A.C.T. and SFSFF Host Silent Film Fridays for ONCE IN A LIFETIME

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) will partner with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) to present screenings of short silent films before select Friday night performances of its season opener, Once in a Lifetime, the madcap Kaufman and Hart comedy about how the movies learned to talk. On September 30, October 7, and October 14, the SFSFF will host screenings of such silent short classics as Life and Death of 9413, A Hollywood Extra, and The Cameraman's Revenge, starting at 7:15 p.m. at the American Conservatory Theater before the 8 p.m. performance of Once in a Lifetime. The 30-minute screenings are free for all ticket holders. Additionally, on Friday, September 23, A.C.T. will host a conversation between A.C.T. Associate Artistic Director Mark Rucker (who directs Lifetime) and SFSFF Artistic Director and local film luminary Anita Monga following that night's performance. For more information on these events and Once in a Lifetime, please visit act-sf.org/once.

"The San Francisco Silent Film Festival has long been one of my favorite events of the entire year," said Rucker. "It's a real thrill to get a chance to partner with this organization for this show and to get a chance to have a conversation with Anita for our audience." Monga, who programmed San Francisco's famed Castro Theatre for 17 years, added: "A.C.T. has a long history of adventurous, high-caliber productions, and Mark Rucker's innovative approach to Once in a Lifetime is an ideal opportunity for us to collaborate. We are thrilled to be part of this production."
A.C.T. opens its 2011-12 season with the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart comedy Once in a Lifetime. In this "a delicious Hollywood sendup" (The New York Times), a trio of down-on-their-luck vaudevillians head west to pull off the ultimate con: posing as vocal coaches to help Hollywood stars make their speaking voices as beautiful as their glamorous mugs as silent films evolve into "talkies." This witty satire by the Broadway greats behind such comedy classics as The Man Who Came to Dinner and You Can't Take It with You will be directed by A.C.T. Associate Artistic Director Mark Rucker and will feature an enthralling ensemble cast of 15 who will take on 70 roles. This unique production will incorporate period film clips and dynamic cinematic backdrops that meld the worlds of theater and film, redefining audiences' experience with "Moving Pictures." Once in a Lifetime performs September 22-October 16, 2011, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Press night is Wednesday, September 28, 2011, at 8 p.m. Tickets (starting at $10) are available by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228 or at act-sf.org.

Anita Monga, artistic director of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, is also a member of the programming team for the Seattle International Film Festival, where she served as the original artistic director for the festival's SIFF Cinema. A founding member of the Film Noir Foundation, Monga co-curates San Francisco's Noir City Film Festival and has advised and contributed to many film festivals including Palm Springs International Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, and SF IndieFest, among others. From 1987 to 2004, she programmed San Francisco's Castro Theatre and shepherded the theater to international prominence. She is the recipient of San Francisco International Film Festival's Mel Novikoff Award and the San Francisco Film Critic's Marlon Riggs Award for courage and vision in the Bay Area film community.

Mark Rucker is associate artistic director at A.C.T. and has directed Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet, The Rainmaker, and The Beard of Avon at the American Conservatory Theater and A.C.T.'s production of Luminescence Dating at Magic Theatre. He is an associate artist at South Coast Repertory, where he has directed more than 20 productions, including world premieres by Richard Greenberg, Christopher Shinn, Annie Weisman, and Culture Clash. Other regional theater credits include work at Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, Intiman Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Ford's Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, The Acting Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Asolo Repertory Theatre. Rucker's feature film, Die, Mommie, Die!, won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

A.C.T.'s production of Once in a Lifetime is sponsored by Blue Shield of California with additional support by Hafner Vineyard, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Korbel California Champagne, and The Westin St. Francis. Once in a Lifetime is also made possible by producers Mr. and Mrs. John M. Bryan and associate producers Barbara and Jon Phillips. A.C.T. would also like to acknowledge its 2011-12 season company sponsors Ray and Dagmar Dolby, Frannie and Mort Fleishhacker, Ambassador James C. Hormel and Michael P. Nguyen, Fred M. Levin and Nancy Livingston, The Shenson Foundation, Burt and Deedee McMurtry, Patti and Rusty Rueff, Mary and Steven Swig, Doug Tilden, and Jeff and Laurie Ubben.

American Conservatory Theater is a nonprofit 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 and Executive Director Ellen Richard, A.C.T. embraces its responsibility to conserve, renew, and reinvent its relationship to the rich theatrical traditions and literatures 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. Founded in 1965, A.C.T. opened its first San Francisco season at the historic Geary Theater in 1967. More than 320 A.C.T. productions have since been performed to a combined audience of more than seven million people; today, A.C.T.'s performance, education, and outreach programs annually reach more than 230,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area. The conservatory, which serves 3,000 students annually, has moved to the forefront of America's actor training programs, while serving as the creative engine of the company at large. Today A.C.T. is recognized for its groundbreaking productions of classical works and bold explorations of contemporary playwriting.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival was founded in 1992 to give general audiences the opportunity to see silent-era films as they are meant to be seen: with archival prints on the big screen of a classic movie palace and featuring authentic live musical accompaniment. Today, the organization is an internationally recognized presenter of silent film with live music, with more than 20 "live cinema" performances each year and annual attendance over 18,000. Programming showcases the artistry, diversity, and enduring cultural value of silent-era films and the growing interest in silent-film musical accompaniment among contemporary composers and musicians. Recent notable presentations include: Fritz Lang's Metropolis (the complete restoration with footage thought lost for 80 years, featuring an original score composed and performed by Alloy Orchestra); Rotaie (a recently rediscovered early Italian film, featuring Stephen Horne on piano); Voices of Light (featuring conductor Mark Sumner, a 200-voice chorus and a 22-piece orchestra performing Richard Einhorn's oratorio inspired by [and accompanying] Carl Dreyer's legendary film, The Passion of Joan of Arc); and The Great White Silence (featuring Matti Bye Ensemble performing a score commissioned by the SFSFF and Headlands Center for the Arts and composed during an invitational composer-in-residence program). The upcoming season begins in March 2012 with one of cinema's most anticipated events: the first-ever U.S. presentation of Kevin Brownlow's complete restoration of Abel Gance's legendary epic, Napoleon, with Carl Davis conducting the Oakland East Bay Symphony in the U.S. premiere of his renowned orchestral score. The 17th San Francisco Silent Film Festival takes place July 12-15, 2012.

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