Whether you're a playwright hoping to workshop a new script, an actor looking for performance…read moreexperience or a mere mortal looking for cheap/free entertainment, PCSF is a great San Francisco resource. Although I've never submitted work (and will remain forever in awe of those who do), I've participated in staged readings as both actor and audience member, and I always meet some cool people and enjoy a chill night of live performance. Scene nights are free to attend, whether or not you're a PCSF member, and each scene typically lasts 10 minutes. If you're a playwright looking to workshop a scene and aren't a PCSF member, it's only $10 to get your pages read by paid actors (pretty freaking good for actor time + feedback.) You can also attend workshops of full-length plays, or their performances of multiple short plays for a small fee that goes to support PCSF. Worth. It.

This served as venue for Black Commencement and Civil/Environmental Engineering Department…read moreCeremonies for the 2025 graduates.

I've been here twice for dance performances, sat in both orchestra and second tier. Seats and…read morespacing are good -- I'm not tall and my view is not blocked. Parking is mostly in nearby streets (along Jane Stanford Way, Memorial Way, Lasuen Street, Museum Way, and Roth Way). I came once on a pre-covid weeknight and once during COVID weekend evening for international/professional dance performances. Standard COVID practices: they are checking vaccine cards and ID at the door. Why the deductions? It seems common for people to be late and the show to start T+20 min. This to me is absolutely horrendous. I haven't been a huge fan of the repertoire that were selected either... I'm a huge dance person but I've yet to stay for the entirety of a production.

Wonderful performances And gratis…read more It's not easy to keep track though or receive notifications so in my experience you have to stay on top of things

I've held my tongue long enough about San Francisco's greatest kept secret for classical music…read morelovers. The Morrison Artists Series is a year-long, recurring series of chamber music concerts featuring the usual top ensembles. They do about 5 or 6 concerts per season, right here in our backyard in a great little auditorium. Oh, did I mention... it's free? The place is packed with grey hair. Maybe we can mix it up a bit?

What a deliciously entertaining evening of fun!…read more Beautiful is a campy performance with a great cast of drag, sex and a whole lot of great music! The basis is that the cast creates their own private "Garden of Eden" in hopes of making a world perfect for themselves. But the shadowy villians, who are more comical than creepy, plan on ruining this place of perfection. I loved this show because it was just so off. I'm used to ball gowns and suits, proper poise and manners. Instead, with this show, you get full out profanity, corests, revealing legs, and a great time. The cast was amazing, and very personable. The actualy seating is wonderful. Comfy couches and beds, pillows draped on the floor. It's an extremely intimate setting. And if you're lucky enough (like I was) you'll be included in the finale audience participation and drafted into the Swan's Army. Seriously, check it out while you can. You'll be disappointed if you miss this one!

Recently attended SF Ballet's La Sylphide. It was a short program, but I loved it! I think my…read morefavorite thing about attending the ballet besides the dancers, the choreography, the music, is the set designs. My favorite here is Act II where the beautiful Sylph (Scottish magical air spirit) is solo dancing in the misty magical woods.

WOW! They really know what they're doing, and I guess my expectations wouldn't be anything less for…read moreone of the top 3 companies in the country. We saw The Nutcracker and it was absolutely stunning. From the costume details to the set details. It's all there, but then throw in the precision from the ballet dancers l, plus the love orchestra, and you won't be able to look away. Can't wait to see another show!

I can't believe no one has reviewed Nick yet!?!…read more He is fantastic. Totally professional with adults, appropriately silly with kids. Wonderfully engaging performances, with hand-made puppets, creative story lines and songs, and all aimed at the interests and attention span of young children (ages 3-9 or so) - performances are 25-30 minutes long. Then he opens up the sides of the puppet theater to show the kids how it all works. Totally fascinating. Nick performed at my daughter's (turning 5) birthday party recently, and not only did the kids love it, the adults had rave reviews too. There's a lot more information on his website - including photos of the puppets, story outlines, and some schedule info (he performs often at public libraries around the Bay Area). Now I'm scheming to see if he could perform at the next preschool fundraiser...

Odyssey Strings performed at our wedding in Menlo Park a couple of weeks ago. They were a group of…read moreprofessional musicians who helped make our big day very special. We worked with Evan Buttemer through piece selection to the final contract. He was very flexible and easy to work with. They showed up on time, in the attire requested (black formal). And the musicians played the pieces beautifully. We opted for a strings trio for our outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour (since the venue does not allow amplified music outdoors), and it was just the right volume and the perfect type of music for the occassion.

SFSwingFest (in 2017 known as Lindypendence) is a two-day swing dancing event held once a year…read moreduring the Fillmore Jazz Fest. The venue: dancing occurs on a temporary dance floor behind the "O'Farrell Fountain" at the crossing of Fillmore and O'Farrell and goes to DJ music. The event, like the whole jazz festival, is free. The event includes free lessons, dance competitions, and social dancing, check the schedule on the site; I have to note here that the schedule was not followed on the day I visited. The dance floor has no roof and no shade until about 3PM, after 3:30PM it is completely shaded. The dance floor is relatively small but sufficient for the smallish crowd, the surface is of OK quality (you can use the dance shoes). Logistics: During the jazz fest the Fillmore is closed to the traffic. The nearest parking garage is at the Japan Center at 1600 Geary Blvd (you will need to walk for couple of blocks). The garage fills up by approximately 12:30PM; expect to pay $20 if you dance for many hours. Bring your own water (water bottles are also available for sale at $1). As always in San Francisco, it occasionally can get very windy and cold, so bring extra clothes and secure them so they do not fly away. You will need sunscreen if you plan to dance or to watch before 3PM. The music: on the day I visited the DJ had produced a lot of pretty dance-able music at varying, but not insane tempos. In 2017, a live band, The Oaktown Strutters, has performed. The lessons: these were pretty useless for the beginners that were supposedly targeted by them. The first lesson was teaching the really old vintage swing that nobody dances anymore for eighty years except in the very few specialized places across the world - interesting, but completely impractical. The second one taught the basic steps of (both!) 20-ies Charleston and Balboa in half an hour. The second lesson was useful to me as an example of the crash course in Balboa steps, but again completely missed the mark - after learning these steps beginners still were not able to dance, as both Balboa and Charleston are complicated and high-tempo. It is well-known that one can teach a physically fit follow to dance swing in 15 minutes - but the instructor has to stick to the 6-count East Coast variety that was clearly frowned upon by the teachers on the day I visited. As a result, the 50-60 people that came for the second lesson had to leave after the lesson without trying any actual dancing. The crowd consists of two very different parts: about 10-20 mostly intermediate dancers that rotated throughout the day and about 10 onlookers - absolute beginner follows that were willing to try to dance. During the lessons, there were more leads than follows - which is typical for SF, but at the actual dancing follows significantly outnumbered the leads. The competition: the 2016 Jack-and-Jill contest I observed was very thinly attended (three couples!). In 2017, the contest did not happen due to lack of contestants. Overall: 7 hours of free dancing is great. Leads like me that like to invite onlookers have additional fun. For the followers it makes sense to bring an own lead or a set of warm clothes.