American Conservatory Theater’s Education and Community Programs to Present TIMON OF ATHENS

American Conservatory Theater’s Education and Community Programs will present performances of Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare, presented in a modern verse translation by Kenneth Cavander and directed by A.C.T. Conservatory Director Peter J. Kuo. The A.C.T. OUT Tour production of Timon of Athens features public performances in the Rueff at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater, before and after it tours schools and community sites throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Performances of Timon of Athens will be open to the public and presented in the Rueff at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater on November 6–7, 2025 (Student Matinees), November 8, November 15, and November 21–22, 2025. Between November 10–14 and November 17–21, 2025, the production will tour various locations within the San Francisco Unified School District and extend its reach to Hayward and San Jose, bringing performances to students and community members at middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. 
 
The popular Timon of Athens is known to give gifts to his friends and hold great feasts, sharing his wealth. But when he runs out of money and the creditors come calling, his friends turn him away. Director Peter J. Kuo uses Shakespeare's fable to explore income disparity and how temporary wealth bestows status on members of communities of color, specifically Asian-Americans—and how quickly that status is revoked once the value of the of the “model minority” is exhausted.

Never performed in Shakespeare’s lifetime, Timon of Athens presents an intriguing puzzle for contemporary audiences. The disjointed plot and many gaps in the story have led scholars to believe it was a collaboration between Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton, a younger writer known for his satires, and productions for decades have faced choices about the most effective way to present the play. In this translation, Kenneth Cavander acts as a third playwright in this collaborative process. Wrangling the voices of Shakespeare and Middleton on the page, Cavander unveils poetic lines and phrases that have sat stubbornly in the cobwebs, cutting these voices through the time barrier and into the world as we know it.

Timon of Athens will feature an all-local cast and creative team, with many artists returning from prior work with A.C.T. and the Tour. The cast includes A.C.T. alums Radhika Rao (frequent teaching artist, playing Timon), Jordan Covington (last seen in Co-Founders, playing Apemantus), Evan Held (last seen in Measure for Measure, playing Ventidius and others), Christian Jimenez (Measure for Measure and Julius Caesar, playing the Painter and others), Chris Steele (seen in Measure for Measure, assistant director of Julius Caesar, playing Alcibiades), and Lauren Dunagan (Measure for Measure and Julius Caesar, understudy for all roles. Newcomers include Poe Angeles Dayo (Jeweler and others), and Annie Wang (Flavius). Dunagan and Wang are alums of A.C.T. Conservatory’s Studio A.C.T. and San Francisco Semester training programs.