Comedy in the Plaza

Depot Plaza, Mill Valley, is home to lots of great events, including one this coming Wednesday evening. Comedy in the Plaza is in its 9th year, and is a free, fun event for the teenage to adult crowd. Local favorite comedian Mark Pitta hosts the evening program which gets started at 6:30.

Three other comedians with some excellent credentials will perform: Dana Gould, “Rick” Overton, & Christine Pazsitzky.

You must bring your own folding chair, and get there early to get a good spot (I recommend 6:00). It’s a really popular event, so the early arrival time will also help you find street parking, which can be quite challenging around dinner time in downtown Mill Valley.

Where: Depot Plaza, Mill Valley (map)

When: Wednesday, June 27th, 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 (approximately)

Comedy in the Plaza website

Marin Country Mart Summer Movie Series

The Marin Country Mart Summer Movie Series begins TONIGHT, June 13, and will continue every Wednesday night until August 22. Movies start at 6 pm.

Here are the Featured Movies

June 13: Rio 

June 20: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 

June 27: Dolphin Tale 

July 11: Lion King 

July 18: Bolt 

July 25: Bee Movie 

Aug 1: The Incredibles

Aug 8: Fantastic Mr. Fox 

Aug 15: Cloudy witth a Chance of Meatballs 

Aug 22: Tangled 

And don’t forget the Weekly Farmer’s Market on Saturday.

Where: Marin Country Mart, (formerly known as Larkspur Landing Shopping Center), 2257 Larkspur Landing Circle, Larkspur, CA 94939 (map)

Marin Country Mart website

 

357. A Christmas Carol – 142 Throckmorton

‘Tis the season for classic Christmas fare, which includes a diet of Dickens. For an entertaining production of the timeless message of the truly important aspects of the Christmas season and life itself, namely truth, kindness and heart, come down tonight, tomorrow afternoon or next week for the Willo Hausman directed “A Christmas Carol”. “What better way to impart (these) lessons than with the spooky apparitions, intense imagery, haunting realizations, rich dialog and in the end, utter spectacular joy” of this tale.

The 142 Throckmorton is just a block off of the bustling downtown heart of Mill Valley, at the street location of its name. It’s an intimate venue, with all seats having excellent proximity to the stage. Free street parking is available on the blocks surrounding the theatre.

Where: 142 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941 (map)

When:

• December 23, 2011  8:00 pm
• December 24, 2011  3:00 pm
• December 28 – 30, 2011  8:00 pm

Tickets:  Purchase Online or at the Box Office or by Phone

• $18 General Admission
• $21 General Day of Show
• $12 Students

Phone: 415.383.9600

Event website

323. Elliot Gould & M*A*S*H at the Rafael

41 years after the director Robert Altman brought *M*A*S*H* to the cinema with a brilliant ensemble cast, one of those cast members, Elliott Gould, will present and discuss a special screening of the movie Sunday afternoon at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael. Altman’s film, a hugely popular dark comedy that satirized the Vietnam War, propelled him to the top ranks of American film directors, and made Elliott Gould one of the most popular actors of that decade.

Also at the Rafael with Gould will be Norman Solomon, Co-Chair of the national Healthcare Not Warfare Campaign. The discussion will be moderated by the Rafael’s Director of Programming, Richard Peterson, and will cover the film’s place in anti-war art as well as Gould’s extensive work with Robert Altman in many subsequent films.

Where: 1118 4th Street, San Rafael, CA 94901 (map)

When:  Sunday, November 20, 2:00 p.m. 2011

Ticket Prices:

• $18.00 General Admission
• $15.00 California Film Institute member

Order tickets online here

Event website

216. 2011 Jewish Film Festival

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is the world’s largest and best known of its kind, and its 31st year is wrapping up Monday, August 8th, right here in Marin at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Theatre in San Rafael.  13 different films are being screened this Saturday, Sunday and Monday throughout the day, with tickets still available priced incredibly well!

The films cover a range of subject matter from a gripping drama set in Nazi-occupied Warsaw to documentaries of 20th century artistic icons, to a contemporary urban hip-hop drama set in Chicago. A number of the films have already won international film festival awards around the world.

Where: 1118 4th Street, San Rafael, CA 94901 (map)

When: Saturday, Sunday & Monday, August 6 – 8, 2011 click here for film screenings schedule

Ticket Prices:

• $12.00 General Admission
• $10.50 Student/Senior

Film schedule for  Christopher B. Smith Rafael Theater

Event website

177. Comedy in the Plaza

Depot Plaza, Mill Valley, is home to lots of great events, including one this coming Wednesday evening. Comedy in the Plaza is in its 8th year, and is a free, fun event for the teenage to adult crowd. Local favorite comedian Mark Pitta hosts the evening program which gets started at 6:30.

Three other comedians with some excellent credentials will perform: Hal Sparks, J. Fugelsang, and there’s some confusion about the third. Some of the promotional material lists Charlyne Yi, but on the website it says Myq Kaplan. I think the website is more current, but I’m going to confirm it and post it tomorrow. Either way, it’s going to be a very funny show. And we can all use funny right now!

You must bring your own folding chair, and get there early to get a good spot (I recommend 6:00).  It’s a really popular event, so the early arrival time will also help you find street parking, which can be quite challenging around dinner time in downtown Mill Valley.

Where: Depot Plaza, Mill Valley (map)

When: Wednesday, June 29th, 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 (approximately)

Comedy in the Plaza website

144. Marin Art & Garden Center

The Marin Art & Garden Center is a wonderful collection of special places, but you wouldn’t know it from passing it by on Sir Francis Drake.  Its undulating brick wall presents a rather formidable barrier to outsiders, but once you pass through the entrance you realize that it serves the very functional purpose of separating the rushing, noisy traffic from the peaceful oasis of nature and art within.

First of all, the Marin Art & Garden Center is a quiet park with lush green lawns, towering shade trees, and a pond with rushes and water lilies. It’s an ideal spot for a quiet time with a book, a stroll with a baby or toddler in tow, or a morning of painting at an easel  – I saw all of these taking place on my last visit.

But beyond this central area, there are a number of non-profit arts and nature-focused organizations that run their activities out of facilities here. Because there are so many, there is always something going on, and most are open to the public and many are free or have nominal fees. There are two libraries, two theatres, an amphitheater, a stage, a pavilion, a butterfly garden, a garden demonstration area, and a memorial garden.

Here are names to look for with links where they exist:

Garden Society of Marin

Ross Valley Players

Porchlight Theater Company

Laurel House Antiques

Marin Society of Artists

Ross Historical Society

Jose Moya del Pino Library

Pixie Park Playground

Where: 30 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Ross, CA 94957 (map)

Hours: Each facility/organization has different hours, and many are seasonal, so contact them directly for the current schedule

Parking: Free

Marin Art & Garden website

133. Black Comedy

The College of Marin’s Theater Arts Department always reminds everyone that its most famous graduate is Robin Williams. But more important is the talent they have in their productions at all times, even if the names are not up in lights (yet). This weekend some of these really talented and skillful actors are performing “Black Comedy” at their Studio Theater. It’s a farce written by Peter Shaffer and directed by Jeffrey Bihr and has gotten very enthusiastic reviews.

For little more than the price of a movie ticket, you can see this live performance in an intimate setting here in Marin, and have a lot of laughs doing it. Saturday night is the last evening performance, and the closing performance is Sunday afternoon’s 2:00 matinee. There are plenty of tickets available for both, which you can buy one of two ways: 1) call the Box Office at 415.485.9385 which is open one hour before show time this weekend and pay by credit card or 2) just show up and purchase them before the show.

The play’s stars are San Rafael and Fairfax locals, Leilani Meng and Daniel Labov Dunne.

Where: College of Marin Studio Theater (map)

When: Saturday, May 14th at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, May 15th at 2:00

Cost: $15.00 adults, $10.00 students, elderly, COM employees and alumni

Box Office opens 1 hour prior to showtime.

Box Office Phone: 415.485.9385

87. Youth Film Festival – Larkspur

The 6th annual Youth Film Festival is this Sunday, April 3rd, at the Lark Theater in Larkspur. It is an amazing collection of films by youth aged 11-18 across the country, with the majority from the Bay Area. The young filmmakers represent a wide variety of schools and youth film programs, including public and private, high school and middle, coed and single sex, and general education versus arts magnet schools.

The 29 films selected are 11 minutes or less in length. They are broken down into two filmmaker-age categories: 11-13 and 14-18, and are further broken down by theme: narrative, documentary, music, and green.

Tickets are amazingly inexpensive at just $10.00 each, so plan on bringing the whole family to the show. The event sells out, so they recommend buying tickets in advance. To do this, call the theater at 415.924.5111. If no one answers, press # to leave a message, and they’ll call you back to take your order.

Also, the City of Larkspur is the major sponsor of this festival, using funds from the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax. As a Larkspur resident, I enthusiastically support the use of the TOT funds for this event!

Where: Lark Theatre, 549 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur 94939 (map)

When: Sunday, April 3rd, 11:30 a.m.

Cost: $10.00/ticket all ages

Phone (to purchase tickets): 415.924.5111

Youth Film Festival web page

Lark Theater website

83. Stage Door – Marin School of the Arts

Marin County has some of the best high schools in the state. The Marin School of the Arts, a magnet school on the Novato High School campus, is one of these. It draws its students from throughout Marin, and has won the Golden Bell award twice in the Visual and Performing Arts category from the California School Boards Association (only about three schools win statewide annually).

Starting next Friday, April 1st, their Theatre Department presents “Stage Door”, an adaptation from the 1937 Academy Award Best Film nominee of the same name.

It’s a parody of would-be actresses living on the Upper West Side in New York City in the ’30′s and has a lot of music and humor. It’s staged in black and white, which should be really interesting to see how they pulled this off. Don’t miss your opportunity to see this great performance!

Where: Novato High School, 625 Arthur Street, Novato 94947 (map)

When:

Friday, April 1  7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 2  7:00 p.m.

Sunday April 3  2:00 p.m.

Friday, April 8  7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 9  7:00 p.m.

Sunday April 10  2:00 p.m.

Tickets: Students: $8.00

Adults $15.00

Reserved Seating: $20.00

 click here to purchase tickets online