'Brainpeople' by Jose Rivera Debuts at ACT Zeum Jan.30

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced casting today for its upcoming world-premiere production of Brainpeople, written by OBIE Award-winning playwright and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter José Rivera and directed by 2007 OBIE Award-winner Chay Yew. A remarkable creative team stands behind this full production of Brainpeople, including A.C.T. core acting company member René Augesen, renowned actors Lucia Brawley and Sona Tatoyan, and designers Daniel Ostling, Lydia Tanji, and Paul Whitaker.

Brainpeople plays at Zeum Theater January 30-February 16. Press night for the production is Saturday, February 2. Tickets-starting at $12.50-are available now by calling A.C.T. Ticket Services at 415-749-2228 or by logging on to A.C.T.'s website at www.act-sf.org.

A sinister, deeply sensuous allegory, Brainpeople exposes the desperation of three women as they cope with isolation and violence in an apocalyptic future. Rivera, who won the OBIE Award for his powerful drama Marisol, is in residence at A.C.T. during the rehearsal process.

The play opens provocatively, with three women beginning a bizarre banquet-the pièce-de-resistance of which is the steaming, exposed viscera of a tiger. We come to understand the banquet, says A.C.T. dramaturg Michael Paller, as symbolizing "a perhaps inappropriate appetite to devour the dripping innards of a fellow creature-a theme that encompasses the characters as they probe into their own viscera, and those of the others-their desires, premonitions, and fears." Throughout the course of an evening fraught with revelations about the dark and surreal pasts of each of the play's characters, the mood of desperation heightens, shedding light on the shadowy world of political and emotional turmoil the play depicts.

The cast of Brainpeople is composed of three accomplished actresses, including, René Augesen as Rosemary; Lucia Brawley as Mayannah and Sona Tatoyan as Ani.  The creative team is Daniel Ostling (sets), Lydia Tanji (costumes), Paul Whitaker (lights), Cliff Caruthers (sound).

Previews are January 31 – February 1. Opening Night is February 2, with performances through February 16.  Show times are Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 8PM. Plus Wednesday, January 30 at 8PM; Saturday, February 9 & 16 at 2PM; and Sunday, February 10 at 2PM.

Tickets are $12.50-$20.50. Tickets are available through A.C.T. Ticket Services (405 Geary Street at Mason) 415-749-2228, and online at www.act-sf.org.