almost like my second home during my time in SBU. It's located right next to the Charles Wang Center/Jasmine food court, also near the student union and its food court, and the library was just right outside. It was just perfectly located. For what it's worth, the art programs at SBU were fun and exciting. If Art History was not a pre-req for almost everything, I would of taken up more courses. The one downer during my time at Staller were the lockers in the hallways. My god, they were awful! They were filthy, many of them were broken and way too small. On a side note, I've also taken a few music classes at Staller. Boring but not as boring as art history. Definitely much more bearable and passable. read more

Staller Center for the Arts - Performing Arts Near Me - Stony Brook, New York

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This is my 15th year of the film festival. I found the earlier years to be outstanding. Perhaps due to circumstances beyond their control, this year has been way down in quality & way up in price. Started in 2006 buying two passes for $60 each. Now two passes are $200, I have not yet found the outstanding film and very few people are in attendance. Trying to hang in there for Alan's sake. read more

Aw- I love this place. I have seen so many concerts/events/plays/movies at this place. I even performed here being part of Stony Brook University. The latest was the MET in HR - really a great experience. If you have not done so already, I highly recommend it. It's not quite going to the actual opera, but its a very unique and fulfilling experience. They do close-ups and behind the scenes stuff as well. read more

The Staller Center is one of the best venues in the area, and has tons of film and performances going on here every year. The film festival being the highlight. Their movie screen is huge, and seeing films there is a great experience. It's not the prettiest building in the world, but as a performance and film space, it more than does the job. Recently we saw the TAO drummers at Staller, and it was again a great experience. In my opinion it's exactly what an arts center should be on campus, has a lot of theater and performances for both on campus and for the local community. read more

Never been to a show, but the movie theater/screen (biggest on LI) is great for their weekly Friday flicks.

The acoustics have been horrible in this place for ever. There was once a breakdown of the sound system during a holiday ballet. This school gets tons of $$$$$$$ They should invest in a better sound system and get better management. They should have a shuttle that takes people from the garage, right up to the doors of the theater. read more

I recently saw The Nutcracker at the Staller Center For The Arts. It was an excellent production. No live orchestra, however you won't even notice! It's immaculate and the seating is tiered, so the view is very good from where ever you are seated. I enjoyed it very much and next year I will be booking early.... front row for me! S.C. Lake Grove read more

Here now for a concert with Vanessa Williams and Peabo Bryson. The acoustics in this place SUCK! There is a vibration coming from the rafters. Both artists sounded very good, but you can just tell that this place isn't made to handle an electric bass. They advertised a 20 minute intermission that turned into 45. read more