A.C.T. Teaching Artists Inspire Community

-
By Claire L. Wong 

“Theater is really about connection,” says A.C.T. Community Programs Manager Stephanie Wilborn. “We can’t do it alone.” For over a decade, Wilborn has been working with community arts organizations, using theater and social justice as a platform to give voice to those who are often overlooked or underrepresented onstage. Wilborn’s work with Larkin Street Youth Services is just one of the partnerships A.C.T. is building with nonprofits throughout the Bay Area, not just this holiday season but throughout the year. 

A.C.T. teaching artist Radhika Rao and A.C.T. Community Programs Manager Stephanie Wilborn speaking at Larkin Street Youth Services' 2019 Performing Arts Night. Photo by Dace James.

Larkin Street Youth Services is the largest provider of housing, healthcare, employment, and education services to young people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. This summer and fall, Wilborn and teaching artist Radhika Rao (who has worked as a teaching artist with A.C.T. for several seasons) taught an ensemble class at Larkin Street for transitional age youth, ages 18–24. The class fueled community creation and empowers students to share their stories.

“Stephanie and Radhika are wonderful and inspiring to work with,” says Larkin Street Academy Assistant Manager of Education Kiki Lipsett. “They are both so skilled in their craft and are very accessible and supportive educators. The classes they teach support our program goals of providing a safe and supportive space for creative expression and artistic development as well as connecting our students with local music and theater opportunities in San Francisco. We hope students finish the program with a clear educational path or internship in the arts.” 

Audience members at the Larkin Street Performing Arts Night at the Strand Theater. Photo by Dace James.

A few doors down from Larkin Street is 826 Valencia Tenderloin Center—another A.C.T. arts education partner—where A.C.T. teaching artist Andy Alabran has been working for four years. 826 Valencia supports under-served youth through the creative outlet of writing and providing positive mentorship. As a voice teacher, Alabran helps students prepare and record podcasts of their writing—such as talking about personal obstacles they face or an “I Am” poem.

“The individualized attention given to the students is invaluable,” says Alabran. “I see their confidence grow right in front of me. Sometimes when I’m working with students in the recording booth, I’ll make a suggestion and see it totally unlock something. They’ll open up just a little bit more. And then the whole podcast resonates with who they are as a person.”

The holiday season is a wonderful time to come together as a community and extend a hand to one another. Keep the Christmas spirit going with A Christmas Carol, which is onstage at the Geary now through December 24. Get your tickets here!

Popular posts from this blog

“To Be or Not to Be”: The Iconic Speech’s Origins, Interpretations, and Impact

-
Image
By A.C.T. Publications Staff The opening line of Hamlet ’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy is theater’s most iconic, most referenced quote. What’s less known is the famous speech’s history, with Hamlet ’s earliest publications offering varying versions of its language. Also questioned is its meaning—is Hamlet contemplating suicide or is he weighing the consequences of murder? Though definitive answers are unlikely to arise, the questions “To be or not to be” asks have kept audiences, scholars, and actors engaged for centuries. Hamlet ’ s "To be or not to be" speech as it appears in the three original editions of the play. Photo by Georgelazenby. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. The first edition, or First Quarto (Q1), of Hamlet was published in 1603. Because the text is much shorter than later editions and its language is less poetic, it is nicknamed the “Bad Quarto” by scholars. “To be or not to be” in Q1 reads as: To be, or not to be—ay, there’s the point. To die, ...
Read more

The American Sound: The Evolution of Jazz

-
Image
By Cecilia Padilla There is nothing so uniquely American as jazz music. In its simplest form, jazz embodies the essence of the American people: bold and inventive. The improvisation of the jazz ensemble can even be seen as a metaphor for the American democratic ideal: musicians playing solos have the liberty to express themselves as long as they adhere to the overall structure of the tune—individual freedom but with responsibility to the group. The evolution of jazz music also carries with it the social development of our nation from slavery to the swinging songs of World War II. Musically, jazz contributed immensely to the way contemporary musicians approach instrumentation, composition, and vocal arrangements. It is difficult to find a popular tune today that does not derive from such jazz icons as Joe Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk. Jazz is the great equalizer; for more than a hundred years, it has been the common ground between blacks and whites, me...
Read more

A Hell of a Businessman: A Biography of Joe Glaser

-
By Simon Hodgson Born in 1897, Joe Glaser was the son of a successful Russian Jewish physician in Chicago. He originally intended to follow a similar career and entered medical school, but after passing out in the operating room, he realized he wasn’t cut out to be a doctor. He started off in business selling used cars, but found better luck managing prizefighters. In his biography of Al Capone, Laurence Bergreen notes, “Glaser’s power to fix fights earned him a reputation as a sage of boxing, especially among reporters.” With advanced word as to which fights were fixed, Glaser could predict the results—and even the number of rounds—of many bouts in Chicago. His connections with organized crime continued in his next career change, when he began running nightclubs and whorehouses in the South Side for the Chicago Outfit, the powerful underworld gang led by Capone. Glaser’s tendency toward illegal action nearly ended his career. In 1928, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for ...
Read more