Inside A.C.T.

By Miranda Ashland All around the country, arts organizations are struggling after having to shut their doors and cancel upcoming programming due to COVID-19. We’ve compiled a list of ways to support the arts community. A.C.T.'s Geary Theater. Photo by Marco Lorenzetti. How to Support an Arts Organization Many organizations are nonprofit and employ not only artists, but dozens of staff: administrators, customer service, concessions, janitors, ushers, curators, ticketing services, security, and more. These are ways you can support them. Donations No matter how small, monetary donations are instrumental to the survival of most arts companies. If you’ve purchased tickets to an event that’s now canceled, donate your tickets back. If refunds are automatic, turn the refund into a donation. Buy for the Future Purchase a subscription to the next season or a ticket to a future performance. You’re helping the organization now and giving yourself something to loo...

By Miranda Ashland On a crisp February morning, staff, faculty, students, producers, and board members filed in to William Ball Rehearsal Studio for the first rehearsal of The Great Leap . Red and gold decorations hung on the walls, and in place of the established bagels and schmear, the snack table was adorned with pink boxes filled with Chinese pastries: egg tarts, pork buns, and baked egg custard buns straight from Chinatown. This was not A.C.T.’s usual meet and greet. “恭喜發財 ( Gong hei fat choy ), everybody!” said Associate Artistic Director Andy Donald, reminding us all that it was the Lunar New Year, a prominent holiday in Chinese and Chinese American culture. This first rehearsal coincidentally fell on this day, another reason why it stood apart. Playwright Lauren Yee and actor Tim Liu at the first rehearsal for The Great Leap . Photo by Miranda Ashland. Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap is a story deeply rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yee grew up in Chinatown. Her ...