American Conservatory Theater Blog

Gender Portraits and New Opportunities: An Interview with Cloud 9 Director Mark Rucker

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:16:00 +0000

Posted by Adrian Gebhart, A.C.T. Education Department Volunteer

Glenn Stott, Elyse Price, and Lisa Kitchens wait on the set of #Cloud9 while lights are focused on them at tech rehearsal.

Don’t miss A.C.T.’s M.F.A. Program production of Cloud 9! (Limited run, May 15–18, in Hastings Studio Theater)

Since joining the company in 2009, A.C.T. Associate Artistic Director Mark Rucker has directed productions of Maple and Vine, Higher, Once in a Lifetime, and Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet. He has also tackled several Master of Fine Arts Program productions, including last season’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and this past winter’s raucous The Wild Party in The Costume Shop. He has also worked with such Bay Area companies as the Magic, Cal Shakes, Berkeley Rep, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and SF Playhouse. He is an associate artist at South Coast Rep, where he has directed more than 20 productions, and other regional credits include work at Yale Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, Intiman Theatre, and The Old Globe.

Rucker recently sat down with us to talk about directing the M.F.A. Program production of Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9, playing in Hastings Studio Theater May 15–18.

Why did you decide to direct Cloud 9?
I’ve always admired the play. I’m curious about the issues of gender and sexuality that are in it: Why is Betty played by a man in the first act? How is that different from a man playing a little girl in the second act? It’s asking all these questions about cross dressing, gender in general, and, specifically, the gender portrait of 1880 and then 1980. I think what Churchill’s getting at is that as fluid as things are in 1980, in terms of feminism and sexuality, there are still issues. Like Edward wanting to be in a traditional same-sex relationship, and his partner not. Those become new issues.

Are there any other particular themes you’ll be focusing on in your production?
There’s a thread in the play that has to do with British politics and colonialism. The first act is set in colonial Africa, and so as members of a British family, these characters have basically invaded. There’s a lot of subtle references to all the people that they’ve had to murder to be there—to conquer. There’s also an ongoing sense that the natives are starting to come and fight them. And in the second act, there’s a bit about Ireland.

How do you address the gender issues Cloud 9 explores?
I’m going to start by asking the man to really play a woman—and not in a campy way. I think there’s a lot going on with Betty. I want to be able to go on her journey, and by asking a man to play her, there’s an opportunity for us to think about her in a new way. Edward being played by a woman is also a chance to bring femininity and masculinity into question with a little boy who is struggling with the sex role that he’s being assigned. He keeps wanting to play with a doll and the family keeps taking it away from him.

For me, this is a play about finding yourself. So I’m really moved by Betty in the second act, who has left her husband behind. That’s of course the primary image of the play at the very end, and it’s very beautiful to me.

Ladies from Hell

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:13:00 +0000

Posted by Dan Rubin, Publications Manager

Advancing in skirmish order against the enemy

Black Watch performs at the Armory Community Center
through June 16.

“Dan: My favorite sobriquet for the Black Watch is ‘Ladies from Hell;’ so named by the Germans in WWI, when they would come charging out of their trenches, bagpipes blaring. Assume it’s true . . . ,” A.C.T. Library Cataloger Roy Ortopan wrote me in a note after reading Words on Plays. In my research, I had not come across that name applied to the Black Watch, but, sure enough, in his autobiographical account of the Great War entitled “Ladies from Hell” R. Doublas Pinkerton (who fought with the London Scottish Regiment) writes a beautifully haunting passage about the tragic advance of the Black Watch—or “‘Ladies from Hell,’ as the Germans call the Scottishers.”—in May 1915.

It was now 2:30. The attack, our attack, was to begin at three. Ahead of us the Black Watch had gone forward. Excitement rose to fever pitch. Our time had come, but no. At 2:50 the brigadier's runner came through, bearing a countermand. If curses could have killed a man, that man would have gone west on the double-quick. After delivering his order he was off to stop the Black Watch.

But he never reached them. A cry went up from down the trench. The Black Watch were going over alone. Utterly regardless of machinegun-fire, our heads popped up over the parapet. Not four hundred yards away were those chaps. We'd been chatting with them two hours before. They were as cool as on home parade. There was no shouting or yelling, just a clean, collected string of men at double-quick, rifles at their sides, bounding across no-man's-land.

There is something awful in such a sight eight hundred men headed for sure destruction, and with no chance to help them. We were fascinated by the spectacle. Our captain took in the situation at a glance, and rushed to the brigadier's dugout, where he pleaded and begged to be allowed to go over with them; but already the brigadier had used too many men. The charge of the Black Watch was a mistake; they had failed to receive the countermand. At some place between us and them the despatch-bearer had fallen, and eight hundred men went with him.

It was perhaps seven or eight hundred yards from our trenches to the German line, nearly half a mile, and over this space went the "Ladies from Hell," as the Germans call the Scottishers. Even the Hun, with all his horrors, seemed stunned by their advance. The shell-fire slackened visibly, and only the machine-gun bullets remained to remind us of our personal danger.

That day, it is estimated, the Germans had a machine-gun for every five yards of front. A machine-gun can pour out six hundred to six hundred and fifty bullets per minute. It was into this hail of steel that our friends, the Black Watch, plunged.

A hush fell over our lines. Half-way across, and only a scant six hundred of the original eight hundred remained. Another hundred yards took their toll, another, and then another. Then they came to the dummy trench, some twenty-five or thirty yards in front of the German first line. This dummy trench was filled with barbed wire, and a rivulet had been turned into it for the occasion. Two hundred men reached that trench, two hundred men went into it, but only one hundred crossed it and dashed on over the last few yards.

Then they were gone from sight. Sixty of the eight hundred had reached the German trench. It was all over; but, no! Their signaler is on the German parapet calling for help, and he is calling for the Scottish, for us! And we had orders to stay! God, man, it was awful! During those minutes of agony I grew old. The signaler had barely finished his message when he was shot down, and we sank back into our trench, dumb with the horror of it all. That stretch of no-man's- land, dotted with still or writhing figures, swam before my eyes.

A cry went up. They were coming back. Yes, sure enough, twenty-five or thirty of them, divested of all equipment, were running back toward us.

Then the heart that actuates the Teuton army showed itself for what it was. Running across no-man's-land came thirty brave lads who had fought a brave fight and lost. They were entitled to the honor of any soldier, be he friend or foe; but do you think they got it from the Hun? They did not.

Here they came running toward us, the last of eight hundred. Behind them you could hear the crack of a German machine-gun going into action. Like pigeons at a pigeon shoot they were trapped, but without half the chance of escape that we give the bird. Away over to the left I saw McDonald stagger and collapse. On across that fleeing line of heroes traversed that German machine-gun. One by one the boys dropped until not one remained. KULTUR!

Our men at first were dazed; they didn't believe their own eyes. It was impossible barbarism. Thirty men entitled to all the scant privileges of war had been shot down like gutter-dogs. Then, as the reality broke in upon us, a cry went up, and a demand to go over and avenge that wholesale murder. If discipline was ever put to the test it was then. It seemed for a minute as though nothing could restrain that wild rage, that thirst for vengeance, that desire to rid ourselves of the hideous sense of impotence in the face of such horrors. But the months of training told, and with a few steadying words the officers kept control of the situation.

The day was done. Our artillery had failed to sever the German barbed wire sufficiently, and as our men cut away at it they had been shot down like rats. Lille was still to be won.

The Accents in Black Watch

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:12:00 +0000

Posted by Cait Robinson, Publications Fellow

Scottish accents are among the most difficult for American English speakers to understand and imitate—even Apple’s famous Siri application is unable to make out Scottish users. Scottish dialects are heavily influenced by Gaelic, Norse, Scots (a Germanic language still spoken in parts of the Scottish Lowlands and Ulster, Ireland), Old English, and German and are divided into five regional subsets.

Most Scots pronounce consonants just as speakers of standard British or American English do. Exceptions are r, which is rolled, and ch, which, at the end of a syllable, takes on a guttural German sound, as in “loch.” This guttural sound also surfaces in words like “daughter” or “night.” As in spoken American English, Scottish English often drops the final g on verbs: walkin’ instead of “walking.” Adjectives ending in “ed” are pronounced with an “it,” as in spottit (“spotted”).

The real trouble begins with glottal stops, the trademark speech pattern of the Scottish. A non-vocal sound made by obstructing airflow in the back of the throat, the glottal stop is also common in American English: it is often used in place of a crisply articulated t in the middle of a word. (Say the words “curtain” or “important” quickly, and you will automatically make a glottal stop.) Scottish people, however, use glottal stops where Americans do not. A glottal stop can replace a k or p that is surrounded by vowels, as in “taken” (ta’en) or “paper” (pa’er). In many cases, it also replaces consonants at the end of a sentence when they are preceded by a vowel, as in “root” (roo’) or “call” (ca’).

Scottish English also interprets vowels differently from American and standard British English—with few consistent rules. For example, the words “bone” and “stone” are pronounced been and steen in eastern Angus, but become bane and stane an hour’s drive south. The Scottish also do not distinguish between oo (as in “pool” and “fool”) and u (as in “pull” and “full”): they are homophones with regional variations.

Watch the video for an overview of a basic Scottish accent and try it out for yourself: http://www.howcast.com/videos/500520-How-to-Do-a-Scottish-Accent

A special Student Matinee at A.C.T.

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:33:00 +0000

Posted by Liana Winternitz, Marketing Fellow

Bessie Carmichael Elementary School students perform three original songs before a student matinee performance of Stuck Elevator.

A.C.T.’s final mainstage Student Matinee (SMAT) performance of the 2012–13 season was on Thursday, April 18. On that sunny afternoon, 857 students and their teachers made their way to A.C.T.’s Geary Theater to see a performance of Stuck Elevator, the world premiere musical inspired by the true story of a Chinese immigrant trapped in a Bronx elevator for 81 hours.

A.C.T.’s SMAT Program began in 1968 and has since welcomed over half a million students from schools all over California. In a single season, A.C.T. hosts approximately 15 SMATs for mainstage and conservatory shows (depending on the appropriateness of the show and placement in the school year), exposing around 7,000 students to the wonders of theater, many for the first time. Recent popular Conservatory SMAT performances include Tartuffe and The Odyssey, performed by our Master of Fine Arts Program students.

Preshow nerves didn’t stop these kids from singing their best.

“Even though I have seen each show several times before I attend the SMAT, I am always moved and energized by the students’ honest reactions to the performance,” says Edward Budworth, A.C.T.’s group sales representative in charge of SMAT ticketing. “Actors regularly tell us the SMAT is their favorite performance during the run. It is amazing how perceptive and enlightening student questions are in the postshow Q & A with the actors, indicating that they are attentive and appreciative. Sharing this experience with 1,000 students each time is a remarkable experience.” Stuck Elevator’s SMAT Chat was led by A.C.T.’s director of education, Elizabeth Brodersen, and included cast members Julius Ahn (Guāng), Marie-France Arcilla (Míng, Ensemble), Raymond J. Lee (Wáng Yuè, Ensemble), and Joel Perez (Marco, Ensemble).

Though each SMAT is unique, the Stuck Elevator SMAT was extra special. Before the show, 4th and 5th graders from San Francisco’s Bessie Carmichael Elementary School performed three original songs written and led by Peter Sroka, a drama teacher from the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD)'s Visual and Performing Arts Department, who played the keyboard. To our knowledge, this was the first time public school students have performed on The Geary stage in its 100-year history.

The enthusiastic bunch, 47 children in all, arrived early at The Geary wearing personally illustrated T-shirts (marked by white doves, hearts, yin/yang symbols, and even an anti-handgun image) and decked out in colorful peace sign necklaces made of pipe cleaners and yarn. The group dropped off their backpacks and sack lunches and hit the stage to do a run-through, coached by A.C.T. Associate Production Manager Amanda Haley and Stuck Elevator stage manager Karen Szpaller. Their nervousness was evident—the 1,000-seat Geary can be intimidating to even professional actors—and during rehearsal they sang softly and hesitantly. However, just an hour later, in front of a packed and cheering house, the Bessie Carmichael students performed like superstars! Brodersen, several SFUSD representatives, and San Francisco community arts partners were on hand for the event.

Something indescribable happens when children sing in unison, especially when singing about unity, inalienable rights, and Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. A charming skit introduced that particular song: A boy ran onstage exclaiming, “The Warriors are here, I hear the Golden State Warriors are here! Wait, but they can’t play hoops on the stage!” To which the group responded, “Not the Golden State Warriors: the terracotta warriors!”—a reference to the terracotta warriors on display at the Asian Art Museum until May 27.

As they finished their performance and received wild applause, the traditional bow evolved into jumping and dancing, blowing of kisses, and dramatic, Miss-America-style waving. Whatever reservations existed before the performance had given way to resolute jubilance at their taste of celebrity. Seeing the children so happy, confident, and proud of their performance was a gift in itself. Eventually the young performers exited the stage and exuberantly high-fived their way to their seats. The lights went down, signaling the start of Stuck Elevator, a performance that would enlighten and entertain all in attendance, especially the Bessie Carmichael students in the front rows.

“A.C.T. has one of the oldest student matinee programs in the country, and we are honored to continue the tradition,” says A.C.T. Education Associate Emily Means. “As we expand our programming, of course we find tremendous joy in taking theater to Bay Area schools, but there is something really special about hosting students here—opening our doors to welcome them, and, as with Bessie Carmichael, literally giving them the stage.”

Meet Joseph Anthony Foronda, who plays six characters in Stuck Elevator! Having received three Joseph Jefferson Awards for his work in Chicago, we think he can handle it.

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:11:00 +0000

Name: Joseph Anthony Foronda
Roles: Boss’ Wife, Dancer, Elevator, Old Guāng, General Tso, Zhōng Yi

Joseph Anthony Foronda
Stuck Elevator runs April 4–28.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

What are your preshow/postshow rituals?
I try to arrive 1–2 hours early before our call time to relax, stretch, and go over any notes by walking the stage and audience area.

What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?
I have too many favorite things about the city. In no particular order: the scenic beauty, proximity to the Pacific, the food, the people. . . friendly and warm.

What is your favorite Stuck Elevator song and why?
"Delivery": it's the old-fashioned idea of communicating and having a relationship via the mail system; the contrast of "the patient wait" versus the immediacy of today's electronic "right now" mindset. Beautifully sung by Mr. Ahn and Ms. Arcilla.

Six characters! How do you do it?
I think, as an actor, multiplicity would be a fun process. Who wouldn't enjoy playing multiple roles?

The ensemble plays various characters exist in the imagination of the main character,
Guāng. Can you share one aspect of Guāng that is illuminated by your character(s)?
I bring out Guāng's sense of jealousy of another male persona who he thinks has a better life. It's basic human nature to covet, in my humble opinion.

If you were to battle it out with a monster, who would you be and what would be your super
hero power?
I'd be Marvel's Daredevil, the blind-but-sense-heightened superhero who also uses his smarts to battle crime.

Joseph Anthony Foronda in Stuck Elevator rehearsal.
Photo courtesy of Julius Ahn.

We're impressed with your three-time Joseph Jefferson Award winner status! Can you share a memorable experience from your time in Chicago?
The play was Pacific Overtures (Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 2001). There was apparently a lot at stake hinging on the success of the show. The concept was the minimalization of a perceived "big musical," with a multiracial cast. It had poor sales at the start of the run (lots of walkouts, even Asian audience members left), but it ended up selling out, going to the Donmar Warehouse in London, and winning many awards. The wonderful set for Pacific Overtures was designed by the wonderful [Stuck Elevator scenic designer] Dan Ostling!

Read Joseph Anthony Foronda's full bio on the A.C.T. Stuck Elevator show page.

Meet Stuck Elevator's Lowell Abellon, and find out what his favorite cookie joint is in San Francisco.

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:17:00 +0000

Name: Lowell Abellon
Role: Understudy for Raymond J. Lee

Lowell Abellon
Stuck Elevator runs April 4–28.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

What are your preshow/postshow rituals?
Preshow: I jump around in the wings before I go on stage. Postshow: I rush home to watch who got voted off my favorite reality TV show.

What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?
Anthony's Cookies on Valencia Street.

What is your favorite song and why?
"Giant White Balloon" because it's wonderfully sad and pessimistic.

The ensemble plays various characters to draw out the complexity of the main character, Guāng. Can you share one aspect of Guāng that is illuminated by your character(s)?
Guāng wants to be a hero for his son, Wáng Yuè. Culturally, this story is quite common. A lot of parents leave their homeland in pursuit of the American Dream to provide a better life for their children back home.

If you were to battle it out with a monster, who would you be and what would be your super hero power?
I'd be the monster. My powers would be rapid regenerative healing and power mimicry.

We're impressed with your stage credits! Can you tell us a little more about your experiences in the world premiere of The Kite Runner?
Being in The Kite Runner was a blessing; it's how I got my Equity card. The play was really impactful. At the end of every show, when the stage goes black, we would always hear this kind of cathartic release from the audience, which proves there truly is power in storytelling. We also went kite flying and attempted kite fighting and running at Garin Park. It takes a ton of skill; we left with bloody fingers and hands.

Read Lowell Abellon's full bio on the A.C.T. Stuck Elevator show page.

Meet Stuck Elevator's Perry Aliado and learn who his superhero alter ego is!

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:22:00 +0000

Name: Perry Aliado
Role: Understudy for Julius Ahn and Joseph Anthony Foronda

Perry Aliado
Stuck Elevator runs April 4–28.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

What are your preshow/postshow rituals?  
One weird quirk I have is that while I wait offstage before my very first entrance in a show, I repeatedly make the sign of the cross, maybe about 10–15 times in a row in extremely quick succession. It's something I learned (and still do) from my Roman Catholic upbringing, but in theatre settings, I use this as sort of a good luck gesture for myself and for the performance overall.

What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?  
Mitchell's Ice Cream Shop at 29th Street and San José Avenue, easily. And almost without fail, my selection is a mango and langka (Filipino jackfruit) double scoop in a waffle cone. I could really go for some ice cream now . . .

Stuck Elevator is told in part with songs titled "Men Meiyou Kai," "Atlantic City," and "Orange Beef." What is your favorite song and why?
Today, my favorite song is "Real"—it's short and simple, but to me it's packed with the love and hope Guāng has for his wife Míng as he implores her to hang on, on the other side of an ocean, while trying to reassure her that somehow he will make everything right. But most importantly, I just love listening to Julius Ahn sing this beautiful song.

If you were to battle it out with a monster, who would you be and what would be your super hero power?
I absolutely love math and numbers, so my alter ego super hero would be Pi Man. In battle, he would chant—recite the digits of pi while encircling his enemies like a zooming cyclone, leaving them to fall into a dazed, hypnotic trance. Pi Man's sidekick, Fibonacci Dude, would proceed to round up their monster enemies with his mathemagical Golden Fibonacci Spiral, helping to end the monsters' reign of terror and bring peace and Mathematics to all the Metropolis.

As a Bay Area dramaturg, casting director, and actor, you must be busy! Can you tell us a little more about your work as resident dramaturg of Custom Made Theatre Company?
My first experience doing dramaturgical work ever was on Custom Made Theatre Company's (CMTC's) 2010 production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, by Stephen Adly Guirgis. I was cast as Saint Peter, but I also felt this immense urge to break down the entire script and research (or "geek out on" as I prefer to call it) all of the historical and biblical references made in the play. As an aside, the play really spoke to me personally at that point in my life. Also, it just felt really nice to be a pseudo-academic again, which I hadn't experienced since I graduated from college. Since my time with Judas Isacriot, my artistic director, Brian Katz, has given me the freedom to "geek out" and do research on all of our subsequent CMTC productions, and allowed me to be the company's go-to guy for any and all things academic with our shows. It's a service to our actors and creative team, for sure, but for me it's also a stupendous outlet to channel and release any pent-up geekery that may be in my system.

Read Perry Aliado's full bio on the A.C.T. Stuck Elevator show page.

Meet Stuck Elevator's Joel Perez, whose credits include Showtime's The Big C with Laura Linney and the First Broadway National Tour of In the Heights.

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:08:00 +0000

Name: Joel Perez
Roles: Marco, Bladder, Player, Resident

Joel Perez
Stuck Elevator runs April 4–28.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

What are your preshow/postshow rituals?
I like to do something physical before every show. Usually it's going for a run, yoga, or spinning. It gets the juices flowing! After a show, I like to enjoy some bourbon and Family Guy.

What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?
The landscape. It is a really nice change from the concrete jungle that is NYC.

What is your favorite song and why?
My favorite song is probably "Takeout Man." It's a fun song that leads up to a bad-ass wrestling match.

The ensemble plays various characters to that draw out the complexity of the main character
Guāng. Can you share one aspect of Guāng that is illuminated by your character(s)?
Guāng's friendship with Marco is very special. They are both immigrants from opposite sides of the world, but their experience brings them together. It is a nice example of how, despite a language difference, people can still find camaraderie.

If you were to battle it out with a monster, who would you be and what would be your super
hero power?
I'd want the power of flight and telekinesis.

Joel Perez in Stuck Elevator rehearsal.
Photo courtesy of Julius Ahn.

We're impressed with your TV and musical theater credits! Can you tell us a little more about
your experiences in Showtime's The Big C with Laura Linney and being in the First Broadway
National Tour of In the Heights?
Working on The Big C was pretty incredible. How I got that job is a great story: I was called in to do a table read of an episode with the cast in Connecticut (where the series is produced) for a character who was already going to be played by an actor who lives in L.A. The character spoke Spanish in the episode, so I was called in to translate the text and read it with Laura Linney. Needless to say, I was FREAKING OUT! But I kept it cool and did the table read. After it was done, I thanked the director and show runner and they were very pleased with my work—so much so that they re-wrote another character so I could be in the episode! I got to do some fun scenes with Gabourey Sidibe [best known for her work in Precious]. Shooting in Puerto Rico was also a nice plus. I learned so much during the shoot and definitely plan to do more TV work during my career.

In the Heights was a big reason why I moved to NYC after graduating from Tufts University. After seeing that show, I saw that my dream of being on Broadway wasn't completely ridiculous. The story of my culture and family was being shared and there was a place for me. I was waiting tables and pounding the pavement in NYC when I got the job. I got my Equity card and got the chance to tell this story around the country—and even Tokyo! I made some incredible friends and it's an experience that I will cherish forever.

Read Joel Perez's full bio on the A.C.T. Stuck Elevator show page.

Meet Cindy Im, who returns to us after 4000 Miles to join the cast of Stuck Elevator.

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Name: Cindy Im
Role: Understudy for Marie-France Arcilla

Cindy Im
Stuck Elevator runs April 4–28.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

What are your preshow/postshow rituals?
Preshow: Vocal and physical warm-ups and a cup of green tea. I also find the ritual of putting on makeup and doing hair to be really centering. Postshow: the bar!

What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?
It's so beautiful here. When I drive across the Bay Bridge or go to Land's End, I'm reminded of how lucky we are that this is available to us at any time. And the food is amazing!

What is your favorite song and why?
"Men Meiyou Kai" is my favorite. It's the only song in the show that's sung in Mandarin, and the melody is gorgeous and haunting. Julius is able to convey so much in that song, and we don't need to understand the words he's saying to know what he's feeling.

The ensemble plays various characters to that draw out the complexity of the main character
Guāng. Can you share one aspect of Guāng that is illuminated by your character(s)?
Míng, his wife, serves simultaneously as his greatest source of comfort and his greatest anguish. He misses her and dreams of bringing her and their son to the States, but because he owes his smuggler such an exorbitant amount for getting him to the States, there's no way he can make enough money for his dream to ever become a reality.

If you were to battle it out with a monster, who would you be and what would be your super
hero power?
Oh, wow. Hmm . . . I want to be able to teleport! But I guess that would mean that I wouldn't be sticking around to fight.

You've had many stunning Bay Area theater credits, but have also performed in 11 Septembre 2001 in France. Can you tell us about your experience with that play?
It was truly amazing. It was an 11-person play with a French playwright, a French director, and all American actors. The piece recounted the events on the day of 9/11 from the perspective of the people at or near the Twin Towers. It was 25 minutes long, but the director had us perform the piece three times in a row for each performance, switching characters each time. We performed the show first at the REDCAT in Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, then took the show to France for six weeks, performing at the Theatre Dijon Bourgogne, the Theatre de Treize Vents in the south of France, and then the National Theatre of Paris. We'd sightsee during the day and perform at night. The National Theatre has two theaters and a bar on the bottom floor, so when both shows got out (it was still light out because we were there during the summer and the sun didn't set until close to 11 p.m.), we all headed to the bar and had the most wonderful time. There was even an accordion player there most nights. It was an actor's dream come true.

Read Cindy Im's full bio on the A.C.T. Stuck Elevator show page.

Meet Stuck Elevator's Raymond J. Lee, whose credits include tap dancing with Sutton Foster in Anything Goes on Broadway, and flexing his classical chops in Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Public Theater

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:42:00 +0000

Name: Raymond J. Lee
Role(s): Wáng Yuè (王岳), Snakehead, Nephew, Mugger, Dealer, Customer, Young Guāng

Raymond J. Lee
Stuck Elevator runs April 4–28.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

What are your preshow/postshow rituals?  
I always make sure to listen to some music to relax me and get me ready for the show. Also a cup of green tea before I start the makeup/hair process is very important. Oh, and of course remember to pee before the show!

What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?  
I love the energy of this city and the incredible weather! Coming from a wintry New York to sunny SF has been fantastic. I also love how many different neighborhoods there are here in SF and the endless museum, restaurant, bar, and shopping possibilities. San Francisco has such amazing culture and history, and you can definitely feel that in the city.

What is your favorite song and why?
My favorite song in the show has got to be "Real," because it is such a beautiful song and a beautiful yet heartbreaking moment in the show. You get to see the relationship that Míng and Guāng have and the sacrifice that both have endured in order to give their son, Wáng Yuè, and indirectly themselves, a better life. Plus Julius Ahn sings it so beautifully that I just have to stop what I'm doing and watch. My favorite song to perform is probably the Nephew's part in "It Could Be Worse," because in one short moment the audience learns the pains and dangers of being smuggled to America in a container ship.

The ensemble plays various characters to that draw out the complexity of the main character Guāng. Can you share one aspect of Guāng that is illuminated by your character?
I get to play the character of Young Guāng in the song "Three Hungers" and the audience gets to find out that Guāng had dreams of being a poet when he was younger, but then, unfortunately, reality hit him hard and he made the decision to come to America and be a Chinese delivery man. It's heartbreaking to see a young, present, and future version of Guāng singing together because you see this man's life all in one moment and realize he will probably never fulfill the artistic goals and wishes he had set when he was young.

If you were to battle it out with a monster, who would you be and what would be your super hero power?
I am such a huge superhero freak! I watch all the superhero movies and grew up reading comic books and watching X-Men/Spiderman/Batman as a kid. I would totally want the same powers as Magneto and be able to control and manipulate metallic substances. I mean I'd be able to find my keys and the remote control 24/7—what more could a man want? I could also settle for being Duck Sauce man and be able to shoot super hot duck sauce from the palms of my hands!

Raymond's dressing room station for Anything Goes. See his photo journal on Playbill.com.

We're impressed with your Broadway credits! Can you tell us a little more about your experience tap dancing with Sutton Foster in Anything Goes?
If someone had told me in college that I would be tap dancing on a Broadway stage one day, I wouldn't have believed it for the world, but it actually happened and is proof that this career is unpredictable and exciting! Anything Goes was one of the most amazing experiences I've had in my professional career and a show I will always remember because it gave me so many firsts. My first time in an original cast, my first time performing on the Tony Awards, my first time recording a cast album, and so many lasting friendships that I will carry with me for the rest of my professional life. We were truly a family and still hang out whenever we can.

One of the biggest reasons we were so happy was because our leading lady Sutton Foster was just incredibly AWESOME. She made sure work was fun to come to and that the cast was taken care of. And Joel Grey [the actor who was the original Wizard in Wicked] was so approachable and so sweet. The man had never been to a Dairy Queen and we made sure to introduce him to one! You can definitely see more backstage antics and silly moments on my YouTube channel (raymondjlee) along with our backstage music video lip syncing to One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful."

Read Raymond J. Lee's full bio on the A.C.T. Stuck Elevator show page.

Meet the cast of "Dead Metaphor": George Hampe

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:53:00 +0000

Meet George Hampe, who plays Dean Trusk in Dead Metaphor.

George Hampe
Dead Metaphor runs through March 24.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

L to R: George Hampe as Dean Trusk and Anthony Fusco as Oliver Denny in Dead Metaphor. Photo by Kevin Berne.

What are your preshow/postshow rituals?
Before every show, I eat an entire cantaloupe . . . just kidding. My preshow ritual is just so boring. I stretch. I warm-up.
After a show, I'm always good for a drink.

What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?
The crystal blue skies. We don't get that much on the east coast.

If you weren't an actor, what would you be?
Sitting on a beach. That life seems nice.

What was your most memorable job interview?
I've never had a real job.

What is your favorite moment in Dead Metaphor?
When my cue light goes off to start the show.

Which character do you identify with the most?
Probably Dean. Except for the trained killer part and the expecting father part and the strained relationship with my father part. I guess, the biggest identifiable trait is we are both around the same age.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
In my late 20s.

Meet the cast of "Dead Metaphor": Rebekah Brockman

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:48:00 +0000

Meet Rebekah Brockman, who plays Jenny Trusk in Dead Metaphor.

Rebekah Brockman
Dead Metaphor runs through March 24.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

Rebekah Brockman as Jenny Trusk and George Hampe as Dean Trusk in Dead Metaphor. Photo by Kevin Berne.

What are your preshow/postshow rituals?
Preshow: Warm-up, spray on a bit of my mother's perfume (I never set foot onstage without it on), and then watch the first scene from the wings.
Postshow: Beer and Sleep!

What are your favorite things about San Francisco?
The history, the architecture, and the ocean when the fog comes in.

If you weren't an actor, what would you be?
Realistic Answer: A director.
Fantasy Answer: A BASE Jumper.

What was your most memorable job interview/audition?
I recently had a callback for a role and one of my mentors was auditioning for the same play. She offered to come in and read with me for.my audition. It was extremely gracious of her and put me at ease in the room. I booked the job. I believe that the established people who put their name on the line for the younger generation and support them, are the people worth following. It is a moment that I want to pay forward to the generation after me.

What is your favorite moment in Dead Metaphor?
I love watching Sharon Lockwood run "in character" and I have to stifle laughter every time Anthony makes his entrance on the bike (well, Anthony's bike scene in general).

Which character do you identify with the most?
Jenny, first and foremost. But also aspects of Frannie and Hank.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
BASE Jumping.

A.C.T. Director of Education Elizabeth Brodersen Wins SFUSD Dreamcatcher Award

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 01:15:00 +0000

In summer 2011, just after becoming A.C.T.’s first director of education, Elizabeth Brodersen met Eunice Nuval, a teacher at San Francisco’s Downtown High School (DHS), who was developing a new Acting for Critical Thought project, designed to engage her students academically and artistically through the study of theater. Nuval wanted to partner with A.C.T., and Brodersen said, emphatically, “Yes!” DHS is now in its fourth semester of residency at A.C.T., and the partnership has been one of the greatest success stories of not only the A.C.T. Education Department’s short history, but of A.C.T.’s history as a whole.

For her work at DHS and her distinguished career in public education, Nuval was awarded a 2012 San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Dreamcatcher Award. Inspired by the Native American talismans that are believed to ensure beautiful and happy dreams, the annual awards (now in their seventh year) honor leaders who have inspired our educational community though the excellent work they have done to promote the vision and the promise of the SFUSD to integrate the arts into each student’s daily curriculum. The award goes to individuals who go “beyond the call of duty,” says Susan Stauter, artistic director of the Visual and Performing Arts Department of the SFUSD. “It’s the people who have an idea and bring it home.”

Last night, at a ceremony hosted by the Asian Art Museum, Brodersen won a 2013 Dreamcatcher Award. Below is the statement made by Stauter when presenting the award:

“It’s the artists of the world, the feelers and thinkers, who will ultimately save us, who can articulate, educate, defy, insist, sing, and shout the big dreams.” —Leonard Bernstein.

Because she is generous and empathetic and she cares deeply about connecting the greatest gifts the theater has to give to the public school students of San Francisco,

Because she is fearless and relentless in her efforts to reach out and really make things happen in arts education,

Because she exemplifies the sort of high-level professionalism it takes to connect American Conservatory Theater to the San Francisco public schools in ways that are authentic, deep, and transformative,

Because she is the sort of colleague and partner that can change the cultural landscape of San Francisco and empower the hearts and minds of all those she comes in contact with,

This year’s Community Arts Partner Dreamcatcher Award goes to Elizabeth Brodersen.

Congrats, Elizabeth. We could not be prouder!

Photo 1: A.C.T. Director of Education Elizabeth Brodersen with Antigone Trimis de Cartagena, SFUSD Arts Education Master Plan Manager, Visual and Performing Arts Department

Photo 2: A.C.T. Celebrates Director of Education Elizabeth Brodersen’s 2013 Dreamcatcher Award: (L to R) former A.C.T. Assistant Costume Shop Manager Joan Raymond, A.C.T. Conservatory Producer Dick Daley, A.C.T. Resident Artist Tyrone Davis, A.C.T. Publications Manager Dan Rubin, Brodersen, A.C.T. Core Acting Company member and teaching artist Nick Gabriel, A.C.T. Education Associate Emily Means.

Meet the cast of "Dead Metaphor": Anthony Fusco

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:29:00 +0000

Meet Anthony Fusco, who plays Oliver Denny in Dead Metaphor.

Anthony Fusco
Dead Metaphor runs through March 24.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

What are your preshow/postshow rituals?
Preshow: sinus rinse
Postshow: Wine. Or beer. Maybe bourbon.

What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?
My family!

If you weren't an actor, what would you be?
Even *more* unsatisfied.

What was your most memorable job interview?
45-minute callback with the great director Jose Quintero. Did not get the role, but relished the experience nonetheless. And not getting the role turned out to be the best result.

What is your favorite moment in Dead Metaphor?
Seriously? Why would I tell?

Which character do you identify with the most?
Mine. But pretty soon, Hank!

Where do you see yourself in five years?
With any luck at all, right where I am now. But with the same amount of hair.

Revisiting the Melting Pot: Immigrant Perspectives in "The Jamaican Wash Project"

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:27:00 +0000

Posted by Selena Chau, A.C.T. Web Development Fellow

L to R: Darryl V. Jones, Kehinde Koyejo, Carl Lumbly, Halili Knox, Britney Frazier, Bert van Aalsburg, Edris Cooper-Anifowshe, Philip Kan Gotanda, Awele Makeba, and Steven Anthony Jones. Photo by Diane Takei Gotanda.

Learn more about upcoming performances at A.C.T.'s The Costume Shop

In January, as part of A.C.T.’s ongoing activation of San Francisco’s thriving Central Market arts corridor, A.C.T.’s Costume Shop theater hosted The Jamaican Wash Project, a staged reading of a new play about the failing marriage of two immigrants with previously compatible traditional values—and the opposing marital advice offered by their two adult daughters. The project united two longtime A.C.T. collaborators and Bay Area residents: playwright Philip Kan Gotanda and A.C.T. Associate Artist Steven Anthony Jones.

Jones, a former A.C.T. core acting company member and current artistic director of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre (LHT), directed the reading. The cast featured Oakland-based actor Carl Lumbly, currently performing in SF Playhouse’s The Motherf**ker with the Hat, and included Bay Area notables Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, Britney Frazier, Darryl V. Jones, Halili Knox, Kehinde Koyejo, and Awele Makeba. Together, these stage artists helped develop this adaptation of Gotanda’s acclaimed 1985 drama The Wash, with the original Japanese American family reset as Jamaican immigrants.

Audiences will remember Gotanda from his many works illuminating the Japanese American psyche, including After the War, commissioned by A.C.T. and presented on our mainstage in 2007, with a script specifically written with A.C.T. core company members in mind, including Jones. In his role as LHT artistic director, Jones engaged Gotanda in LHT’s Developmental Lab, where a new script was developed, and the artists discussed both commonalities and differences in cultural traditions and experiences.

Gotanda told the San Francisco Chronicle that The Wash focuses on “old-school traditional values butting up against new American social values. The idea of adapting the play to another family of color was to look for areas of commonality, as well as areas of dissonance. “There has to be a specificity to it. This is not a melting pot or blind casting.” Jones added, “The strongly patriarchal traditions of the Japanese and Jamaican cultures are a common thread, but the rituals and routines that reinforce those traditions are what sets them apart, and that’s where the universality of Philip’s text was put to the test.” After each of the two January readings, the audience joined the creators and cast in a thought-provoking Q&A session.

The Costume Shop, A.C.T.’s new Central Market neighborhood performance space, is dedicated to new works, innovative performance projects, and reimagined classics and welcomes audiences to engage with the art of theater through performances, discussions, and events. The Costume Shop continues its exciting lineup of events and performances this year with A.C.T. productions and works by local arts organizations featuring prominent Bay Area theater talent. Many performances are free of charge.

Gotanda shares the experiences he gained with The Jamaican Wash Project—including his explorations in cultural and racial adaptation—with a lecture at Reed College later this month.

Dangerous Choices: An Interview with "A Doll’s House" Director René Augesen

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:57:00 +0000

Posted by Selena Chau, A.C.T. Web Development Fellow

René Augesen directs A Doll's House, February 12–16, 2013, at A.C.T.'s Hastings Studio Theater. Buy tickets now.

Beloved Bay Area actor René Augesen has been an A.C.T. core company member since 2001, and has appeared most recently in Endgame and Play, Once in a Lifetime, The Homecoming, and Clybourne Park. In addition to performing in countless local productions, she is a teaching artist and peer to the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program students in the classroom and on the A.C.T. stage.

This season, she takes on an additional role as director of a new M.F.A. Program production of Henrik Ibsen's classic drama A Doll's House, which features actors from the class of 2013 and plays February 12–16, 2013, at A.C.T.'s Hastings Studio Theater. In this popular and often controversial play, conversations and interactions between Nora Helmer and her husband Tolvald present a complex dynamic of role-playing in marriage.

Although Augesen carries a Norwegian name, she grew up in west Texas. Still, she connects with Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen: "When I read him or perform him I feel the heartbeat of it, I feel the viscera of it, and I get it." She performed the role of Nora in A.C.T.'s production of A Doll's House during the 2003–04 season, but as a director working with her own cast of actors in this 2013 M.F.A. Program production, her goal is to push them as actors without being imposing. "I'm being very careful because I want this to be theirs," she said.

Augesen is also preparing to take on major roles in upcoming A.C.T. productions of the world premiere comedy Dead Metaphor and Tom Stoppard's masterwork Arcadia. She took a quick break from her busy schedule to discuss her approach to A Doll's House—and her facilitative role as the actors develop the characters' inner lives.

Faculty and core acting company member René Augesen works with the class of '13 in acting class. Photo by Kevin Berne.

Tell us how you came to direct this production of A Doll's House.
In the fall of 2011, I did a class on Ibsen with these students. For four or five weeks, we worked on A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler. Then this past summer, [A.C.T. Conservatory Director] Melissa Smith and I were performing in Blithe Spirit together at California Shakespeare Theater. I remember I was sitting over to the side of rehearsal one day and I said to Melissa, "Oh, I wish I could direct." So we started talking about it, and Melissa suggested that I direct A Doll's House as a great continuation of the work from that Ibsen class.

What is your approach to the play and the famous relationship between husband and wife?
We're not ever going to get away from the fact that people call it a feminist play. But Ibsen was very vocal that it wasn't a feminist play. To him, it was a story of a marriage—two human beings. This is what I prefer to have in the forefront of my mind.

Though it is shocking to us now to hear the condescending way Helmer talks to his wife, at the time, it wasn't. It was absolutely normal, and no one would have batted an eye. Thematically, it applies still—you have two people being complicit in the mask of a happy marriage and playing their roles perfectly. I suppose from the outside it's supposed to make people really, really envious but there are just . . . secrets.

René Augesen and Stephen Caffrey as Nora and Torvald in A.C.T.'s 2004 production of A Doll's House

Can you share some of your directing experiences from the rehearsal room?
Every actor brings different perspectives to the rehearsals as we explore new situations in the play. I tell them it's okay to be frustrated. It's a hard play, and we figure things out as the experience becomes clear.

I like for impulses to come from the actor. I'm there to facilitate their process and find a way to figure out what we don't understand . . . and to push them to make the more dangerous choice rather than playing it safe.

The students pontificate about the possibility of other secrets in the play. Maybe Krogstad, a lawyer who works with Helmer, is holding onto a secret about him? What other information might the characters be hiding, what dialogue is left unsaid, and how does that affect the relationships between the characters? This kind of exercise is always great for actors because it stimulates them. It may not be apparent to the audience, but to the actors it makes the characters' lives richer.

How did you handle the casting of the play?
Melissa helped with casting. This class is so small, with only two women, and because Rebekah [Brockman] is playing Jenny in Dead Metaphor, it was obvious that Allegra [Rose Edwards] was going to play Nora, which I'm really over the moon about. She's going to be absolutely amazing. The men had to come in and audition for me, and Allegra came in and read a scene from the play with them. I've never been in that position before, where I've been picking.

What is your ultimate goal as you approach opening night?
I wake up every morning thinking, "What am I not doing that I should be doing?" And in truth, I don't know. Mostly, I want the rehearsals to be beneficial for them. I am interested in making whatever we find to be the more interesting choice—the most dangerous choice. And hopefully to have the audience come away with more than the "feminist agenda" that's been put so heavily on this play. It's a play about human experience—not just a woman's.

My Grand-Everything

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:12:00 +0000

Posted by Liana Winternitz, Marketing Fellow

Liana and Tita Mona catch up at Liana's sister's wedding rehearsal.

In 4000 Miles, 21-year-old Leo moves in with his 91-year-old grandmother, Vera. Despite their differences, they discover connections that span generations, and 4000 Miles has encouraged many of us on the A.C.T. staff to think about our relationships with our own grandparents.

Do you (or did you) have an especially meaningful relationship with a grandparent (or grandchild)? Share your photos and stories on our Facebook page for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Mike's Bikes!

Here is the story of A.C.T. Marketing Fellow Liana Winternitz's relationship with her "grand-everything," Tita Mona.

I can remember as a child being hesitant to answer the phone, fearing that it was an older relative calling to chat. I thought chatting was boring, mostly because everyone always asked the same questions: "How is school going?" "How's your soccer team playing this year?" And I always had the same answer: "It's fine."

All four of my grandparents passed away before I turned 13. Now, at 24, I'm slightly older and wiser and devastated that I never had a chance to really connect with them beyond cordial conversations and expecting toys for Christmas. Vague memories and dusty photo albums don't fill that extended-family void—I never got to meet my father's dad, but everyone tells me I'm just like him.

Tita Mona shows her love and support at Liana's high school graduation.

However, I am blessed with the presence of my grandmother's sister, Ramona. My parents and sisters call her Tita Mona. Tita Mona was born in Spain in 1916. Having lived through almost 100 years of dramatic cultural and social change, she is living history and a connection to my family's past. Because of a limited extended family, Tita Mona has become the embodiment of everyone—she acts as my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins combined.

At 96 years old, she stills dyes her hair, paints her nails, eats junk food, and plays bingo twice a week. When she visited, she would knit while watching hours of James Bond films (Sean Connery is her favorite) and make my family hats, gloves, scarves, and huge elaborate blankets. One of them is on my bed right now! She visits so often that she has her own room in my parents' house, and when I think of her she is sitting at our dinner table with a coffee mug on one side and her glasses and magnifying glass on the other. She was in that spot recently when she gave me relationship advice: "Don't marry too young, you have time to be choosy and find the right person for you. Unless he is a doctor, then marry him before anyone else can!" For her it's either a doctor or a professional tennis player; otherwise, I should just become a nun. Of course, she married a marine, not a professional, tennis-playing doctor.
Her advice about being independent and working hard is from experience: she was a court reporter in San Francisco, working well into her 70s. In the 1930s she came alone on a ship to California for school. She was a volunteer nurse during WWII, and she lived in Hawaii with her husband. She also raised champion German Shepherds.

Many people are surprised upon learning her age, and if you asked her, "What is your secret to a long and healthy life?" she will answer, "With all the coffee and wine I drink, my body doesn't have a chance to die!"

Family is family, and whether you love them or tolerate them, they are a part of your life. I look forward to being an aunt to my sister's children one day (and hopefully a grand aunt to my sister's children's children!) and sharing my memories of Tita Mona with my own future family.

I love you very much, Tita Mona.

Sky High: The 2013 Sky Festival

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:01:00 +0000

Posted by Sharon Rietkerk, Marketing Project Manager

Sky Festival scheduling = Excel jigsaw puzzle!

The annual A.C.T. Sky Festival is a dynamic event that brings together the A.C.T. community in the creation, rehearsal, and performance of a vibrant and eclectic range of work. Each year A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program students and faculty, core acting company members, and artistic staff submit proposals for projects they are personally passionate about, offering students an opportunity to approach work from multiple angles, from directing to devising to performing. Ranging from self-written work to movement-based interpretations of printed texts and conventional explorations of "straight plays," the chosen projects (12 this year) are developed over two weeks of intense rehearsal and exploration, culminating in two days of studio presentations.

But how do you get three classes of M.F.A. Program students, 12 projects, plus faculty and advisors sorted out to rehearse nonstop for two weeks without creating casting and rehearsal space chaos? An interview with A.C.T. Conservatory Producer Dick Daley reveals how much logistical planning goes into producing the Sky Festival each year.

The Sky Festival rehearses for two weeks (January 7–18), culminating in performances for fellow students, faculty, and A.C.T. staff on the final day. When do you start preparing for this event?

Student proposals are due by the end of October. At that point, they are given to the selection committee, comprised of A.C.T. M.F.A. Program faculty members, for review. After careful consideration the committee aims to select 12 projects—due to logistics, including the available studios and casting pool, this is the maximum number of projects that can be accommodated for the festival. We choose about 15 projects as potential candidates so that we have options to work with as we create a schedule.

How many proposals did you receive this season?

23.

The final version.

You ended up with a total of 12 pieces in this season's Sky Festival, all being rehearsed at the same time . . .

Six rehearse in the morning, and six in the afternoon. So a student might be working on a one-woman show in the morning, and then direct a piece that was proposed by another student in the afternoon.

How long does it take you to create the rehearsal schedule? You have to take into account casting and rehearsal spaces, yes?

It takes me about three full working days to put together the schedule for Sky Festival. I plug projects into a chart and work out who can be in which piece in the morning and who can be in which piece in the afternoon. Then I have to figure out where each piece will rehearse, as each project needs a separate room.

Are students able to request specific actors to perform in their piece, or specific rooms to rehearse and ultimately present their piece in?

Yes, they can request both of those things, along with a request for someone specific to direct the piece, but they are not guaranteed. If one student is directing his own piece in the morning, he can't be in another student's piece at the same time. We do try to take everything into consideration, however. There are certain pieces that require gender- or race-specific casting, so I use those as the cornerstones, and work out the logistics for the other pieces based on those. It is a big jigsaw puzzle.

And you coordinate all of this?! Scheduling, producing, finding props, everything?

Yes—I am a one-man band overseeing Sky Festival, although I have good resources for support. Conservatory Manager Hannah Cohen helps with scheduling, Sarah Phykitt and Shay Henley in production are good with troubleshooting technical issues. I enjoy watching and working with the acting students as they figure out how to accomplish a production issue that usually is handled by a production's technical and design team. The process opens them up to the wider realm of putting a show together that normally isn't their focus when working on a play. And the students seem to enjoy it themselves. I think the festival is great in that an acting student gets a chance to lead a project in a new way—and in the end, they may realize they're good at it and want to continue exploring an area other than acting. Or they find out they'd prefer creating a piece from an actor’s position. Or a project may give someone the confidence to propose their own project next year. That's what I hope education can do best: open our eyes to opportunities that we may not have found out about on our own. There's extra excitement in the air at A.C.T. this time of year. How can it not be with 12 projects in creation at once, in one building, that come to fruition in just over two weeks?

Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": James Carpenter

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Meet James Carpenter, who plays Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.

Jim Carpenter
A Christmas Carol continues through December 24.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

How many times have you been in A Christmas Carol?
I’ve been in A Christmas Carol nine times, including understudying the Dennis Powers and Laird Williamson version A.C.T. produced from 1976 to 2005. I’ve played Scrooge during all nine runs.

What's your favorite thing about San Francisco during the holidays?
The street life.

What is your favorite Christmas carol?
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”

What are your favorite holiday traditions?
Sharing of food. I drink a lot.

What is the best gift you've ever given or received?
My wife (received).

What is your favorite moment in A Christmas Carol?
The final moments.

Who is your favorite character in A Christmas Carol?
Um . . . Scrooge? Do I really have to explain? Mrs. Dilber and Mr. Fezziwig are tied for second place.

What do you want for the holidays this year?
A new car would be really nice . . .

Related Posts

Monday, December 17, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Evelyn Ongpin

Monday, December 12, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Raymond Castelán

Monday, December 10, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Ken Ruta

Saturday, December 8, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Seth Weinfield

Thursday, December 6, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Carmen Steele

Meet the Cast of “A Christmas Carol”: Sasha Steiner

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Meet Sasha Steiner, who plays Little Fan and Miner Child in A Christmas Carol.

Sasha Steiner
A Christmas Carol continues through December 24.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

How many times have you been in A Christmas Carol?
I've done this twice—last time I was Miner Child/Precious.

What's your favorite thing about San Francisco during the holidays?
Union Square, because of the lights and the ice skating rink.

What is your favorite Christmas carol?
"Jingle Bell Rock."

What are your favorite holiday traditions?
1. Getting a Christmas tree and opening presents on Christmas Day! 2. Performing a Christmas song in front of my friends and family.

What is the best gift you've ever given or received?
Given to a kid: big Pillow Pet. Received from someone: a big fat sphere sheep with a tutu.

What is your favorite moment in A Christmas Carol?
The song we sing when the Ghost of Christmas Present appears, our new carol when the world comes out.

Who is your favorite character in A Christmas Carol?
Young Scrooge! First, because he is my character's brother this year, and because of the actor and the character.

What do you want for the holidays this year?
A snake—and to bring spirit to kids.

Related Posts

Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Omozé Idehenre

Monday, December 17, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Evelyn Ongpin

Monday, December 12, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Raymond Castelán

Monday, December 10, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Ken Ruta

Saturday, December 8, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Seth Weinfield

Thursday, December 6, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Carmen Steele

What Kids Can Do: A Christmas Carol Tale

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:35:00 +0000

A Letter from Audience Member Derek McCulloch to Artistic Director Carey Perloff

Holiday cards created by Pearl McCulloch and her classmates from Peralta Elementary School in Oakland as part of Cards from Kids Who Care.

Hi Ms. Perloff—

I really want you to know about something remarkable that happened as a result of my family seeing your most recent production of A Christmas Carol. Two weekends ago, my wife, Tara, and I took our daughter, Pearl, to a matinee of A Christmas Carol. It was her first grown-up theater experience and she enjoyed it very much. Thank you!

On the way out of the theater, Pearl saw a man with a cup out for spare change and she asked me if she could give him something. I handed her some quarters and she put them in the cup, getting a warm smile and a "Merry Christmas" in return. As we walked along Geary Street on our way to dinner, we past more panhandlers and, at one point, a man sleeping on the bare sidewalk without so much as a piece of cardboard to lie on. I could see Pearl taking this all in, and as we turned on Powell we started talking about it. She said it was really sad that a person should have to sleep out on the street like that and she wanted to do something to help. We told her that we give money to different services, but she said she wanted to do something herself, something a kid could do.

As we walked to the restaurant and then on through dinner we brainstormed about things a kid could do, and Pearl came up with the idea of making Christmas cards to sell and then give the money to the homeless. She was very excited by the idea, and over the course of a couple of days we refined it further: she would invite her friends from Peralta Elementary School in Oakland to make cards with her, and we would all ask friends and family to "sponsor" a card apiece. The cards would be given to a shelter to distribute to residents and the money would go to pay for services. I contacted the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, and they very enthusiastically agreed to be the shelter we'd work for.

We called the project "Cards from Kids Who Care."

This past Sunday afternoon our kitchen table was a card factory. For four hours, five eight-year-old girls labored with paper and glue and sequins and scissors and crayons and markers and seemingly several tons of glitter to make the best holiday cards anyone would ever want to receive. They made 42 cards for donations totaling more than $600. After they were done, orders continued to come in, and Pearl continues to make another couple of cards every night. Our total contributions are over $750 now, and it seems possible they'll top $800 by the time we make the delivery of cards and cash.

The eagerness with which these five girls took to the project was inspirational. We'll be proposing to the BFHP that we make this an annual tradition. We only had a week to plan things this year, but we hope that next year with more time we'll be able to make a larger effort and bring even more hope and help to the homeless.

We don't really know how much direct impact the play had on Pearl's thinking, but I couldn't help thinking that she'd really absorbed what Charles Dickens had to say on the subject of civic responsibility:

"But you were always a good man of business, Jacob," faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.

"Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"

Best regards and thank you for an inspirational day at the theater,

Derek McCulloch

Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Louis Kehoe

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Meet Louis Kehoe, who plays Boy Scrooge and other roles in A Christmas Carol.

Louis Kehoe
A Christmas Carol continues through December 24.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

How many times have you been in A Christmas Carol?
This is my first year in the show.

What's your favorite thing about San Francisco during the holidays?
The big Christmas tree in Union Square.

What is your favorite Christmas carol?
“Silent Night.”

What are your favorite holiday traditions?
Christmas shopping and decorating.

What is the best gift you've ever given or received?
The bracelet I gave my sister with her hubby’s name on it.

What is your favorite moment in A Christmas Carol?
Scrooge’s return.

Who is your favorite character in A Christmas Carol?
Tiny Tim, because he is a very powerful and deep character.

What do you want for the holidays this year?
A penny skateboard.

Related Posts

Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Meet the Cast of “A Christmas Carol”: Omozé Idehenre

Monday, December 17, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Evelyn Ongpin

Monday, December 12, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Raymond Castelán

Monday, December 10, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Ken Ruta

Saturday, December 8, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Seth Weinfield

Thursday, December 6, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Carmen Steele

Santa’s Workshop: The Props of "A Christmas Carol"

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:38:00 +0000

Posted by Selena Chau, A.C.T. Web Development Fellow

Every season there are special upgrades and enhancements made to the familiar Christmas Carol props to keep the show fresh and new. While the actors rehearsed lines, staging, carols, and dances in the William Ball Rehearsal Studio (on the 8th floor of A.C.T.’s 30 Grant Avenue complex), the A.C.T. production staff worked their backstage magic in the A.C.T. Prop and Scene Shop, a 20,000-square-foot warehouse that has been located in the Mission district since A.C.T.’s move out west from Pittsburgh in 1967. Over the years, the shop has built and stored props and scenery from productions that have played at A.C.T.’s Geary Theater and other stages.

From the outside, the building is indistinguishable from neighboring warehouses on the block, but stepping inside reveals fantastic and unexpected tools, machinery, and props. As you enter, you see the replica of the Tosca Cafe bar sign (a keepsake from our 2010 dance-theater production The Tosca Project) hanging on the far wall by the design offices, still exuding some of its onstage sophistication. Overhead are rigs with three-ton limits, on hand to move set pieces and props to their storage places after productions. A drill bit set contains a range of pieces, from toothpick-sized bits to ones the size of your wrist.

For A Christmas Carol, props planning started during the onstage technical rehearsals for Elektra in late October. Director Domenique Lozano (who, this season, directed Carol for the seventh time) met with A.C.T. Property Supervisor Ryan L. Parham to request changes for this year’s production. To combat unpredictable onstage gravity and torque, which has played havoc on the production in previous years, the prop shop gave Marley’s soaring ghost two faces. The ethereal effect of the Ghost of Christmas Past’s entrance was improved from last year by draping LED lights and gauzy fabric on the wooden swing bench she rides in on. Miserly old Scrooge was also in need of more money (of course!), so the props department researched the appropriate currency design and made color prints. After the bills were cut, they were aged: crumpled, unfolded, sprayed with water, and ironed with low heat. When the paper fibers broke down, the bills were soft and manageable—like real money.

Almost half of the Christmas Carol props were updated this year with details that keep the show believable and authentic for A.C.T. audiences. Aging techniques are used to make props fit into the appropriate time period. However, if a prop gets too worn down, like Boy Scrooge’s Christmas gift from Dick Wilkins, a replacement is fabricated in house. Dick’s bound copy of The Arabian Nights would be in pristine condition when he gives it to his friend, so a new cover with custom cut leather corners was created, with the title added on the spine.

The props department upholds the longevity of the props, and this is especially important for the Ghost of Christmas Present’s magic branch, which gets shaken and swirled countless times every season. This year, durable plastic twigs replaced the missing wooden twigs: the plastic lasts longer and requires less maintenance.

During rehearsal, the crew becomes familiar enough with the props that they can see which ones might be in danger of damage over the course of the run. Prudently, extra props are built, and the stage props manager can easily swap a broken prop out between shows.

In A Christmas Carol, the props help tell the story, and they are then packed up and stored back in the warehouse, biding their time until next year’s encore.

Meet the Cast of “A Christmas Carol”: Nicholas Pelczar

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Meet Nicholas Pelczar, who plays Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol.

Nicholas Pelczar
A Christmas Carol continues through December 24.
Learn more about the production and order tickets.

How many times have you been in A Christmas Carol?
This is my third time in Carol. I’ve played Bob Cratchit once before and when I was an M.F.A. Program student here I played Fred.

What's your favorite thing about San Francisco during the holidays?
This is a little hokey, but I really love the puppies in the windows at Macy’s—is there anything cuter?

What is your favorite Christmas carol?
It’s gotta be “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”—I sang a choral version of it in a show once and it was such a pleasure to get to that part of the show every night.

What are your favorite holiday traditions?
They really center around food—we celebrate our Polish heritage in my family by having pierogies and potato soup on Christmas Eve. Then we have an amazing brunch the next morning after opening presents. Finally, for Christmas Day dinner we have a fairly traditional English pot roast to celebrate our family’s other heritage.

What is the best gift you've ever given or received?
I once got a dancing kung-fu hamster doll. It’s pretty spectacular.

What is your favorite moment in A Christmas Carol?
I love watching when Scrooge encounters the Charitables on the street on Christmas Day—they are so surprised!

Who is your favorite character in A Christmas Carol?
I love Mrs. Dilber—she’s hilarious!

What do you want for the holidays this year?
I’d be happy with anything this year.

Related Posts

Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Omozé Idehenre

Monday, December 17, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Evelyn Ongpin

Monday, December 12, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Raymond Castelán

Monday, December 10, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Ken Ruta

Saturday, December 8, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Seth Weinfield

Thursday, December 6, 2012
Meet the Cast of "A Christmas Carol": Carmen Steele

“If You Do the Work, You Will Get Better”: An Interview with Studio A.C.T. Director Andrew Hurteau

noreply@blogger.com (American Conservatory Theater) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:22:00 +0000

Posted by Alanna Coby, A.C.T. Conservatory Associate

Andrew Hurteau teaching in Studio A.C.T.
Studio A.C.T. Winter Session runs January 14–March 30, 2013.
Register now!

Andrew Hurteau has taught acting in Studio A.C.T.—which offers top-tier actor training to adults of all levels—since 1994, and has served as director of the program since December 2007. Over the course of his time teaching in Studio A.C.T., more than 2,600 students have passed through Hurteau’s acting classes.

Hurteau graduated from A.C.T.’s Advanced Training Program (now the Master of Fine Arts Program) in 1993. I had the distinct pleasure of working with him as a student in his ACT IV class before joining the A.C.T. Conservatory as a conservatory associate in January 2012. We sat down to discuss Hurteau’s thoughts on the art of actor training, what he looks for in his Studio A.C.T. instructors, and the difference between performing and acting.

Andrew Hurteau (right) with Gregory Wallace in A.C.T.’s 2008 production of The Government Inspector.

As an actor, how does your experience and training influence and inform your teaching?
When I was in grad school here at A.C.T., I realized that out of the 32 people in my ATP [Advanced Training Program] class I was maybe 14th in the class in terms of natural talent—on a good day. There were a lot of people who graduated with me who were way more gifted than I was. I watched them work and I learned from them while I learned from my instructors.

I had to make conscious choices to improve my work in ways that more talented actors do naturally and maybe don’t think about all that much. I had to be very conscious about my process. Actors who are good teachers are able to understand and articulate their process to their students. I was very conscious of the things I had to do to get better as an actor, and the thing is, if you know what you need to do in order to improve your own process and your skill set, you stand a better chance of being able to communicate that process to someone else.

How do you work with students to develop their gifts?
I believe that talent is not only the ability to do something well without thinking about it—it’s the ability to embrace and incorporate instruction. It’s about how quickly you learn and improve. The bad news is that you can’t teach talent. The good news is that actual improvement has less to do with talent and more to do with work ethic. I’ve taught many hundreds of students, and I’ve never had a student with no talent. Some have more talent than others, and some get better faster than others, but the ones who get better are the ones who work at it, regardless of their gift. As a teacher, I’ll take a talent deficit over a motivation deficit any day—if you do the work, you will get better. I believe I teach an approach to acting that brings students closer to the humanity of the characters they play, to both truth and drama in storytelling. You can learn that process regardless of how much talent you were born with. And talented actors who work hard? That’s teacher nirvana.

What kind of students are best served by Studio A.C.T.?
Studio A.C.T. exists for people who need acting to be part of their lives. We train professionals who are looking to deepen their commitment to and understanding of the acting process. We train true “amateurs,” who act “for the love of it”—Studio A.C.T. is perfect for students who work an eight-hour day and then want to rehearse a play. And we teach the intensely curious: those who want to know what actors do and how they do it.

What do you look for in Studio A.C.T. teachers?
I choose good actors who’ve come to teaching as an artistic choice: actors who like to teach, and who are good at it. Acting has a certain kind of jazz to it, an adrenaline rush—teaching has a similar rush to it, but it’s different. When you’re onstage, you get that rush from the people you’re working with, and from the audience. As a teacher, you get that rush from your students’ work, from watching and guiding them, from helping them get better—I choose teachers who thrive on the moment when they see true understanding in their students’ eyes.

What do you hope Studio A.C.T. offers to the theater community of San Francisco?
Studio A.C.T. is about exploration without judgment. The images I use to describe Studio A.C.T. range from “actor gymnasium” to “playground” to “romper room.” We’re part laboratory and part bouncy house. We work and play for the sake of working and playing—actors and those interested in acting take risks, fail, succeed, explore, and expand their craft without the pressure of opening night. And then there are classes in which we offer the pressure of opening night, because it’s part of the learning process. For students who are new to acting, we expose them to acting in a way that isn’t about watching: it’s about doing. The list of people who’ve passed through Studio A.C.T is a list of thousands of people who’ve left better actors than when they entered, and better performers in whatever they’ve chosen to do with their lives.

What’s the difference between acting and performing?
Performing is about an actor’s relationship to an audience. Acting is about an actor’s relationship to the other people in the story. Until they learn differently, many actors believe their primary responsibility is to the audience, to show the audience what they think they need to see. But the audience didn’t come to watch actors: they came to watch a story. An actor’s primary responsibility should be the relationships, interactions, and conflicts between characters that make up the story. An acting class is very much about shifting an actor’s focus away from what they’re showing an audience to what’s happening between them and the other characters in the play.

How do you teach that?
We train actors to be dramatic storytellers, to behave the way people actually behave on the best day of their life or the worst day of their life, the day they get everything they’ve ever wanted or the day their dreams are shattered. We train people to use language to change people, to move and provoke the other characters in the play. And we train actors to make every play, scene, and moment personal, to make it mean something to them. If you put characters onstage who can’t survive without each other, have to have each other, or hate each other beyond comprehension, then you have a story to tell. Then you’re ready to perform.

Studio A.C.T. Winter Session runs January 14–March 30, 2013. Register now!