American Conservatory Theater Blog

Your Pickle Family Circus Memories

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:02:00 +0000

Posted by Dan Rubin, A.C.T. Publications Manager

We asked you to share your favorite Pickle Family Circus memories, and you did not disappoint! Thank you to everyone who sent us moving and hilarious stories and beautiful photos. Below we're sharing some of the amazing snapshots and Pickle tales that were submitted. Add your own story to the comments section at the end of the post!

Humor Abuse has been so popular with Bay Area audiences that we've added an extra Sunday evening performance on February 5, at 7 p.m., but tickets are going fast and the show must close this weekend. Like the Pickle Family Circus, soon Humor Abuse will only exist in our fondest memories, so, as Pickle cofounder Larry Pisoni used to say, "Go call everyone you know, and then call everyone you don't know," and tell them not to miss it!

Laurel Bellon: "I took my daughter to the Mother's Day show at Rose Park in Berkeley for many years (these photos are from 1988). I always looked forward to them with great pleasure and remember them with much fondness. I never liked clowns before the Pickle Family Circus—I really miss those shows. They are an experience I will remember for a lifetime."

Brett Carlson
One of my earliest memories is of the Pickle Circus. I must have been two or three years old (my mother was surprised I remembered it at all). I vaguely remember seeing some kind of clown act, but the image that I recall vividly is that of a giant white balloon that was brought out, various shtick, then the balloon was popped and the confetti inside sparkled down all around me.

By Laurel Bellon (Berkeley, 1988)

Jim Edlin
The year our son Gabe was born, he was not quite a year old when we took him to his first Pickle holiday performance. Gabe was not much for attention span, but he amazed us by sitting rapt through the entire show. In the lobby reception after the performance, acrobatics master Lu Yi came over to greet our new circus fan. Lu Yi asked to hold our son, which we allowed. Then he shocked us by placing Gabe's feet on one of his hands and balancing Gabe up in the air. For us new parents it was a heart-stopping moment, but Gabe was having a great time. Master Lu Yi seemed to approve of Gabe's sense of balance; when he handed Gabe back to my wife, he said, "Bring him to me when he is three and I will train him."

Andrea Heilbron: "One of my favorite routines was of Geoff Hoyle's Mr. Sniff walking 'down' the stairs into a pool . . . with the wonderful Pickle Family Circus Band! Ah, those were the times! These are photos from June 1986 in Santa Cruz. We were great fans!"

Susan Picklesimer
My daughter was born in 1977 on the longest night of the year up in Anchorage, Alaska . . . When she was about two and a half, we got some folks to watch the store and headed off for the State Fair. We expected that the animals and rides and games would be what she would like. But she only had eyes for one person: she called him "Mitter Niff." (Maybe Mr. Sniff for the nose? I never knew.). She was completely enthralled by all these wonderful creatures of mime, but for months after she would ask, "Pleeeeeez could we go see Mr. Niff?" I'm not sure how many of you came for that long trip to Alaska, but believe me, we appreciated all the trouble—to see the happiness not only during the shows but for years after when she would talk of Mr. Niff.

Melissa Bleier: "I grew up in Ukiah, California, and was delighted every time the Pickle Family Circus came to town . . . It was almost 30 years ago, but I will never forget the magic and joy that the Pickle Family brought. I also remember thinking that they were all related to each other. Since I grew up in a family that performed magic shows for the local schools, I was amazed that their family all got to be in the circus. It was always so exciting to see kids onstage—I loved that. In the picture (from about 1985), I don't look too thrilled to have my face painted: I have no idea why! Regardless, this is one of my favorite pictures of myself. Thanks to Lorenzo for sharing his memories of the times that he made my memories."

David B. Solnit
On a sunny fall day in 1974, I was on the Yale University campus in New Haven and encountered a three-person juggling act on the lawn. It was Larry and two women [Peggy Snider and Cecil MacKinnon], and it was great. I particularly remember the bit with Larry's hat going back and forth mixed in with the clubs. I don't remember if they introduced themselves as the Pickle Family then, but that's who they were when I moved to the Bay Area a few months later. I was glad we'd all picked the same location to move to—as it seemed.

Ondine Boulter: "This was taken sometime in the summer of 1983 at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek. My cousins and I were fortunate enough to grow up in the Bay Area in the '70s and '80s, in a family who values humor and loves a good chuckle (or three!). We'd often meet up at Pickle Family Circus performances around the Bay, where three generations of us would laugh till our stomachs ached! I remember envying the lucky boy who got to be a part of the circus and often wondered how I could join the Pickles myself. They transported us all to a place of imagination, magic, and good times and always left us wanting for more. Long live the Pickles!

Barbara VanderBorght
When I was still living in New York, a friend and I saw a trio of jugglers in Central Park one day in 1974 (or maybe '75). They were very good, and very funny. They went by the name of the Pickle Family Jugglers and were, in fact, Larry Pisoni, Peggy Snider, and Cecil MacKinnon. They made a lasting impression, so when I saw that a group called the Pickle Family Circus was appearing in Eugene, Oregon (where I had since moved), I was eager to go. Now the jugglers were joined by acrobats, musicians, and more, and Larry was joined in inspired clowning by Bill Irwin and Geoff Hoyle. This was a time of new vaudeville and alternative circus richness in the Northwest (Flying Karamazov Brothers, Rev. Chumley et al.), but I always viewed the Pickles tour as something special. After a few years, I moved to San Francisco, where the Pickle fun continued—mostly at Glen Park Canyon. The performers started to change as some moved on and others appeared, including the kids: Gypsy and the young Lorenzo and his memorable act with his dad . . . The Pickles and their artistic offspring have entertained and enlightened me in the three places I have lived over the past more than 30 years, and the appreciation has been passed on to my daughter, who now has her own child.

Lorenzo Pickle (Larry Pisoni) with his famous trunk, by Ondine Boulter (Walnut Creek, 1983)

Peggy White
It was always a joyful and fun weekend when the Pickles came to our neighborhood. Kind of like our own personal show. My daughter, Moragan Lee Luckey, was born in 1974, the same year as Lorenzo. We were always thrilled with the shows, and watching Lorenzo run around in his little gorilla suit like a circus pro was an absolute delight. What a champ! . . . The beauty of the Pickles was that they entertained using gymnastic skills without involving animals, they told charming stories that everyone could understand without saying a word, and they were just plain fun! Pickle clowns took the scary out of clowns and brought back real talent for entertaining.

By Laurel Bellon (Berkeley, 1988)

Geraldine Bagot Whitman
There are so many wonderful performances of the Pickles to recall from the early 1980s. Geoff Hoyle, Bill Irwin: we all knew they were geniuses just waiting to be discovered by the rest of the world. The devotion of Peggy and Larry to the members of their circus and the community was so admirable. Wendy Parkman, the gorgeous and oh-so-fit trapeze artist—and of course cute little Lorenzo and Dan Hoyle, the mini-clowns. My husband and I were big supporters of the Pickles, and we urged my husband's family foundation to grant them some funds for new bleachers, which was accomplished. Many Pickles, including little Lorenzo, came to our wedding in 1983 at Halloween. It was a costume party wedding. Of course all the Pickles came as their Circus personas.

By Ondine Boulter (Walnut Creek, 1983)

How I Learned to Juggle

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:29:00 +0000

Posted by Dan Rubin, A.C.T. Publications Manager

As Humor Abuse closes in on its final performance this weekend, A.C.T. Publications Manager Dan Rubin reflects on what he learned while researching the history of San Francisco's beloved Pickle Family Circus. Rubin interviewed several members of star Lorenzo Pisoni's multitalented family for the latest edition of Words on Plays, A.C.T.'s behind-the-scenes theater guide. Click here to order a print or electronic copy, which includes 16 of Pickle photographer Terry Lorant's dazzling photographs of the Pickle Family Circus in its heyday.

Lorenzo Pisoni's parents, Pickle cofounders Larry Pisoni and Peggy Snider, juggle in the Pickle Family Circus.
Photo by Terry Lorant.

San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus would juggle. I am left with many things from my research into this amazing organization—an investigation that led to interviews with the two cofounders, Larry Pisoni and Peggy Snider; Peggy's daughter, Gypsy, who was 8 when the circus began; and, of course, their son, Lorenzo, who was literally born into the PFC, started performing at age 2, and is starring in the one-man clown show Humor Abuse, a show about his childhood, on the A.C.T. mainstage now.

My research reminded me of the powerful artistry of talented and inexhaustible young people. It reminded me of what can be accomplished with next-to-no funds if the drive is there. It reminded me of how brilliantly executed ideas will always trump brilliant spectacle. It reminded me of the power of intimacy, of community, of communication, and of carnival food—and how we need events to bring all those elements together. It reminded me that good things don't last forever, that inexhaustible youth become exhausted, and that the 1970s were a long time ago.

It also taught me that there are many ways to parent and that "babies will naturally cling to a trapeze bar if you let them because we are not inherently afraid"; that theater probably has more need for the circus than we realize; that there are circuses around the world (like Gypsy's Montreal-based Les 7 doigts de la main) that are thriving.

I am left with many things, but the takeaway I keep returning to is this: everyone in the PFC juggled. Larry and Peggy began as the Pickle Family Jugglers, passing the hat around Union Square, and the jugglers mentality permeated their circus: every show would end with an epic Big Juggle, involving everyone, even the roustabouts. Backstage and during rehearsals, Pickles would take juggling breaks "like normal people take coffee breaks," wrote one journalist. They would do this to loosen up, to activate their muscles and their minds, and to connect with their fellow Pickles, for the solo juggle was rare: they were almost always juggling with someone else.

"What is the trick to juggling?" I opened my interview with Larry. "Trick? There's no trick. It's all practice." When I was in the toy store last December buying soft footballs to donate to the fire department's holiday collection, I picked up a set of juggling balls for myself. I've been bringing them back and forth from the office to home, taking them out when I need a break. And I have to say: it really is just practice.

Now I need to convince my colleagues. Because we could all stand to be a little more like the Pickles.

The Sky’s the Limit: Reflections on The Sky Festival, Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

posted the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2014

Our coverage of the 2012 Sky Festival concludes with musings from other members of the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2014, who experienced this intense two-week period of rehearsal and performance for the first time. The festival brings together A.C.T. students, staff, and faculty in the high-speed creation of inventive new work. For many students, the festival also offered an opportunity to delve into something new, as they stepped into roles as writer and director.

L to R: Cloud Tectonics director Jeffrey Crockett with Blair
Busbee and Aaron Moreland. Photo by Kevin Berne.

L to R: The Owl and the Pussycat directors Omozé Idehenre and
Lateefah Holder. Photo by Kevin Berne.

Blair Busbee
Performer, Cloud Tectonics and No Man's Island

I was once in an acting class where I had to practice juggling for the first 15 minutes of every class. The first day, I failed. Miserably. I took my frustration out on the balls, and I pounded them each into a brick wall. The second day, I practiced with only two balls. I was a bit more successful, but I still clenched my jaw whenever a ball went THUD onto the floor. Eventually, as classes continued, I learned how to juggle. I learned patience by taking the process one step at a time, and I learned a lesson in the importance of focus.

I've actually thought about juggling a lot since I started rehearsals for José Rivera's Cloud Tectonics. It takes an immense amount of focus to juggle all of the facets of my character, Celestina del Sol. She's hitch-hiking. She's pregnant. Her only food is soggy saltine crackers. She's alone in the world, carrying all of her possessions in a black plastic bag—oh, and she can bend time. So, yeah . . . there's a lot to juggle in this play.

I'm having a blast, and I'm growing with each rehearsal—taking little leaps of faith, which is all I can ask of myself, I guess.

Lateefah Holder
Director, The Owl and the Pussycat, and performer, Black Maria

Woooo. Whoever said that directing was an easy job was really not telling the truth. Directing is tough. I only have a cast of two, and they are counting on me to tell them where to move around, scene by scene, from point A to Z, in a way that makes them look glorious! No pressure, though. (Yeah, right.)

I have to be honest with you, though. When I was first asked to direct this piece as my second Sky Festival assignment, I was a little unsure of myself and whether or not I would be able to pull it off. My mind was racing as I tried to wrap my head around a script that not only had I never heard of before, but then after reading it, realized I was not quite connected to, either.

BUT! I have to say I've come a long way with this dysfunctional-yet-cute romantic comedy. Once I was able to discover the heart and soul of the piece, I felt as if I had tapped into the work and it finally settled with me. THANK GOD! Also, not to forget that I had the pleasure of working with two extremely hardworking and talented fellow students who truly made the world come alive for me. (I love them. They are fabulous!)

Researching the '60s and all of its glorious fashion and music really put me in the perfect frame of mind for this work. I'd say that The Owl and the Pussycat is like a Glee mash-up of Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, and Venus in Fur! So, if you're interested in a very messy, yet highly dysfunctional, rollercoaster ride of a show, with some damn good classic '60s jams, then come see The Owl and the Pussycat!

Lisa Kitchens
Assistant Director, Noncents, and performer, Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness!

Since coming to A.C.T., I have heard nothing but fabulous things about the Sky Festival! And since I arrived, I have been itching with anticipation to get started. Knowing that students were given the opportunity to produce, write, direct, and act in projects of their choosing for an audience of fellow supportive, creative students and professional artists, seemed to be not only unique but also incredibly relevant, as so many young theater artists moving to cities are being called to do just that. This festival has been so full of enthusiasm and heart since it started two weeks ago, that I am beyond thrilled to see all of the projects!

I have been lucky enough to participate in two student-produced works—one being an original and the other being student-directed. Both experiences are completely different and equally rewarding. Working on a new work is always exciting—seeing it transform and grow into a fully fleshed-out piece is a huge learning experience. My classmate, Elyse Price, invited me to work on her original work, Noncents, as assistant director. I had participated in a reading of her play last semester, so it is a privilege to be a part of this developmental process. We started the first week by doing some intense table work. Questions, dialogue, research, rewrites, and, of course, reading—all came together to further develop this wonderful play. During the second week, when we got on our feet, the play took off—and it was truly thrilling to watch. Her piece has come such a long way since its beginnings last semester. I speak for myself and the others involved when I say sharing this will be a pleasure.

The other piece I am working on is second-year student Rebekah Brockman's Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness! by Anthony Nielson. Rebekah proposed the project and is also directing it. This play requires such energy and imagination—every moment is a blast! This piece has also been quite challenging. This particular style of comedy requires larger-than-life physiques while also being extremely connected to the emotional lives of the characters. And let me tell you, being a pockmarked girl with a sister who ruins everything and whose pimples are actually pearls and is dumped by her true love for an oyster is not easy! Rebekah has also incorporated mask work (she made all six masks!), puppetry, music, and comedy to create this delightfully poignant piece that is sure to surprise audiences.

Aaron Moreland
Performer, Black Maria and Cloud Tectonics

My name's Aaron, and for the past two weeks, the following has been my mantra: Tight. Bright. Light. Sounds weird, I know, but let me explain. Right now I am nearing the end of my first Sky Festival at A.C.T. Over two weeks, I will have collaborated with folks from all over the Conservatory and put up not one, but two shows. Sounds stressful, I know, but it's way more fun than stressful, believe me. I've gotten to work on two shows that are awesome, each in their own way. Black Maria, a film noir piece written in pure poetry (no dialogue), and Cloud Tectonics, a play about love in and out of time (deep, right?). At first I was beyond stressed and nervous: how was I gonna finish these projects? But then I remembered that little mantra, something I found as an undergrad that's almost grown to be a way of life here at A.C.T. So here's an explanation of this little philosophy:

1. TIGHT
No, you don't have a lot of time. But that's cool, because you're in grad school, so you'll never have enough time. So what can you control? You can control your preparation. Working as hard as you can to keep everything around you tight and organized, to keep things in arms reach for easy access. It's okay if you don't remember everything, as long as you have it written down to remind you. Sooner or later, it'll all become second nature and you will remember it. Also, keeping it tight means making things simple for yourself: what can happen right now that will make my life so much easier? What can I cut out? What proverbial fat can I trim? This is essential for quick deadlines, like the ones in The Sky Festival.

2. BRIGHT
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!!! You gotta stay positive in this. I know there always seem to be 20 million reasons to get upset, but get this: things are easier with a smile. Be hopeful, for Pete's sake!! No one expects you to create The Iron Lady in two weeks! Once I remembered that I really started having fun.

3. LIGHT
Why so serious? Just have some freaking fun. That's it.

York Walker
Performer, Black Maria and Better Angels

The Sky Festival is a great way to come back to school after the winter break. Everyone is refreshed, well rested, and ready to work again. I am currently working on a project entitled Black Maria (sounds like pariah).

Black Maria, directed by Stephen Buescher, is adapted from the book of poetry by Kevin Young. The piece follows two lovers as they battle their demons and circumstances to be together. The poems are written in the film noir style, so we are creating that same world for the stage. Rehearsing for this project has been wonderful since day one. Stephen creates a rehearsal room that encourages collaboration and the spirit of playfulness. We have such a good time in rehearsal that the time flies by. It feels like two minutes, and then it's time for it to end. The other actors in the company are also very giving of themselves. Each of us brings our ideas and knowledge to each of the scenes we are working on. There was a day when one of my characters was smoking a cigar, and I was smoking it as if it were a cigarette. One of my castmates said, "You can't smoke a cigar like that. You would have been dead a long time ago." I had no idea what I was doing! I am an asthmatic and have never even touched a cigar, let alone smoked one. It was great to know that I could count on my castmates to correct me if there was something that wasn't authentic onstage. It's good to know that your cast will have your back and not let you go out onstage looking crazy.

Light has been a big part of our rehearsal process. Film noir has a very specific lighting style. It plays a lot with shadows and lighting only sections of a space, instead of the entire thing. We play around with flashlights, lamps, and clip lights to create the noir atmosphere. The show doesn't have a big budget, so all of the lighting is done with ordinary things. It's so interesting to me what you can do with something as simple as a flashlight and muslin screen. It's like being a kid creating a completely different world with just your imagination and a few toys.

The Sky’s the Limit: Reflections on The Sky Festival, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:15:00 +0000

posted by Elyse Price, member of the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2014

Our coverage of the 2012 Sky Festival continues with a post from Elyse Price, whose original work Noncents is one of the selected pieces to come to life over this vibrant two-week festival.

L to R: Maggie Leigh and Elyse Price in Noncents. Photo by Kevin Berne.

L to R: Noncents performers Maggie Leigh and Elyse Price, assistant director Lisa Kitchens,
and director Domenique Lozano. Photo by Kevin Berne.

The idea of The Sky Festival is such a fabulous one—its title mantra, "the sky is the limit," mixed with about 50 daring, creative, and energized artists, is dangerously exciting. And it takes place at A.C.T., no less, a theater company that pushes boundaries and wants to challenge its audience. When I found out about this festival during callback weekend for the M.F.A. Program, I was hooked, and already had ideas brewing . . . but when it came to proposal time, after spending my first five months in this city, I knew which one was the best.

I had been working on a short play called Noncents back in New York City, which was my home before making the big move across the country. It was inspired by the countless number of homeless men and women I would engage with on a daily basis in the city. I started wondering about their individual stories and what their lives used to be like, knowing that I would probably never know. Then one day I heard a line that knocked the wind out of me—someone selling a baby, desperately. I thought, "Could this be real? Am I really hearing this?" I hopped on the subway and made my way home. After a couple days of typing and typing away, my mind repeating that horrendous line ("Baby for sale!") over and over, Noncents was finally born.

After moving from one enormous city to another, I was really struck by the stark differences among the people who inhabit San Francisco. I have about a 20-minute walk to school every day, and after weeks of interacting with the people that inhabit these streets, I knew some editing was in order. My amazing classmates met several times with me to hold readings and offer input and insight on the plot, the characters, the circumstances, the language, etc. We experimented in all different ways—we paired up men and women, men and men, and women and women, just to see the difference, if any, it would make to a text that was originally written for two men in New York.

I don't think I could have ever imagined how helpful these preliminary meetings were! I realized that although it worked as a play between two men in a different place, the difference it made when pairing two women was expansive, especially in this new setting. It opened up a whole new perspective on this play. And I was very excited by this new point of view, as were several of my classmates who really saw this project through with me! It brought up so many topic of discussion: gender roles, sexuality, responsibility, perspective, need, money, appearance, love, desperation, and abuse, to name a few.

Once we got into the rehearsal room, a whole new and thrilling layer was added—Nancy Benjamin (Co-Head of Voice and Dialects) as our director, Lisa Kitchens (class of '14) as assistant director, and Maggie Leigh (class of '12) as my scene partner. We have all been collaborating every single day, sharing stories, closely reading the text, and building a real, visceral world in the rehearsal room. I continue to be awestruck by the personal experiences that reveal themselves in these conditions. We are all interested in the truth—telling the fullest story possible, while doing justice to the complex world of the streets.

It has been both challenging and incredibly fulfilling to wear two hats in the rehearsal room. I have learned so much about both writing and acting and am so grateful to have been given this opportunity. The support that I have received working on this project has been unparalleled and it continues to surprise me every day.

The Sky’s the Limit: Reflections on The Sky Festival, Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 02:19:00 +0000

posted by Dillon Heape, member of the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2014

Each year, the A.C.T. community gathers for The Sky Festival—the creation, rehearsal, and performance of a vibrant and eclectic range of work. Students, faculty, core acting company members, and artistic staff submit proposals for projects they are personally passionate about, from self-written work to movement-based interpretations of classic texts. The chosen projects are developed over two weeks of intense rehearsal and exploration, culminating in two days of lively in-house presentations.

This year, one production Thieves, a raucous spin on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2—will be presented as a full production at The Costume Shop.

The first-year Master of Fine Arts Program students were thrown into the creative chaos of the Sky Festival for the first time, and Dillon Heape stole away from rehearsal for a few moments to reflect on his experiences as part of the cast of Thieves.

Thieves in rehearsal. L to R: Tyee J. Tilghman, Rebekah Brockman,
Dillon Heape, Jessica Kitchens, Titus Tompkins, and Jason Frank. Photo by Kevin Berne.

I've never been one to get too excited about Shakespeare. I've acted and studied theater for most of my life, read and seen many of Shakespeare's plays, and even performed in a few—but I have yet to be "bit" by the bug of the Bard. And until recently, it's something I've felt pretty guilty about. I've never disliked Shakespeare—I've just never really got it, either.

Fortunately, just this week, things have started to change. I've been given the opportunity to play King Henry IV in my friend Matt Bradley's play Thieves, a rock adaptation of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, as a part of A.C.T.'s second-annual Sky Festival. Thieves places a new, bold, interesting spin on the relationships between King Henry IV and his son Hal—and between Hal and the band of thieves he's recently joined as an act of rebellion against his father.

Until working on this play, I had always thought of Henry IV as a bleak, long-winded installation in Shakespeare's Wars of the Roses plays. The story is compelling, but the antiquated language kept me from really connecting to the heightened emotions these characters are feeling. (This is something I experience with many of Shakespeare's plays.) In Thieves, though, the characters speak in a fascinating blend of modern language and Elizabethan English—and sing and play some pretty awesome rock music—in order to convey their dark, funny, and emotionally-charged story to the audience. And I get it!.

I have to admit I was a little bewildered when Matt first cast me as the King. (If nothing else, I felt pretty undeserving. Give the part to someone who loves Shakespeare!) But now that we're knee-deep in the rehearsal process for this play, I could not be more thankful to be involved. Through rehearsing with my friends and peers, working with an apt and able young playwright who's passionate about telling Shakespeare's story in a way I can connect to, and through the age-old medium of music, I am learning more about Shakespeare than I ever thought possible. No time like the present, right?

Enter the Pickle Memories Contest

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:24:00 +0000

In celebration of our upcoming production of Humor Abuse, share your favorite Pickle Family Circus memories for a chance to win a VIP package to the show and meet star Lorenzo Pisoni in person. Entries must be submitted by January 22. Click here for details.

Pickle Family Circus cofounder Larry Pisoni applies stage makeup to his son, Lorenzo. Photo by Terry Lorant.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee officially opens A.C.T.'s new performance space - The Costume Shop

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:59:00 +0000

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) opened its new performance space, The Costume Shop recently. San Francisco’s Mayor Ed Lee, who helped usher in the momentous occasion, was surrounded by A.C.T.’s family of artists and supporters as well as representatives from the numerous arts organizations around the Bay Area.

A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee,
and A.C.T. Executive Director Ellen Richard. Photo by Orange Photography.

The new space at 1117 Market Street (at 7th Street) is in the heart of San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood in the space below A.C.T.'s longtime costume shop.

The venue is a 49-seat space dedicated to an eclectic lineup of professional and A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program productions. Solidifying A.C.T.’s presence in the rapidly developing and artistically vibrant Mid-Market neighborhood, the Costume Shop will enable A.C.T. to partner with exciting local artists and performing arts companies, propelling the creation of transformative new work for years to come.

The Costume Shop lobby during the opening celebration. Photo by Orange Photography.

"A.C.T.'s new Costume Shop performance space is a wonderful example of the spirit that has taken hold on Central Market to transform and infuse the area with art, performance, and gathering spaces," said Mayor Ed Lee. "I commend A.C.T. for creatively repurposing this space and creating local jobs, and I look forward to supporting their continued efforts to develop a larger presence on Central Market." A.C.T. General Manager Don-Scott Cooper added: "The launch of the new Costume Shop space has been a huge success for A.C.T. We've wanted for years to have a stronger presence in the Mid-Market neighborhood and to create a storefront theater space that allows us to be a part of that community will pay back in dividends for our artists and conservatory students. We are thrilled to be side by side with all of the amazing arts organizations that call this burgeoning neighborhood their home."

Check out the gallery from the opening night: The Costume Shop Press photos

Lunch with stars Annette Bening and Elizabeth Banks

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:37:00 +0000

Announcing the first-ever A.C.T. Conservatory Awards Luncheon on January 24! Celebrated alumni Annette Bening and Elizabeth Banks are among this year’s recipients. Join us for this star-studded event honoring A.C.T. alumni and donors who provide scholarship support.

Go online at Conservatory Awards Luncheon for details and ticket information.

'A Christmas Carol' signals festive season - get your tickets now

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:15:00 +0000

Omoze preparing for her stint as The Ghost of Christmas Present for A Christmas Carol. Photo by Randy Taradash.

Ban the humbugs and get into the festive season with the timeless production 'A Christmas Carol'. Sparkling lights on trees, cheerful music in department stores, love this time of year or not, Christmas is fast approaching and A.C.T. is playing its part to usher in the holiday season with A Christmas Carol. The inimitable Ghost of Christmas Present, A.C.T. core acting company member and M.F.A. Program alumna Omozé Idehenre, is getting ready to take Scrooge on the ride of his life. Recently she served as emcee for the grand opening ceremonies in the Safeway Ice Rink at Union Square. Here she welcomes the enthusiastic crowd to the ice rink.

Check out the buzz and get your tickets now: here.

Too Much Transparency?

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:19:00 +0000

Posted by Carey Perloff, A.C.T. Artistic Director

Did you know that A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff has been blogging for the Huffington Post about issues pertaining to the national theater scene? She recently wrote about the controversy surrounding Arena Stage’s decision not to allow journalists and the general public into their new plays forum, asking some interesting questions about what it means for artists and arts administrators to be transparent about their processes.

You can read her latest post here.

Race, Gender, Jury Selection, and David Mamet

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:37:00 +0000

Posted by David Newdorf, Business Litigator for Newdorf Legal

Effective lawyers understand the limits of juror fairness and their ability to put aside preconceived notions. David Mamet’s play Race, which I saw this week in San Francisco, is a perceptive look at how trial lawyers navigate the unspoken value systems of juries. The play unfolds in a law firm conference room as three criminal defense lawyers brainstorm how to defend their wealthy, white client against charges that he raped a young black woman.

Juries are generally good at deciding simple facts: whether a light was red or green, whether a promise was made or broken, whether a statement was misleading. Other cases have hidden landmines for the lawyers. Cases involving issues of race, religion, gender, power, or wealth are traps for the unwary. White cops versus black suspect. White male executive versus young female subordinate. Corporate manager versus Muslim employee. In such cases, the jury deliberations can easily get away from the evidence, arguments, and law—unless the lawyers provide an easy guide through the thicket.

When it comes to hot-button issues, jurors will bring to the deliberations not only their preconceived notions, but also an awareness of societal norms. For example, white jurors agree that racism is bad and may be persuaded to render a verdict that avoids tagging the juror as a racist. Most of these issues won’t be addressed directly at trial and may not even be discussed in the jury room. But these notions—some deeply ingrained even if never spoken aloud—will have an effect on the verdict that may be more profound than what transpired in the courtroom.

Lawyers can use these preconceptions to advantage or attempt to counter them. However, they ignore the hot-button issues at their peril. In an era in which a black man is president, some like to think society has transcended racism. In the words of jury consultant Doug Keene (from his blog The Jury Room):

The bottom line is this: do not assume race doesn’t matter in your case. Race always matters. The question is how and in what direction. Don’t go to trial without knowing.

In his book White Guilt, author Shelby Steele (who is a friend of David Mamet) provides an interesting explanation of the O.J. Simpson verdict that is on point:

In the O.J. Simpson murder trial, defense attorney Johnnie Cochran used the fact that Detective Mark Fuhrman lied on the witness stand about having ever used the N word to assert that the entire mountain of evidence pointing to Simpson’s guilt was likely contaminated with racism. . . .

Cochran succeeded in making the trial a contest between the empirical evidence and global racism, between fact and the reputation of racism for distorting and manipulating fact.
As the cynical senior lawyer of the play explains, it’s not about factual guilt or innocence. It’s about competing fictions put forth by the prosecution and defense. It’s not necessarily which story explains the facts better, but which one affirms a juror’s sense of justice. Hence, a jury exonerated O.J. Simpson (despite the forensic evidence linking him to the crime) because 50 years ago, a black man facing similar charges would have been convicted. Rough justice was done.

Race is smart and engaging. It tackles issues of race and gender bias without being preachy. And it has the pacing of a good legal thriller. Lawyers in the audience will appreciate the realism. It may not qualify for CLE credit, but it’s time well spent for students of jury behavior and trial strategy.

Photo by Shoey Sindel.

"Why Theater?": A Look into Theater of War

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:28:00 +0000

posted by Tyler Pugliese, A.C.T. Marketing Fellow

A poignant examination of the impact of war upon warriors, Theater of War has riveted audiences across the country. On November 13 and 14, A.C.T. will participate in this incredible event, which includes a dramatic reading of Sophocles’ tragedy Ajax, followed by a town hall discussion featuring a panel of local military community members, including a mental health professional. Admission is free, and reservations are recommended. Click here for details.

Marketing Fellow Tyler Pugliese had the opportunity to attend a Theater of War performance in Philadelphia before he started work at A.C.T.

“Why theater?” The question echoed in my mind. I wondered how theater could sincerely display the horror and depravation of war. What could theater accomplish that countless other mediums have not? Theater is often illuminated with human connection, while war is fueled by a lack of emotion and inner turmoil. I have participated in theater and have been obsessed with military history since I was a small boy, yet this combination perplexed me. I looked at the scratchy, chaotic font of the flyer. Theater of War stared back at my skepticism.

I first saw Theater of War performed in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. I walked into the auditorium not knowing what to expect from a reading of a play and a town hall discussion. The play was Ajax, by Sophocles, a Greek tale of the decade-long Trojan War, in which the formidable warrior Ajax faces mental and physical challenges. The audience consisted of veterans, theater enthusiasts, families of soldiers, and dissenters of the current wars. David Strathairn (an Academy Award nominee who will step onto the A.C.T. mainstage in Scorched later this season) masterfully played the parts of Ajax and Agamemnon, and he was supported by other actors from local playhouses. The reading was voiced in a multitude of experienced and powerful vocalizations.

Bryan Doerries, a writer and director who founded Theater of War, led the postshow discussion, enthusiastically pacing the stage like a televangelist. He was as fervent as he was eloquent, and he carefully facilitated an enlightening dialogue between the panelists and the audience. There were opinions contributed from military personnel, the actors themselves, and engaged audience members. The talk was not about the justification of existing conflicts, but rather about the mental vulnerability of those who fight wars. We focused on the shared empathy between a community and its protectors. Although most of us were strangers, we all shared compassion for those with splintered honor and forgotten strength.

One line in particular resonated with me, spoken by Ajax:

“In his madness he took pleasure in the evil that possessed him, all the while afflicting those of us nearby. But now that the fever has broken, all of his pleasure has turned to pain, and we are still afflicted, just as before.”

This discussion could just have easily happened after any struggle, and in any place. The fact that the play was written over two thousand years ago held little sway. If anything, it demonstrated that a warrior’s suffering transcends both time and culture and must be acknowledged before it can be healed. The dialogue could have even transpired in an ancient amphitheater in Greece.

I am enormously proud and excited that A.C.T. is producing this event and bringing it to the Bay Area. The beauty of Theater of War is that it deftly ignores any moral debate on conflict and instead focuses on the combatants and their humanity. It is more than just a dramatic reading or a talk on a tense subject, it is the social embrace of a topic that has always been ingrained in society. It is shocking and cathartic, a perfect exhibit of the power of theater to transform a person, a warrior, and a community.

Interview with Christina Lorenn Elmore

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:20:00 +0000

This fall, the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program classes of 2012 and 2013 are facing an entirely new challenge: taking on roles in two plays that will be performed in repertory October 19–November 5 at Hastings Studio Theater. This means they have been simultaneously rehearsing roles for two very different productions: Aphra Behn’s rollicking 17th-century comedy The Rover; or The Banish’d Cavaliers and Arthur Miller’s haunting Depression-era saga The American Clock: A Vaudeville. You can find more information about the shows at www.act-sf.org/mfashows.

Conservatory Project Manager Sharon Rietkerk recently sat down with Christina Lorenn Elmore, member of the M.F.A. Program class of 2012, to chat about her experiences performing double duty.

Christina Lorenn Elmore (right) and Courtney Thomas rehearse The Rover. Photo by Dan Rubin.

Sharon: What was your initial reaction to doing two plays at once?

Christina: My initial reaction was, “Great! Let’s do it!” True repertory theater is not done at a lot of theaters anymore . . . except at some summer stock companies. I thought, if I am not going to have a lot of opportunity to do this in the professional world, why not try it now?!

S: Or you get thrown into it without any previous experience . . .

C: Exactly. Or I am in three shows at once and have no idea how to juggle all the balls.

S: How do you juggle the balls?

C: You know, I find that you need to be in the room that you are in at the time. I feel that when I am rehearsing The Rover, I am in The Rover, and whether things from The American Clock are informing that or not, you choose to be in the room that you are currently rehearsing. It’s the same thing if you’re rehearsing one show: on this night I am here, and it just so happens that on the next night I am in a completely different show. But if I decide to not let them bleed and leak into one another, it’s better.

S: Do you find that these two shows do inform each other? I mean, they are completely different styles, two totally different time periods. [The American Clock is set in the Great Depression; The Rover, in the 17th century.]

C: I think because they are so vastly different there isn’t anything that I am conscious of, except for maybe the way we use the space [in A.C.T.’s Hastings Studio Theater]. That’s the same, working with a very deep thrust.

S: It is a very particular space.

C: Yes! Being on an angle is the best . . . and being okay with having your back to someone. Even though that is a rule we never break, you have to say, “Okay, here it’s fine.” Otherwise, I am not sure that there are things from the shows that are deeply informing anything else.

S: How many characters are you creating/portraying at this moment?

C: Four and half.

S: And a half?!

C: I am a lounge singer at one point [in The American Clock], so I figure since I don’t say anything, that is a half. I have three [speaking] characters in The American Clock and one character in The Rover.

S: You’re pulling a pretty heavy load in The Rover, right?

C: Yeah, but it is very much an ensemble-based show. My character spins a lot of things on her head, but it’s not like I am onstage all the time. . . Everybody has a lot in that show. I feel like Matt [Bradley, another member of the class of 2012] is pulling a heavy load in both shows. I wonder how he is doing . . . [Laughter.] In Clock, I come in during the last three scenes. All of my characters enter back-to-back-to-back, so that is a strange and unique thing for me.

S: So, you wait and wait and wait and then go, go, go! until the end.

C: Yep, I sing my song, and then wait, and then never leave the stage at the end.

S: And you’re balancing it okay?

C: Yeah, it’s fine. It’s fun, I like both plays. They’re very different, and not just the show, but the style: the way they’re being directed is dramatically different. Manoel [Felciano, who directs The American Clock] and Nancy [Benjamin, who directs The Rover] are unique and both great, in their own ways.

S: What is the most interesting and/or unexpected thing you’ve learned thus far in the process? You still have, what, two more weeks until opening?

C: A week of rehearsal and then a week of tech. But that is deceptive, because you really only have one week per show. You think, “Oh, we have two weeks per show,” but no, you don’t! You take a night off from one of the pieces every other night!

I think the most interesting thing is . . . I just had no idea how they got down in the Restoration [when The Rover is set].

S: [Laughter.]

C: You think we live in a “sex, sex, sex” culture? The Rover is chock full of innuendo, and not just innuendo, but blatant innuendo. I mean, the show is about people trying to get laid. What I do like about my character, Hellena, is that she is a lot of talk—she does want it—but she has clear parameters about the way she wants it, which are surprisingly traditional.

Christina Lorenn Elmore and Raymond Castelán rehearse a scene in The American Clock. Photo by Dan Rubin.

A.C.T.'s Secret Cabaret Space

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:36:00 +0000

Did you know that the majestic American Conservatory Theater also houses intimate cabaret performances throughout the season? Tucked away on the fifth floor, the Garret is a vibrant performance space, artfully bordered by exposed brick walls and dotted with colorful posters of past A.C.T. productions.

Last weekend, the Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2012 took over the Garret to present three performances of their lively cabaret (with a tongue-and-cheek title), The Sublime and The Ridiculous, created by director Craig Slaight and music director Robert Rutt.

Below are some photos of the third-year class, all dressed up and performing their hearts out as they delivered an eclectic mix of songs, from Jackson Browne to Stephen Sondheim.

If you missed this performance, don’t despair—A.C.T.’s cabaret season is just beginning! Next up: Young Conservatory students bring their talents to the Garret right before Halloween for a cabaret performance October 28–30. Check back on our performances page for details.

A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program student Jason Frank

A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program student Christina Lorenn Elmore

A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program student Matt Bradley

A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program student Jessica Kitchens

A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program student Maggie Rastetter

A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program student Alexander Crowther

A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program student Courtney Thomas

A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program student Ben Kahre

All photos by Alessandra Mello.

A Summer of Firsts in the A.C.T. Young Conservatory

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:41:00 +0000

posted by Craig Slaight, Young Conservatory Director

School may have been out all summer for many, but here at the A.C.T. Young Conservatory (YC), the joint was jumpin’! The summer of 2011 was one of the most exciting in years. It all began in June with the opening of Homefront, the first-ever completely original musical to be commissioned, developed, and produced by the YC. After years of developing our musical theater program and creating new musicals from existing music, the YC commissioned a new musical score from New York composer Creighton Irons. After a year working together (with me on board as playwright), Homefront was born this summer, featuring a cast of 19 (including two members of the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program).

Within a week of Homefront’s opening at Zeum Theater, our four-week session of YC classes began at 30 Grant Avenue, filling the studios with eager and talented young actors, many of whom can only study with us during the summer because of the distance they live from San Francisco or because of the rigors of their school-year schedules. We love our summer students because they are so focused on their acting work, making it their singular daily effort.

While our exciting four-week classes got underway, rehearsals began for a new production of Korczak’s Children, Jeffrey Hatchers’s harrowing play about real-life pediatrician Janus Korczak, who championed the care and nurturing of the orphans in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. The 26-member cast ranged in age from 8 to 18 and also featured two of our M.F.A. Program students as Dr. Korczak and his steadfast helper, Steffa. This astonishing production, directed by the incomparable Domenique Lozano, enjoyed a completely sold-out run.

Without taking a breath, in mid-July we began our fast and furious two-week and one-week YC intensives. These series of courses bring acting and musical theater students together for a full day, five days a week, for either a one- or two-week journey, culminating in the presentation of a unique project created by each group. The building swelled to bursting as we saw our largest group of students ever take part in these intensives at one time.

And as if that wasn’t enough drama, in August we produced the very first Shakespeare ever in the YC! Director/adapter Amelia Stewart led a remarkable group of middle school actors in a magical rendering of one of the Bard’s most winning plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

All told, more than 60 young actors appeared onstage this summer in A.C.T. productions and more than 500 young actors attended classes. It was truly one of our most dazzling summers ever in the YC.

Now on to fall!

The cast of Korczak’s Children at Hastings Studio Theater. Photo by Alessandra Mello.

Tosca 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:04:00 +0000

posted by Carey Perloff, A.C.T. Artistic Director

Cocreated by Carey Perloff and Val Caniparoli, A.C.T.’s world premiere production of The Tosca Project played to sold-out houses in 2010. Now it’s on its way to a second life at Theatre Calgary in Canada, where it was been renamed Tosca Cafe. Performances begin September 13 at Theatre Calgary, followed by an engagement at Vancouver Playhouse in October.

Now busily working with Caniparoli to remount and reimagine the show for its Canadian run, Perloff took a quick break to share her thoughts on the show’s journey.

It is a gift to be able to revisit a production a year after its premiere—and amazing the clarity that can emerge after some time away. Val Caniparoli and I have been collaborating on The Tosca Project for over four years. It began as an experiment to see what would happen if we put five ballet dancers and five actors in a room and tried to create something together, and culminated with a world premiere on the A.C.T. mainstage in spring 2010. Over the years, the artists involved in the project became deeply entwined in each other’s work and lives, and all of us began to develop a vocabulary for storytelling that was neither ballet nor theater, but something in between.

Now we are at it again, in Calgary, Alberta, creating the next version of what is now called Tosca Cafe. The challenge of this production has always been what structure to hang the journey on: the piece has always been full of gorgeous dance (like the lovers’ wartime duet to Rosemary Clooney singing “What’ll I Do?”) and hilarious comic moments (like the Businessman, played by über-clown Peter Anderson falling in love with Sabina Allemann’s wacky Ballerina), but the narrative tissue initially eluded us. The first public showing of the piece (a workshop at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in 2009) involved a huge amount of audio “oral history” as we let bar doyenne Jeanette Etheridge (proprietor of the real-life Tosca Cafe, which inspired the piece) and other North Beach denizens tell the story of their neighborhood on tape. While the research and audio material were hugely invaluable, its use onstage ultimately felt theatrically inert, like a PBS documentary rather than a theater piece. The inspiration for the next version was the opera Tosca itself (we began using the arias as key emotional storytelling points) and an extraordinary San Francisco Museum of Modern Art show of the work of William Kentridge, whose gorgeous videos of a heavyset middle- aged mute man (Kentridge himself) longing for the “ghost” of a woman whose footsteps and fingerprints kept haunting him, became the inspiration for a story about a Bartender and his lost love, the Woman in the Red Dress.

It was this story, which ended with a moving “broom duet” between the Bartender and his love set to Puccini’s “Vissi d’Arte,” that the audience was most gripped by as we traveled through the decades of dance and discovery that was The Tosca Project in 2010. But his companions, a black fugitive played by Gregory Wallace and a Russian woman played by Rachel Ticotin, were still oblique. We had tried to stay as true as possible to the actual life of Tosca bar owner Etheridge, but since she only bought the bar in the late ’70s, we were stuck with what to do with earlier decades of the piece, and how to set up a complex relationship between our three central characters that would pay off at the end.

So when Dennis Garnhum, artistic director of Theatre Calgary, came to Tosca’s opening night, fell in love with the project, and invited us to bring it to Canada, we had a fabulous opportunity to free ourselves from literal history and make up a new storyline in which an audience could really immerse themselves. Since Rachel had booked a TV series in the interim, I invited actress Annie Purcell, with whom I had done Elektra at the Getty Villa last summer, to take on the role of the woman who took over the bar. Based on Annie’s own physicality, I borrowed from Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid to create a story about a scrappy young vagrant who, dressed as a boy, flees into the bar and is given sanctuary by the Bartender. The Kid becomes his pal, his helpmate, his mascot—and then gets dragged off by Social Services and returns in an emotional reunion as a young woman ten years later. She learns to be a girl during the war by dancing with the War Brides (“Kiss Me Once”) and comes of age in the ’50s dancing the Madison with the Musician and the hipsters. She breaks with the Bartender over a violent, intoxicated argument about her own independence, and only returns to the bar after the ’60s, when he has spiraled into alcoholism and despair (“Tre Sbirri” from Tosca scores this dramatic section). Thus, when she takes over the bar with the Musician and makes it her own, we have already had a long history with this character—the cap she wore as a street kid hangs over the bar beside the photograph of the Bartender’s mysterious love, and becomes a touchstone for all the lost souls who find their way to Tosca Cafe.

The new cast of Tosca Cafe in rehearsal at Theatre Calgary.

Annie Purcell is an astonishingly inventive, imaginative actress who is completely at home in the world of “devised” work: she dares to walk into a room with no text and no structure and creates magic. We have paired her with a remarkable Canadian named Dean Paul Gibson (replacing Bartender Jack Willis, who is in Ashland at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer), whom I had first seen in The Overcoat and who has worked many times with Peter Anderson, one of our key collaborators on Tosca Cafe. So every day for a week in Calgary, Val and I have turned up at rehearsal with our wild eclectic company of Americans and Canadians, dancers and actors, first-timers and long-time collaborators, to peel away the layers and deepen the story of this piece. Replacing beloved SF Ballet dancers Lorena Feijoo and Pascal Molat are two equally compelling but very different Canadians, Cindy Marie Small and Rex Harrington, who are bringing their own unique sensibilities to the dances Val has created. Favorite sections like the “rave” surrounding a dramatic reading of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s “I Am Waiting” or the visceral “Agression Duet” danced to Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” have taken on entirely new weight and meaning in the context of the new story about the trio of misfits (Bartender, Musician, Orphan) who struggle to make this bar a home.

It is a surreal experience to walk to rehearsals through the streets of this Canadian oil town and then enter a room set up exactly like the bar we know and love on Columbus Avenue in San Francisco. And it’s an incredible joy to be able to trust the material that we know really works, while feeling free to create whole new sections that stitch it all together. It’s a very free and alive room, in which ideas are ricocheting across the space like wildfire and a lot of crazy images are being pursued with joy and abandon. We hope the story we are telling is rich and sexy and universal enough to appeal to people who have never set foot in our foggy town, but who know what it feels like to walk into a bar full of longing, and to imagine . . .

The Leap: Diving into the New School Year

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:46:00 +0000

posted by Rebekah Brockman, member of the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program class of 2013

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever see Conservatory Director Melissa Smith sprawled out under a white blanket in a dirty alleyway, or Head of Voice Jeff Crockett lying motionless on a street grate outside a loading dock at Macy’s.

No, I am not describing the results of a fatal accident, but one of the products of this year’s “Leap,” an artistic immersion to kick off the 2011–12 year. For two days the A.C.T. community—including artistic staff, faculty, and M.F.A. students—gathered together for this creative powwow.

By far, the Leap is one of the most unconventional ways to “get to know each other” without any of the typical name-games and awkward introductions. Our mornings started off with group warm-ups and workshops designed to take us out of our element. We explored alternative ways to approach the work, which no one was sure of, but all were willing to investigate. Then, in the afternoon, we were charged with the task of performing a story with very few guidelines. It may sound simple; however, given that we had limited resources and time, there were challenges. Questions arose, and the collaboration began:

“How do we tell the story?”
“What theme do we highlight?”
“How do we cast it?”
“What space do we use?”
“Oh, NO! We only have 30 minutes left to do this! GO!”

The group I was part of took our piece to a nearby alley, where we suddenly became children again. We played in the street, used props and fake blood, and fully committed to the story we were telling. It was through this commitment to the work that we formed our bond. The connection didn’t end with each other; security guards, workers, and passersby were curious about our project as well. We brought the art out into the community, and the community took interest. We had an audience! I came to realize that when you have a group of artists who are hungry for the work, they find a way to tell the story and, somehow, everything falls into place.

The process became rich by being open with each other. Each person had an idea and was free to voice it. Everyone took risks, and it became less about what we were doing, and more about how we were doing it. There was no right or wrong, no leaders and followers. We were all peers, teaching each other and learning from each other. Don’t get me wrong, it was not always magical, and there were creative differences and roadblocks. (There was even a race between two groups, to see who could get to the ninth floor and claim it as their space . . . quite intense). But by confronting the challenges together, and always with a sense of play, we were able to build the trust that is crucial for the start of the year.

The end result was incredibly inspirational. Each day we were challenged to be innovative, and the process generated a massive amount of imagination and resourcefulness. The Leap was demanding and posed many questions about how to approach the work. Lucky for us, this was just the beginning, and we now have all year to continue the exploration!

A.C.T. Costume Shop: Mid-Market’s Hidden Secret

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:52:00 +0000

Did you know that the A.C.T. Costume Shop is located smack in the heart of the mid-Market neighborhood? It might not look like much from the outside, but our warehouse at 7th and Market streets holds more than 20,000 costumes (and counting) and is an amazing resource for local theater companies, arts students, and anyone searching for a fantastic Halloween costume.

The San Francisco Arts Commission recently created a video that includes a peek inside the costume-lined walls of this A.C.T. treasure, along with a fascinating interview with Callie Floor, A.C.T.’s diligent (and very friendly) costume rentals supervisor.

Watch the video, then visit the Costume Shop’s online gallery to check out our incredible array of sartorial finery.

Overheard at Rehearsal, 2010–11 Season

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:35:00 +0000

Posted by Emily Hoffman, Publications and Dramaturgy Associate

Every day after rehearsal is over and the actors have gone home, the stage manager types up a summary of the day’s work. Containing general information about the production’s progress, as well as notes and updates for the design team, the rehearsal reports are divided into categories (costumes, lights, sound, props, etc.) and presented as a list of updates and requests for each design department.

These reports provide glimpses into the production’s evolution—and into the (occasionally) wacky and wild goings-on in the studios. Many times they’ll contain requests that, to anyone not intimately involved in the creation of the production, can seem both puzzling and entertaining. Looking back, it is fascinating to see where the seeds of some our favorite onstage moments were planted in rehearsal. Here are just some of the interesting (and chuckle-inducing) notes from the 2010–11 season.

PROPS

1. As usual, a few pieces of the magic branch have fallen off in rehearsal. It will need to be spruced up.

2. The pill-popping scene will require some edibles onstage.

3. The “meat pie” served in Act I (if eaten) must be vegan. Tofurky might be a good substitute.

4. ADD: a “Sheep” magazine with a centerfold (not seen by audience currently) for Touchstone in Act II, iv.

5. Thanks to Jane for looking at the sandwich. She put some weight in it and it only rolled a little bit tonight.

6. Please ADD a pitchpipe. The Halloween band needs to be able to get their note prior to playing their kazoos!

7. The C4s are falling off of the suicide bomb. Can we re-glue these back on?

8. Please see separate email about shampoo bottle research.

9. Thank you for the new blindfold—we are finding that it is a bit short this year (or perhaps our heads are bigger?) May we please have a longer one? Last year’s length was 49”.

10. Mr. Willis would like to experiment with white rubbery insects this year for Marley rather than black worms. Perhaps white worms or white maggots? We would love to try something for rehearsal.

11. Do we have two pairs of goggles we could use for a whip practice session?

12. We are ADDING: Bubba teeth and six Renaissance swords.

13. We have had a lot of smoking sessions and have decided that we would like to smoke oregano joints as well as oregano in the bongs.

14. ADD: a small blanket, rat puppet, water puppet, alligator.

(L to R) Courtney Thomas, Jessica Kitchens, and Alex Crowther don’t appear to concerned with the re-glued “suicide bomb” in the M.F.A. Program class of 2012 production of Archangels Don’t Play Pinball.

SETS

1. Joey and Ruth have sofa business that works very well with our smooth leather rehearsal sofa. They slide, scoot, and eventually roll off it. Will the fabric on the real sofa support this type of action?

2. Orlando will be dragged across the floor during the wrestling. Will the floor be sanded and sealed?

3. Would it be possible to get a taller stripper pole?

(L to R) Duke Frederick (Brian Clark Jansen) watches on as Charles the wrestler (Richardson Jones) drags Orlando (Max Rosenak) across the floor in the M.F.A. Program class of 2011 production of As You Like It.

COSTUMES

1. Ms. Monteleone’s quick change into a St. Bernard is approximately 74 seconds.

2. Solyony and Tusenbach will grow mustaches.

3. We would like Mr. Walden to be in flats or “kitten” heels for II,25 [Ride ‘em Hard] to better match the height of the other hookers.

4. The body cast quick change will be an interesting challenge.

5. Is it possible for Mr. Cusick to gracefully remove his wings during the “Homosexual Convalescent Center” number?

6. Please ADD a sombrero codpiece.

7. Mr. Fusco will remove his overalls for the wedding.

8. The fake beard for Kulygin should look like a German teacher.

9. Thanks for the wings!

Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleone has successfully made her 74-second quick change into a St. Bernard in Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City.

Notes on the Craft: An Excerpt from Marco Barricelli’s 2011 A.C.T. M.F.A. Program Commencement Address

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:56:00 +0000

Posted by Marco Barricelli, Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz and former A.C.T. Core Company member

Let me begin by saying how tremendously honored and pleased I am to be here today to honor you. Thank you Melissa, Conservatory faculty, trustees, and Carey. I am especially pleased, not for myself, but for you, the graduates of this fine theater academy.

…

I am not saying I am or ever was a great actor, but this is what I now know after 30 years of doing this:

Acting, great acting, allows feelings of vulnerability to inform everything you will do onstage. I hereby require you, as actors, to not cover up or deny those feelings when you work—they are grist for the mill of your craft. And, certainly in terms of the craft of acting, this makes perfect sense because if you try to act starting from a place of “cover” and “denial” of what you really are in that moment, you will be starting from someplace false and then pretending to be something else—which is also, ultimately, not real. If you start from someplace real, what is then produced will have its foundation in honesty and truth. As actors, tell the truth. You can only be you, so be truthful about yourself. Stanislavsky said: “The person you are is a thousand times more interesting than the best actor you could ever hope to be.”

Stay humble: Always search for what to respect in those you work with. When I audition actors, I check on their resume for theaters that have had the actor back for more than one production. This usually means the actor is respectful of others when he/she is working. In the spirit of that, I would argue that we actors are “interpreters,” most of the time, not “creators.” Interpreters. We interpret the words of the playwright, the notes of a director, the reaction of an audience, etc. I say this to urge you to retain some humility, remembering where an actor’s place is in the grand scheme of creating a production. Yes, it is ultimately an exalted place because it is the most direct connection for the audience to the material, but it is still, to my mind, an interpretative role. Remember, yours is only one cog in the complicated wheel that makes a production—an “interpretive” cog. However, as Oscar Wilde said: “Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”

Keep training: How we “practice” our discipline is, truth be told, very different from the practicing of other art forms. Actors, unlike writers, painters, dancers, singers, and musicians, cannot and do not lock themselves away in a room alone and “act” . . . as these other artists can when they write, or do scales, or barre work at a mirror, or paint. We “practice” in everyday life. We are collaborators. We are “armchair” psychologists. We observe and analyze ourselves and other people in everyday activity, in extreme emotion and in repose. We work at play . . . we do “plays,” after all; our task is to have fun, to free ourselves, to let our instincts have full reign . . . never to judge. Never, ever to judge—neither ourselves nor the characters nor the people we’re working with. Does that sound easy? It’s not. It takes a very special and controlled kind of concentration. And a disciplined concentration is difficult to master. The discipline to free oneself physically and intellectually, and to “live” in the moment spontaneously, is an enormous challenge. As you all know.

Career. What can I possibly tell you about a career? How to be successful? No. As I say, success means different things to different people at different times. No one can tell you how to be successful. Your measure of success will ebb and flow, that you can be sure of—there’ll be times when everything will seem to be going great and other times when everything seems to be disastrous. Be nice to everyone because you never know who will eventually end up in a position to hire you. But more precisely, it’s as important to be a good citizen as it is to be a good actor.

As I said, your definition of success or a career will change as you grow in this business. Speaking for myself, by the time I started to understand why I tortured myself every time I worked on a role, it was too late. That torture had diminished my appetite for acting exclusively as a career and I began longing for something more consistent and permanent which would keep me entrenched in the theater but not require the endless banging away at the same show eight times a week, over and over again, for the rest—of—my—life. And so now I find myself here, 30 years on, having acted some great roles, succeeding in some—failing in others—some shows I would consider outstanding productions—others were turds. Now, as AD, my challenges are different and, thankfully, more rewarding to me. I have to say that with all the curtain calls and (deserved or not) standing ovations and big laughs and muffled sobbing I’ve experienced when acting, there is NOTHING more rewarding than what has now become my favorite part of doing theater: standing in the back of a full house, watching an audience watch a play I’ve produced, and realizing that they’re having this very singular experience because I’ve brought this story and these particular artists to them—and they will remember this experience for the rest of their lives. I still, for example, consider my greatest legacy at A.C.T. to be, not the roles I’ve done, but the creation of the exchange I developed with Prima del Teatro, San Miniato, in Italy. I am certain that each student who goes there will remember that experience for the rest of his or her creative life. There is now, at this point in my career, no greater joy than things like that. And this reward has a quiet sweetness that feels better to me than the big Broadway shows, the jobs on the big and small screens, and (almost) better than making a ton of money (but not really)!

The best advice I think I can give you regarding building a career is to just show up. Whatever the occasion, just show up. But what you show up with now, thanks to this training program, is a vocabulary, a recognition of your own integrity, a burgeoning understanding of your own aesthetic, and a basic skill set which will be informed and honed by the hard knocks and great joys of real life. Life, real life, will take over, like it or not. And Melissa and the wonderful faculty at A.C.T. have given you a technique and craft that will allow those great highs and lows of life to inform your work, thereby making your acting more human and, by extension, more relevant. Allowing you to tell the truth.

10 RULES OF THUMB:

• You can’t please everyone.
• Don’t expect praise and especially don’t believe anything anyone tells you in your dressing room right after a performance.
• How you start a play is more important than how you finish, because it is then that an audience makes up its mind about you.
• Don’t try to impress people.
• Never explain, simply reveal.
• You can’t worry and think. So do your homework and show up enormously prepared—that way you don’t have to “worry” about not having done it while you’re trying to work.
• The first duty of an actor is to be heard.
• Vowels travel easily, consonants don’t. Vowels carry the heart, consonants the intellect.
• Do your homework; as I said, show up exceptionally well prepared; then, as you start your scene, let it all go and simply open the door and see what happens.
• Always show up every day in a good mood.

“Do not try to push your way through to the front ranks of your profession; do not run after distinctions and rewards; but do your utmost to find an entry into the world of beauty.”
—Konstantin Stanislavisky

Building a City: a behind-the-scenes look at the construction of the Tales of the City set

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:34:00 +0000

“You can’t escape the beauty of San Francisco,” says Tales scenic designer Douglas W. Schmidt, in a recent interview in Words on Plays. “As a designer, it really infects you. You keep saying, ‘Oh, that vista, we’ve got to have that.’ By the time you’re done with that, you’ve got a whole picture-postcard collection that you’re trying to put onstage. Very early on, we decided that we didn’t want to go that route.”

Instead of trying to pack all of San Francisco into his set, Schmidt drew inspiration from the iconic back staircases of Russian Hill to create a moving, shifting environment where the musical’s mysteries could slowly unfold. The Endup, Halcyon Ad Agency, and of course 28 Barbary Lane: all of these locales are created with quick changes to the same central structure. Check out the video below to see it built from the ground up.
—The A.C.T. Intern Blog Quadrumvirate.

Tales of the . . . Cast! Meet Patrick Lane

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:33:00 +0000

Meet recent M.F.A. Program graduate Patrick Lane, who plays Brian Hawkins. Click here to read his official bio.

Thanks for joining us as we got to know more about the incredible cast of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City: A New Musical over the last few weeks. Check back next week for more behind-the-scenes tidbits from the show!

NAME Patrick Lane.

CHARACTER Brian Hawkins.

HOMETOWN Louisville, Kentucky.

FIRST THEATER EXPERIENCE Well, my father was a preacher and my mother directed the children's choirs, so my first experience performing was as one of the lions in Noah's ark. I suppose constantly performing in church, coupled with my middle-child syndrome, left me completely defenseless against the alluring theater.

FAVORITE THEATER EXPERIENCE My favorite experience would have to be when I played Horace Robedaux in a college production of 1918. It was my first experience delving into the deeply complex family relationships that are so common in plays by Horton Foote and Arthur Miller and Sam Shepard. It also calls to mind a kind of interesting phenomenon that many actors go through when they find “their playwright” or their “style,” so to speak. Being from Kentucky, and coming from a long tradition of deep rural roots and close family bonds, made it easy and very fulfilling to play Horace. In a way, I suppose coming into contact with that material taught me a lot about who I am and the traditions I come from.

FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH TALES I actually didn't know much about Tales until I heard A.C.T. was doing it. Being the obnoxiously over-prepared grad student that I am, I immediately went out and got the book and couldn't put it down. I was shocked that I had never encountered it before, and from that moment on I was searching for a possible avenue into this process.

HOW ARE YOU LIKE BRIAN HAWKINS? Brian is a man's man who seems driven by some kind of energy—sometimes sexual—that he cannot control. I grew up playing sports, so I guess that classifies me as a "jock"—and that, paired with the fact that I drink beer and watch football, probably moves me into the man's man category. Like Brian, I've always been very driven by my passions, but I suppose what I hope to bring to the role is an energy that isn't just cro-magnon in its need to satisfy innate desires, but also genuine in the pursuit of digging deeper and discovering what's underneath the strong, cad-like facade.

FAVORITE MUSICAL Always a tough choice, but if I had to choose I think it would have to be Sondheim's A Little Night Music.

FAVORITE SONG TO SING “It's Hard to Speak My Heart” from Parade by Jason Robert Brown.

EDUCATION B.F.A. in theater performance from the University of Evansville; M.F.A. in acting from A.C.T.

PERFORMANCE RITUAL Arrive to the theater an hour before curtain, hot tea, warm-up in the Garrett, head up to the stage.

FAVORITE ’70s WARDROBE ITEM Not one thing I own is ’70s. I know . . . blasphemous.

Tales of the . . . Cast! Meet Alex Hsu

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:50:00 +0000

Meet Alex Hsu, who plays Lionel. Click here to read his official bio.

Check back tomorrow to meet another member of the cast of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City: A New Musical!

NAME Alex Hsu.

CHARACTER Lionel.

HOMETOWN Born in Taipei, Taiwan; grew up in Hayward and Fremont, California.

FIRST THEATER EXPERIENCE My mom took me to see a production of Promises, Promises! at the college where she worked, and I remember being absolutely mesmerized by Turkey Lurkey Time. I can probably trace many aspects of my personality to that experience, such as my love of musical theater, my affinity for mid-century design and fashion, and my appreciation of go-go dancing.

FAVORITE THEATER EXPERIENCE Seeing Les Misérables on Broadway in 1996. I basically wept for three hours. It was absolutely transcendent and spiritual.

FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH TALES Watching the TV miniseries on DVD many years ago.

HOW ARE YOU LIKE LIONEL? We are both second-generation Bay Area Chinese. Well, I imagine that Lionel is second-generation. And I did spend one summer in college delivering frozen yogurt to office ladies who would call me “Yogurt Boy.”

FAVORITE MUSICAL A Chorus Line. A close second would be Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (for personal reasons, of course).

FAVORITE SONG TO SING Right now, it is “I Wish I Could Go Back to College” from the musical Avenue Q.

EDUCATION B.A. in linguistics and anthropology from UCLA. Dance training at Dance Arts Center in San Carlos.

PERFORMANCE RITUAL Pre-: putting on makeup. Fewer and fewer men seem to wear stage makeup in professional theater, especially when the production is in a realistic style. But I still do it because to me it is part of the transformation into my character. I don’t feel completely present until I go through that. Post: EAT!

FAVORITE ’70s WARDROBE ITEM I owned a pair of rainbow “Mork from Ork” suspenders as a kid. LOVED them. Also any pair of tight bell-bottoms that make my ass look good!

Tales of the . . . Cast! Meet Manoel Felciano

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:37:00 +0000

Meet A.C.T. core acting company member Manoel Felciano, who plays Norman Neal Williams. Click here to read his official bio.

Check back tomorrow to meet another member of the cast of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City: A New Musical!

NAME Manoel Felciano.

CHARACTER Norman Neal Williams.

HOMETOWN San Francisco.

FIRST THEATER EXPERIENCE Playing Micaela’s gypsy guide in the San Francisco Opera production of Carmen with Placido Domingo.

FAVORITE THEATER EXPERIENCE Playing George in Sunday in the Park with George.

FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH TALES Being cast in the production.

HOW ARE YOU LIKE NORMAN? Hopefully very little! Though I’ve been known to rock the clip-on tie.

FAVORITE MUSICAL Ooh, tough one . . . right now, Floyd Collins.

FAVORITE SONG TO SING “Use Me,” by Bill Withers.

EDUCATION B.A., Yale University; M.F.A., NYU; and lots of informal teachers along the way.

PERFORMANCE RITUAL Pre-: vocal, physical warm-ups. Post-: walk the bat-pig, aka our dog.

FAVORITE ’70s WARDROBE ITEM Probably a giant corduroy goose down–lined winter coat from my dad.

Tales of the . . . Cast! Meet Mary Birdsong

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:50:00 +0000

Meet Mary Birdsong, who plays Mona Ramsey. Click here to read her official bio.

Check back tomorrow to meet another member of the cast of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City: A New Musical!

NAME Mary Birdsong.

CHARACTER Mona Ramsey.

HOMETOWN Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

FIRST THEATER EXPERIENCE Doing “the bump” while dressed as a turkey leg in a Thanksgiving recital in grade school because Mia Michenzi chickened out.

FAVORITE THEATER EXPERIENCE Accidentally peeing onstage during the tech for my last solo show. I’d love to say I was five years old at the time. I wasn’t.

FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH TALES Being asked to do a cold reading at 10 a.m. at [director] Jason Moore’s house two years ago on my one day off, and saying no because I thought it was for a musical version of A Tale of Two Cities. I hate Dickens. Okay, I don’t really hate Dickens. But still . . . the idea of doing anything involving bonnets just did not appeal to me at the time. Sleep appealed to me.

HOW ARE YOU LIKE MONA? I’m all bark and no bite—a real softie. But hell if I’ll let you see that just so you can use it against me later. ☺

FAVORITE MUSICAL This one. Godspell is a close second.

FAVORITE SONG TO SING In this show: “Seeds and Stems.” Other than that? Probably “Hallelujah,” by Leonard Cohen, or any gut-bucket gospel-type stuff.

EDUCATION It’s overrated. Okay, for reals? Ethel Jacobsen Elementary School. Long Beach Island Grade School. Southern Regional Middle School and Southern Regional High School. Then NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where I got to study with the great Stella Adler. And Gotham City Improv for sketch comedy and improv.

PERFORMANCE RITUAL Pre-: big cup of hot tea with lots of skim milk and two Sweet’N Lows. One chocolate mint Zone protein bar. Lots of quiet time to get focused. I also try to walk a good distance or run before the show, to get everything moving. Post-: I use my long walk home to sort of act like a martini—to calm me down and help me go to sleep.

FAVORITE ’70s WARDROBE ITEM Bell-bottom pants are awesome, especially for chicks like me with big booties—they’re very flattering. Big platform heels are also awesome, because I’m short. Oh, and I love those handkerchief shirts. I think that’s what they were called.