Petaluma Actors Workshop at the Mercury

03/22/2026

Petaluma Actors Workshop is the latest sponsor of the Cotati Shorts Film Festival https://www.cotatishorts.com/ being created by our very own Tom Kearney. Submit films, or mark your calendar and go enjoy films!

Also, quote of the day: "We all have our insecurities" that we let get in the way of our acting craft "when we should be using them" in service of our work.

03/08/2026

Class has been so full and fun these past weeks, with new and old energies in the room.

Quote of today: "Shock yourself!" Terry to classmates about being so expressed, loud, angry, etc. in a scene that you surprise yourself.

And, here's Terry holding up a resource a classmate highly recommends. The classmate had to overcome dyslexia on his professional path and this was an invaluable resource, offering many different methods to consider.

02/08/2026

We're back and in full force!

Today there was evocative singing, and compelling storytelling, in addition to scenes. More storytelling to come, of both our characters' backstories, and from our own lives.

We've got feelers out for new people to join our incredible workshop, especially of the male persuasion. Come check out a Saturday, no pressure to participate unless you'd like to!

Quote of the day: "Develop a talent for being a character.
You know what talent is, right? Work!"

12/06/2025

Hi all, We're off for the rest of December. See you in January. Happy holidays!

11/21/2025

We got some press!

Learn from Terence McGovern, who had roles in “Star Wars,” “American Graffiti” and much more, in his Petaluma Actors Workshop.

11/02/2025

During PAW yesterday: We talked about trusting our fellow actors not to judge, making it a safe space to work and try new things, many of them out of our comfort zones. We're all rooting for each other.

10/26/2025

Tip of the day, from Terry, to an actor: "I want you to shock yourself." and "Risks are what this class is all about."

10/13/2025

Hi friends, Here's an example of our weekly class run down list. Terry basically workshops scene after scene, and the material is usually what we students find for ourselves, though he's happy to suggest scenes for newbies, and wants us to try at least one Shakespeare option, and one music option at some point. If there's time at the end of class, we'll sometimes do fun improv/acting exercises. Students range from total newbies to masterful actors who have worked professionally for years and he meets each of us exactly where we're at.

10/06/2025

A few words from Molly, who has studied with Terry for years, since Marin Actors Workshop days ~

10/06/2025

A few words from Julie ~

09/22/2025

Hi all,

Stay tuned for little videos of folks in the workshop, regarding what draws us to the workshop, what keeps us coming back for more, and what we get out of the experience.

For now, a little quote that came up in the course of our workshop this past Saturday:

"Learning is about become incompetent on our way to getting better. If you are not open to the tension caused by knowing you could do better, it's unlikely you're willing to do the work to get better. As you're doing that work, there's the satisfaction it brings, but also the knowledge that just a moment ago, you weren't any good."

~ Seth Godin