THE WIDOW CLAIRE & COURTSHIP Introduce the M.F.A. Program Class of 2013

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program and Young Conservatory (YC) present Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winner Horton Foote's The Widow Claire and Courtship, two one-act plays from his beloved nine-play epic, The Orphans' Home Cycle. Directed by Young Conservatory Director Craig Slaight, a longtime friend and collaborator of the late playwright, the plays follow good-natured Horace Robedaux as he vies for the love of two very different women while moving into the uncertain world of adulthood. Capturing the melancholy heartache of young love in small-town America, the production serves as a tribute to the work and legacy of the acclaimed writer, who passed away in 2009. As part of a continuing project funded by The James Irvine Foundation, members of the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program class of 2013 are receiving training in theater administration and have taken part in the marketing outreach for these pieces, including the creation of this press release. Along with M.F.A. Program students, the production features actors from the YC and Studio A.C.T. The Widow Claire and Courtship run April 21-30, 2011, in Hastings Studio Theater (77 Geary Street, 6th Floor, San Francisco). Tickets ($10) and are available at www.act-sf.org or by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.439.2228.

An Academy Award winner and a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Foote is considered to be one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Slaight, who commissioned Foote's final play, The Actor, for the YC, sees this production as a personal tribute to a writer he considered a "theatrical grandfather." The Widow Claire and Courtship, pulled from the center of Foote's monumental saga, The Orphans' Home Cycle, are a perfect fit for the actors in the M.F.A. Program, because "the characters' lives are poised at the edge, pushing for the next unknown step," says Slaight. "Throughout the cycle, as in all of Foote's plays, the constant urge for place, for purpose, flows-turning, restless, and dramatic-like a river." A.C.T. Conservatory Director Melissa Smith adds: "Craig and I chose this production with an eye to the first-year focus on realism. This spring the students will work on Chekhovian text at the same time they are working on this production, and I am not alone in thinking of Horton Foote as an 'American Chekhov.' Like Chekhov's work, Foote's writing asks the actor for subtlety, delicacy, guts, and heart-you must be authentic for the material to succeed."

Slaight also speaks to the multigenerational casting for the production: "Since Foote is also a master at spanning generations, these plays are a perfect choice for blending populations from the A.C.T. training community. We are featuring two young actors from the YC and two older adults from Studio A.C.T. alongside our first-year M.F.A. Program class. Although the focus of both plays is decidedly on the characters in their mid 20s, the supporting roles of both older and younger characters (played by actors who are the proper ages) make the mix more exciting for all involved." A significant aspect of the training of A.C.T. M.F.A. Program students includes being mentored by professional actors while, in turn, mentoring the young actors of the YC through various productions (including A Christmas Carol on the A.C.T. mainstage). The anticipation of this collaboration fuels the desire to learn for the class of 2013. Tyee J. Tilghman, member of the first-year class, says: "Having the opportunity to work with artists in different stages of their process is an invaluable part of our training as actors. There is no telling what new things will be passed along in both directions as we dive into this process with the YC."

The class of 2013 is the second group of M.F.A. Program students to benefit from the grant awarded by The James Irvine Foundation. One of the many goals of the Irvine Grant is to equip the students with business skills that enable them to produce and market their own work while expanding the audience base of their peers for conservatory productions. This production serves as the first public performance for the class of 2013 and, as such, is an ideal vehicle through which to hone and implement marketing techniques learned in the classroom. Nicholas Steen, member of the class of 2013, says: "To have the ability to take a crack at marketing our own work is truly wonderful and unique. That's what our training is all about-taking leaps in a safe and supportive community."

Members of all three arms of the A.C.T. Conservatory make up the casts of The Widow Claire and Courtship, including M.F.A. Program students Victoria Barabas, Rebekah Brockman, Raymond Castelán, Allegra Edwards, Ethan Frank, Nicholas Steen, Tyee J. Tilghman, and Titus Tompkins. Joining them are YC students Matthew Avery and Penny Devlin and Studio A.C.T. students Sarah Hauter and Alice Lehmann.

Ranked as one of the top programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program was the first theater training program in the country not affiliated with a college or university accredited to award the master of fine arts degree. The M.F.A. Program functions as the cornerstone of the A.C.T. Conservatory, which also includes the Summer Training Congress, Studio A.C.T., and the Young Conservatory. The third and final year of the program is designed to give students the opportunity to focus primarily on performing for a public audience. Past M.F.A. Program third-year productions have included works by Christopher Durang, Charles Busch, Marc Blitzstein, Georg Büchner, Caryl Churchill, George Farquhar, Henrik Ibsen, Robert O'Hara, Harold Pinter, William Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and Bertolt Brecht. Visit act-sf.org/mfa for applications and information.

The A.C.T. Young Conservatory offers a broad range of theater training for young people ages 8 to 19. The ten sessions and eight public productions offered throughout the year are designed to develop talent and creativity, as well as communication and cooperation skills, for young people with all levels of theater background. Working professional actors and directors lead students in a wide spectrum of classes, including acting, directing, voice and speech, musical theater, auditioning, and improvisation. The spring session runs March 21-May 14. Call 415.439.2444 or visit act-sf.org/yc for applications and information.

Studio A.C.T. is American Conservatory Theater's training program for adults and professional actors and features exciting, rewarding classes for all levels-from acting, voice, and improvisation to dialect and movement workshops-all taught by some of the finest theater artists in the industry. Ten-week Studio A.C.T. classes earn college credit and are scheduled for nights and weekends to accommodate work and home commitments. The spring session runs April 4-June 18. Call 415.439.2350 or visit act-sf.org/studio for applications and information.
The Widow Claire and Courtship are made possible by generous grants from The James Irvine Foundation and The Bernard Osher Foundation. Additional support is provided by The William G. Gilmore Foundation and donors to A.C.T.'s season gala.