A.C.T. Launches Public Phase of Capital Campaign for The Strand Theater

With 87 percent of the capital campaign goal reached, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Executive Director Ellen Richard announced today that A.C.T. has launched the public phase of the capital campaign to build The Strand Theater, a cutting-edge expansion to A.C.T.'s theaters in San Francisco, which include The Geary Theater and The Costume Shop Theater, an intimate black-box performance space located near The Strand Theater and the latest and most ambitious addition to the booming Central Market arts scene.

The public phase opens up the opportunity to support The Strand Theater to all A.C.T. subscribers and donors, as well as the entire San Francisco Bay Area community who would like to make an impact on the arts in the Central Market neighborhood. The public phase will include a seat campaign, which allows patrons to become a permanent part of The Strand Theater by purchasing one of the brand-new seats in the theater. Names will be engraved on a metal plate and displayed on each seat. Additional naming opportunities - including purchasing one of the 126 screen tiles that will make up the 27.5' x 17.5' LED screen located in the lobby of the theater - are available.

"15 years ago, A.C.T. was one of the first arts organizations in the Central Market neighborhood when we opened the Costume Shop, a space used to build costumes for our productions," says Richard. "In 2011, we celebrated the opening of The Costume Shop Theater, an intimate, black-box performance space within the Costume Shop, used as a home for a diverse lineup of professional and A.C.T. MFA productions. We look forward to expanding our footprint in the neighborhood and sharing The Strand Theater with the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. The excitement surrounding the opening of The Strand Theater is palpable and evident from the generous contributions we have received to date. As we begin the public phase of the capital campaign, we move a step closer to helping transform the Central Market neighborhood into the go-to place for arts and live entertainment."

Says Carey Perloff, Artistic Director of A.C.T.: "My first task when I arrived at A.C.T. in 1992 was to bring the Geary back to life after the earthquake. From that time, I have longed to complement the magnificent Geary with a smaller theater that provided intimacy, flexibility and the ability to take risks on new artists, new work and new ideas. The Strand is a fulfillment of that dream. It will open up A.C.T.'s creative and community life in thrilling ways, and help stimulate an entire neighborhood. I can't wait to begin making work there!"

Adds Nancy Livingston, Chair of A.C.T.'s Board of Trustees: "This exciting new venue allows A.C.T. to engage the community in compelling new ways. We expect it to be a vibrant hub of activity, not simply during performances, but throughout the day. As the perfect complement to A.C.T.'s beautiful flagship Geary Theater, The Strand Theater will offer patrons an intimate theatrical experience. In addition, it will give A.C.T. the ability to showcase the extraordinary work of their M.F.A. and Young Conservatory students and expand the educational programs in which they play an integral part."

The $33.3 million renovation is funded by A.C.T. through the capital campaign that has raised contributions from more than 30 Bay Area individuals, corporations, and private foundations. Financing for the purchase of The Strand in early 2012 was made possible by a gift from A.C.T. Board Member Jeff Ubben and his wife Laurie Ubben. During the silent phase of the campaign, A.C.T. has raised $28.9 million in private donations-as well as from New Market Tax Credits-and is looking to raise another $4.29 million to complete its capital campaign goal. Leadership gifts of $250,000 and above, to date, include: Jeff and Laurie Ubben; Arthur Rock and Toni Rembe; the Patti and Rusty Rueff Foundation; Burt and Deedee McMurtry ; Nancy Livingston and Fred Levin; the Shenson Foundation; S.O.M. with Abby and Gene Schnair; Barbara Ravizza and John S. Osterweis; Sakana Foundation; Frannie Fleishhacker; John & Marcia Goldman Foundation; Jim C. Hormel and Michael P. Nguyen; Jeri Lynn and Jeffrey W. Johnson; Mary and Steven Swig; Barbara and Gerson Bakar; and Anne and Paul Wattis, III.

Today, New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) and Historic Tax Credit (HTC) financing is making the building's renovation financially feasible as it represents one-third of the renovation costs. NMTCs allocated by the San Francisco Community Investment Fund, Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution, and the Northern California Community Loan Fund leveraged A.C.T.'s existing funds and raised an equity commitment from U.S. Bank to provide below-market, flexible financing to the project. The HTC financing was provided by Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution.

After it opens in spring 2015, the Strand Theater at 1127 Market Street will include a 285-seat theater, a 120-seat black box theater and café. The operations of the theater will create 30 new permanent jobs. The new venue will allow A.C.T. to present new work and emerging artists, and produce theater in versatile and innovative ways. In addition, The Strand Theater will increase its capacity as an educational institution for A.C.T.'s Master of Fine Arts and Young Conservatory programs. The venue will feature mixed-use space for classrooms, rehearsals and cabaret performances. The design, led by Michael Duncan and architects from SOM, will create an inspiring civic theater by dramatically opening the lobby and façade to the street and sidewalk, activating both the building and the surrounding neighborhood. A.C.T. will restore the original 1917 façade of the building.

In spring 2015, A.C.T. will present the West Coast debut of award-winning playwright Caryl Churchill's internationally acclaimed new work, Love and Information, as the inaugural production at The Strand Theater. Churchill's astonishing new play is a brilliant exploration of the relationship between our obsession with data and our longing for meaning in a society whose attention is split between the virtual and the actual. Featuring a dozen actors portraying hundreds of characters in 50 interchangeable scenes, Churchill's "thought-churning, deeply poignant new play" (The New York Times) showcases her signature ability to reinvent structure, language, and theatricality.

Additionally, A.C.T. announced its development of two new works for production at The Strand Theater slated for the 2015-16 season: The Unfortunates, the acclaimed musical that had its first outing at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2013 and the A.C.T.-commissioned The Monstress Project, based on the acclaimed collection of short-stories detailing the Filipino-American experience from San Francisco author Lysley Tenorio.

About New Markets Tax Credits - New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) were established by Congress in 2000 to encourage the investment of private capital in designated low-income communities in order to create jobs, generate economic activity and improve the quality of services in low-income communities and to low-income persons. NMTCs attract investment capital to low-income communities by permitting individual and corporate investors to receive a 39 percent tax credit against their federal income tax return over a period of seven years in exchange for making qualified equity investments in specialized financial institutions called Community Development Entities (CDEs). In turn, CDEs provide below-market financing to transformative development projects in low-income communities across the country. For more information, visit www.cdfifund.gov.

About American Conservatory Theater - American Conservatory Theater nurtures the art of live theater through dynamic productions, intensive actor training in its conservatory, and an ongoing engagement with its community. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Carey Perloff and Executive Director Ellen Richard, A.C.T. embraces its responsibility to conserve, renew, and reinvent the rich theatrical traditions that are our collective legacy, while exploring new artistic forms and new communities. A commitment to the highest standards informs every aspect of A.C.T.'s creative work. For more information about A.C.T., go to www.act-sf.org.

About Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP - SOM is one of the leading architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban-planning firms in the world, with a 75-year reputation for design excellence and a portfolio that includes some of the most important architectural accomplishments of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since its inception, SOM has been a longstanding and award-winning leader in the research and development of specialized technologies and innovative ideas. The American Institute of Architects has recognized SOM twice with its highest honor, the Architecture Firm Award-in 1962 and again in 1996. The firm maintains offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Abu Dabi.

Photo Credit: Denys Baker