Inside A.C.T.

1776 begins on September 11. Learn more about the production and order tickets. The beginning of our thrilling 2013–14 season is so close we can see it! Or, perhaps, it’s just Russell Metheny’s breathtaking set design for our season opener, Frank Galati’s revival of 1776 , we are seeing. We were curious how true Metheny’s recreation was to the historic Independence Hall in the Pennsylvania State House, where the Declaration of Independence was debated and ratified by the Second Continental Congress 237 years ago. This is what he had to say when we asked him: For Frank Galati the set was all about the muscularity of the show and the environment. He wanted it to be masculine so that when Abigail Adams and Martha Jefferson entered this world there would be a strong contrasting energy. And he also wanted it to be about that summer and the oppressive heat. I researched the Philadelphia Independence Hall, as well as the House and Senate halls in the capital of today...

American Conservatory Theater's photostream on Flickr.

Name: Adam O'Byrne Role: Valentine Coverly Adam O'Byrne Arcadia  runs through June 16. Learn more about the production and order tickets. What are your preshow/postshow rituals? I like to have a cup of Lady Grey tea before the show and a chat with my dressing room roommate, Nick Pelczar [who plays Ezra Chater], after the show . . . occasionally we toast our work with an adult refreshment. What is your favorite thing about San Francisco? Walking to work. I live in L.A., so just being able to walk this city is wonderful. If you could live during a different cultural period, what period would it be and why? I'd like to visit a lot of different periods: Elizabethan England and Ancient Greece, to name a couple. But I like living in the here and now! What was your favorite discovery during the rehearsal process for Arcadia ? I was happy to discover the nuances of the Val/Hannah relationship. How they communicate, the depth of the feelings between them,...

Name: Rebekah Brockman Role: Thomasina Coverly Rebekah Brockman Arcadia  runs through June 16. Learn more about the production and order tickets. What are your preshow/postshow rituals? Preshow: I never step foot onstage without a splash of my mum's perfume (it reminds me of home), but this show I am wearing a perfume Allegra Edwards [who plays Chloë Coverly] gave me since it is our last show together.
Postshow: A nice cold drink . . . lately it has been a Black & Tan. What is your favorite thing about San Francisco? When I am able to go home and watch the sun set and hear the fog horns from the ships coming in. If you could live during a different cultural period, what period would it be and why? I think I would choose sometime in the distant future. I am curious to see what is built upon the foundation we are creating today. What was your favorite discovery during the rehearsal process for Arcadia ? Honestly, my favorite discoveries come from being with...

Name: Gretchen Egolf Role:  Hannah Jarvis Gretchen Egolf Arcadia runs through June 16. Learn more about the production and order tickets. What are your preshow/postshow rituals?  I warm up, have a cup of tea, and brush my teeth. And when possible, I really like to stand where I can hear the audience and listen to them a bit before the show. Or even peep out and look at them when possible! It helps me identify more specifically who I'm doing this for and who will be sharing in this with me. What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?  I don't know yet! Now that the show has opened I'll actually get to see more of it. So far my favorite thing is this theater.   If you could live during a different cultural period, what period would it be and why? In the Western world, I think the turn of the (last) century was a fascinating time. In psychology, society, art . . . huge changes.   What was your favorite discovery  during the rehearsal...

Posted by Selena Chau, Web Development Fellow Joseph Givens graduates from Downtown High School at the end of May. Since the fall of 2011, as part of its ACTsmart arts education programs, A.C.T. has hosted an intensive  Downtown Continuation High School  (DHS), a project-based learning school that serves San Francisco youth who have not experienced success in conventional public schools. Participants in DHS’s  Acting for Critical Thought  project attend weekly acting classes in A.C.T.’s studios, are encouraged to attend all A.C.T. mainstage and conservatory productions, and write their own original monologues and short plays, which they perform in exhibitions for their school and families in A.C.T.’s Hastings Studio Theater each December and May. (This spring’s exhibition—entitled  Borderline Freedom —will take place on Thursday, May 23.) The Mission-based  826 Valencia  literacy initiative provides tutors to guide students in their writing an...