American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced today the lineup of productions and cabaret performances for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, featuring students from A.C.T.'s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program and Young Conservatory (YC). Single tickets for all productions and cabaret performances are on sale now by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228 or online at act-sf.org/csvshows. Ticket prices are subject to change without notice.
Passage
February 20-March 1, 2020
by Christopher Chen
Directed by Victor Malana Maog
The Rueff at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater (1127 Market St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $20; Ages 35 and under: $10
When it comes to patriotism, neutrality isn't an option. You're either for Country X or Country Y. Pick a side. Journey into the heart of the xenophobic rhetoric and immigration debate that dominate our newsfeeds. Drawing from E. M. Forster's A Passage to India, Obie Award-winning local playwright
Christopher Chen explores biases, blurred lines, and bigotry-issues affecting communities right here in the Bay Area and across the world-and asks if real relationships can exist in such an imbalanced environment.
Miscast
March 5-8, 2020; April 3-4, 2020
Directed by Kimberly Braun, Jill MacLean, and Ken Savage
High School Cabaret vocal direction by Krista Wigle
Accompanied by Joel Chapman and Thaddeus Pinkston
The Garret at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $20; Youth tickets (under 21): $10
Join us as we have a blast singing songs from roles in which we would never get cast! Age, gender, character type-it's all up for grabs as our YC Cabaret Program ensembles take the stage and break the rules.
Anon(ymous)
April 15-18, 2020
By Naomi Iizuka
Directed by Bob Shryock
The Rueff at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater (1127 Market St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $20; Youth tickets (under 21): $10
Begin in the middle. On the border. On the crossing. Begin in the place in between. In this adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, newly arrived refugee Anon fights to hold onto his identity in the vast melting pot of contemporary America. As he journeys across the country in search of his mother, he confronts today's gods and monsters: exploitative businessmen, clueless government officials, and fellow refugees clamoring to not be forgotten.
Naomi Iizuka's Anon(ymous) is a poetic tale of borders and biases.
Singer's Choice
April 30-May 3, 2020
Directed by Kimberly Braun, Jill MacLean, and Ken Savage
High School Cabaret vocal direction by Krista Wigle
Accompanied by Thaddeus Pinkston
The Garret at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $20; Youth tickets (under 21): $10
In this A.C.T. Young Conservatory Cabaret Program performance, students bring to the stage songs of their own choosing, from a variety of musical genres. We look forward to this special night that celebrates the enormous talent and uniqueness of our YC Cabaret Program high school performers.
Get Real(ism): Exploring Chekhov
April 4, 2020
Devised and performed by YC Spring 2020 High School Actors Ensemble
Directed by Domenique Lozano
The Garret at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $20; Youth tickets (under 21): $10
What's so "real" about Chekhov? He's been called a saint, a sinner; a writer of true drama, and one of real comedy. Come see the rising stars of A.C.T.'s YC High School Actors Ensemble, as they present an original devised piece, and explore a slice of human life through through the lens of one the most influential writers since Shakespeare.
The Glass Menagerie Project
April 5, 2020
by Tennessee Williams
Adapted and performed by YC Spring 2020 Middle School Actors Ensemble
Directed by Andy Alabran
The Garret at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $20; Youth tickets (under 21): $10
A.C.T.'s Young Conservatory announces its inaugural Actors Ensemble for Middle School students with an examination of the work of
Tennessee Williams, which will culminate in an adapted performance of The Glass Menagerie. As the text follows the trials and tribulations of the Wingfield family and a matriarch who desperately tries to carve out a future for her children, this cast of young artists will explore conflict between personal dreams and familial duties, made more resonant by their own lives offstage, as future theater- and change-makers in the world.
Rough Magic
May 6-10, 2020
by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Directed by M. Graham Smith
The Rueff at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater (1127 Market St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $20; Ages 35 and under: $10
Melanie can bring fictional characters to life. When she comes home to her apartment to find the monstrous (though hunky) Caliban from Shakespeare's The Tempest, fantasy bleeds into reality. With the help of a lifeguard and a Fury from Greek tragedies, Melanie must embrace her power before evil magician Prospero destroys the world. Shakespeare meets superheroes in this whirlwind action comedy from
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, chief creative officer of Archie Comics and the mastermind behind CW's Riverdale and Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
The Moors
May 7-10, 2020
by Jen Silverman
Directed by Paige Rogers
A.C.T.'s Costume Shop Theater (1117 Market St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $20; Ages 35 and under: $10
The English moors are bleak-a fertile ground for the stewing desires of two sisters longing
for power, visibility, and love. When a guileless governess arrives at their estate, hidden desires come to light. In this Gothic dark comedy, the characters grapple with love, jealousy, and control-and those standing in the way of desire succumb to the ruthless landscape of the moors.
Jen Silverman subverts Brontë-style Victoriana with a wickedly comic queer twist.
In Love and Warcraft
May 7-10, 2020
by Madhuri Shekar
Directed by Peter J. Kuo
A.C.T.'s Costume Shop Theater (1117 Market St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $20; Youth tickets (ages 35 and under): $10
College senior Evie prefers the online role-playing game World of Warcraft to real life. In the game, she's a fearless warrior with a boyfriend. In real life, she ghostwrites love letters for people, even though she's never been in love. When Evie becomes attracted to her client Raul, she must decide whether or not to let her powerful and sexy warrior character out in the real world. Playwright Madhuri Shekar (House of Joy, HBO's upcoming The Nevers) conjures a cosplay-loving romantic comedy about intimacy and love in the digital age.
Best of the Best
June 1, 2020
Directed by Kimberly Braun, Jill MacLean, and Ken Savage
High School Cabaret vocal direction by Krista Wigle
Accompanied by Thaddeus Pinkston
A.C.T.'s Strand Theater (1127 Market St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $15-35; Youth tickets (under 21): $10-$25
Back by popular demand, our one-night-only musical extravaganza features all four ensembles in our YC cabaret program on the Strand Theater stage to highlight the best numbers from our 2019-20 season. Come share in the joy as over 40 talented middle school and high school performers combine their talents, hard work, and artistry to show you what they've accomplished this year.
The Code
August 6-15, 2020
Music, lyrics, and book by The Kilbanes
Directed by Jessica Holt
A.C.T.'s Strand Theater (1127 Market St., San Francisco)
Tickets starting at $15-35; Youth tickets (under 21): $10-$25
Libraries, they're full of secrets. All seven members of Valhalla Academy's Senior Seminar are sequestered in the library, waiting to discover which one of them stole the final exam and must face expulsion. When they find a secret stash of school memorabilia, mysteries emerge and history comes alive as the past and present intertwine. Commissioned for A.C.T.'s Young Conservatory, this new pop-rock musical by The Kilbanes (Weightless) makes its world premiere at the Strand.
