Inside A.C.T.

By Claire L. Wong For the next two weekends, the MFA class of 2021 springs back to turn of the 19th century Germany with Spring Awakening: The Play , directed by Christine Adaire. “The main crux of the show relies on a culture where people struggle to communicate,” says MFA Program actor Allen Darby, who plays Moritz. “ Spring Awakening asks us questions about tricky concepts that we have done our best to answer, but leave open for the audience to ponder after the show.” The class of 2020 kicked off the MFA Program season with Derek Walcott’s  Ti Jean and His Brothers , directed by Dawn Monique Williams. Catch the same actors this winter in A.C.T.’s seasonal favorite  A Christmas Carol , which runs November 29–December 24. The third-years are onstage again February 20–29 for  Passage  by Christopher Chen, an Obie Award–winning Bay Area playwright. “It’s a fantastical examination of colonialism and xenophobia,” says Associate Producer Ken Savage, “and it’s i...

By Annie Sears Shakespeare. He’s a staple in English literature classes, and many of us might even be able to quote one of his plays or sonnets offhand. “But there’s a big difference between reading Shakespeare on a page and seeing him performed,” says second-year M.F.A. Program actor LeRoy S. Graham III. “Shakespeare can be really intimidating on the page,” adds actor Jeff Wittekiend. “Especially when students are introduced to it in an academic and dry environment. But seeing it brought to life can help us realize that these are living, breathing words—not just fancy sounds in weird columns on paper.” A.C.T.’s Will on Wheels program bridges that gap. Since 2007, the Will on Wheels tour has brought Shakespeare productions into Bay Area public and continuation high schools, community-based organizations, and senior citizen centers. As the capstone to their classical theater studies, M.F.A. students mount a Shakespeare adaptation, pack their props and costume pieces in ...