This is the place you want to have your next function at! My girl got married ladt weekend and…read moreeverything was a hit....a little crazy...but mostly fabulous. I wish I had taken more pics to highlight the facilities but let me tell you this one of the best community centers Ive been to. Ample parking, hugh kitchen with mulitple refridgerators, dining and dance floor areas, dressing rooms and restrooms. Best days to rent ..Fridays or Sundays.....check it out for yourself. Ciao for now....

My first time attending an event at this venue and what a beautiful venue! Located in Pleasant…read moreHill, next to a police station but also a near an outside area that has a gazebo. They have a pavilion area, dance floor, mirrors, tall ceilings and huge windows. I attended a 50th birthday, parking was easy, they had a kitchen, staff was super friendly and helped with the garbage when it got full. I bet it gets busy trying to rent out this venue for events but I enjoyed it and if you're looking for a venue in the East Bay/Concord area, this is a great spot!

My daughter (10 years old) recently joined a Starlight theater for the second time. First time, she…read moreloved, however her experience with the new audition process this time was very disappointing and traumatizing. Because of this, we will not be coming back, and my daughter has decided to drop out. The program now uses a new "audition without auditioning" model. But from a child's point of view, this was not clearly explained at all. My daughter thought she was coming to her first class to get to know the teacher and other kids, not hidden audition that would decide casting. It was also her first class, which is already stressful for a child, especially who needs a bit of time to get familiar with new situation. After I raised my concerns with the management, they told me that this was my fault because I was "notified" by email about their new system. But notified of what, exactly? A 10-year-old does not read emails. My daughter was never told directly that she was being auditioned for casting. When she later found out that those activities were actually her audition, she was very upset! This was not about the role she got. She has auditioned before and understands disappointment. What hurt her was feeling unprepared and misled and cheated. It felt like sending a child to their first day of school and then telling them afterward that they just took an important test that will decide their grade for the whole semester. That kind of surprise is unfair and very stressful for a child. We are not comfortable continuing in a program where expectations are not explained directly to the children and are instead pushed onto parents to manage. Our money and time was wasted, and even a partial refund was DENIED. I am glad that I got to enrol my child at great Berkeley Playhouse for the spring and her schedule is not completely waisted.

My daughter has been part of this incredible program for nearly six years, beginning as a 1st…read moregrader in the "Minis" program. After a pause during COVID, she returned to participate in a couple of shows with the Kids program, then successfully auditioned for the Junior Competitive theater program in 4th grade. Now entering 7th grade, the growth we've seen in her has been nothing short of remarkable. Her singing, acting, and dancing have all improved exponentially--but even more importantly, the program has helped transform her natural confidence into real poise and presence. She's also built lasting friendships along the way. As part of the competitive theater program, she not only performs with a team but has also chosen to do solo competitions, which have helped her grow as an individual artist. These experiences have pushed her in the best way and have taught her discipline, collaboration, and how to shine on stage. I'm so grateful for the leadership of Chelsea and the entire team. The amount of care and effort they pour into the students and the productions is truly impressive. From "SpongeBob the Musical" to "Alice in Wonderland," the quality of these youth performances is extraordinary--complete with fantastic costumes, imaginative sets, and professional-caliber direction. The instructors are passionate, talented, and committed, and it's inspiring to see former students--many of whom have gone on to study theater in college--return to help with current productions. If she ever tires of theater, they have a solid dance program that offers competition opportunities as well! I'm so glad my daughter has the opportunity to grow within such a creative, supportive, and high-quality program for years to come.

My daughter has been with SingOut Theater throughout this entire year. She auditioned in to the…read morekids competition and performed 'Junglebook' with her team in Sacramento. An intense, exciting time! They won an award for choreography at JTF West! She also did Triple Threat and High school Musical this summer. So to say the least, We Are FANs! We feel so lucky to have Chelsea teaching our daughter! A lovely personality and mentor, a highly skilled dancer and choreographer, a patient and kind Director. The Music Director Kevin warmly and patiently builds the student's musical understanding and performances. His contribution keeps musical standards high and performances enjoyable. The Business Director/Producer Rachel adds the no nonsense behind the scenes taking care of business ballast for all this creativity. We are grateful for her expertise to keep SingOut thriving. My daughter is attending a performing arts school in the fall. We will still be attending Tue/Thurs Musical Theater at SingOut. It is top notch and she loves it!

There is something confusing about the discussions regarding the Diablo Light Opera Co & Diablo…read moreTheater Company. They were one and the same. Originally named DLOC in 1959 when they formed a company performing Gilbert & Sullivan Light Operas. Eventually they changed the name to Diablo Theater Co. They had a youth program called STARS 2000, which continues to this day to operate. Diablo Theater Co. that use to produce large scale Musicals & Light Opera productions at the Lesher Center For The Arts in Walnut Creek, is no longer in business. STARS 2000 continues as their own company. There is no other youth program that is under the auspices of the Diablo Theater Co. and in fact their studios were sold and are under the ownership of Performing Arts Academy.

Supporting aspiring artists feels good. Not only that, but the shows they produce are, by far, the…read moremost profession in the East Bay. Tickets are reasonable. Choose your own seats- all seats same price. Around $20, rather than $80-120 that we've paid elsewhere. Many current TV and Film stars got their start at DVC Drama. It's nice to feel like you were a part of their journey.

DVC Drama is the public performing arm of the Diablo Valley College drama department. Every year…read morethey put on five plays in the DVC Performing Arts Center, recently remodeled with all new seating. They also are one of only two Concord/Pleasant Hill-based theater companies (along with Butterfield 8) now that the Willows Theater has shuttered. Plays are very reasonable ($20 for nonstudents), with tickets usually available right up to the time of performance. Finally, there are acres of free parking (just be careful of the meters, they are patrolled 24 hours!). We've seen a number of performances over the years and have always been very satisfied. However, it's been a few years since our last attendance, and we noticed some changes recently when we attended their latest performance. Historically, they had used a mix of student performers and more seasoned actors. This is no longer the case (budget concerns?) and the actors now seem to be only students. We were disappointed with the latest production, the drama, Grapes of Wrath. Entirely manned by student actors, perhaps it was simply too ambitious a choice. In almost every case, the acting was disappointing and not up to the normal standards of community theater. The pathos of the dramatic moments in the play, as a result, were not convincing. Additionally, some key parts of the narration were hard to hear, spoken way too softly. Certainly student performances are worth supporting and we need to cut them a little slack. Perhaps others, not having seen earlier performances that weren't 100% student productions, would be less critical. I suspect many productions (especially musicals and comedies) will remain quite satisfying, and I do still plan to attend future performances. I'm just not sure whether I will be attending any DVC heavy dramas anytime soon.

Last Saturday was my first time here. I've lived in WC for years and never been until now and will…read morebe back. Last Saturday I did one of their art walks. Staff/volunteers explain the art murals in the area. It was very interesting to learn about their artist and history. The sane day I went to see the Aztec stories exhibit. I loved it! Got to talk to the artist and his wife. Great people, very humble. His art is amazing, colorful, creative, and so detailed. His wife explained it takes him about 2 months to finish one. It's beautiful, def recommend visiting if you haven't. Both of the above events were on donations. So worth it!

Came here to leave a review about A Christmas Carol and was surprised, but not surprised, to see…read moreseveral negative reviews for it. It was the worst play I have ever seen in my life! We have been coming to see A Christmas Carol at Lesher Center for the Arts for at least 10 years now. It has always been the exact * same * play, one that was known and loved by many, if not all. This year's new adaptation was so bad that we actually walked out early. I'm going to go ahead and mention the elephant in the room here. There were way too many wheelchairs in this play. There were 3-4 wheelchairs on stage at any given time and we found it really distracting. Tiny Tim was zooming around the stage in his electric wheelchair which doesn't fit into 1800s London. So there was a lack of period accuracy with this adaptation. It might have been acceptable for Tiny Tim to be in a wheelchair (but only him) IF his acting wasn't atrocious. This kid was terrible. He had no acting skills and seemed to have no interest in playing his part. It seems like he was selected for the part only because he was in a wheelchair. Next, the actor playing Ebenezer Scrooge is an old white guy but as he looks back on his life, they have multiple ethnicities playing Scrooge as a little kid, school age boy, and then a young adult. Each version of him was a different ethnicity. There was a serious lack of continuity with his character, which was really confusing if you didn't already know the story and know which part these people were supposed to be playing. They also had the same actors playing multiple parts in the play. For example, the Filipino Scrooge (who played him as a young adult) and his love interest were playing the part of the aunt and uncle later on in the play. Again, if you didn't already KNOW the storyline, this would be really confusing as to why Scrooge was acting the part of the uncle later on. Another example - the ghost of Christmas Past was a beautiful African-American woman who leaves Scrooge at the top of the stage to go to the bottom of the stage and play his sister when he was a kid. Then she walked back up the stairs and played the part of the Ghost of Christmas Past again. Really confusing. My 10-year-old daughter was totally lost and had no idea what was going on with the characters. Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Future USED to be a 20-foot-tall black ghost figure that silently came out on the stage. Now, they rolled out an actor in (you guessed it) a wheelchair with a black sheet over his head. We were like "Really? Is that the best they could do??" They threw a sheet over this guy's head like he was a 5-year-old! And the ghost was so rude and criticizing Scrooge the whole time (he's not supposed to talk). It was so, so bad. That's when we got up and left finally, although I had wanted to leave during intermission but had hoped it might improve some if we stayed. It didn't, it only got worse. It felt like the director was taking a cheap shot at hiring so many actors in wheelchairs, because what critic or reporter is going to watch it and criticize a play with multiple disabled people in it?? They're not going to do that, so it felt like the director used an underhanded method to force positive reviews from critics. Yet we were not the only ones leaving during the middle of the play - multiple people walked out before us. I'm all for diversity in acting, but at least keep the characters consistent. Scrooge didn't need to be played by four different ethnicities. That also seemed like an intentional cheap shot by whoever does the hiring. In years past, when Tiny Tim passed away, my daughter and I were always near tears because we were so engaged with the play and felt sad for him. This year, the actor was so bad that when he "died" we felt nothing, because it all just seemed so fake and bad. Sad to say, we will NOT be returning to this play ever again if it remains in this format. The worst piece of garbage I have ever seen. I wish I could get my $250 back.

I came to see the second half of a movie I had to leave early from a previous time for a family…read moreemergency. I was not allowed to see it because it was more than 20 min in. They said the reason was so they could control disruptions in the theater which would ruin people's movie experience. There are constant disruptions in theaters when sometimes entire families or friend groups go in and out to buy Starlights concessions, but they don't protect us from that. Please have policies that make sense, and please value loyal customers.

Came here with my six-year-old son and wife. We watched the Beauty and the Beast Jr play. It was a…read moregreat experience. The young people did very well. I was intrigued by the stage and how they managed to appeal to people no matter where they sat. I'd love to come see another production.

Just enjoyed a performance of The Little Mermaid here today! The staging was wonderful and everyone…read moreknew their lines and where to go. Most importantly the kids had an amazing time! Covid precautions were maintained. Well done!

How about dinner and a show? Have you considered downtown…read moreConcord? This theatre offers a thought- provoking and entertaining opportunity to see live theater in Concord - the only opportunity in fact. I've see several shows here and each one has engaged me in different ways. There is just something you will never get from a movie that you can get with these live performances. This unusual location, set in an old bank building, offers an intimate setting where you can enrich your mind with theatre, see (and possibly own) original intriguing visual art produced by local artists, and - BONUS - see a real bank vault. Come to downtown Concord, plenty of delicious restaurants and parking as well as being accessible via BART.

Went to a Mark Twain reading last night - so good. It was 'Extracts from Adam's Diary and from…read moreEve's Diary'. There were twenty readers 10 women and 10 men - and it was magnificent! The story was hilarious and having different voices read Eve and Adam was brilliant.

Studio A has been home to my dancer since she was three years old. The teachers and director foster…read morea family environment where you feel you belong. Whether it's just taking rec classes or you are a veteran company dancer, people are treated the same. We have been very happy with our Studio A family.

This is my first season here at Studio A, my daughter has been dancing for 12 seasons and this is…read moreby far the BEST season she's had! It's been so great, my younger daughter also wanted to start taking classes as well! All of the kids and parents are warm and welcoming. You can really tell that Aggie loves and cares for the kids and families who come here! The kids have fun here in addition to their great training and choreography. My daughter's confidence has soared this season! This is exactly the type of environment we were looking for when we signed up for dance!! Not to mention they offer adult dance class as well that I am a part of. We've had a blast this season and can't wait for next season to start!

I'm really surprised to see some of the negative reviews because my daughter and several of her…read morefriends have been in Standing Ovation productions for around 7 years. Throughout this time I have never seen or heard any negative responses from the children or their families. Sometimes I sit in on rehearsals and I've always been impressed with how the participants remain focused on the projects at hand. Seeing a large group of children concentrating on their work and not "messing around" while rehearsing is impressive to me. I really appreciate the work ethic of the participants, especially since this is a behavior that you don't see much of among modern children these days. For years my child has eagerly and regularly attended Standing Ovation productions. For the past couple of years she has also been an assistant, working with the younger people. This has been a valuable experience for her and she also continues to participate in productions with her peer group. There's a certain amount of self discipline that is necessary to pursue the performing arts. That self discipline is something my daughter developed largely through Standing Ovations. This troupe may not be right for every child and family, but I am extremely happy with the way I've seen Barrett work with my daughter and her friends. His rehearsals are always open to visitors and I give him 5 stars across the board.

My boss' daughter is a student of Barrett, and I was so incredibly impressed with his production of…read more"Sheer Luck Holmes." The kids were having so much fun when performing while also learning so much about theater. My boss was brought to tears when she saw how much work everyone involved put into the production. The performance was intimate and felt like such a special event. Her daughter also works for Barrett helping the younger kids get ready for productions, and she loves it. I personally have met Barrett on a couple of occasions, and you can really tell how much he loves what he does. These kids are so lucky to have him and experience such passion. He is appropriately "hard" on the kids, but they're all life lessons they should be learning anyway. I hope I get to see many more of his plays!