Really bummed I couldn't continue with Pan Theatre. Great place to learn how to get back to having fun with awesome people! I loved the experience and hope to one day return! Check out a show you definitely won't be disappointed. Improv is so much fun to watch and be a part of. The theatre is small which makes it great because the audience ends up becoming part of the show! read more

I passed a poster on Piedmont Avenue announcing Open Auditions at Pan Theater and thought, "huh, I should take a picture of that for my husband John. I bet he would like it." Somehow, John convinced me that we should both audition. This is not usually my kind of thing, but it was Covid and any distraction from the monotony of the times was welcome. Now we are both all-in! Pan Theater Company is a courageous, generous, honest, challenging community. Everyone comes to improv without the baggage of the rest of their lives and they play together - with characters and storylines and emotions. I always come away from Pan Theater feeling lighter. I love this place! read more

What a gem! Oakland's oldest improv theater, with fun classes and great shows! I started taking classes at Pan during lockdowns, so we were rehearsing and doing shows by Zoom. Surprisingly, it worked really well! Now, we're back in person in Frank Ogawa Plaza, and a recent fundraiser put new lights and fresh paint on the walls. As other theaters all over the Bay are closing, Pan is still going strong! Audiences: you will enjoy a mix of long- and short-form improv. Yes, they make it all up on the spot! The theater is just steps from BART and with plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance, this is an ideal date night. Look for tickets on Eventbrite and get your tickets early to save a few bucks. Performers: improv makes you a better actor, and a better person. Starting all the way at the beginning, you'll practice 'yes, and'... and then some. Learn to make your partner look good, practice trusting your gut, expand your character repertoire. If you've been curious about connecting with other very alive humans and growing as a performer, consider auditioning! Face your fears, fire those neurons, clear out cobwebs, and be the optimistic, creative person the world needs you to be! read more

This was my first improv class and I had an amazing experience! Doing it online had its own challenges, but David was extremely helpful and patient in teaching us the learning techniques. The class starts off with some relaxation drills and then we jumped on to improvisations. I loved the fact that it was a gradual progression from simple exercises to ease your nerves and then on to improv scenes. I'm no where near close to being an expert in improv yet, but I will definitely try this again!! read more

Okay....This place is GREAT! Birthday Surprise Success!!! Didn't let anyone know where they were going beforehand. (Made sure we all met up at a bar to have a few cocktails) Everything and everyone from the very beginning were so helpful, knowledgable, engaging and entertaining! I had the absolute best time, as did the guests of my birthday party. David the host is absolutely fabulous. He is very responsive, accommodating and knows what he is doing. Whether you are young or seasoned, this is a great experience for any and every one to try at least one time! read more

PAN Theater is a wonderful place both to watch and get involved in improv. I just finished up the Level 1 troupe with two successful shows this weekend. The experience was a ton of fun and by the end of just a few months, I was totally comfortable up on stage. I've seen a few shows there, from the Level One troupe playing short improv games (Blind Freeze Tag, Story Story Die, Tag Out, etc) to the higher level troupes performing long form, which can be funny or not, but are one act plays about 45 minutes long, totally improvised. David is a wonderful director, very supportive of all the participants and helpful in improving our skills. For performing or just for seeing some improv, I highly recommend PAN Theater! read more

Pan Theater - Performing Arts Near Me - Oakland, California

giving the theater a high review because of David. i took a 3-week Improv for the Heart class and instantly liked his way of teaching. David is definitely knowledgeable in the subject matter and explains well. He coaches you based on your skill level. You can feel the undivided attention he gives to the students. i highly recommend his courses, which are happening in October 2019. read more

I thought it would be fun to catch some Improv, so I purchased 2 tickets from Goldstar, and another friend got two more. So, this was completely my idea for a fun Saturday Night. Doors were at 8 and the show started at 8:05. There was one other woman in the audience besides my party of 4, and she clearly knew the actors. Since improve requires audience suggestions - it was all up to us. It was odd that the audience was so small. The improv itself was slow and at times drawn out. Maybe it's the social climate these days, but the comics seemed afraid to say or do anything funny or edgy. Also, they sold water but no alcohol. Long story short; because of this experience, my friends never want to go to Improv again which is sad. There's so much good comedy out there, but Awkward Face fell short of the mark. read more

I've been taking classes at Pan Theatre since the pandemic began and I have grown so much as a performer. I eventually ended up auditioning for and joining one of the house troupes. It is an excellent school and an excellent theatre and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in learning improv or improving their skills in general as a stage performer. read more

I am so grateful that I've had the opportunity to join a team at Pan theater! Although most of my experience has been online, the actual theater is a very comfortable, intimate space to play and watch improv. The improvisers at Pan theater are wonderful, an excellent mix of young and older actors, some with decades of experience and others brand new to improv. Everyone is super nice. I cannot say enough great things about David, the director at Pan theater. David is a very gifted director, he really understands people and his feedback is so specific to each actor, he really sees us and seems to know exactly when, where and how to push. This is not easy. I also love that he is teaching acting for improv. We are coached for real, for drama, for meaningful relationships and difficult, life changing moments. Not coached for "funny". Comedy stems from reality and David is brilliant ant coaching us for this. I highly recommend! read more

I love Pan Theater because it lets me rock out with my (improv) cock out. I met a lot of talented, kind, witty, fun lovin folks there. If you are a theater geek or just someone looking for a cool new hobby or creative release, take a class. They periodically even offer a free intro to improv class. Improv training will help you make bolder choices, be less fearful when giving presentations, go with the flow more, and accept failure more readily. The training is just good for life in general. The theater is very easy to get to, too, since it is right near the 19th St. BART! read more

The spirit of the Pan Theater is awesome. Walking in through the relatively nondescript entrance, I felt much like falling into a Charlie Kaufman script where characters run rampant within a seemingly ordinary space. And this actually rings true through my experience at Pan. Serving as what I can only describe as a co-op, I noticed other offices sharing a daytime space with it's nighttime actor occupants. So venturing past the corridors, we ultimately made it inside the modest theater. Saturday nights lends itself to Awkward Face, an improv troupe with two performances. The 8pm short form improv offers a "Whose Line Is It Anyway" take where the actors feed off audience suggestions to think-on-their-feet comedy. Laughs abound. Then the 9pm follow-up showcases the same peeps in longer, more full-circle scenes. Gotta say, I'm a big fan of Pete; clever as ever working his way out of a state trooper ticket or fixing leaky pipes. read more

A true local gem in downtown Oakland that fosters a unique community of talented actors and provides highly entertaining shows from $0 to $12...a bargain at any price, considering that you will have a thoroughly enjoyable evening laughing, guffawing, tittering, sighing, giggling.... Friday nights usually offer a FREE improv drop in (yes, YOU can be on stage!) at 8pm, followed at 9pm by one of the house troupes, "Liquid Mind", a bawdy, playful, no holes barred rotating cast of about 6-8 who take the stage and let the improv fly wild. Saturdays at 8pm, "Awkward Face" features many outstanding Pan veterans with years of experience intermixed with fresh new talent for some serious laugh out loud short form (like tv's "Whose Line is it Anyway?"), followed at 9pm for delightfully witty, mind-boggling inventive and usually quite beautiful and touching "drama-dy"....drama and comedy. The actors are SO GOOD that you forget that this is improv, made up on the spot, NO SCRIPT...utterly amazing when you catch yourself sitting there mid-performance and suddenly realize this fact. Both troupes rotate their members weekly and suggestions for themes, etc. are solicited from the audience, so no two shows are ever alike and always delightfully unpredictable, satisfying original and gloriously funny. Check out their Facebook site for the most up to date info on show dates/times. And if you get bitten by the improv bug, as did I, a great intro class is on Tuesdays chock full of warm ups and games to acquaint you with the "rules" of improv (which is essentially being the most agreeable person in the world). Pan often runs specials on Groupon type of deal sites, so look for them if you want to great deal. For the more committed, auditions for Pan's "Short Form Training Troupe" are held every quarter or so. The audition is great fun and low pressure in that you're almost always guaranteed of getting in...the "audition" part allows the instructors to group students by their abilities/experience and create the curriculum accordingly. Averages $25 per 2.5 hour weekly class AND the big finale is that your class gets to put on two real live shows!!! The fee to participate in this 10 week session is very reasonable, considering that it also includes the free Tuesday night class drop in AND all Pan shows during your session weeks. As they say, "no one is getting rich here"...and this is evident by the somewhat funky set up that Pan Theater is nested in, sharing communal space with a pyschic, a nursing school and sometimes fire arms and defense class room space. In a way, this kind of makes sense, especially when you consider all of the outlandish themes and locations audience members suggest during performances. Some may be squeamish about the Oakland location, but I've never run into any problems, walking to and from my car or BART at 10:00 at night. Street parking is usually no problem IF the Paramount Theater is not having an event, otherwise you'll have to cough up at a paid parking lot or walk several blocks. Who takes the classes? I've seen actors honing their craft, aspiring actors just starting out, professionals wanting to be more entertaining in their presentations, friends looking for a fun activity to do together, college grads in between degrees, semi-retired getting back to discovering and learning again, couples looking to share an experience, stay at home moms getting out, closet hams....all types and backgrounds and everyone always seems to have a great time. read more

What a fun time! I rarely give 5 stars but this place is awesome. We laughed through the whole show. These talented actors delivered a creative performance. I'm inspired to sign up for the improv classes. Pan Theater is Oakland's best kept secret... I highly recommend this theater if you want to have fun and laugh! read more

One of the best hidden secrets in Oakland. I have been here to see shows in the past and had a great time. Probably the best bang for your buck date night. I recently tried the improve classes that they put on Monday and Tuesday nights. David is an awesome coach and very inspirational. I had a really great time and learned a lot. A lot of knowledge bombs were dropped and I was left with lots to ponder. Thank you. I highly recommend taking the classes even if you are not into acting or want to act. Check it out!!!!! read more

Good time to be had here. I have a special interest here since two of my friends are part of the various troupes but last time I went I laughed so hard I was crying. That has not always been the case though. And let's be honest, it's great fun, but I'm going to support my homies. However, if you are into improv & want to take a more active role in that, look into this. My two friends are having a blast. read more

I started my first round of improv at Pan in 2012. It was so inspiring to me that I had to have more, yet I moved away for a bit. However, when I got back to the bay on 2014, I just HAD to get back! I was excited to see the auditions for the next round of troupes had started just in time for me to begin again! Since I've been taking classes, I have been inspired in my own creative adventures in acting, performing and dance as well as getting to laugh as much as 3-4 times a week. The "family" there at Pan is truly heart-centered and a great community. I have nothing but HIGH REMARKS for the people that attend and also the staff. You will not be disappointed if you attend any of the Dojo classes offered or check out a show. Improv has really brightened my life in so many ways...dont miss out an opportunity to have the same experience in your own life! read more

Watching a show at the Pan Theater is a fun way to spend an evening with a date, and gauging whether or not said date has a sense of humor. We came to an 8pm Saturday night show of Awkward Face, and it was great. I laughed a LOT, as did the rest of the audience. Also, if you come to the 8pm show, the 9pm show is free to attend as well. (They have a short break between the two shows so you can bow out early if you wish.) This was my second time coming here. The first time I came, the show was funny, but not as memorable as this one. Obviously, the nature of improv means it's never the same, so if you go once and feel "ehh" about the show, give it another chance. read more

Pan Theater is fantastic! I think its really cool that we have improv performances every weekend right here in Oakland. Every show I've been to, the actors have been talented, have had a great rapport with the rest of the performers, and really had a great time on stage. The theater is intimate and some audience participation is encouraged, which is really great. It makes for a new experience at any given show. If you are looking for something new and fun on a Friday or Saturday night in Oakland you should definitely check it out! read more

The improv classes are awesome! So much fun! Liberate your creative self that's been itching to come out. And also give your brain some exercise! Watch the performing troupes on Friday and Saturday nights! You're guaranteed to laugh! read more

Passionate fun group of people delivering some funny and insightful improv. This is an interesting and affordable date night to sit back and watch the silliness and weirdness unfold. A good mix of people on stage and and I left the show definitely thinking about some stuff as well as having some good laughs. Friendly people too and intimate little theater. read more

I had a great time when I attended the Awkward Face show at 8 pm on Saturday night. The actors are quick on their feet, and they manage to elicit many hardy laughs from the audience. In addition, the show is highly interactive, a fact that keeps the audience engaged. The venue is also intimate, which is another characteristic that I valued. The night that I attended the show, the audience was quite small, so you should be prepared to participate by throwing out suggestions when the cast solicits them. I tend to exercise restraint with my five star ratings. However, other than my general exercise of restraint, the primary reason that I did not give a five star rating is because I did not love the venue's location, and I found the metal chairs to be a bit uncomfortable. In my view, venue location and seating are part of the experience, so factoring them into my review is fair and reasonable. However, if I were to subtract these issues from my consideration, then I probably would have given the show a five star rating. read more

Fun! Supportive. I learned a lot! The instructors are knowledgeable, encouraging and vibrant. And it was great to be creative and silly with other creative and silly people. read more

At 71, I wasn't confident I'd feel comfortable working with much younger students, but I quickly discovered that age is irrelevant. The classes are very well organized and the exercises helpful to my voice acting career. I highly recommend Pan Theater for voice actors or actors of any type. I emailed a question to David Alger, Pan Theater's founder and he got back to me with suggestions quickly. read more

Location is very strange, some kind of homeless person's picnic was being held right outside the door generating enough noise to render the teacher and his overly complicated instructions inaudible. The theater space was exceedingly crowded and uncomfortable with a class of 13, made more uncomfortable. I had to leave before we really got started, it was that uncomfortable. read more

They have friday night and saturday night shows, each night featuring one of the two different troupes performing at the pan. I've seen both the the Afters (friday) and Awkward Face (saturday) and they were fantastic. It's worth seeing both for a couple reasons. Both of the troupes feature different actors and have different formats for their shows. Awkward Face has a more traditional format doing a short form show first and a long form show second. The Afters have a really cool take and interview a person from the audience about their life and then perform it over the next 20 minutes. Its a fun place to see some polished improvisation and it gets out early enough to go kick some weekend ass. Best thing is how close it is to the 19th street bart station making it a really convenient location. read more

Pan Theater is a dangerous place and I will never go back there, even for free performances. I took David's Improv from the Heart class, and was suffocated by a fellow student in one of our scenes. I was laying down and this huge guy came on the stage and smothered my face with a jacket. I screamed and tried to get him off of me, but he didn't stop for quite a while and nobody did a damn thing. I couldn't breathe or see or move and it was completely traumatizing. Afterwards, I actually had to explain to the guy who suffocated me, the teacher and the entire class why it was not ok that this had happened! The perpetrator said it had just seemed like the thing to do for some reason and that he would consider therapy (good for him - so glad HE got something out of it!). Other students in the class blamed me for my reaction, saying that it must have been caused by a flashback to childhood trauma, even though I had never been suffocated before and the incident was traumatizing enough on its own. David, the instructor, kept the focus on me in the aftermath, waiting for me to "get over it" so that the class could continue. As if being attacked like that wasn't bad enough, the way everyone (even the instructor!) treated me like I was the problem made it much worse. I ended up not returning to finish the class because I didn't feel safe there anymore, with either the guy who attacked me or the instructor who minimized the severity of the event by allowing someone with serious psychological issues beyond the scope of the class to remain enrolled. David has refunded my tuition for the remaining classes I missed but has not responded to my request for a full tuition refund, which would be most appropriate since I wasn't able to have the full experience of Improv from the Heart and certainly wouldn't have enrolled at all if I knew I would be assaulted and forced to drop out halfway through for my own safety. I am disappointed that David chose to prioritize making money over making the class as safe as it could have been, and that he does not think it important to address violence in theater groups. I do not recommend Pan Theater for anyone who doesn't want to be assaulted on stage and then face a bunch of blank stares from everyone afterwards. David should not be conducting this kind of pseudo-therapy in improvisational theater because he has clearly demonstrated his incompetence in handling the shit that any whacko off the street who decides to enroll might bring into the class. David: you owe me $166.00. You know where to send it. read more

I am disheartened to learn that 95% of my photos from my two years at Pan, along with photos of my former troupe from the past year, have been removed from any public digital archives. The theater is poorly managed and you will find that you are considered the "property" of the Pan, and strongly discouraged from interacting with other local theater companies. Scrubbing 3 years of a troupe's photos was petty and illustrates the maturity of the management. I had left Pan Theater on good terms but am still the victim of one man's insecurities. read more

Saw a "theater games" show tonight with 4 improvisors, of varying talents. I admired their commitment to the scenes and their energy but while some scenes had some good moments, overall I thought the show was weak. In particular, they really need to work on figuring out how to end scenes. Many would have been better if they had simply ended sooner, while the scenes still had some life in them. I wouldn't rule out going again but we were not at all tempted to stay for the second show tonight. read more

I tried the Tuesday night Improv Dojo upon recommendation from a friend and I had a blast! I came in a bit nervous yet ready to get out of my comfort zone and get out of my head. Jessie creates a warm, inviting atmosphere to beginners and encourages you to not think and have fun through the use of short form improv games. I spent most of the two hours laughing and finding out that I can actually get out of my head and be in the moment. I have gone two weeks in a row and can't wait for next week. Come check it out! read more

These people are dangerous. (1) I was taking a class and a fellow student threw me to the ground and repeatedly slammed my head into the floor. (2) I was taking a class and a student started pawing me. I asked him to stop, but he wouldn't. In both cases the instructors watched and did not intervene. (3) I was a volunteer at show where we were to lightly touch two actors to indicate to them how their body should move and then they had to invent dialog to justify their actions -- a good exercise. The actor who I was "puppet-ing" happened to be the girlfriend of the other volunteer. I made my actor start waltzing with the other actor. He didn't seem to like that, so he just hit me in the face. Again, the instructors watched and did nothing. read more

The classes are so much fun, even if you have 0.0 experience- the people are so nice, even if you are a 10.0 weirdo, and the prices are great, especially when you have -50.0 dollars (a lot of free shows/performing opportunities!) GO PAN! read more

A wonderful community theater to learn and practice improv. Truly a gem for improv/comedy-minded people in Oakland.

Loved my improv 201 class here with Jessie! My classmates were smart, fun, and didn't take themselves TOO seriously. Jessie was an excellent facilitator and coach who gave specific, constructive feedback. I have taken quite a bit of Improv in NYC where there is more ego and arrogance, and this was a really enjoyable experience. The theater itself could probably use a facelift or a cleaning lady, and I wouldn't recommend parking your car on the street outside, but the actual class experience was truly excellent. read more

Wow, and wow again! This was a talent group of people who made a hour pass like 15 minutes. The performances were enteraining and illustrated tremendous talent. For the low cost, this is a tremendous performance!!! read more

Full disclosure: I'm in one of the house troupes and have started teaching some of the drop-in classes. Things have changed somewhat: Drop-in classes (also called Dojos) are on Saturday and Sunday at 4:00-6:00. Check the site for classes and auditions. I find Pan a very welcoming and friendly space for people who are interested in long-form improv. I've been working with the people here for some years now and I'm quite happy with the direction things are heading in 2016. The shows are getting better, more classes are being offered and we're attracting more people. Come check it out. read more

Came with the lady and had a lot of fun at the show. Support the local improv scene and check it out. Lots of good laughs!

Just took my first improv class with RJ. I'm hooked! The class was well structured, inviting, creative, inspiring and friendly. Anyone wanting to try improv (or watch improv) should check this place out. So much fun that I have perma-grin!!!! read more

The improv acting classes are awesome and fun, and it was really easy to join in. There's lots of opportunities at PAN to practice and let go! read more

Kind of an awkward space, but the improv was funny and the people are nice as hell. Thought we might need to get tickets early, turns out that's not a huge concern. Definitely worth checking out. read more