A.C.T. Announces Annual Season Gala

Today, American Conservatory Theater and gala co-chairs Daivd Riemer and Abby Sadin Schnair announced A.C.T.'s 2021 Season Gala, a hybrid socially-distanced in-person and virtual fundraising event being held on Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. Proceeds from the one-night-only event will support A.C.T.'s diverse and far-reaching artistic, artist-training, and education and community programs, reaching almost 200,000 Bay Area-based recipients each year. Individual tickets range in price from $1,500 to $5,000. Junior ticket packages range in price from $250 to $500. Private hosting tickets for 10 guests range in price from $10,000 to $25,000. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit bit.ly/ACT2021Gala or contact A.C.T. Development Associate Derek Collard at dcollard@act-sf.org.

"A.C.T.'s theater spaces may have been shuttered during the pandemic, but throughout the past year, our staff, teachers, and artists-all working out of their living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens-have continued the important work of A.C.T. by providing actor-training to passionate young people, supporting artists who have been hit hard by the pandemic, and continuing to engage our audience in unique and creative ways," said gala co-chair David Riemer. "The spring gala is the one event this year to raise the necessary supplemental funds to support this essential work in our community."

The evening kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with cocktail receptions for small groups of guests in private homes across the San Francisco Bay Area. All ticket holders, whether they are guests in private homes or alone in their own residences, will then be treated to an artfully curated meal from McCalls Catering delivered directly to them. At 7:30 p.m., guests will participate in a pre-show "red carpet" via Zoom, featuring exclusive programming, followed by the world premiere of Obie Award-winning San Francisco playwright Christopher Chen's interactive play, Communion, directed by Tony Award winner and A.C.T. Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon, starring Bay Area favorite Stacy Ross, and brought to them live over Zoom. In this written-just-for-A.C.T. event, guests will have a rare opportunity to see and be seen, to listen and to share, to engage, and to commune...if the host can be trusted. Communion will perform a limited engagement beginning Friday, May 28 and running through June 27, 2021. Additional information-including general public on-sale date-will be announced in the coming days.

"A.C.T.'s gala this spring promises to be the most creative and unusual gala yet to be presented," said gala co-chair Abby Sadin Schnair. "The combination of an in-person/virtual evening, coupled with the world premiere of a new play by Christopher Chen, is just what our community needs as we start to come out of our pandemic fog. The funds raised are so necessary to help keep the performing arts going in San Francisco."

"We give thanks to our donors, subscribers, and patrons who have generously given their time and financial support to A.C.T as we continue to navigate through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic," said A.C.T. Executive Director Jennifer Bielstein. "We look forward to gathering virtually to celebrate the milestones A.C.T. has achieved over the past year, and eagerly anticipate the day in the near future when we can gather in-person to share in a collective experience together."

"I'm looking forward to celebrating all that A.C.T. does," said A.C.T. Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon. "The gala is a chance to gather and reflect on the wild and creative year that has been and where we want to go. Premiering Communion by playwright Christopher Chen and starring Stacy Ross that night is truly thrilling for me."

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