Inside A.C.T.

posted by Carey Perloff, A.C.T. Artistic Director Cocreated by Carey Perloff and Val Caniparoli, A.C.T.’s world premiere production of The Tosca Project played to sold-out houses in 2010. Now it’s on its way to a second life at Theatre Calgary in Canada, where it was been renamed Tosca Cafe . Performances begin September 13 at Theatre Calgary , followed by an engagement at Vancouver Playhouse in October. Now busily working with Caniparoli to remount and reimagine the show for its Canadian run, Perloff took a quick break to share her thoughts on the show’s journey. It is a gift to be able to revisit a production a year after its premiere—and amazing the clarity that can emerge after some time away. Val Caniparoli and I have been collaborating on The Tosca Project for over four years. It began as an experiment to see what would happen if we put five ballet dancers and five actors in a room and tried to create something together, and culminated with a world premiere on the A...

posted by Rebekah Brockman, member of the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program class of 2013 Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever see Conservatory Director Melissa Smith sprawled out under a white blanket in a dirty alleyway, or Head of Voice Jeff Crockett lying motionless on a street grate outside a loading dock at Macy’s. No, I am not describing the results of a fatal accident, but one of the products of this year’s “Leap,” an artistic immersion to kick off the 2011–12 year. For two days the A.C.T. community—including artistic staff, faculty, and M.F.A. students—gathered together for this creative powwow. By far, the Leap is one of the most unconventional ways to “get to know each other” without any of the typical name-games and awkward introductions. Our mornings started off with group warm-ups and workshops designed to take us out of our element. We explored alternative ways to approach the work, which no one was sure of, but all were willing to investigate. Then, in th...

Did you know that the A.C.T. Costume Shop is located smack in the heart of the mid-Market neighborhood? It might not look like much from the outside, but our warehouse at 7th and Market streets holds more than 20,000 costumes (and counting) and is an amazing resource for local theater companies, arts students, and anyone searching for a fantastic Halloween costume. The San Francisco Arts Commission recently created a video that includes a peek inside the costume-lined walls of this A.C.T. treasure, along with a fascinating interview with Callie Floor, A.C.T.’s diligent (and very friendly) costume rentals supervisor. Watch the video, then visit the Costume Shop’s online gallery to check out our incredible array of sartorial finery.