Big Idea Theatre

This is an awesome space very much like some of the smaller theatres in San Francisco, and a really well put together stage. The acting and production is great and of a high caliber; it’s clean, comfortable, and the plays they stage are a good mix of modern and traditional. I always appreciate when theatre companies put on a range of challenging and interesting productions, and don’t just do crowd pleasers to try and fill seats. We saw ‘7 Mammoths’ and really enjoyed it. We will be back!

This small theater offers FABULOUS, imaginative performances with LOTS of incredible actors (not a paltry 1, 2 or 3 like STC which has a huge budget & giant stage, shame on them for cutting corners!). And, what a bonus to have MAMA KIM’s restaurant right next door (eat there before the shows)! We are so lucky in Sacramento to have so many Quality theater groups. BIG IDEA has been such a delightful discovery. Cloud 9 was great & funny, 33 Variations was wonderful, so many excellent performances!
BUY THE SEASON PASS EARLY (it helps them pay bills!)

Wow, this place totally amazed. Its a small intimate theater with great performances. Perfect date idea! :) will definitely come back for another showing!

Came for the first time and liked it. Nice little theatre. Very cute. Is cute the right word to say for me? Well, me and my date saw Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Recommend it the show. Will check out other shows.

Recently saw a production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; excellent performances, direction, costumes, and set. The is a nice little theater; I am definitely a fan and will come back.
Very impressed.

Unique community theatre with a variety of productions. Intimate /​casual setting, fabulous staff, & high quality shows. Recently enjoyed a night of comedy here. Highly recommend supporting this collaborative artist community when you’re looking for a place to go for a fun night out!

This community theater is an appropriately named little bastion for big, bold artistic ideas right off of Del Paso Boulevard. They choose their productions wisely, whether they be something more obscure or a unique take on an old classic. Between the acting and the artistic commitment of everyone who works here, this is a theater every local supporter of the arts must experience.
I came down to watch «The Exit Interview,» a «philosophical comedy» and mostly two person show. The setup is small and the theater seats roughly 40. You’d never know how small it is once the production begins because the expert staging, set dressing and acting make you feel like the venue is much larger. The show was a hit and received a standing ovation.
Mama Kim’s, an acclaimed restaurant I have yet to visit, is located right in front so you could easily make an evening out of dinner and a show. The theater entrance is a little hard to find; it’s back off the street through the restaurant patio.

I love this place! Love performing there, and love attending shows there. Their shows are always top-​notch and they truly care about putting together a quality product. I would recommend BIT to anybody looking for the best theatre in Sacramento.

We really enjoyed opening night of Inventing Van Gogh this weekend. Loved the script, which really left us thinking. The actors ranged from very good to excellent. We love the small Black Box theater intimacy and intimate neighborhood feel. It was great to see the audience was 50% people under 40. Yay! we have a new live theater to support!

An update: Things have gotten better with the Season Tickets, at least on our end. You can call up now for reservations and request a callback. I only want a callback if there isn’t a seat available, so I just say that and it all works out great.
Last season started out a little slow, with a few questionable choices, but really picked up steam as it barreled through the season. Even when shows are a little less exciting, they have more than a few excellent actors on board to make them enjoyable. So we reupped for 2014 and both plays so far have been quite good. I still laugh at how excited they are to see our Season Tickets. EVERY SINGLE TIME! And I’m still a little sad. Season Tickets are a STEAL, people. I don’t know why visitors aren’t snapping them up because every time I leave, the Mailing List clipboard is loaded with names. Maybe the one Shakespeare play scares ‘em, but they do really inventive things with those shows. The Merry Wives, which we just saw, may be the most accessible Shakespeare play I have ever seen outside Romeo and Juliet.

Absolutely love this theater! I had the pleasure of seeing Outrage and was amazed by the professionalism, dedication, and passion these actors have. We will definitely be back. I’m ready to be a season ticket holder :-)

Looking for something to do on date night we’re always a little hesitant to venture too far outside of suburbia with the sitter meter ticking. Faced with the prospect of another uninspired Sandra Bullock chick flick, I was inspired to search high and low for something different, somewhat out of our comfort zone, something unique, and something to entertain during the precious few adult hours we have away from our kids.
The play we saw at the Big Idea Theatre last night, «A Contemporary American’s Guide to a Successful Marriage copyright 1959,» was everything we could have hoped for and more. Venue, acting, storyline, refreshments, and staff were all excellent. We especially agreed with the other reviews in that there really isn’t a bad seat. Also, although we didn’t eat at the restaurant across the hallway this time, we will plan on it next time because the food looked great. We did order a drink from the bar and since they served it to us in a to-​go cup we were able to enjoy it in the theatre during the show instead of rushing it during intermission.
We will definitely be back and next time will recommend it to our friends for a double date.

I had no idea what to expect. This is a tiny theatre, maybe 35×50 feet inside, with 60 or so seats. There are four or five rows of seats on two sides, so there are no bad seats! You’re close enough to really see the actor’s faces and feel their intensity. We went to see Private Eyes because an acquaintance was in it, and we really enjoyed the experience. They have reduced prices on Thursday night so it’s a bargain. The theatre itself is located in a mixed use space with Mama Kim’s Eats and an art gallery. Perfect for date night!

Well, it’s a downright shame. Let me explain.
We’ve now been to three shows at Big Idea Theater («BIT») and each has been absolutely wonderful. In each case, spirited, superb, fully competent performers have put on a unique and truly entertaining show in a small theater with an intimate, neighborhood feel. We love the grand productions at the big stages in Sacramento and Folsom – and there are several – but the small theater at BIT is warm and rewarding. The ticket prices at BIT are, in any comparison, an incredible value allowing us to see several performances a year which would otherwise be unaffordable. And, we think a «live show» in a pleasant theater is far more rewarding than another night of TV or fighting the crowds at a local movie theater. But, I digress.
I cannot overstate our appreciation for the fine performances we have seen. In fact, after seeing As You like It (Shakespeare set in Sacramento and our second show at BIT) we were so impressed we purchased «balance-​of-​the-​season» season tickets. We just saw Private Eyes which brings a five member cast to the stage in a wonderfully intricate and thought-​provoking story line («do we really want to know the truth about those whom we are in a relationship with»). The cast presented the story without a fault; we absolutely loved the show. Besides the show itself, the theater is small and comfortable promoting a sense of involvement in the presentation.
So, what’s the shame here? At the end of each show the actors take their traditional bow. My wife and I (and we sensed others) wanted the cast to take a second and third bow but the applause of twenty or so people could not sustain that. The shame is that these hard-​working actors and actresses and their performances should support much more attendance than they do and therefore provide for them increased reward for the their work. Yes, BIT is out-​of-​the-​way and not in a location where you might expect to find such quality acting and interesting plays so BIT remains, for the present, a «hidden gem.» But, with a world-​class restaurant and an art gallery in the same building it’s not as out of the way as it might seem.
We love BIT and if you like good acting and interesting plays in an intimate theater I’m all but certain you will too.

I have to admit I had relatively low expectations of «As You Like It» at Big Idea because I had never heard of the theater. I am a transplant to Sacramento and I was looking to get out there and see what the city has to offer for live theater. I stumbled across Big Idea’s website and figured for the low ticket price I would give it a try. I have to say I was VERY impressed with Big Idea Theater.
First, the actors were sensational. I’ve seen Shakespeare done on bigger stages and more prestigious venues and this production was in so many ways better than those productions. The theater is so small that there are no bad seats. The size means you can really see the actors and, because they were so good, you get sucked into the story with ease.
Another perk, there is a great restaurant in the same building that will give you a drink in a plastic cup to bring into the theater. There are no assigned seats, so now I can invite all my friends to join me at the next production and we can sit together without a reservation.
After seeing only this one show, I bought season tickets. I have no idea what the other shows are about, but I am confident after seeing this production that they will all be worth seeing. If you haven’t been to Big Idea, give it go and see if you don’t get hooked, too!

If you have never experienced a small local theater before, you really should try it. It’s a completely unique art form with advantages beyond anything like TV or Hollywood. The theater is small compared to a movie theater or Broadway show — you are close enough to clearly see the actors. There are no bad seats. These are seriously talented people who boldly put themselves out there, heart and soul. You will laugh and you will cry. Then you can even meet the actors afterwards!

There is no way I would’ve ever discovered this place if it weren’t for word of mouth and with the further help from Google.
I’ve purchased tickets this past week to see «Killer Joe». I’ve heard about this from my theatre arts professor and was dying to see it. I’ve never been to Big Idea Theatre before and really didn’t know what to expect.
First off, for someone extremely terrible with directions, I felt like this place was fairly easy to find. They do have their own private parking lot although there are many other parking in front of the buildings. Not necessarily their own, but there are a lot of slots from the nearby stores. It is 2 hour parking for most of them; but it’s free after 8PM.
Big Idea Theatre is in such a dingy and ghetto neighborhood with many old and abandoned buildings down its street. I was early for my show so I decided to park my car in front of the theatre and walked around for a bit. I was trying to find a diner to try out and about two blocks down, I started realizing that it was a mistake. There were crackheads walking around the neighborhood. High school kids kicking it in the parking lot. A lot of stores I did not recognize and many weren’t even opened. A lot of the buildings looked tore up. There was only one diner called «Lil Joe’s» almost right next to Big Idea but it looked sketchy (plus I of course Unilocaled them and eh… nothing impressing). Overall, I DID NOT FEEL SAFE AT ALL BEING IN THIS AREA.
Soon, it was show time and I entered the theatre through the black gates. You can do so on the side as well which is supposed to be the main entrance, but either one will do. I entered the small room where there are big comfortable chairs and a window with a very sweet cashier verifying my information of the purchase of the ticket. There are also snacks & beverages to be purchased there; most are a dollar each. I bought a bag of skittles, accepted my program and went into the actual theatre room to pick my seat.
I saw that there were a couple of reserved seating, but the audience got to pick our own seat for the most part. The layout of this theatre is what they call an alley theatre with the audience on two sides. Shapes like an «L» is the best way I am able to describe it. I love this set up. I feel like I could’ve sat anywhere, and even for a tiny person, I’d be able to have a very good and close up view of the play. Which I most certainly did. There were different levels of the seating like in a big movie theatre room (even though it is nowhere nearly as big as that). The seat raises as you go up the steps and the main stage is down below on ground. It bothered me quite a bit how their seats do not come with cup holder. Where are you supposed to put your snacks and drinks???
Overall though, a great theatre. «Killer Joe» was a tremendous show that I’d totally watch it again if I hadn’t gone to the last show. GREAT CAST. Everybody played their part so well and they’ve captured my attention all the way through. I didn’t even want the 15 minute intermission! I just wanted to keep watching them. Amazing.

I took the advice from local actor/​actress friends and checked out the final showing of ‘Killer Joe’ Saturday evening. This play was definitely not for the meek. Major kudos to the actors/​actresses who did a superb job of portraying a highly dysfunctional white trash family.

Quality theater is often hard to find. Theater that provides diverse, unexpected, mind blowing products is even harder to find. This theater offers up that and more, providing Sacramento with exceptional productions.
I thoroughly enjoy coming here and couldn’t recommend their shows more. Every aspect of their products, from the house management to the actors are of amazing quality.
Plus they have Thrifty Thursdays, where tickets are only $ 10! They make theater affordable too!
Help support Sacramento theater!

One of Sacramento’s underground-​ish theatres, you’ve likely heard of this place through a friend, family member, or local actor performing during their, er, «down time». It’s rather small, but it’s big enough for the audience it draws. Your typical 100-​seater black-​box deal, I’d say. Comfy chairs, even if you can poke a finger into the seat holes.
This venue draws a good amount of younger, teenage trainee actors — hence the family crowd. There’s usually a summer camp as well, along with an actor showcase at the end of the «season». Hey, never know who’ll make it big later, right?