Get all the top news & discounts for San Francisco & beyond.
American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) and Event Chairs Holly and Chris Hollenbeck announced today that Spooked at The Strand, A.C.T.'s Halloween costume party held on Monday, October 26, raised more than $130,000 for A.C.T.'s actor training program. The bewitching soirée featured special cabaret performances by A.C.T. M.F.A. Program actors, as well as an after-party including cocktails, a dessert bar, and dancing, with music by DJ Flaxo.
"We are touched and thrilled by the enthusiasm of our donors, who helped us raise the funds needed to support A.C.T.'s acclaimed actor training program," say Holly and Chris Hollenbeck. "Because of their generosity-and the dedication of the talented M.F.A. Program student performers-A.C.T.'s Conservatory remains in the forefront of arts education programs in the country!"
The presenting sponsor for Spooked at The Strand was City National Bank. Additional sponsors included Acorn Winery, Airbnb, Aveda, Bespoke Collection - Blackbird Vineyards, Blueprint Studios, Bright Antenna Records, Campari, CC Made, Chai Bar, Christopher Elbow Chocolates, Coupar Consulting, DZINE, Grace Street Catering, Holzmueller Productions, Icelandic Glacial, Kiehl's, Lush, Makers Market, Make Up For Ever, Meyer Sound, Moleskine, Origins, Palmeri Vineyard, Peet's Coffee & Tea, San Francisco Giants, Sephora, Silverado Resort and Spa, and Vera Bradley.
The host committee for Spooked at The Strand included Shirley and Steve Cookston, Daisy and Kerry Damskey, Carlotta and Bob Dathe, Linda Jo Fitz, Austin Forbord, Eve Forbord, Arnie and Shelly Glassberg, Michelle and Jodi Goodman, Prerna Gupta and Parag Chordia, Nancy and Kirke Hasson, Holly and Chris Hollenbeck, Luba Kipnis and David Russel, Melanni and Paul Leary, Nancy Livingston and Fred M. Levin, Toni and Don Miller, Julie and Joseph Ratner, Laura Rockwell and Ed Leon, Patti and Rusty Rueff, Abby and Gene Schnair, Tiffanie DeBartolo and Scott Schumaker, Anne and Michelle Shonk, Tasha and Jeff Snow, Patrick S. Thompson, Adriana and Aaron Vermut, and Jeannie Yang.
American Conservatory Theater is a Tony Award-winning theater and educational institution dedicated to nurturing 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, A.C.T. embraces its responsibility to conserve, renew, and reinvent our relationship to the rich theatrical traditions and literatures that are our collective legacy, while exploring new artistic forms and communities. A commitment to the highest standards informs every aspect of A.C.T.'s creative work. The company opened its first San Francisco season in 1967. Since then, A.C.T. has performed more than 350 productions to a combined audience of more than seven million people and reaches more than 250,000 people through its productions and programs every year.
The A.C.T. Conservatory serves 3,000 students each year through its acclaimed actor training programs and represents an integral part of A.C.T.'s mission. Ranked as one of the top programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program functions as the cornerstone of the A.C.T. Conservatory, which also includes the Young Conservatory, the Summer Training Congress, Studio A.C.T., San Francisco Semester, and the brand new American Musical Theater Conservatory. Elizabeth Banks, Benjamin Bratt, Annette Bening, Darren Criss, Danny Glover, Elizabeth McGovern, Anika Noni Rose, and Denzel Washington are among A.C.T.'s distinguished former students. With its commitment to artistic excellence and to the relationship between training, performance, and audience, the A.C.T. Conservatory has moved to the forefront of America's actor training programs, while serving as the creative engine of the company at large. For more information, please visit act-sf.org/conservatory.
Each year A.C.T.'s multifaceted Education & Community Programs provide more than 12,000 students from the San Francisco Bay Area, many from low-income households, with access to live theatrical experiences through low- to no-cost Student Matinee (SMAT) performances of mainstage and M.F.A. Program productions, Will on Wheels touring productions of Shakespeare classics, stimulating in-depth study guides developed for the classroom, and customized workshops led by master teaching artists. The ACTsmart Partnership Program offers free student matinee tickets and theater-based pre- and postshow workshops at no cost to more than 40 public schools (including all San Francisco public high schools) and community-based organizations (CBOs) in the Bay Area serving low-income students who otherwise would have little exposure to the arts. A.C.T. has established year-long intensive residencies in three San Francisco continuation schools serving high percentages of socioeconomically disadvantaged youth (SDY) who have not experienced success in traditional comprehensive public schools: Downtown High School (76.4% SDY), Ida B. Wells High School (81.1% SDY), and Hilltop Special Services Center for pregnant and parenting teens (88.3% SDY). A.C.T. also has residencies at Bessie Carmichael Elementary School (85.2% SDY), the Tenderloin Boys & Girls Club, and Access SFUSD: The Arc (serving developmentally disabled transition-age youth and adults). More than 50 percent of all students attending schools participating in the ACTsmart Partnership Program receive free or reduced-cost lunches. In 2014, A.C.T. launched Stage Coach, a new community-based, participatory theater program aimed at engaging San Franciscans in sharing undertold stories by supporting multigenerational audiences in the creation of theater Programming, including stand-alone theatrical experiences at street fairs and festivals throughout the city, as well as ongoing residencies with partners in three San Francisco neighborhoods: Central Market/Tenderloin, Bayview-Hunters Point, and Mission/Excelsior. These partnerships allow us to re-center the stories and experiences of marginalized communities and provide multiple entry points into creative participation and expression at all ages. Over the past year, Stage Coach has reached more than 47,000 people. For more information, visit act-sf.org/education.
