A.C.T. Presents New Strands Festival This Weekend

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.)'s Director of New Works, Beatrice Basso, announced the complete lineup for A.C.T.'s first-ever New Strands Festival at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater (1127 Market Street, San Francisco) running this weekend, January 21-24, 2016.

Featuring new theatrical pieces, works in progress, readings, and experimental work by playwrights, dance companies, musicians, animation artists, and more, the New Strands Festival is devoted to supporting local, national, and international artists in the creation and completion of original theater.

This four-day festival enables artists to connect and communities to experience theatrical projects as they take shape, all under one roof at A.C.T.'s new performance venue The Strand Theater. Performances at the New Strands Festival are free and open to the public. Reservations are strongly encouraged and are available now at www.act-sf.org/newstrands.

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The lineup for the New Strands Festival is as follows:

How to Catch Creation*
by Christina Anderson
Directed by Daniella Topol

An exploratory reading of a new commission by playwright Christina Anderson, investigating the desire for fatherhood in an ex-con shackled by his past.

January 21 at 7:30 p.m.
January 24 at 4 p.m.

The Rueff

Late-Night DJ After-Party with DJ Lady Ryan

Bay Area DJs rock The Strand's lobby

January 21 at 9 p.m.

Strand Theater Lobby

Open Class with Joanna Haigood,
Artistic Director of Zaccho Dance Theatre

Participants explore the relationship of movement to site. Any shape, age, and level welcome. Max 25 participants.

January 22 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

The Rueff

A Conversation with the New Strands Artists

A dialogue about creative process with the artists in this festival.

January 22 from 1-2 p.m.

Strand Theater Lobby

Fatherville*
Conceived by Carey Perloff, Sheldon Smith, and Stephen Buescher, with performers Peter Anderson, Stephen Buescher, Bruce Turk, Basil Twist, Gregory Wallace, and sound designer Darron L. West

An open rehearsal of the devised work in progress Fatherville, land of lost fathers, wishful sons, shooting gallery machismo, and funfair parenting.

January 22 at 5 p.m.

The Rueff

Yerma*
by Federico García Lorca
Adapted by Melinda Lopez
Directed by Melia Bensussen

A contemporary retelling by Melinda Lopez of Federico García Lorca's masterpiece about a woman's obsessive need to create a new life.

January 22 at 7:30 p.m.

The Rueff

Late-Night DJ After-Party with DJ Decibel

Bay Area DJs rock The Strand's lobby

January 22 at 9 p.m.

Stand Theater Lobby

Turbulence Lab Space (Open Class)
Based on the piece Turbulence (a dance about the economy)
Instigated by Keith Hennessy of Circo Zero with Larry Arrington, Hana Erdman, Jesse Hewit, Empress Jupiter, Emily Leap, and Julie Phelps. In collaboration with CounterPulse

A collaborative process of shared dancing and performance research about (systems of) money and power and value. Any shape, age, and level welcome. Max 25 participants.

January 23 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

The Rueff

A Thousand Splendid Suns Q&A with Music Excerpts*
with author Khaled Hosseini and composer David Coulter

Excerpts from the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, accompanied by contemporary music by composer David Coulter, and followed by a Q&A with author Khaled Hosseini. The novel is being adapted for A.C.T. by Ursula Rani Sarma.

January 23 at 4 p.m.

The Rembe Theater

Contemporary Music Experiments*
with Byron Au Yong, Dohee Lee, and Luciano Chessa

As Byron Au Yong creates Port City, a new musical commissioned by A.C.T., he and Dohee Lee experiment with paint, paper, fingerprints, and buckets of water. Composer Luciano Chessa acts as ringmaster on the bullhorn. Port City will be developed in collaboration with playwright Chris Chen and animation artist Miwa Matreyek.

January 23 at 6 p.m.

The Rueff

How The World Made Itself
Created and performed by Miwa Matreyek

A multimedia live performance combining projected animation and the artist's own shadow silhouette; a magical journey through the history of the earth.
Family-friendly performance.

January 23 at 7:30 p.m.
January 24 at 12 p.m.

The Rembe Theater

Late Night After-Party
Hosted by the creators of The Unfortunates

January 23 at 8:30 p.m.

Strand Theater Lobby

promiscuous/cities*
by Lachlan Philpott
Performed by A.C.T.'s Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2017

Australian playwright Lachlan Philpott and the M.F.A. class of 2017 interweave a real and mythological San Francisco, looking at loss and connection in the city.

January 24 at 2 p.m.

The Rueff

Banda Sin Nombre concert

World Folk music by a five-piece street band from San Francisco's Mission District, inspired by Catalan rumba, Appalachian old time, and cumbia.

January 24 at 6 p.m.

Strand Theater Lobby

*denotes A.C.T. commission

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New Strands is A.C.T.'s newly expanded commissioning and development program, devoted to supporting artists in the creation and completion of original theater for A.C.T.'s multiple performance venues. Year-round, A.C.T. offers artists and companies under commission mentorship, feedback, acting talent, time, and space to work in ways that suit each project specifically, with the goal of seeing their creations on one of A.C.T.'s stages and beyond. From translations and adaptations to original work, A.C.T.'s commissions include interdisciplinary projects, San Francisco-inspired stories, and pieces that have an international scope.

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