Revamping The Strand: A Halloween Fundraiser for A.C.T.’s New Performance Venue

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On October 27, friends of A.C.T. crawled, oozed, flew, materialized, and zombie-walked their way to our first-ever Halloween fundraiser, Revamping The Strand, which raised money for the renovation of The Strand Theater in San Francisco's Central Market neighborhood. A.C.T. purchased The Strand as a second stage, and it is scheduled to open in 2014. The event, underwritten in large part by interior designer Ken Fulk and patrons Jeff and Laurie Ubben, was held in Fulk's SOMA studio and featured a four-course dinner with celebrity chefs, a flash-mob performance of Rocky Horror Picture Show's "Time Warp," and a concert by Bay Area native Stevie Nicks, who opened her set with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock 'n' Roll."

In addition to longtime A.C.T. loyalists, the benefit attracted a number of young social media leaders and philanthropists, many of whom are also going to be calling Central Market home. The costumes ranged from famous Hitchcock characters to theatrical ghouls to Little Bo Peep, all conceived and coordinated by A.C.T.'s expert costume shop staff. When Mayor Ed Lee made an appearance directly after the Giants won Game 3 of the World Series, he told the festive crowd, "We have the best baseball team in the country, and we're going to have the best theater in the country."


Event host Ken Fulk. Photo by Drew Altizer Photography.
L to R: Jarrod Mims Smith, A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff, and Mayor Ed Lee. Photo by Drew Altizer Photography.

Inside the tent. Photo by Drew Altizer Photography.

L to R: George Hamill and Patrick Riley. Photo by Drew Altizer Photography.


L to R: Lance Planksman and Larry Martin. Photo by Drew Altizer Photography.

L to R: Sloan Barnett and Juliet Flynt. Photo by Drew Altizer Photography.






Location: San Francisco, CA, USA

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