A.C.T.'s Master of Fine Arts Program to Sets 2017-18 Show Lineup

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Conservatory Director Melissa Smith announced today the 2017-18 production lineup and schedule for the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program. Tickets for all performances are available online at www.act-sf.org/mfashows or by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228.

"We have created an exciting and eclectic season of plays for the M.F.A. Program that we hope will not only challenge the actors in the program, but also audience members from around the Bay Area," says Smith. "Whether they are performing or watching their peers perform, the students will experience a variety of genres and styles-from canon classics such as the Jacobean revenge drama The Changeling to the world premiere of Malicious Animal Magnetism, set in 1970s Oakland in the wake of the Civil Rights movement. At A.C.T., we expose our actors to a wide range of material to expand their knowledge and increase their versatility and to encourage them to develop their own aesthetics. We look forward to sharing these productions with audiences throughout the San Francisco Bay Area!"

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2017-18 PRODUCTION LINEUP:

Kurt & Bert
A Musical Revue
Directed by Giles Havergal
September 20-23, 2017
The Garret at The Geary Theater
An evening of musical numbers influenced by the revolutionary collaboration of two of twentieth-century Germany's greatest artists, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht.

Clickshare
by Lucas Kavner
Directed by Stephen Brackett
September 28-30, 2017
The Rembe at The Strand Theater
At a news website where any given story can go viral, competition among a team of twentysomethings is ferocious. In an electronic world of clickbait and fake news that unfolds at ever-increasing rates, one great article can make your career. But what happens when the story is too big to handle and the content is literally viral? A viciously funny satire of the internet age.
Clickshare is made possible by the generous support of our co-producer Mozilla.

Now. Here. Us.
A Musical Revue
Directed by Milissa Carey
October 19-21, 2017
The Garret at The Geary Theater
An intimate evening of personal journeys, moments, and truths told through song.

The Changeling
by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley
Directed by Nancy Benjamin
November 16-18, 2017
The Rueff at The Strand Theater
A Jacobean tragedy of passion and betrayal, devotion and deceit. Romanced by three different men, aristocratic Beatrice-Joanna devises a risky plan to get the man she desires-murder. Meanwhile, Albius, chief of a mental asylum, locks up his younger wife Isabella in one of his own cells to prevent her from cheating. But can her cell withstand the determination of two disguised suitors who will stop at nothing to court the confined beauty.

Malicious Animal Magnetism
Written by Jeremy Cohen and Dipika Guha
Directed by Jeremy Cohen
February 22-March 3, 2018
The Rueff at The Strand Theater
San Francisco, 1973. Amid a crowd of men in suits and a psychiatrist in a Nixon mask, ten-year-old Peter witnesses a landmark moment in gay rights and reaches out to grab the hand of Oakland boy Deshawn. Specially commissioned by A.C.T. and Z Space for the M.F.A. Program class of 2018, this is an epic story about love, queerness, and what we can't help looking at.

Fuenteovejuna
by Lope De Vega
Directed by Domenique Lozano
May 9-12, 2018
The Rueff at The Strand Theater
Resistance. Dishonor. Torture. Power. The citizens of Fuenteovejuna are fed up. Their commander is raping their women, and murdering anyone who stands in his way. In a small town caught between two armies, who can the citizens turn to except each other? An exploration of honor, morality, and leadership from Renaissance Spain's most beloved playwright.

The Bacchae
by Euripides
Directed by Stephen Buescher
May 9-12, 2018
The Costume Shop Theater
Don't cross a Greek god, especially Dionysus. He might just whip the women of Thebes into a frenzy to seek his revenge. Pitting reason against desire and filled with duplicity and slander, this is a tragedy of Greek proportions from one of western theater's greatest playwrights.

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Ranked as one of the top programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the Master of Fine Arts Program is the only theater training program in the country accredited to award the master of fine arts degree, yet is not affiliated with a college or university. The essence of A.C.T.'s actor training lies in the interplay between the professional company and the Conservatory. Student actors at A.C.T. perform frequently within the program in Studio Productions, as well as in cabaret and Shakespeare productions that tour throughout the larger Bay Area. Third-year M.F.A. Program student actors perform in A.C.T.'s mainstage production of A Christmas Carol and also audition for roles in A.C.T. mainstage productions. In recent years, students have played roles in The Hard Problem, The Unfortunates, Ah, Wilderness!, Love and Information, and A Little Night Music, as well as performing in new and commissioned works.

Many alumni of the program go on to distinguished careers in theater and film and include such celebrated actors as Elizabeth Banks, Annette Bening, Christopher Fitzgerald, Danny Glover, Anna Deavere Smith, and Denzel Washington.

A.C.T. provides a wealth of talented actors for productions across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond: graduates of the M.F.A. Program have taken on leading roles in productions at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, San Jose Stage, and Shakespeare Santa Cruz, among others.

The M.F.A. Program functions as the cornerstone of the A.C.T. Conservatory, which also includes the Summer Training Congress, Studio A.C.T., the Young Conservatory, and the San Francisco Semester, and trains more than 3,000 students annually. For more information, visit act-sf.org/conservatory.