master fine arts program - American Conservatory Theater

Transcription

A M E R I C A N C O N S E R VA T O R Y T H E A T E R
MASTER of FINE ARTS PROGRAM
Top-ranked professional actor training in the heart of San Francisco
20 15 –16
A C T - S F. O R G / M F A | M A S T E R O F F I N E A R T S P R O G R A M 2
MISSION STATEMENT
A M E R I C A N C O N S E R V A T O R Y T H E A T E R nurtures the art of live theater
through dynamic productions, intensive actor training in its conservatory, and
an ongoing engagement with its community. A.C.T. embraces its responsibility to
conserve, renew, and reinvent the rich theatrical traditions and literatures that are
our collective legacy, while exploring new artistic forms and new communities. A
commitment to the highest standards informs every aspect of A.C.T.’s creative work.
CONTENTS
04 From the Directors
12 The Curriculum
06 The City, The Theater
14 Performance Opportunities 24 Admissions and Applications
08 The Training Experience 16 Faculty
22 A.C.T.’s Shining Stars
26 Summer Training Congress
AMERICAN
CONSERVATORY
THEATER
MASTER OF FINE ARTS PROGR AM
The closing date for materials in this bulletin was September 5, 2014. A.C.T. reserves the right to
withdraw or modify the courses of instruction and faculty members at any time.
For complete program information—including application forms and policies and procedures—
please visit act-sf.org/mfa.
M.F.A. graduate Lateefah Holder (right), class of ’14,
with Seana McKenna in Napoli! on the A.C.T. mainstage.
A C T - S F. O R G / M F A | M A S T E R O F F I N E A R T S P R O G R A M
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VISION
S TAT EMEN T
The A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program is for
individuals who, after serious consideration and
self-evaluation, have chosen performance as a
profession. This highly competitive graduate
program offers a rigorous three-year course
of training designed to educate and stimulate
the most promising young actors, who are
selected through nationwide auditions.
Arthur Wise, class of ’16, in Kalos Kai Agathos
at A.C.T.’s Costume Shop.
FRONT COVER (L TO R) Josie Alvarez, class of ‘15, in Sueño; Glenn Stott, Joel Bernard, and Dominique Salerno,
class of ‘16, in The Country’s in the Very Best of Hands (photo by Ryan Montgomery); a soldier in Sueño.
PREVIOUS PAGE (FROM TOP) Jennifer Redish, class of ‘16, Kemiyondo Coutinho, class of ‘15, and Neumna
Ceesay, class of ‘14, during the annual Sky Festival (photo by Jay Yamada); Lateefah Holder (right), class of
’14, with Seana McKenna in Napoli! (photo by Kevin Berne). THIS PAGE Arthur Wise, class of ’14, in Kalos Kai
Agathos. All photos by Alessandra Mello, unless otherwise noted.
The M.F.A. curriculum includes comprehensive
actor training, the production of classical and
contemporary plays, and opportunities for actors
to teach and to produce work of their choosing.
The course of study emphasizes dedication
to craft, prizes curiosity and initiative, and
recognizes the potential of live performance
to effect social change. The opportunity to
teach deepens humanity and enhances actors’
understanding of themselves and the acting
process. A.C.T. believes actors who generate
as well as interpret material are uniquely
prepared to collaborate on and support the
development of new dramatic forms. They
are the individuals who will go on to energize
and advance the art of performance and who
will ensure the future of theater in America.
Our place at the center of a renowned
professional theater company, as well as our
urban location in San Francisco, enriches every
aspect of the program, bringing students of
various backgrounds into close contact with
writers, directors, designers, and actors of
many different theatrical traditions. Through
exposure to professional artists, and through
engagement with diverse audiences in and
outside A.C.T., M.F.A. actors discover how
theater reflects the life of a community and how
the life of a community inspires its theater.
A.C.T. is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senor Colleges and
Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC, 985
Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510.748.9001), an institutional
accrediting body recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Education and the
U.S. Department of Education.
A.C.T. is sponsored in part by the Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax
Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, and California Arts Council, a state agency.
Special support for the M.F.A. Program is provided by William Randolph Hearst
Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, and The Bernard Osher Foundation.
FROM THE
DIRECTORS
It is our profound pleasure to welcome you to an institution where
making art is viewed as a lifelong commitment that begins in
childhood and lasts as long as we have an ounce of energy left
to play. In addition to housing a top-ranked master of fine arts
program in acting, A.C.T. is a Tony Award–winning regional
theater, a crucible for new play development, and one of the most
popular cultural destinations in San Francisco. Our training
pushes actors towards an expression of human experience that
is passionate, dangerous, amused, and expansive—all within the
context of a thriving professional theater company.
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By choosing to train at A.C.T., you are
participating in a program designed to cultivate
the entrepreneurial actor—an artist possessing
not only the skills and experience to succeed
in just about any professional performance
arena, but one equipped with the insights and
imagination to generate his or her own work. At
A.C.T., our focus is to empower student actors
to thrive not only as performers and interpreters
but also as creators and collaborators of vital
new dramatic material. We aim to develop
“citizen artists,” community-minded and socially
aware individuals with the potential to become
leaders of any artistic enterprise. At A.C.T., you
will stretch your creative muscles in ways you
may never have imagined, and will do so with
the support, resources, and applause of A.C.T.’s
entire artistic community behind you.
Here, you are joining a company where young and
old, master and novice, are constantly engaged
in the creation of important, magical, meaningful
art. The professionals here are your peers as well
as your teachers: during your training you will find
yourself taking classes from an associate artist
one month and rehearsing with them the next. In
turn, that synergy extends to your own mentoring
of young actors in our Young Conservatory, from
teaching opportunities during the summer to
performing alongside them in conservatory and
mainstage productions or new commissioned
work. You’ll also share your passion for theater with
students at local schools through the community
outreach programs in our education department.
There is no formula for creating a great actor, or
great acting. The journey is unique to each artist.
At A.C.T., we are committed to giving you accurate
maps, excellent tools, ample nourishment, and
the occasional beautiful outfit. We are your
traveling companions, and we hope to inspire in
you the imagination and courage to explore—to
risk everything when nothing is guaranteed.
Great dramatic literature invites you to jump into
the fray; good training is the net that lets you do
so without endangering every bone in your body.
Since we are all always in training at A.C.T., free
fall is frequent. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Carey Perloff
Melissa Smith
Artistic Director
Conervatory Director
Dillon Heape (top left) and the cast of 1776 on the
A.C.T. mainstage
PREVIOUS PAGE (clockwise from top left) Artistic Director Carey Perloff; Conservatory Director Melissa Smith;
Asher Grodman, class of ’14, in The House of Bernarda Alba (photo by Alessandra Mello). THIS PAGE The cast of
1776 (photo by Kevin Berne).
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Aaron Moreland and Blair
Busbee, class of ’14, in Sueño
at A.C.T.’s Costume Shop
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THE CIT Y,
T HE T HE AT ER
Established in 1965, American Conservatory Theater is a Tony Award–winning
theater and conservatory whose work is energized and informed by a profound
commitment to developing the next generation of theater artists. A.C.T. is the
largest theater company in the San Francisco Bay Area and employs more than 800
people each season, from teachers and artists to technicians and administrative
staff. During the past four decades, more than 330 A.C.T. productions have been
seen by close to seven million theatergoers in the company’s magnificent Beaux
Arts–style mainstage theater located in the heart of San Francisco’s Union Square
theater district.
T H E V I S I O N A.C.T. continues to nurture
its legacy as one of America’s most respected
regional theaters and to expand its reach to
include new areas of dramatic literature, new
communities, and new international collaborations—as well as innovative interpretations
of classical work. Central to A.C.T.’s vision is
the philosophy of lifelong education. A.C.T. is
committed to nurturing artists from diverse
backgrounds, and to embracing the challenging
dynamics of training and performance that lie at
the heart of the institution.
T H E S C E N E Famed for its energetic individual-
ism, its sophisticated cultural landscape, and its
breathtaking beauty, San Francisco is home to
more than 300 resident theater companies, from
new-play repertories to acclaimed Shakespeare
festivals to Broadway touring houses. An ideal
location for actors beginning their careers, the
Bay Area theater scene is both large enough to
be noticed nationally and intimate enough to
ensure that you’ll soon be a familiar face. Actors
in the Bay Area are involved in all levels of the entertainment industry, from developing contacts
to attending auditions and industry gatherings,
and frequently make the successful transition to
thriving theater and film careers.
T H E L O C A T I O N Located in the heart of
San Francisco’s bustling Union Square, the
A.C.T. Conservatory features seven studios
and shares its rehearsal spaces with A.C.T.’s
mainstage productions. Classrooms, studios,
and administrative offices are fully integrated—
student life is an essential part of A.C.T.’s
culture—and students have the opportunity
to interact daily with associate artists and
staff. A few blocks away is A.C.T.’s historic and
dazzling mainstage, The Geary Theater—one
of San Francisco’s famed cultural landmarks,
which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010.
Tucked into the fifth floor of The Geary, The
Garret provides a warm, intimate space for
student cabarets and other performances. In
addition, The Costume Shop, a versatile black
box performance venue located down the street
in San Francisco’s bustling Central Market
arts neighborhood, opened in 2011 as A.C.T.’s
dedicated home for innovative M.F.A. Program
works and community partnerships, and A.C.T.’s
new 300-seat theater, The Strand, will open just
a few doors down from The Costume Shop in
spring 2015.
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Nearby (and easily accessible via public transportation), students can explore the theater district,
museums, parks, Chinatown, North Beach, and
the Embarcadero waterfront. On a day off, the City
by the Bay offers students an extraordinary range
of activities. Take a hike in Muir Woods, go sailing
on the Bay, catch a baseball game, hit a jazz club,
bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, check out a
pop-up restaurant, or soak up paintings in local
artists’ open studios. Tucked into the beautiful
landscape of Northern California, the Bay Area
also offers easy access to other unforgettable
adventures. Spend a day exploring wine country
in nearby Napa and Sonoma valleys, head down
Highway 1 to view the dramatic coastal landscape
near Big Sur, or check out the Santa Cruz Beach
Boardwalk, an oceanfront amusement park that
has operated continuously since 1907.
PREVIOUS PAGE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) A.C.T.’s Geary Theater (Gene X Hwang/Orange Photography); the San Francisco
skyline (photo by Philip H. Coblentz); a cable car; Aaron Moreland and Blair Busbee, class of ’14, in Sueño (photo by Alessandra
Mello). THIS PAGE (FROM TOP) The Bay Bridge at night; the lights at A.C.T.’s Geary Theater (photo by Ashley Forrette).
THE
TRAINING
E X PER IENCE
At A.C.T., you’re not an “acting student”—you’re a “student actor.”
THIS PAGE (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT, L TO R) The class of 2016 in Created Movement Project (photo by Alessandra Mello); Philip Estrera and
Dillon Heape, class of ’14, in class (photo by Ryan Montgomery); York Walker (left) and Dillon Heape (center), class of ‘14, with Ryan Williams
French, class of ’15 (photo by Jay Yamada). NEXT PAGE A rendering of The Strand (courtesy of Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill LLP).
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“A.C.T.’s Master of Fine Arts program has pushed and challenged in ways I’d never
experienced before and it has taught me in more ways than I could have imagined—
self-discipline, respect for fellow actors, and what it means to be an actor today.”
L A U R E N H A R T, class of ’16
Every day, a few doors down from the studio
classrooms, A.C.T. is conducting the business
of making professional theater. During their
training at A.C.T., M.F.A. Program students come
to think of themselves as apprentices rather than
acting students. Indeed, the A.C.T. community
doesn’t recognize a group of “acting students,”
but rather student actors; the difference is small,
but crucial. Outside of training, students are
encouraged to sit in on professional rehearsals,
listen to directors present production concepts,
and see a show at the theater more than once just
because they love an actor’s performance.
360° THE AT ER : THE M .F. A . AC TOR
E X P E R I E N C E The essence of A.C.T.’s actor
training lies in the interplay between our professional company and our conservatory. Within
the A.C.T. artistic community, professionals
and students are constantly learning from each
other—M.F.A. Program actors audition for and
perform in A.C.T. productions and establish
valuable mentor relationships with the artists,
producers, literary staff, and other professionals who make theater happen. A.C.T. is unique
among large professional theater companies
in that it employs associate and resident
artists—from actors who regularly appear on our
stages, to directors, designers, and playwrights
who continually return to create new work at
A.C.T.—and these artists are the M.F.A. Program
actors’ living link to the professional theater
world. In turn, M.F.A. Program actors serve as
mentors to younger artists in A.C.T.’s renowned
Young Conservatory through teaching opportunities or performing onstage together in various
productions, including new works commissioned specifically for them or A.C.T.’s annual
production of A Christmas Carol.
T H E C I T I Z E N A R T I S T A.C.T.’s Education
Department provides theater-based arts
education and engagement opportunities
for more than 10,000 school students and
community members each year through four
central ACTsmart programs: Student Matinee
performances, with related pre- and postshow
workshops; the Will on Wheels tour presented
by second-year M.F.A. Program students each
spring at schools and community centers across
the Bay Area; the ACTsmart Intensive Residency
Program, which provides in-depth instruction
in writing and performance to socioeconomically disadvantaged youth in San Francisco
continuation high schools and community-based
organizations; and Stage Coach, a mobile
initiative designed to bring participatory theater
experiences to underserved neighborhoods
in San Francisco. The Education Department
provides M.F.A. Program students with opportunities to acquire teaching artist training
and apprenticeships in all of these programs;
some of these experiences are a formal (i.e.,
required) part of the M.F.A. Program curriculum,
while others are voluntary and arranged on
an individual basis, subject to the approval of
the Conservatory Director and the Director of
Education.
PERFOR MING ON THE STAGE—AND
B E Y O N D Student actors at A.C.T. perform
frequently within the program, working with
professional directors and designers in a variety
of performance venues. In the first two years of
training, M.F.A. Program actors participate in
productions at The Costume Shop, as well as
Will on Wheels, a Shakespeare play that tours
to schools and venues around the Bay Area.
In the third year, student actors begin their
transition to the professional world by stepping
into productions on the mainstage and earning
their Actors’ Equity Association membership.
Beginning in 2015, students will also have opportunities to perform at A.C.T.’s new performance
space, The Strand, both on the 300-seat
mainstage and in the intimate Rueff Space.
Throughout their training at A.C.T., student actors
participate in the process of creating new work
for the theater by performing in A.C.T.’s staged
readings, festivals, and other presentations of
new and upcoming plays.
TRAINING
CONTINUED
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“The training at A.C.T. has molded me as a young actor not only through
my experiences in the classroom and rehearsal room, but also through my
experiences with prominent artists in the American theater (actors, directors,
etc.) with whom we work throughout our time in the conservatory.”
B E N Q U I N N , class of ’15
A . C . T . C O R N E R S T O N E S At A.C.T., training
requires immense physical energy, intellectual
curiosity, emotional honesty, a vivid imagination,
and a willingness to take risks. Central to the
program’s mission is its focus on an actor’s
“readiness” to perform at A.C.T.’s Geary Theater,
our demanding, 1,024-seat historic home. Success
on a stage of this caliber requires enormous
depth and agility and is vital in developing the
total actor—a performing artist possessing the
skills and experience to succeed in any professional arena, from Broadway and regional theater
to film and television. To extend these powerful
skills into the world, actor training at A.C.T. also
cultivates citizen artists—socially conscious and
community-minded theater professionals with the
passion and heart to unleash theater as a force for
sociocultural change wherever they go.
To prepare actors for these challenges, our
curriculum focuses on four cornerstones of A.C.T.
readiness: instrumental flexibility—tuning the
physical instrument (voice, body, and speech) to
unleash the talent within; professionalism—
understanding and embracing the responsibilities of the professional actor, from expectations
when hired to caring for a costume; transformation—synthesizing all aspects of the craft,
fusing technique and imagination, to create a
character within the world of a play; and collaboration—working with artists to make a piece
of theater, a process requiring the courage to
make bold choices and the passion to inspire
creativity in others.
C A R E E R T R A N S I T I O N At the end of the third
year of training, M.F.A. Program actors launch
their careers with a showcase presented to
industry professionals (agents, casting directors,
and artistic directors) in New York, Los Angeles,
and San Francisco. With A.C.T. alumni working
in theater, film, television, and arts education
across the nation, recent graduates continue to
experience a community of support upon leaving
the program.
C O N S E R V A T O R Y H O U R S During their training,
students have the opportunity to attend Conservatory Hours—exclusive Q&A sessions with
successful actors, directors, producers, writers,
and alumni. Previous speakers have included
Jason Alexander, Elizabeth Banks, Annette
Bening, Benjamin Bratt, James Cromwell,
Olympia Dukakis, Eve Ensler, Joseph Fiennes,
Harvey Fierstein, Brendan Fraser, Jason Butler
Harner, Woody Harrelson, Bill Irwin, Judith Ivey,
Cherry Jones, John Lahr, Baz Luhrmann, David
Mamet, Francesco Manetti, Frances McDormand,
Estelle Parsons, Jeff Perry, Tonya Pinkins, Mark
Ruffalo, Michele Shay, Anna Deavere Smith, Tom
Stoppard, David Strathairn and Robin Williams.
FROM TOP (L TO R) Students performing during the annual
Sky Festival (photo by Jay Yamada); Caitlan Taylor and
Thomas Stagnitta, class of ’16, in Our Lady of 121st Street;
Danielle Frimer with students during the annual Will on
Wheels tour. All photos by photo by Alessandra Mello, unless
otherwise indicated.
Nemuna Ceesay, class of ’14, with
Valerie Planche in Major Barbara on
the A.C.T. mainstage
THIS PAGE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Jennifer Reddish, class of ’15, performing during the annual Sky Festival (photo by Jay Yamada); the class of ’15 in The
Country’s in the Very Best of Hands (photo by Ryan Montgomery); Nemuna Ceesay, class of ’14, with Valerie Planche in Major Barbara (photo by Pak Han); Thomas
Stagnitta (left) and Matthew Capbarat, class of ‘16, in Our Lady of 121st Street (photo by Alessandra Mello). NEXT PAGE (FROM TOP) Kemiyondo Coutinho, class of
’15, in The Country’s in the Very Best of Hands (photo by Ryan Montgomery); students in class (photo by Kevin Berne).
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THE
CURRICULUM
All curriculum classes are compulsory, with
no elective subjects. Classes in speech, voice,
movement, and acting are taught by core
faculty members, who guide each student
toward achieving his or her fullest potential.
Distinguished guest artists, A.C.T. staff members,
and other industry professionals enhance the
program with master classes, seminars, and
lectures on such subjects as dance, stage
combat, on-camera acting, and the business
of acting. Associate artists perform in A.C.T.
productions throughout the season while also
teaching and directing in the M.F.A. Program.
Performances frequently combine students
with actors from all around A.C.T. Throughout
their three years in the program, M.F.A.
Program students may find themselves onstage
alongside faculty, young actors from our Young
Conservatory program, professional actors,
as well as fellow students from all years of the
program. Student actors also have opportunities
to generate their own work—as actor, writer,
director, adaptor, and more—in the annual
Sky Festival. Other performance opportunities
include musical cabarets, as well as
opportunities to work with professional actors,
directors, and playwrights on public readings of
new plays under consideration for development
by A.C.T.
In addition, student actors are also invited to
serve as teaching artist apprentices as part of
A.C.T.’s growing educational outreach program.
This integral part of the curriculum connects
M.F.A. Program actors with young, enthusiastic
students from across the Bay Area community—
some of whom will experience theater for the very
first time through their contact with A.C.T.
FIRST YEAR
In the first year, students focus on acting as
storytelling, learning to cultivate authenticity,
flexibility, imagination, and daring in all aspects
of the craft.
C O U R S E S Acting, voice, speech, movement
(Alexander Technique, physical theater, dance),
singing, text analysis, theater history, studies
in the San Francisco cultural landscape, as well
as special workshops in such subjects as stage
combat and new play development.
P R O G R E S S First-year actors train individually in
the context of their development as an ensemble.
During extensive course work, student actors
focus on both the interpretation and generation of
material. They engage with a range of literature,
exploring the dynamics of classic and modern
texts. Particular attention is paid to identifying
and playing the given circumstances in a range of
realistic plays (e.g., O’Neill, Shepard, Chekhov).
Shakespeare is also introduced. By the end of
the first year, student actors possess a strong,
flexible foundation for their artistic journey, and
are equipped with skills to interpret—and tools to
devise—a variety of work.
C O U R S E S Acting (scene study in Shakespeare,
Shaw, Wilde), voice, speech (including dialects),
singing, text analysis, and movement (Alexander
Technique, mask, and dance), as well as special
workshops in stage combat and new play
development.
P E R F O R M A N C E S First-semester work includes
the performance of a created movement project
under the direction of a choreographer and the
performance of a one-act play. At the end of
the second semester, first-year actors perform
alongside second- and third-year actors in
modern plays or classics—allowing them to apply
the first year’s practical studies.
P R O G R E S S With an increased emphasis on
C R E D I T S 603 A&B Acting 5.0 credits; 613 A&B
Movement I 6.5 credits; 623 A&B Voice & Speech I
9 credits; 643 A&B Humanities I 4.0 credits;
653 A&B Rehearsal & Performance I 18 credits;
42.5 credits total
SECOND YEAR
The second year focuses primarily on truth
and size in acting, with particular emphasis on
the demands of dramatic texts with elevated
language and heightened emotional and physical
expression (primarily classical and verse plays).
collaboration in rehearsal and performance,
student actors expand their technical skills
and their capacity to transform and collaborate
as they work with a variety of directors in the
production of classical plays by such writers
as Shakespeare, Molière, Tennessee Williams,
and others. Through their engagement with
poetic texts, nonrealistic theater, and their own
devised work, they gain confidence in a range
of performance styles and rehearsal processes.
Students perform for public audiences in a wide
variety of spaces, putting their flexibility, collaboration, and professionalism to the test.
P E R F O R M A N C E S Second-year performances
include classical plays that demand sustained
and explosive emotion; plays or projects that
demand physically based characterization;
verse dramas that demand mental agility,
rhetorical dexterity, and imagination; and a
musical cabaret. During the spring, second-year
actors perform in our popular Will on Wheels
production, a Shakespeare play that tours to Bay
Area high schools. They also join actors from
all years of the program in the performance of
modern plays or classics in the spring.
C R E D I T S 703 A&B Acting II 5.0 credits; 713 A&B
Movement II 5.5 credits; 723 A&B Voice & Speech
II 7.0 credits; 743 A&B Humanities II 1.5 credits;
753 A&B Rehearsal & Performance II 24.5 credits;
43.5 credits total
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experience on the A.C.T. stage and possessing
a wealth of resources that will help launch their
careers, including their Actors’ Equity Association
membership. They are transparent, versatile
performers—at home with a wide range of contemporary and classical material, in theatrical
spaces vast and intimate, and with audiences
large and small. Toward the end of the third year,
the entire class is presented in a showcase for
professional theater and film directors, agents,
and casting directors in New York, Los Angeles,
and San Francisco.
THIRD YEAR
During the final year, students transition toward
the professional realm as they synthesize
skills, performing on A.C.T.’s mainstage and in
school productions while continuing to stretch
themselves through intensive classroom work.
C O U R S E S Master classes in acting, clown, and
on-camera work; tutorials in voice, speech, and
movement, and special workshops on such topics
as audition techniques and the business of acting
augment the cycle of rehearsal and performance.
P R O G R E S S From the performance of devised
pieces to the mastery of the A.C.T. mainstage
in A Christmas Carol, student actors complete
their third year having gained professional
P E R F O R M A N C E S Student actors perform on the
A.C.T. mainstage in A Christmas Carol—and may
be cast in a role or as an understudy in another
mainstage production. In addition, third-year
actors perform in The Garret at The Geary
Theater and join fellow M.F.A. Program actors in
productions at The Costume Shop.
C R E D I T S 8803 A&B Acting III 4.0 credits; 813
A&B Movement III 1.5 credits; 823 A&B Voice
& Speech III 0.5 credits; 890 A&B Rehearsal &
Performance III 40 credits; 46 credits total
PERFORMANCE
Lateefah Holder (far left), Nemuna Ceesay (seated), Philip Estrera,
and Dillon Heape (right), class of ’14, in A Christmas Carol on the
A.C.T. mainstage.
OPPORT UNIT IES
N E W W O R K M.F.A. Program actors are frequently
cast in readings and workshops of new plays,
giving student actors a chance to become involved
in the play development process at every level
and to work with acclaimed actors, directors, and
playwrights in an intimate workshop environment.
Recent projects have included new works by Ping
Chong, David Greenspan, Christina Anderson,
Itamar Moses, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, Steve Yockey,
Katie Pearl, Lisa D’Amour, and Philip Kan Gotanda,
with the participation of such guest artists as
Anne Kaufman, Eric Ting, Steven Anthony Jones,
and Brian Kulick.
O N T H E M A I N S T A G E Every year the third-year
class auditions for leading and ensemble roles
in A.C.T.’s mainstage productions. In addition to
the Bay Area favorite A Christmas Carol, M.F.A.
Program actors have appeared in recent A.C.T.
productions of The Orphan of Zhao, directed by
Carey Peroff; Napoli!, directed by Mark Rucker;
1776, directed by Frank Galati; Arcadia, directed
by Carey Perloff; the world premiere comedy Dead
Metaphor, directed by Irene Lewis; Sophocles’
Elektra, directed by Carey Perloff; Once in a
Lifetime, directed by Mark Rucker; the world
premiere musical Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the
City, directed by Jason Moore; Scapin, directed by
Bill Irwin; Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet, directed
by Mark Rucker; The Tosca Project, cocreated by
Carey Perloff and Val Caniparoli; The Caucasian
Chalk Circle, directed by John Doyle; and Rock ‘n’
Roll, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, and The Government
Inspector, directed by Carey Perloff.
T H E S K Y F E S T I V A L This dynamic event brings
together the A.C.T. community in the creation,
rehearsal, and performance of a vibrant and
eclectic range of work. Each year students,
faculty, and artistic staff submit proposals for
projects they are personally passionate about,
offering participants an opportunity to approach
work from multiple angles, from directing to
devising to performing. Ranging from self-written
work to movement-based interpretations of
printed texts and conventional explorations
of “straight plays,” the chosen projects (11 in
2014) are developed over three weeks of intense
rehearsal and exploration, culminating in a
festival of in-house presentations.
THIS PAGE (L TO R) Rafael Jordan, class of ’15, and Lisa Kitchens, class of ’14, in The Country Wife; Lateefah Holder (far left), Nemuna Ceesay (seated), Philip Estrera, and Dillon Heape (right), class of
’14, in A Christmas Carol (photo by Kevin Berne). NEXT PAGE Blair Busbee, class of ‘14, and Matthew Baldiga, class of ‘16, in Teach for America. All photos by Alessandra Mello, unless otherwise noted.
2 0 1 3 –14 M . F. A . P R O G R A M P R O D U C T I O N S
September 19–21, 2013 | Third-year actors
2014 U NPLUGGED: A C A B A R ET
Directed by Jonathan Moscone
Musical direction by Michael Anthony Schuler
Performed at The Garret
FALL REPERTORY PRODUCTIONS |
SECON D - A N D T HIR D -Y E A R AC T OR S
October 9–19, 2013
THE COUNTRY WIFE
by William Wycherly
Directed by Nancy Benjamin
Performed at The Costume Shop
October 9–19, 2013
SUEÑO
Translated and adapted by José Rivera
From the play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Directed by Domenique Lozano
October 25–26, 2013 | First-year actors
CR E AT ED MOV EMEN T PROJEC T
Directed and choreographed by Lisa Townsend
Music composed and performed by Piro Patton
December 6–28, 2013| Third-year actors
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
by Charles Dickens
Adapted by Carey Perloff and Paul Walsh
Music by Karl Lundeberg
Choreographed by Val Caniparoli
Based on the original direction by Carey Perloff
Performed at The Geary Theater
December 11–14, 2013 | Second-year actors
THE COUNTRY’S IN THE
VERY BEST OF HANDS
Directed by Nick Gabriel
Musical direction by Robert Rutt
Performed at The Garret
Decembmer 12–14, 2013 | First-year actors
T HR EE ONE-AC T PL AYS
by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Jeffrey Crockett
Performed at A.C.T.’s 30 Grant Studios
March 3–21, 2014 | Second-year actors
ROMEO & JULIET
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Stephen Buescher
On tour to Bay Area schools
March 12–15, 2014 | First-year actors
K A L OS K A I AGATHOS
An Exploration of The Oedipus Plays
Adapted and directed by Jon Tracy
May 7–17, 2014
OUR L ADY OF 121ST STREET
by Stephen Adly Guiris
Directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe
March 13–21, 2014 | Second-year actors
AS YOU LIKE IT
by William Shakespeare
Adapted by Nancy Benjamin & Mark Rucker
Directed by Mark Rucker
On tour to Bay Area schools
May 14–17, 2014
TEACH FOR AMERICA
by Rob Ackerman
Directed by W.D. Keith
Performed at The Theater at the
Children’s Creativity Museum
March 2014 | Third-year actors
GR A DUAT E SHOWC A SE
A showcase presentation by the graduating class—performed
for agents, casting directors, and theater professionals in New
York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
SPRING REPERTORY PRODUCTIONS |
ALL STUDENT ACTORS
May 7–17, 2014
THE GIRL FROM MAXIM’S
by George Feydeau
Translated and adapted by Carly Cioffi
Directed by Mark Rucker
15
THE
FACULT Y
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT (L TO R) Stephen Buescher with Alex Crowther, class of ’12, in clown class; Dan Clegg and
Brian Clark Jansen, class of ’11, with Jeffrey Crockett; Courtney Thomas, Ben Kahre, and Matt Bradley, class of ’12,
with Melissa Smith; Carey Perloff in rehearsal with the class of ’11. All photos by Kevin Berne.
16
17
DIR ECTOR S
These faculty members provide the essential
instruction for the M.F.A. Program in Acting
during the school year. In addition, adjunct
faculty members teach courses within their
areas of specialty. Guest artists, A.C.T. artistic
staff, and other theater professionals are often
engaged on a short-term basis for master
classes, seminars, and workshops.
Core faculty members are on staff throughout
the school year to provide ongoing instruction
in their disciplines; A.C.T.’s associate artists
divide their time between A.C.T.’s mainstage
productions and teaching in the M.F.A. Program.
“The discipline and rigor of the
program and the raw, passionate
tenacity of the teachers makes A.C.T.
a place where you not only grow as an
artist, but also as a human being.”
C A I T L A N TAY L O R , class of ’16
THIS PAGE Carey Perloff (photo by Kevin Berne). NEXT PAGE
(L TO R) Nancy Benjamin; Ryan Williams French, class of ’15,
with Michael Paller (photo by Brenden Mendoza).
M E L I S S A S M I T H (Conservatory Director,
Head of Acting) has served as conservatory
director and head of acting in the A.C.T. M.F.A.
Program since 1995. During that time, she has
overseen the expansion of the M.F.A. Program
from a two- to a three-year course of study and
the further integration of the M.F.A. Program
faculty and student body with A.C.T.’s artistic
wing. A primary acting teacher in the M.F.A.
Program, she has also taught for the A.C.T.
Summer Training Congress (STC) and Studio
A.C.T. Prior to assuming leadership of the A.C.T.
Conservatory, Smith was the director of the
Program in Theater and Dance at Princeton
University, where she taught introductory,
intermediate, and advanced acting. She has
taught acting classes to students of all ages
in various colleges, high schools, and studios
around the continental United States, at the
Mid Pacific Institute in Hawaii, NYU’s La Pietra
campus in Florence, and the Teatro di Pisa in
San Miniato, Italy. She is featured in Acting
Teachers of America: A Vital Tradition. Also a
professional actor, she has performed regionally
at the Hangar Theatre, A.C.T., the California
Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory
Theatre; in New York at Primary Stages and Soho
Rep; and in England at the Barbican Theater in
London and Birmingham Rep in Birmingham.
Smith holds a B.A. from Yale College and an
M.F.A. in acting from Yale School of Drama.
C A R E Y P E R L O F F (A.C.T. Artistic Director)
recently celebrated her 20th year as artistic
director of A.C.T., where she most recently
directed Arcadia, Elektra (co-produced by
the Getty Villa in Malibu), Endgame and
Play, Scorched, The Homecoming, Tosca
Cafe (co-created with choreographer Val
Caniparoli and recently toured Canada), and
Racine’s Phèdre in a co-production with the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Known for
directing innovative productions of classics
and championing new writing for the theater,
Perloff has also directed for A.C.T. the American
premieres of Stoppard’s The Invention of Love and
Indian Ink and Harold Pinter’s Celebration; world
premieres of A.C.T.–commissioned translations/
adaptations of Phèdre, Hecuba, The Misanthrope,
Enrico IV, Mary Stuart, Uncle Vanya, A Mother,
and The Voysey Inheritance; major revivals
of numerous classic plays; and premieres of
several new works, including her own play The
Colossus of Rhodes. Perloff is also the author of
Luminescence Dating, Waiting for the Flood, and
Higher, which won the 2011 Blanche and Irving
Laurie Foundation Theatre Visions Fund Award
and received its world premiere in February 2012
in San Francisco. Before joining A.C.T., Perloff was
artistic director of Classic Stage Company, which
won a 1988 OBIE Award for artistic excellence
under her leadership. A recipient of France’s
Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and
the National Corporate Theatre Fund’s 2007
Artistic Achievement Award, Perloff graduated
from Stanford University and was a Fulbright
Fellow at Oxford. She was on the faculty of the
Tisch School of the Arts at New York University for
seven years.
18
THE FACULTY
CONTINUED
H E A D FA C U LT Y
NANCY BENJAMIN (Co-Head of Voice and
Dialects) divides her time between A.C.T. and the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada, where
she has been a voice, text, and dialect coach since
2000. She was a resident voice, text, and dialect
director for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in
Ashland for seven seasons. Benjamin has taught
and coached productions for numerous theaters
and training programs throughout the United
States and Canada, and at the National Theatre
School and Theatre ZaKeum in Zagreb, Croatia. She
was head of voice for the actor training program at
Illinois State University (1992–95). Benjamin holds
an M.F.A. in directing from Illinois State University
and an advanced diploma in voice studies from
Central School of Speech and Drama (London).
S T E P H E N B U E S C H E R (Head of Movement
and Physical Theater) is an actor, director, and
teacher who has taught physical theater in
various master’s programs, including Brown
University/Trinity Rep Consortium, Yale School
of Drama, the University of Connecticut, and the
University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has choreographed and coached movement for various
theaters, including A.C.T., Trinity Rep, Long Wharf
Theatre, and The Providence Black Repertory
Company. Buescher has performed nationally
and internationally with the Dell’Arte Company
and is a cofounder of Workhorse, an ensemblebased company. He is a recipient of TCG’s New
Generations Program grant and has served on the
board of the Network of Ensemble Theaters and
Trash Mash-Up. He is a graduate of The Dell’Arte
International School of Physical Theatre and
California Institute of the Arts.
J E F F R E Y C R O C K E T T (Head of Voice) has
been the primary voice teacher in the M.F.A.
Program since 1995. Other teaching includes:
Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Drammatica “Silvio
D’Amico” (Rome); Prima del Teatro, San Miniato,
Italy; Chautauqua Theater Company; Classic
Stage Company; DePaul University; California
State University, Fullerton; Stanford University;
and the Esalen Institute. He was resident voice
coach at the Children’s Theatre in Minneapolis
(1990–92) and has also coached at Theatre de la
Jeune Lune, Mixed Blood, Theatre Manoeuvres
(London), Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California
Shakespeare Theater, Word for Word, and Shotgun
Players. He earned an advanced diploma in voice
studies with distinction from Central School of
Speech and Drama (London) and is a certified
Alexander Technique teacher and practitioner of
Middendorf Breathwork. He has a private practice
in San Francisco and Rome.
M I C H A E L P A L L E R (Dramaturg) joined
A.C.T. as resident dramaturg and director of
humanities in August 2005. He began his
professional career as literary manager at Center
Repertory Theatre (Cleveland), then worked as a
play reader and script consultant for Manhattan
Theatre Club, and has since been a dramaturg for
George Street Playhouse, the Berkshire Theatre
Festival, Barrington Stage Company, Long Wharf
Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, and
others. He dramaturged the Russian premiere
of Tennessee Williams’s Small Craft Warnings at
the Sovremennik Theater in Moscow. Paller is the
author of Gentlemen Callers: Tennessee Williams,
Homosexuality, and Mid-Twentieth-Century Drama
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) and Williams in an
Hour (Smith & Kraus 2010); he has also written
theater and book reviews for the Washington Post,
Village Voice, Newsday, and Mirabella magazine.
He recently adapted the text for the San Francisco
Symphony’s multimedia presentation of Peer
Gynt. Before his arrival at A.C.T., he taught at
Columbia University and the State University
of New York at Purchase. Since then, he’s
dramaturged over 50 productions and workshops.
L I S A A N N P O R T E R (Co-Head of Voice
and Dialects) has served on the faculties of UC
Berkeley, UC Davis, Shakespeare & Company, The
Tepper Center (New York City), Naropa University,
THE FACULTY
CONTINUED
California Shakespeare Theater, and Berkeley
Repertory Theatre. She was associate professor
of voice/acting/text in the B.F.A. program at
Syracuse University (2001–06), where in her first
year teaching, she was awarded the Most Inspirational Faculty Award. She has coached voice and
dialect in more than 60 productions nationwide.
As a professional actor, she has performed with
numerous repertory companies and Shakespeare
festivals throughout the country. Porter has an
M.F.A. in acting from A.C.T., a B.A. in theater and
American studies from Wesleyan University, and
is certified in Linklater voice training.
R ESIDENT A RTISTS
DOMENIQUE LOZANO is a resident artist with
A.C.T., where she directs the main stage production
of A Christmas Carol, as well as being a core faculty
member in the M.F.A. Program, and a teacher in the
Young Conservatory and Studio A.C.T. Programs.
Projects with the M.F.A. include Sueno, Happy to
Stand, Saved, References to Salvador Dali Make
Me Hot, Richard III; the Will on Wheels touring
productions of Twelfth Night, Othello, and The
Comedy of Errors; and nine graduate showcases.
Recent YC projects include Jodie Marshall’s A
Stone’s Throw, with the Aberdeen International
Youth Festival and the world premieres of Staying
Wild, Homefront, and Korczak’s Children. She
also wrote a new translation of Brecht’s The
Caucasian Chalk Circle, which premiered at A.C.T.
in 2010. Acting credits include work with California
Shakespeare Theater (artistic associate), A.C.T.,
Berkeley Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory
Theatre, San Jose Stage Company, and the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival.
C R A I G S L A I G H T (Young Conservatory
Director) joined A.C.T. in 1988 and has since
taught in all of the conservatory programs
and served as a resident director on the A.C.T.
mainstage and as a member of the artistic
team. Slaight began the Young Conservatory’s
New Plays Program in 1989 with the mission
to develop plays by outstanding professional
playwrights who view the world through the
eyes of the young. This program was expanded
in 2008 to include the development of new work
featuring both young actors and M.F.A. Program
actors in coproductions. To date, more than
35 new plays by leading American and British
playwrights have been developed and produced.
Before coming to A.C.T., Slaight was an awardwinning professional director in Los Angeles.
N I C K G A B R I E L (Studio A.C.T. Director) is
a Sadler Award–winning graduate of the A.C.T.
Master of Fine Arts Program. He is Resident Artist
at A.C.T., where he has appeared in Scorched,
Endgame (opposite Bill Irwin), Arcadia, Good
Breeding, Napoli!, The Orphan of Zhao, and Once
in a Lifetime. He has also played principal roles
in major productions at the Milwaukee Repertory
Theater, Capital Repertory Theatre, Brooklyn
Lyceum, California Shakespeare Theater, New
York’s Town Hall, Saratoga Performing Arts
Center (SPAC), South Coast Repertory Theatre,
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, La Jolla Playhouse, and
elsewhere. Gabriel is the Director of Studio A.C.T.
and serves on the faculties of the A.C.T. Master
of Fine Arts program, San Francisco Semester,
Summer Training Congress, Young Conservatory,
and ACTsmart education and outreach program.
He received his undergraduate degree in musical
theater from the University of Michigan and is a
Ten Chimneys Foundation Lunt-Fontanne Fellow.
19
A N T H O N Y F U S C O has appeared at
A.C.T. in Dead Metaphor, Elektra, Play, Race,
The Homecoming, Clybourne Park, Round and
Round the Garden, The Caucasian Chalk Circle,
November, Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo,
War Music, Rock ‘n’ Roll, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore,
The Government Inspector, The Rainmaker, The
Imaginary Invalid, Hedda Gabler, Travesties, The
Rivals, The Voysey Inheritance, The Gamester,
A Mother, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Three
Sisters, Night and Day, The Room and Celebration,
Enrico IV, The Misanthrope, Edward II, and A
Christmas Carol. Other Bay Area credits include
leading roles in Blithe Spirit, Candida, King
Lear, The Tempest, The Importance of Being
Earnest, Arms and the Man, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, and The Skin of Our Teeth for California
Shakespeare Theater; My Old Lady at Marin
Theatre Company; and Traveling Jewish Theatre’s
production of The Chosen. On Broadway, he was
in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing (with Caroline
Lagerfelt) and The Real Inspector Hound. Fusco’s
many off-Broadway credits include The Holy
Terror, Cantorial, Danton’s Death, and A Life in
the Theatre. He trained at Juilliard and The Barrow
Group School.
THE FACULTY
CONTINUED
M A R K R U C K E R (A.C.T. Associate Artistic
Director) has directed A.C.T. productions of Maple
and Vine, Higher, Once in a Lifetime, Marcus;
or The Secret of Sweet, The Rainmaker, and The
Beard of Avon on the mainstage; Luminescence
Dating at Magic Theatre; and several M.F.A.
Program productions. He is an associate artist
at South Coast Repertory Theatre, where he has
directed more than 20 productions, including
world premieres by Richard Greenberg, Christopher
Shinn, Annie Weisman, and Culture Clash. Other
regional credits include work at Yale Repertory
Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, Intiman
Theatre, and The Old Globe. He has also worked
with such Bay Area companies as California
Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre,
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and SF Playhouse. His
feature film, Die, Mommie, Die!, won a Special Jury
Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
A S S O C I AT E FA C U LT Y
K A R I P R I N D L (Alexander Technique) grew up
around the world before graduating from Oberlin
College with a degree in English with a concentration in theater. At Oberlin, she also took cello
lessons at the conservatory and was extensively
involved with the dance department. After college,
she moved to San Francisco and trained with
Frank Ottiwell at the Alexander Training Institute
of San Francisco. Since her certification in 1992,
Prindl has maintained a private practice in San
Francisco and has taught at various institutions
across the country, including San Francisco State
University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music,
the Community Music Center, and Henderson State
University in Arkansas, as well as in A.C.T.’s Young
Conservatory, Summer Training Congress, and
M.F.A. Program.
R O B E R T R U T T (Singing) became music
director of A.C.T.’s annual mainstage production
of A Christmas Carol in 2010. He has performed
extensively as a singer and pianist, including
engagements with The Metropolitan Opera in New
York; San Francisco Opera, where he was first tenor
in the chorus (1990–93); and the San Francisco
company of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of
the Opera (1993–99). For the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program,
he has served as musical director for productions
of Little Shop of Horrors, Sweet Charity, The Full
Monty, and The Wild Party as well as Cabarets
and Revues. He has served as music director
and pianist for many A.C.T. Young Conservatory
musicals, including the West Coast premieres of
Show Choir! The Musical, Darling, Homefront and
Staying Wild. He regularly accompanies classes
for the Young Conservatory, Studio A.C.T., and the
M.F.A. Program.
E L Y S E S H A F A R M A N (Alexander Technique)
holds a B.A. in Dance, an M.A. in Physiological
Psychology, and Alexander Technique teacher
certification from Frank Ottiwell. She is also on the
faculty of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre and
maintains a private Alexander Technique practice
in San Francisco and Berkeley. Her approach to
teaching is influenced by her keen interest in the
mind-body connection for both artistic expression
and health. Ms. Shafarman is currently completing
a 200-hour level certification to teach Vinyasa Yoga
and blogs frequently about Alexander Technique,
Argentine Tango, and psychophysiology.
JACK F. SHARRAR (Director of Academic Affairs/
Theater History/Accreditation Liaison Officer)
received A.C.T.’s Managing Director’s Award. He
has served as a theater panelist for the National
Foundation for Advancement of the Arts and is a
member of Actors’ Equity and the Screen Actors
Guild. His credits include roles at Michigan
Repertory Theater, Mountainside Theater, the
BoarsHead Theatre, Theatre 40, Pioneer Theatre
Company, A.C.T. (studio), numerous media roles,
20
and direction of more than 50 plays and musicals.
He is author of Avery Hopwood: His Life and Plays
(UMI); editor of Avery Hopwood’s unpublished
novel, The Great Bordello: A Story of the Theatre
(Mondial); contributor to the American National
Biography (Oxford) and The Gay and Lesbian
Theatrical Heritage (UMI); coeditor (with Craig
Slaight) of numerous scene and monologue
books for young actors (Smith & Kraus); adapter
of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Debutante, Hopwood’s
Fair and Warmer (Playscripts); and author of
an original play, Up in Avery’s Room (Theatre
Rhinoceros). His Better Angels, from the Civil War
writings of Louisa May Alcott and Walt Whitman,
was performed in A.C.T.’s Sky Festival. He is a
graduate of the University of Michigan and holds
a Ph.D. in theater history and dramatic literature
from the University of Utah.
PREVIOUS PAGE (L TO R) Philip Estrera, class of ’14, in The Orphan of Zhao (photo by Kevin Berne). CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
LEFT (L TO R) Associate Artistic Director Mark Rucker (far right) with students from the community (photo by Timothy Faust);
Domenique Lozano working with students (photo by Kevin Berne); associate artist Nick Gabriel, class of ’10, in class with
students from San Francisco’s Downtown High School. All photos by Alessandra Mello, unless otherwise indicated.
21
22
A . C .T.’ S
Elizabeth Banks, class of ’96
Denzel Washington
SHINING STARS
P R O M I N E N T A .C .T. A L U M N I
Celebrated alumni of A.C.T.’s training programs
include Elizabeth Banks, Annette Bening,
Carlos Bernard, Benjamin Bratt, Nicolas Cage,
Christopher Fitzgerald, Danny Glover, Harry
Hamlin, Teri Hatcher, Amy Irving, Delroy Lindo,
Camryn Manheim, Omar Metwally, Anika Noni
Rose, Winona Ryder, Anna Deavere Smith,
Milo Ventimiglia, Denzel Washington, and
Sharr White. A.C.T. has also trained such rising
talents as Heidi Armbruster (Time Stands Still on
Broadway), Steven W. Bailey (Grey’s Anatomy),
Daniel Beaty (Emergence-SEE! at The Public
Theater), Anna Belknap (CSI: NY), Neil Hopkins
(Lost, Big Love), Darren Criss (Glee and How to
Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on
Broadway), Christopher Fitzgerald (Wicked and
Young Frankenstein on Broadway), and Morgan
Spector (A View from the Bridge on Broadway and
the national tour of The Lion King).
A.C.T. is a vital talent resource for professional
theaters, theatrical agents, and film and
television casting directors—and A.C.T. graduates
grace stages and screens all over the world.
Current M.F.A. Program actors also connect with
and learn from alumni through A.C.T.’s annual
alumni events in New York and Los Angeles.
Recent acting, writing, and directing credits of
A.C.T. alumni include work on these productions
and with these companies:
T H E A T E R The 25th Annual Putnam County
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Our Idiot Brother Padre Nuestro (2007 Sundance
Grand Jury Prize) People Like UsǮPoor ThingsǮ
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:Ǯ:KDWWR([SHFW:KHQ<RXǧUH([SHFWLQJǮ=DFN
and Miri Make a Porno
PREVIOUS PAGE (FROM TOP) Elizabeth Banks, class of ’96, in The Uninvited (photo by Kimberley French/Dreamworks); Denzel
Washington accepts a 2010 Tony Award for his role in Fences (photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images).
THIS PAGE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Annette Bening, class of ’82, with Julianne Moore in The Kids Are All Right (photo
courtesy Focus Features); Christina Elmore, class of ‘12, with a shipmate in The Last Ship (photo courtesy TNT); Anika Noni Rose
in the Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times); Harry Hamlin, class of ’76, in Mad
Men (photo by Jamie Trueblood/AMC); Dileep Rao, class of ’98, in Inception (photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures); Christopher
Fitzgerald, class of ’97, in Broadway’s The Merchant of Venice (photo by Joan Marcus).
NEXT PAGE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Rebekah Brockman (left), class of ’13, with Michael Patrick Thornton in Our Town at
Actors Theater of Louisville (photo by Bill Brymer); Heidi Armbruster, class of ’02, with Aasif Mandvi in Disgraced (photo by Sara
Krulwich/The New York Times); Alex Morf (left), class of ‘08, with Ron Cephas Jones in Broadway’s Of Mice and Men (photo by
Bruce Glikas/Broadway.com ); Darby Stanchfield, class of ’98, in Scandal (photo by Danny Feld/ABC); Morgan Spector, class of
‘06, with Raviv Ullman in Russian Transport (photo by Monique Carboni).
Annette Bening (right), class of ’82
Christina Elmore, class of ’12
Anika Noni Rose,
class of ’98
Christopher Fitzgerald,
class of ’97
Harry Hamlin, class of ’76
T E L E V I S I O N %URNH*LUOVǮ0LOHVRI%DG
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-DFNLHǮ3HUVRQRI,QWHUHVWǮPrivate PracticeǮRescue
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7UDXPDǮ7UXH%ORRGǮ7KH8QLWǮ9HURQLFD0DUV
Heidi Armbruster (left),
class of ’02
Rebekah Brockman (left), class of ’13
Alex Morf (left), class of ’08
Morgan Spector (left), class of ’06
Darby Stanchfield,
class of ’98
25
PROGR A M
ADMISSION
A P P L I C AT I O N D E A D L I N E
JANUARY 9, 2015
FINANCIAL AID DE ADLINE
FEBRUARY 12, 2015
E NROL L ME N T I N T HE M . F. A .
P R O G R A M is by audition and interview only.
Applicants must be high school graduates or
equivalent. Applicants who hold a bachelor’s
degree from an accredited college or university
are eligible to receive a master of fine arts degree
in acting upon successful completion of the three
years of training. Applicants who do not hold an
accredited bachelor’s degree receive a certificate
in acting upon successful completion of the three
years of training.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP (L TO R) Aaron Moreland (left), class
of ’14, with Benjamin Quinn and Josie Alvarez, class of ‘15, in
Sueño (photo by Alessandra Mello); Jessica Kitchens and Jason
Frank, class of ’12, in movement class; Ryan Williams French,
class of ‘15, with Blair Busbee, class of ’14, in Sueño (photo by
Alessandra Mello).
For the class of 2018, approximately 12 students
will be selected. Approximately 90% of admitted
first-year students receive some form of financial
aid. Historically, the average age of students
entering the M.F.A. Program has been 24.
A U D I T I O N S A.C.T. holds auditions for the
M.F.A. Program each year during January and
February. Auditions are held in New York, Chicago,
and San Francisco. Final callback auditions for
qualified applicants are subsequently held in San
Francisco, with transportation and accommodation for callbacks provided by A.C.T.
AU DI T ION DAT E S
New York City Jan 23–25, 2015
San Francisco Jan 31, 2015 (Bay Area residents)
Chicago Feb 3–4, 2015
San Francisco Feb 7–8, 2015 (non–Bay Area residents)
Callbacks in San Francisco Feb 27–Mar 1, 2015
Applicants must prepare two audition selections
that provide a contrast in mood and tone (one
from a classical verse play and one from a
contemporary play). Sonnets, poems, songs, and
other nondramatic materials are not acceptable.
Please limit selections to a total of four minutes
to allow time for an interview.
MASTER OF FINE ARTS DEGREE
R E Q U I R E M E N T S The master of fine arts
in acting degree may be conferred upon a
student who holds a bachelor’s degree from
an accredited college and who successfully
completes the three consecutive years of training.
C E R T I F IC AT E OF AC T I NG
R E Q U I R E M E N T S The certificate in acting
is awarded to students who do not hold a
degree from an accredited college, but who
successfully complete the three-year M.F.A.
Program. Applicants for the certificate in acting
must have graduated from high school prior to
September 1, 2011. The admission requirements
and training for the certificate are identical
to those for the M.F.A. degree. A student who
receives a bachelor’s degree after being awarded
the certificate in acting may have the certificate
converted into an M.F.A. degree upon submission
of a certified transcript from the accredited
institution awarding the baccalaureate. For
gainful employment details about the certificate
program, please visit the M.F.A. Program’s
“General Information” and “Student Right to
Know”pages at act-sf.org/conservatory.
A PPL IC AT ION PROC EDU R E S
All applicants must submit:
A completed application form (download the
application forms online at act-sf.org/mfa
A nonrefundable, nonwaivable application
fee in the form of a cashier’s check or money
order payable to American Conservatory
Theater in the amount of $90
A current résumé listing previous theater
training and experience
One head-and-shoulder, full-face
photograph (8" x 10" is best, but a 5" x 7"
snapshot is acceptable)
Two current confidential letters of recommendation, which may either accompany the
application or be submitted separately
Official transcripts of all college work if the
applicant has attended college, or proof of
high school graduation or equivalent if the
applicant has not attended college
An essay (no longer than one typewritten
page) describing why the applicant is
pursuing a career in theater
Upon receipt of the above materials, the
applicant will be mailed an acknowledgment
from the office of academic affairs. The applicant
will be notified at the first opportunity of his or
her audition date, time, and place. Applicants
are strongly encouraged to submit all application
materials in one packet, if possible.
R E A PPL IC AT ION PROC EDU R E S
Students who applied to A.C.T. last year but were
not offered admission or who declined an offer of
admission must submit a new application form
with the application fee, an updated résumé, and
one current letter of recommendation. Admission
files are maintained for one year, and materials
originally submitted will be reactivated upon
reapplication. Another audition and interview will
be required. Students who applied more than one
year ago must submit all new materials. A student
who withdraws or is dismissed must audition
again for readmission. Readmission may occur
only at the beginning of the school year.
T U I T I O N A N D F E E S * Tuition for the
2014–15 school year is $26,000. Each Master
of Fine Arts Program student who matriculates
during or after fall 2015 will be cast in one (1)
A.C.T. professional production in his or her
third year of the program, either onstage or as
an understudy, for which he or she will receive
compensation in accordance with the theneffective contract between A.C.T. and Actors’
Equity Association (AEA). Such compensation
does not include AEA initiation fees or dues, for
which the student will be solely and individually
responsible. In addition, students may also
be cast under A.C.T.’s concession agreement
with AEA, for which there is no monetary
compensation. Students are responsible for
full tuition for each of their three years. Tuition
26
and fees are due and payable at the beginning
of each semester. A $40 fee will be assessed
for late payment. Deferred payment plans may
be arranged at A.C.T.’s discretion. Students are
required to return a deposit of $500, applicable
to tuition, with the letter of acceptance. Fees
are as follows: first year: a Cultural Landscape
course fee of $300 is collected for tickets to Bay
Area arts programs, and a Stage Makeup course
fee of $155 is collected for materials. A $25
library fee is collected from all students each
semester of each school year.
*The costs of tuition and fees are established annually and are subject to change.
A F I N A L W O R D The work undertaken in
the M.F.A. Program is intense. It is designed to
stretch students emotionally, physically, and
intellectually. Students who are thinking about
applying for the program should consider their
preparedness before making a commitment.
The curriculum includes a wide range of physical
activity, and students are expected to enroll in the
program in good health. Each entering student is
required to have had a complete medical checkup
prior to admission and must submit a recent
certificate of good health from his or her physician
when returning the enrollment agreement.
VISIT
ACT-SF.ORG/MFA
FOR A L L A PPLIC AT ION M AT E RI A L S
27
SUMMER TRAINING
CONGR ESS
“The STC is an opportunity for actors who want to
deepen their knowledge and technique at one of the
best acting schools in the country, and also for those
who want to experience a taste of what a graduate
program in acting might be like.”
O M A R M E T W A L LY, 67&DQG0)$3URJUDPDOXPQXVDQG
Tony Award–nominated actor (Sixteen Wounded, Rendition,
Munich, Amsterdam, and Twilight: Breaking Dawn)
THIS PAGE (FROM LEFT) Students in class; Omar Metwally, class of ’97 (photo by
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters). NEXT PAGE (FROM TOP) STC Director Chris Herold teaching
a class; M. Graham Smith teaching a class. All photos by Ryan Montgomery, unless
otherwise indicated.
Omar Metwally, class of ’97
28
T H E A .C .T. S U M M E R T R A I N I N G
C O N G R E S S (STC) This competitive program
offers intensive professional actor training to
students age 19 and older with some prior theater
training or experience. Every year the STC attracts
hundreds of applicants from throughout the
United States and various foreign countries. The
STC offers both intermediate actors and moreseasoned performers an opportunity to take their
training to the next level; many STC students later
pursue graduate degree programs in acting or
begin their professional careers.
play for the five-week session or from a classical
piece for the two-week intensive. Sonnets,
poems, and other nondramatic materials are not
acceptable. Please limit selection to no more
than two minutes.
Each summer the STC curriculum includes a
five-week session, focusing on contemporary
acting, and a two-week classical intensive.
The two sessions may be attended together or
separately. STC sessions generally take place
from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday,
and culminate in class presentations for fellow
students, faculty, and staff. The STC teaching
staff consists of members of our regular conservatory faculty and core acting company, as
well as distinguished guests. All instructors are
theater professionals.
C R E D I T S 5-Week Curriculum: 303 Acting
Technique 3.0 credits; 313 Movement 1.0 credit;
323 Voice and Speech Dynamics 1.0 credit; 5.0
credits total. 2-Week Curriculum: 373 Classical
Acting 2.0 credits; 2.0 credits total.
P L A C E M E N T I N T E R V I E W S Interviews are
held during registration week in order to place
each student in an appropriate “company” of
classmates. Applicants who are accepted must
prepare one monologue from a contemporary
C U R R I C U L U M Upon satisfactory completion
of the STC, students receive undergraduate
credit. To receive full credit, students must
complete the entire curriculum of their chosen
session, including the final presentation. Go to
act-sf.org/stc for complete course listings.
F E E S $2,750 for the 5-week session; $1,150
for the two-week classical intensive; and both
sessions for $3,250.
H O W T O A P P L Y Applications for the Summer
2014 session are due May 22, 2014; students who
are applying for scholarships must complete their
admission and scholarship applications by
April 17, 2014. Please visit www.act-sf.org/0
stc for
complete application information and deadlines.
THE
SAN FRANCISCO
SEMESTER
A PROFESSIONA L T HE AT ER
E X P E R I E N C E A T A . C .T.
Are you ready for an artistic, intellectual, and personal transformation?
Embark on a study away program at one of the country’s most acclaimed
professional theater companies—in the heart of one of the world’s most
culturally vibrant and diverse cities.
29
THE SAN FR ANCISCO SEMESTER
Grounded in a rich academic curriculum, this
dynamic new program brings young theater
artists into an active, ongoing engagement with
the eclectic and energetic arts community of
San Francisco and the Bay Area. Surrounded
by some of the most creative and ambitious
theater students in the country, you’ll expand
your understanding of theater as you define
yourself as an artist. In the classroom and
at performances across the Bay Area, you’ll
explore theater from a multitude of angles—
from the page to the stage, as viewer and
performer, across a variety of artistic genres.
Through inspiring, experiential courses and
wide-ranging artistic encounters, the San
Francisco Semester will pull you into thrilling
conversations about theater as an ever-evolving
art form. Study in a professional setting while
coming face to face with some of the boldest
productions anywhere. From theater, opera,
dance, and symphony performances, to museum
and music club outings, you’ll view and discuss
a broad spectrum of cultural experiences.
By the end of the semester, you’ll know San
Francisco like a local insider—not a tourist. As
you immerse yourself in one of the country’s
most thrilling cultural centers, you’ll expand
your understanding of what theater can be.
Students will also have opportunities to interact
with Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program actors
while watching performances at A.C.T. and across
San Francisco, observing rehearsals and performances, and attending workshops and readings.
C U R R I C U L U M The 15-week program
features a 17-credit core curriculum, which
includes coursework in acting styles, physical
theater, voice/dialects, cultural landscapes,
and creating original work. The curriculum
will be enhanced by numerous master classes
30
with visiting artists, as well as meetings
with professional directors, playwrights,
designers, stage managers, and producers.
E L I G I B I L I T Y Theater majors in their
junior or senior year of college; theater minors
and second-term sophomores with special
recommendations from theater faculty;
recent college graduates (after September
1, 2012) with a theater major or minor.
F E E S $15,000 for tuition; $7,700 for housing
(approximate); $325 for course fees; $50
application fee.
H O W T O A P P L Y Applications for the
Spring 2015 session are due November 1,
2014. Applications for the Fall 2015 session are
due May 1, 2015. Financial aid is available.
VISIT
ACT-SF.ORG/SFSEMESTER
FOR COURSE INFORMATION, DEADLINES,
AND APPLICATION MATERIALS.
PREVIOUS PAGE (FROM TOP) Benjamin Quinn, class of
’15, inRomeo and Juliet (photo by Alessandra Mello); San
Francisco’s Painted Ladies. THIS PAGE (FROM TOP) A.C.T.
students in class (photo by Kevin Berne); a student performs
in class (photo by Kevin Berne); the Golden Gate Bridge.

master fine arts program - American Conservatory Theater

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