Bay Area Artists Who Are Creating Awesome Streaming Content and Classes

Local performer, teacher and co-founder of Bow & Arrow Circus Bethlayne Hansen.

Due to the current crisis that I need not name, our local performance artists, venues and teachers are really suffering financially and existentially right now since every venue and studio is closed. The good news is that Bay Area artists are both resourceful and creative, and many of them are offering live-streamed events or classes! Most of these are free with suggested donations– but like, you should really donate if you can, especially if you are getting paid to work from home. Think of it as allocating the money you would usually have burned drinking at bars or paying to see shows to support the people who would have been performing in them. Art is an essential part of our quality of life in the Bay Area and if you want it to still exist when we can leave our houses again, help support it now! (But even if you don’t have dollars to spare, show up anyway. Artists love to share their work and will like that you made an effort to appreciate it.)

This is a list of local Bay Area performers, teachers and companies that are doing live-streamed events. And I’m sure this is only the tip of the iceberg. You officially have no excuse to be bored!

Events by local performers you can view online:

Bow & Arrow Circus Theatre Collective has a new YouTube channel where they will be posting videos from past shows. Also, this drag boyband video made in quarantine is amazing.

Polesexual is a mixture of drag, circus and pole dancers– I highly recommend this variety show, which normally takes place at the Powerhouse on Sundays. Their streaming version has a hilarious cable access/ local channel feel to it. You can follow them on twitch.

Peninsula Youth Theatre is doing radio plays featuring young actors. Here‘s a link to the first one.

Bri Crabtree Virtual Parties is a great choice if you have kids. This adorable (and not scary) clown is offering virtual birthday parties and more here.

Similarly, Wynazz Pizzazz & Co. is doing virtual parties and experiences for kids. They have a free public event on Thursday 4/9 @12pm. Tea Party & Dance with Toddlers + Techno.

Local thespian and circus performer Ross Travis has some fun videos on his youtube channel.

Ok, so he’s not in the Bay Area but I highly recommend Peter Michael Marino’s solo show, Desperately Seeking the Exit, a true story about an ill-fated attempt to create a Desperately Seeking Susan musical set to the music of Blondie. You can sign up for one of his Zoom performances here. He also does kids shows!

Black Ice Theatre is are doing  “Sheltered Shorts” every night at 7:30pm on their Facebook page. A new short play is read daily.

Quiet Lightning has a list of online poetry and fiction reading right here. You can also view virtual readings from Foglifter and regular readings from The Racket. Book Passage is hosting author conversations. 

Quarantine Radio Hour is a new podcast created by locals. You can submit to it by emailing QuarantineRadioHour@gmail.com. 

Boxcar Theater is doing staged readings via Zoom.

Made Up Theatre is doing live improv shows that you can find here.

Tin Can Can is a live streamed variety show hosted by EMMY-Award winner Slater Penney. All acts performed live! Proceeds will benefit performers whose incomes have been impacted by covid-19. Comedy, burlesque, circus, drag, and more! Find out more here.

Oasis TV: Check out Oasis’ youtube channel where you can view videos of their past drag parodies.

Drag Alive: Saturdays at 6:30pm, you can watch local drag queens perform here.

The Monster Show has their own twitch channel as well that you can follow.

Canapes Cabaret has videos you can purchase here to satisfy your cravings for local burlesque performances.

East Bay Play Readers are doing virtual meetups with local actors online to read plays here. Thursday Night Theatre is a virtual reader’s theatre group, performing Thursday nights while we are sheltering in place and social distancing. Find out more here.

Zoom Theatre is staging plays designed specifically for Zoom! You can find out more here. ShotzSF is also doing live theater on Zoom. You can follow their instagram for updates.

Gregangelo Museum will be putting together an interactive streaming variety show broadcasting from different locations within the museum’s installations. They’ll be interviewing artists from their crew who will talk about their individual journeys, and how they are thriving in a world that says artists can’t make a living doing what they love. They’ll discuss their unique artistic expressions, how they fuel imagination and keep their craft fresh, alive and expansive. Find out more here.

Dane Lentz is doing sign language interpretations of broadway songs, called ASL Quarantones.

Ghost Light Theatre is doing old timey radio plays.

Quarantined Cabaret Live does shows every Friday night.

Incivility SF, an awesome political theater cabaret is now doing virtual events.

Queer Quarantine Hangouts and Performances is doing many virtual events.

Media Meltdown is hosting a variety of events on their twitch channel, including readings, watch parties, video game playthroughs and drag shows.

Mystic Ventures Collective is putting on an online ARG murder mystery called Calamity in the Crow’s Nest. They are also doing story readings on their mystic ventures YouTube, including Alice in Wonderland and The Little Prince.

Edna Mira Raia is a local character actress who puts on a regular sketch comedy show called “Edna in a Bottle.” Check out her YouTube channel here.

Local rock band Northern Waste has a YouTube channel. If you like Tiger King (or even if you don’t) you’re gonna want to check out their latest video.

Also, this video made me cry 🙂

Classes you can take online (because why not use this time to develop a new skill?):

Local circus performer, teacher and co-founder of Bow & Arrow Circus Theatre Collective Bethlayne Hansen has an array of circus classes you can take with her online right here.

Roryography has become my favorite class to do every Monday! It’s an aerobic dance class set to music with silly dance moves, Richard Simmons style! Mondays at noon and Thursdays at 3pm on FB live, or on Instagram @rorykdavis

Performer and founder of Circus Bella Abigail Munn offers virtual live Pilates classes.

Stretching Classes with Clee are fun and dynamic– use this time in quarantine to get more nimble! Check out her stretch classes here. 

V3RV is now doing online classes! That’s right, there are virtual pole dance and conditioning classes available right here! 

Jim Donak can do at home injury/ movement assessment, find him here.

Circus Center also has a whole lineup of online classes, as well as a list available of local teachers who are independently offering circus classes. Never done circus? Why not start now?! What else are you doing?

Fire in the Belly is offering meditation and sound healing sessions, which can be found here. Annie Herring is a very calming and knowledgeable teacher!

Fabulous and talented contortionist Dwoira Galilea Scheffer is doing stretching and conditioning classes.

Vocalist Tracey Holland offers virtual singing lessons. I can personally vouch for how amazing of a teacher she is!

Dance Mission has compiled a list of many of their dance teachers who are now doing online classes here.

Dragon Theatre has online theater classes for kids here. So does Pied Piper Players, which can be found here.

Suraya Keating teaches yoga on Tuesdays.

Hilarious clown duo and Sweet Can Circus members Coventry and Kaluza are creating classes and content for kids on their Facebook page. Natasha Kaluza is also doing circuit training and other classes live from Facebook and also Zoom.

Circus performer and teacher Kerri Kresinski has stretching and strength training on her YouTube channel.

My City School has downloadable lesson plans for your kids.