SAN FRANCISCO’S PREMIER NONPROFIT THEATER COMPANY

JUL 2018 SEASON 52, ISSUE 1 Summer Nights

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Summer Solstice Celebrating the Italian Gardeners Thursdays, June 7 – August 30 June 21 August 9 Open Until 8:00pm Bug Out and Bee Wild Kids Night Out June 28 August 16

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Summer Blooms July 19

$2 Off Admission For more information, please visit with Code: SUNS www.filoli.org/summer-nights

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EAP full-page template.indd 1 7/3/18 11:12 AM EXPERIENCE, DEDICATION, RESULTS. Simply the Best!

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4 ACT-SF.ORG SAN FRANCISCO'S THEATER COMPANY

American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco’s Tony Award– A.C.T.’s 50-year-old Conservatory, led by Melissa Smith, is at winning nonprofit theater, nurtures the art of live theater the center of our work. Our three-year, fully accredited Master through dynamic productions, intensive actor training, of Fine Arts Program is at the forefront of America’s actor and ongoing engagement with our community. Under the training programs. Meanwhile, our intensive Summer Training leadership of Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon and Executive Congress attracts students from around the world, and the San Director Jennifer Bielstein, we embrace our responsibility to Francisco Semester offers a unique study-abroad opportunity conserve, renew, and reinvent our rich theatrical traditions and for undergraduates. Other programs include Studio A.C.T.—our literatures, while exploring new artistic forms and communities. expansive course of theater study for adults—and the Professional Founded by William Ball, a pioneer of the regional theater Development Training Program, which offers actor training movement, A.C.T. opened its first San Francisco season in for companies seeking to elevate their employees’ business 1967. We have since performed more than 250 productions performance skills. Our alumni often grace our mainstage and to a combined audience of more than seven million people. perform around the Bay Area, as well as on stages and screens Every year we reach more than 250,000 people through our across the country. productions and programs. A.C.T. also brings the benefits of theater-based arts education Rising from the wreckage of the earthquake and fire of 1906 and to more than 17,000 Bay Area students and educators each hailed as the “perfect playhouse,” the beautiful, historic Geary year. Director of Education & Community Programs Elizabeth Theater has been our home since the beginning. When the 1989 Brodersen oversees the world-famous Young Conservatory Loma Prieta earthquake ripped the roof apart, San Franciscans (for students ages 8 to 19) and our ACTsmart education rallied together to raise a record-breaking $30 million to rebuild programs, including the Student Matinee (SMAT) program the theater. The Geary reopened in 1996 with a production of The that has brought hundreds of thousands of young people Tempest directed by Carey Perloff, who took over as A.C.T.’s third to A.C.T. performances since 1968. We also provide touring artistic director in 1992 after the retirement of gentleman artist Will on Wheels Shakespeare productions, teaching-artist Edward Hastings. residencies, in-school workshops, and study materials to Bay Area schools and community-based organizations. Perloff’s 25-season tenure was marked by groundbreaking productions and translations of classical works; cross-disciplinary With the appointment of Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon performances and international collaborations; and theater made and Executive Director Jennifer Bielstein, our continuing by, for, and about the Bay Area. These traditions of exploring commitment to the development of new work and new powerful stories by celebrated artists and introducing audiences artists, and A.C.T.’s increased presence in the Central Market to extraordinary emerging voices in American theater continue neighborhood with The Strand and The Costume Shop under A.C.T.’s current artistic director, Pam MacKinnon, who took theaters, A.C.T. plays a leadership role in securing the future the helm in July 2018. of theater for San Francisco and the nation.

American Conservatory Theater Board of Trustees (As of July 2018) The Board of Directors of the M.F.A. Program David Riemer Ray Apple Sally Rosenblatt EMERITUS CHAIR Jennifer Bielstein Rusty Rueff ADVISORY BOARD Abby Sadin Schnair Kay Yun Lesley Ann Clement Abby Sadin Schnair Barbara Bass Bakar CHAIR PRESIDENT Jerome L. Dodson Lori Halverson Schryer Rena Bransten Kirke M. Hasson Olympia Dukakis Jeff Spears Jack Cortis Sara Barnes IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR Frannie Fleishhacker Robert Tandler Joan Danforth Carlotta Dathe Nancy Livingston Ken Fulk Patrick S. Thompson Dagmar Dolby Frannie Fleishhacker CHAIR EMERITA Patti Hart Joaquin Torres William Draper III Arnie Glassberg Celeste Ford Dianne Hoge Jeffrey W. Ubben John Goldman Dianne Hoge VICE CHAIR Jo S. Hurley Susy Wadsworth Kaatri Grigg Christopher Hollenbeck Priscilla Geeslin Alan Jones Nola Yee James Haire Luba Kipnis VICE CHAIR Jascha Kaykas-Wolff Kent Harvey Linda Kurtz James H. Levy Sue Yung Li Robina Riccitiello Jennifer Lindsay Heather Stallings Little Christine Mattison VICE CHAIR Toni Ratner Miller Janet V. Lustgarten Joan McGrath Steven L. Swig Joseph Ratner Pam MacKinnon Deedee McMurtry VICE CHAIR Toni Rembe Jamie Martin Mary S. Metz Linda Jo Fitz Lori Halverson Schryer Jeffrey S. Minick Cherie Sorokin TREASURER Anne Shonk Michael P. Nguyen Barry Lawson Williams Adriana López Vermut Melissa Smith Martim Oliveira Carlie Wilmans SECRETARY Patrick S. Thompson Toni Rembe

American Conservatory Theater was founded in 1965 by William Ball. Edward Hastings, Artistic Director 1986–92. Carey Perloff, Artistic Director 1992–2018.

415.749.2228 5

L U FOUNDRY FATHERS INTRODUCING A.C.T.’S READING IPA 18 19 LAGER

JOIN OUR NEXT CHAPTER WITH NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PAM MACKINNON

SUBSCRIBE TODAY act-sf.org/join | 415.749.2228 SEP 26–OCT 21, 2018 AT THE GEARY

FEB 13–APR 14, 2019 AT THE STRAND MAR 6–31, 2019 AT THE GEARY OCT 17–DEC 16, 2018 AT THE STRAND JAN 23–FEB 17, 2019 AT THE GEARY

APR 17–MAY 12, 2019 AT THE GEARY MAY 29–JUN 23, 2019 AT THE GEARY by Lynn Nottage L U FOUNDRY FATHERS READING LAGER IPA Directed by Loretta Greco

WINNER WINNER NOMINATION OBIE AWARD PULITZER PRIZE TONY AWARD FOR PLAYWRITING FOR DRAMA FOR BEST PLAY 2017 2017 2017 “Scorching! Lynn Nottage is writing at the peak

of her power”

The New York Times DON’T JUST SIT THERE . . .

If theater is a reflection of our world then Sweat is a mirror—clear-eyed, comedic, insightful, and unflinchingly real. Inspired by

the stories of Rust Belt workers, this Pulitzer At A.C.T.’s free InterACT events, you Prize–winning drama by Lynn Nottage can mingle with cast members, join by interactive workshops with theater artists, (Ruined, Las Meninas) was described as “the and meet fellow theatergoers at hosted Lynn Nottage LL first theatrical landmark of the Trump era,” celebrations in our lounges. Join us for UU Sweat and InterACT with us! FOUNDRYFOUNDRY by the New Yorker, “a tough yet empathetic FATHERSFATHERS READINGREADING IPAIPA portrait of the America that came undone.” LAGERLAGER BIKE TO THE THEATER NIGHT Directed by SEP 26, 7 PM Sweat follows a community of factory workers Take advantage of secure bike parking, Loretta Greco low-priced tickets, and our preshow in Reading, Pennsylvania—the blue-collar heart mixer, presented in partnership with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. of our steel industry—who have gathered in PROLOGUE the local bar for generations to share laughs, OCT 2, 5:30 PM hopes, and cold beers. But as recession Go deeper with a fascinating preshow discussion with a member of the Sweat looms and union lock-out turns assembly artistic team.

line into picket line, lifelong friends find THEATER ON THE COUCH* OCT 5, 8 PM themselves pitted against each other in the Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, struggle to survive. Directed by Magic this postshow discussion explores the minds, motivation, and behavior of Artistic Director and Geary regular Loretta the characters.

Greco (Blackbird, Speed-the-Plow), this is a AUDIENCE EXCHANGE* compelling and engaging drama that mines the OCT 9, 7 PM; OCT 14, 2 PM; OCT 17, 2 PM Join us for an exciting Q&A with the cast grit, joy, and resilience of the American dream. following the show. OUT WITH A.C.T.* OCT 10, 8 PM Mix and mingle at this hosted postshow LGBTQ+ party.

WENTE VINEYARDS WINE SERIES SEP 26–OCT 21, 2018 OCT 16, 7 PM Meet fellow theatergoers at this hosted A.C.T.’S GEARY THEATER wine-tasting event. PLAYTIME OCT 20, 12:45 PM Get hands-on with theater at this interactive preshow workshop.

*Events take place immediately following the performance. WINNER WINNER NOMINATION OBIE AWARD PULITZER PRIZE TONY AWARD FOR PLAYWRITING FOR DRAMA FOR BEST PLAY act-sf.org/sweat To learn more about our InterACT events, 2017 2017 2017 415.749.2228 visit act-sf.org/interact. San Francisco Symphony New Season On Sale Now

Film Series with Live Orchestra

Jurassic Park The Nightmare Before Christmas Mary Poppins Close Encounters of the Third Kind La La Land

Concerts at Davies Symphony Hall unless otherwise noted. Programs, artists, and prices subject to change. Box O�� ice Hours Mon–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat noon–6pm, Sun 2 hours prior to concerts Walk Up Grove Street between Van Ness and Franklin Inaugural Partner O��icial Airline

EAP full-page template.indd 1 6/27/18 11:10 AM PHOTO BY JIM COX BY PHOTO

WHAT’S INSIDE Actors Antoine Yared and Nadine Malouf in The Old Globe and A.C.T.’s 2018 production of A Thousand Splendid Suns. ABOUT THE PLAY INSIDE A.C.T.

13 LETTER FROM THE 28 INTRODUCING A.C.T.’S NEW EDITOR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SIMON HODGSON Get to Know Jennifer Bielstein ASSOCIATE EDITOR 16 THE UNIVERSE OF By A.C.T. Publications Staff ELSPETH SWEATMAN THE HUMAN SPIRIT CONTRIBUTORS An Interview with Playwright Ursula Rani PAM MACKINNON Sarma and Novelist Khaled Hosseini TAYLOR STEINBECK By Simon Hodgson and SHANNON STOCKWELL Shannon Stockwell

18 SHIFTING SANDS Inside the World of VOLUNTEER! A Thousand Splendid Suns A.C.T. volunteers provide an invaluable service with their time, enthusiasm, and love of theater. By Elspeth Sweatman Opportunities include helping out in our performing arts library and ushering in our theaters.

act-sf.org/volunteer

WHAT’S HAPPENING Interested in acting? Clowning? A Place to Belong Urinetown: The Musical Taking your story from page (formerly SeaChange) Music and Lyrics by Mark Hollmann AT A.C.T. to stage? Studio A.C.T. offers exciting, A Collaborative Book and Lyrics by Greg Kotis rewarding classes for adults of all Youth Arts Project (CYAP) Directed by Jessica Bird backgrounds and experience levels. In Partnership with Enroll now at act-sf.org/studio. Destiny Arts Center A Tony Award–winning comedic From exciting performances by Marisela Treviño Orta musical about standing up for to enriching educational Directed by Elizabeth Carter the right to pee for free. opportunities, there’s lots to do and even more A new play asking challenging AUG 8–18 to look forward to at Ideal for those contemplating an questions about how the A.C.T.’s Strand Theater A.C.T. this summer! MFA program or gap year, the San changing face of the Bay Area Francisco Semester is an immersive affects young people today. and educational 15-week program that promotes creativity, collaboration, and JUL 24–27 The Rueff at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater exploration of personal artistry. To purchase tickets, visit Early bird application deadline for JUL 28–29 act-sf.org/ycshows Spring 2019 is October 15, 2018. Visit Destiny Arts Center, Oakland or call 415.749.2228. act-sf.org/sfs for more information.

11 415.749.2228 Barbara Bream, joined in 2011

Smarter Sized LIVING Less is more. Downsizing is the new smart sizing. Minimize to maximize. Just ask Barbara. After all, her parents lived here. In fact, the painting she’s holding once hung in their apartment; it now lives in her spacious apartment. St. Paul’s Towers is the East Bay’s most appealing Life Plan Community and offers maintenance-free living, weekly linen service, and extensive amenities that give her the freedom to do what she wants— aerobics, walking, and the theater. See why 94% of our residents highly recommend living here. To learn more, or for your personal visit, please call 510.891.8542.

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EAP full-page template.indd 1 10/3/17 3:28 PM FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Dear A.C.T. Community and Friends-To-Be, Untitled Tegan and Sara Musical, Both Your Houses, and the now critically acclaimed The Great Leap, by Bay Area playwright Welcome to the return of A Thousand Splendid Suns! Lauren Yee. I’m thrilled to be presenting Yee’s exceptional play at The Geary in March 2019, directed by Lisa Peterson. I am thrilled that my tenure as A.C.T.’s artistic director begins with Carey Perloff’s stunning production of A Thousand Splendid I am excited to see A Thousand Splendid Suns for the first time, Suns by Ursula Rani Sarma, based on the breathtakingly beautiful surrounded by you, my new home audience. I expect to learn and, at times, brutal novel by the Bay Area’s own Khaled much from Carey’s stagecraft in a theater where she has worked Hosseini. More than seven years after an initial conversation for the last 25 years and also learn from how you listen to this between Carey and Khaled about whether his sweeping story play. What do we, attending a story together in downtown San might work onstage, here we are. This is a two-week encore Francisco in July 2018, find funny or moving or astonishing? How presentation at The Geary, as this now internationally celebrated do we breathe together in this space along with the actors, as show winds its way from a successful run at The Old Globe in they tell a story? Do we bring the news of the day with us to bear, San Diego to Seattle Repertory Theatre later this summer. or leave it behind as the house lights dim and the music starts?

Having directed my fair share of new plays and adaptations, I I plan to take what I learn in July and pour it into my own recognize that their magic and power are an accumulation of production process for Edward Albee’s Seascape on the Geary inspiration, determination, and stamina, spread over a series of stage. This play about marriages in transition feels especially deadlines. They take the attention of dozens, if not ultimately apropos as my partner John and I set up new roots in San hundreds of people. Adaptation choices, script revisions, Francisco. Edward was a dear friend and essential collaborator. casting searches, collaborative conversations, fundraising, This will be the first time I am directing a play of his since he editing, schedule juggling, design discoveries, musical passed away, but his language brings him back. I am already in explorations, developmental workshops, set and costume delicious, anything-is-possible design conversations and casting construction, rehearsals, preview performances, opening for this amazing project, while also in discussion with Loretta nights, actors mining new depths through a run, audience Greco about her production of the Pulitzer Prize–winning play talkbacks, story circles and community events, closing nights, Sweat by Lynn Nottage, which kicks off the 2018–19 season. and more went into making a play that transports audiences Loretta and I have been talking about how we want the action across continents to a world at once familiar and new. pushed as close as possible to the audience, even into our laps, for this big play on American themes to land its punches. Lynn’s A.C.T. has an extraordinary history of developing new work and poetry soars, while her characters yearn for something better, artists for both our own stages and the American theater. I’m more, different. Sweat is a play largely set in a bar, but it’s really excited to be the artistic leader of a theater that commits to set in the spaces people make around themselves in a world of projects over time, letting them incubate and stretch, giving unforeseen scarcity and dreams deferred. I’m eager for the fall artists space and resources before the pressures of actual and this, my inaugural season, to start! But I get ahead of myself— production, while also letting audiences in to see where a story there are classes, readings of plays, workshop presentations, as is headed. Perhaps some of you participated in the development well as today’s performance of A Thousand Splendid Suns. of A Thousand Splendid Suns, including its 2016 workshop in The Rueff—the intimate, third-floor space at The Strand Theater— Enjoy, and please find me in the lobby to say a first hello. when composer and saw player David Coulter began his musical exploration of the emotional lives of these characters, or its presentation at the now three seasons-strong New Strands Festival. Other exciting new work we’ve nurtured over the past Pam MacKinnon few years through our various development programs are the Artistic Director

13 American Conservatory Theater and Destiny Arts Center present

by Marisela Treviño Orta Directed by Elizabeth Carter

A Bay Area story about speaking out, making space, and the activation of a generation

MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF: BILL GRAHAM MEMORIAL JUL 24–27 JUL 28–29 FOUNDATION, BERNARD OSHER FOUNDATION, AND JEWELS OF CHARITY, INC. THE RUEFF AT A.C.T.’S STRAND THEATER DESTINY ARTS CENTER ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: 1127 MARKET STREET, SAN FRANCISCO 970 GRACE AVENUE, OAKLAND KIMBALL FOUNDATION, THE STANLEY S. LANGENDORF FOUNDATION, AND 415.749.2228 | ACT-SF.ORG/CSVSHOWS 510.597.1619 | DESTINYARTS.ORG THE SATO FOUNDATION. PAM MACKINNON, Artistic Director JENNIFER BIELSTEIN, Executive Director PRESENTS

BY URSULA RANI SARMA BASED ON THE BOOK BY KHALED HOSSEINI ORIGINAL MUSIC WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY DAVID COULTER DIRECTED BY CAREY PERLOFF

CREATIVE TEAM CAST (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE) SCENIC DESIGNER KEN MACDONALD COSTUME DESIGNER LINDA CHO BABI JOSEPH KAMAL* LIGHTING DESIGNER ROBERT WIERZEL LAILA NADINE MALOUF* SOUND DESIGNER JAKE RODRIGUEZ FARIBA LANNA JOFFREY* CHOREOGRAPHER STEPHEN BUESCHER RASHEED HAYSAM KADRI* DRAMATURG MICHAEL PALLER MARIAM DENMO IBRAHIM* CASTING DIRECTOR JANET FOSTER, CSA TARIQ ANTOINE YARED* CULTURAL CONSULTANT HUMAIRA GHILZAI ABDUL SHARIF JASON KAPOOR* FIGHT CONSULTANT JONATHAN RIDER MULLAH FAIZULLAH JOSEPH KAMAL* ASSOCIATE NANA LANNA JOFFREY* LIGHTING DESIGNER ANDREW F. GRIFFIN JALIL JASON KAPOOR* ASSOCIATE WAKIL JASON KAPOOR* SOUND DESIGNER BETH LAKE INTERROGATOR JOSEPH KAMAL* AZIZA NIKITA TEWANI* DOCTOR LANNA JOFFREY* STAGE MANAGEMENT ZALMAI ANDRES ZAMORA** ZAMAN JOSEPH KAMAL* PRODUCTION TALIB HAYSAM KADRI* STAGE MANAGER ELISA GUTHERTZ* ENSEMBLE RINABETH APOSTOL* ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER DANI BAE* KUNAL PRASAD*

THIS PRODUCTION MADE POSSIBLE BY UNDERSTUDIES JACK AND SUSY WADSWORTH LAILA, MARIAM, AZIZA RINABETH APOSTOL* KATHLEEN SCUTCHFIELD INTERROGATOR LANNA JOFFREY* BABI HAYSAM KADRI* TARIQ, TALIB JASON KAPOOR* ZALMAI SUNIL MUKHERJEE WITH ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT MAURILLO** PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED BY RASHEED, ABDUL SHARIF, BURT AND DEEDEE MCMURTRY MULLAH FAIZULLAH KUNAL PRASAD* KATHERINE WELCH FARIBA, NANA, DOCTOR NIKITA TEWANI* JALIL, WAKIL, ZAMAN ANTOINE YARED*

A Thousand Splendid Suns is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. The development of this play was made possible by the Priscilla and Keith Geeslin New Strands Fund and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Fund for New Works. This project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Originally presented in partnership with Theatre Calgary.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States **Member of the A.C.T. Young Conservatory

415.749.2228 15 ABOUT THE PLAY Strong women dominate the work of award-winning playwright, poet, and screenwriter Ursula Rani Sarma. Throughout her career, the Irish Indian artist has explored complex and resilient female characters in such works as her play The Dark Things, her adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s Yerma, and her retelling of the biblical story of Salomé.

So it is no surprise that she was drawn to the story of Mariam and Laila, the two women at the center of Khaled Hosseini’s 2007 novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. It is Hosseini’s second of his three novels, the other two being And the Mountains Echoed (2013) and The Kite Runner (2003). Hosseini was inspired to write A Thousand Splendid Suns after visiting Afghanistan and speaking with the strong women who live in a country where their rights are often oppressed.

We spoke with Sarma and Hosseini about their experience working on this adaptation at A.C.T.

Why is A Thousand Splendid Suns particularly suited for the stage? URSULA RANI SARMA: The theater is one of the best mediums to explore complex human relationships like the ones at the center of A Thousand Splendid Suns. Like the novel, it is the relationship between Mariam and Laila—trapped in a violent home, reaching out to each other—that forms the spine of the play. The difference is that on the stage, the characters will take on a three-dimensional existence while an audience bears witness to their extraordinary journey. Also, from a practical perspective, the majority of the conflict unfolds indoors in confined spaces, so many of these scenes make for great theater because they are dramatic, tense, and emotionally engaging.

KHALED HOSSEINI: I think there’s a sense of immediacy in theater, which simply can’t be created elsewhere. On the right night and at the right performance and with the right crowd, the room is permeated with something that’s really tangible—very difficult to describe, but very powerful. There’s a collective experience that you have with an audience in the theater that is difficult to create anywhere else. And by contrast, I think reading

PHOTO BY HELEN WARNER HELEN BY PHOTO a book is a solitary experience. It’s literally a voice in your head helping you to create images for yourself. Everybody can read the same book, but everyone has a different experience. I think THE UNIVERSE OF people experience different art forms in different ways, and that’s wonderful. THE HUMAN SPIRIT What kind of conversations have you had with each other throughout the process? URS: I spoke with Khaled early on in the process, as it was AN INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT important to hear his hopes for the adaptation and any specific URSULA RANI SARMA AND NOVELIST elements that he felt should be retained. Right from the beginning Khaled was very supportive and generous and he KHALED HOSSEINI encouraged me to follow my instincts and do whatever I felt was right. This was hugely liberating and meant that I had the BY SIMON HODGSON AND SHANNON STOCKWELL

16 ACT-SF.ORG freedom to get beneath the skin of the novel and to make the I think that’s what any art form, be it theater or novels or movies, story feel as though it were my own, something that had to can do; they can bridge that gap and transport you into the happen for me to breathe life into these characters. shoes of somebody else. And through that experience, you begin to view the group in a richer way. KH: As an author, if you’re allowing your work to be adapted into another art form by somebody else, you should divorce yourself from the idea that anything you said or wrote is going OPPOSITE to appear in the other format. It’s far more interesting to get a Playwright Ursula Rani Sarma peek into somebody else’s interpretation of your work. I love BELOW seeing how Ursula has worked with structure. Novelist Khaled Hosseini

What is this play about? URS: It’s about the immense strength and endurance of women and how they can survive tremendous suffering to keep those they love alive. It is also about how, even in the darkest of times and places, love can grow and sustain the human spirit beyond all pain and hardship. It’s about friendship and loyalty, courage and selflessness, grief and violence.

What the play has to say about love, endurance, and survival is very much worth listening to for a contemporary audience. There is beauty and strength at the heart of A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I feel so proud to be part of its evolution from novel to stage.

Why is this story important to tell today? KH: We’re living in a time when we are inundated, through television and social media and smartphones and everything, with stories from the Middle East, and they all sound the same. They’re all stories about guys that behead people, that kill minorities, and brutality and suffering.

I think a story like A Thousand Splendid Suns can remind people that every person under a veil, every refugee walking across plains—every single one of those people has a universe inside them, a life, an entire history, and a long, long history of things that they wanted, of hopes that they had. I think that’s important to understand: you can’t just categorize people under self-serving umbrellas. These are individual human beings.

Want to know more about A Thousand Splendid Suns? Words on Plays is full of interviews and original essays that give you a behind-the-scenes look. Proceeds from sales of Words on Plays benefit A.C.T.’s education programs.

Available at the box office and lobby, at the bars, and online at act-sf.org/wordsonplays. PHOTO BY ELENA SEIBERT ELENA BY PHOTO

415.749.2228 17 ABOUT THE PLAY

SHIFTING SANDS INSIDE THE WORLD OF A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS BY ELSPETH SWEATMAN

The characters of Mariam, Laila, and Rasheed may have begun their journey in the mind of Bay Area–based author Khaled Hosseini, but they are rooted firmly in their native Afghanistan. Approximately the size of Texas, Afghanistan is a land of extreme beauty and extreme geographic diversity, ranging from towering mountains to expansive plains to barren deserts. Winters there are harsh, and summers sweltering. In this dramatic landscape live 34 million Afghans, a mixture of religions, languages, and ethnicities. One of the tensions between Rasheed and Laila in the play derives from ethnicity— ferocious response of the Afghan people. When the Soviet she is Tajik (a minority group), while he comes from the troops withdrew in 1989, Afghans were hopeful that life would dominant Pashtun community. Another character’s challenge return to normal. is related to geography: Mariam grows up in Herat, a city in the west of Afghanistan. Forced to move across the country However, many of the militant groups that had fought the to marry Rasheed, she feels provincial and overlooked in the Soviets—known as the Mujahideen—turned against each other. capital city, Kabul. The nation descended into civil war. One group shelled Kabul from the surrounding hills, while others fought for control of Kabul’s location on the Silk Road between Europe and the neighborhoods. “Deadly roadblocks, disappeared neighbors, riches of the East, combined with the country’s abundance of and decaying bodies were woven into the fabric of daily life, natural resources, has made Afghanistan an enticing prospect like going shopping or saying your prayers,” says US-based war for many foreign invaders: Alexander the Great, Genghis correspondent Anand Gopal. The Afghan Civil War (1989–96) Khan, Great Britain, and, most recently, the Soviet Union. In took the lives of 25,000 civilians. It is during this dangerous 1979, the Soviets sent troops into Afghanistan to prop up a period that Ursula Rani Sarma’s adaptation of A Thousand failing socialist government, but they were ill-prepared for the Splendid Suns begins.

A BRIEF TIMELINE OF AFGHAN HISTORY

WHEN THE TALIBAN REFUSES TO GIVE UP OSAMA SOVIET UNION INVADES. THE TALIBAN SEIZES BIN LADEN AFTER SAUDI-BASED THE MUJAHIDEEN FORMS KABUL. THE MUJAHIDEEN AL-QAEDA’S 9/11 ATTACKS, THE US IN OPPOSITION. KEEPS FIGHTING. INVADES AFGHANISTAN. 1979 1989 1996 1999 2001 SOVIET UNION WITHDRAWS. UN PLACES SANCTIONS AFGHAN CIVIL WAR BEGINS. AGAINST THE TALIBAN.

18 ACT-SF.ORG Left: Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, with its mountain backdrop. UZBEKISTAN TAJIKISTAN CHINA

TURKMENISTAN

KABUL HERAT PESHAWAR IRAN PAKISTAN AFGHANISTAN

KANDAHAR

27% TAJIK 300km 180mi 9% UZBEK 13% OTHER PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER KILLALEA CHRISTOPHER BY PHOTO 9% HAZARA Into this bloodshed burst a new group that looked like the answer to many Afghans’ prayers for peace: the Taliban. Spreading from the refugee camps in Pakistan in the early 42% PASHTUN 1990s, the Taliban took control of most of Afghanistan by 1996. Many Afghans welcomed it with open arms, seeing in its fierce religious beliefs a solution to the violence that had plagued the country for almost two decades.

The people’s celebrations were short-lived. The Taliban ESTIMATED ETHNIC MAKEUP OF AFGHANISTAN believed that impurity and vice were the root cause of 2004–PRESENT the country’s problems. Through its Department for the CIA WORLD FACTBOOK, 2010 Preservation of Virtue and the Elimination of Vice, the Taliban issued edict after edict banning anything that might entice people to sin. Women were forbidden from working, attending government only controls 229 of the country’s 407 districts. school, and leaving their homes without a male relative to The central government is weak, unemployment is high, and escort them. Even a glimpse of an arm or an ankle could the economy is struggling. As international attention wanes incur brutal punishment. In sports arenas and city squares and troops pull out of the country, will Afghanistan be able to throughout the country, the Taliban beat offenders, amputated stand on its own, or will the country’s decades of war continue? their limbs, and sometimes stoned them to death. This is the political and social world that Mariam and Laila must navigate The Afghan people remain hardworking, resilient, and hopeful. in A Thousand Splendid Suns. Like Laila and Mariam, many are working toward a brighter future and a time when this Central Asian country will be Since US troops drove the Taliban out of power in 2001, life known more for its beauty than its violent past. in Afghanistan has become slightly more stable. Under the new constitution written in 2004, women are granted equal rights. But Afghanistan remains a country under siege. Foreign KHALED HOSSEINI FOUNDATION militant groups such as Islamic State (ISIS) have increased Based in San Jose, the Khaled Hosseini Foundation is a their influence in the nation, launching their own attacks and nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian assistance adding to the body count. The Taliban remains a significant for the people of Afghanistan. For more information, visit threat in many areas. According to the Pentagon, the Afghan khaledhosseinifoundation.org.

415.749.2228 19 6–10 p.m. every Thursday night at the Exploratorium. Adults-only (18+). exploratorium.edu/afterdark

EAP full-page template.indd 1 4/6/18 3:33 PM WHO'S WHO IN A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

DENMO Award), and 1001 (Denver Center for the Montoya of Culture Clash, and Charles IBRAHIM* Performing Arts; Denver Post Ovation Randolph-Wright. He has also been (Mariam) is reprising Award). Joffrey’s critically acclaimed seen in west coast premieres and the role of Mariam verbatim play Valiant has traveled the UK national tours of plays by Theresa in A Thousand and the US, going to Edinburgh Festival Rebeck and Lynn Nottage. Kamal has Splendid Suns (The Fringe, , Women and War worked at Theater, New Old Globe), after Festival, Women of the World Festival, and York Theatre Workshop, Atlantic originating the roles InterAct Theatre Company, and earning a Theater Company, Mabou Mines, La of Fariba/Nana in its world premiere at FringeNYC Award. Joffrey received her MA Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory A.C.T. and Theatre Calgary. Recent credits in acting from the Royal Central School of Theatre, , Huntington include Kathryn in Splendour (Aurora Speech and Drama, and her BFA in acting Theatre Company, The Theatre at Theatre Company), Noor in Our Enemies: from Syracuse University. Boston Court, and A Contemporary Lively Scenes of Love and Combat Theatre, among others. He was also a (Golden Thread Productions; San HAYSAM company member of Shakespeare Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle KADRI* Theatre Company in Washington, DC. Award (SFBATCC) nomination for Best (Rasheed, Talib) Recently, he appeared in Prometheus Actress in a Principal Role), Claudio in has appeared in Bound at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles. Much Ado about Nothing (California A Thousand Splendid Last summer, he performed in the play Shakespeare Theater), and Tyra in I Call Suns (The Old Globe, Transmission at Edinburgh Festival My Brothers (Crowded Fire Theater; Theatre Calgary, Fringe. He has numerous film, Theatre Bay Area Award for Outstanding A.C.T.); Enron, television, and voiceover credits. Female Actor in a Featured Role in a To Kill a Mockingbird, Much Ado about Play). Her critically acclaimed solo show Nothing, The Crucible, and A Christmas JASON BABA—developed at New York Theatre Carol (Theatre Calgary); The Hollow, KAPOOR* Workshop—won her an SFBATCC Award Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the (Abdul Sharif, for Best Original Script. Ibrahim has an Jersey Lily, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Jalil, Wakil) is MFA in Lecoq-based actor-created Twelve Angry Men, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, reprising his roles physical theater from Naropa University and Black Coffee (Vertigo Theatre); from the 2017 and a BFA in acting from Boston Richard III, , , William world-premiere University. She is a founding artistic Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead, and production of director of Mugwumpin and a resident The Winter’s Tale (The Shakespeare A Thousand Splendid Suns at A.C.T. artist of Golden Thread Productions. Company); and The Last Wife, Cockroach, and Theatre Calgary. Past A.C.T. credits The Motherfu**er with the Hat, include Indian Ink, King Charles III, and LANNA Shakespeare’s Dog, Robin Hood, and The Hard Problem. Most recently, he was JOFFREY* Oliver Twist (Alberta Theatre Projects). seen in the San Francisco Playhouse (Fariba, Nana, His film and television credits include production of Born Yesterday. His other Doctor) is an The Revenant and Hell on Wheels. Bay Area credits include Ideation (SF actor, spoken-word Kadri is the artistic producer of The Playhouse, off-Broadway’s 59E59 performer, and Shakespeare Company and program Theaters); Guards at the Taj, The Legend writer working director of Theatre Calgary’s of Georgia McBride, and The Invisible in the United Shakespeare by the Bow. Hand (Marin Theatre Company); and Kingdom and the United States. Her Life Is a Dream (California Shakespeare select performances include The Profane JOSEPH Theater). Kapoor received his BA from (Playwrights Horizons), Muse of Fire and KAMAL* (Babi, San Jose State University and his MA Sonnet Walks (Shakespeare’s Globe), Mullah Faizullah, from the London Academy of Music & The Soulless Ones (Hammer House Interrogator, Dramatic Art. of Horror), I Call My Brothers (Gate Zaman) has Theatre), Timon of Athens (The Factory appeared in world Theatre Company), Sad and Merry premieres by Tony Madness and Measure for Measure (The Kushner, Rajiv Public Theater), 9 Parts of Desire (The Joseph, Charles Mee, Lee Breuer, Betty Lyric Stage Company of Boston; IRNE Shamieh, Herbert Siguenza, Richard

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States 415.749.2228 21 May in the Summer. She trained at ANDRES Syracuse University and the Royal ZAMORA** Academy of Dramatic Art, London. (Zalmai) is a student Proud to in A.C.T.’s Young NIKITA Conservatory and Support TEWANI* has performed in (Aziza) is reprising multiple plays at his the role of Aziza at elementary school in A.C.T. A.C.T. She is a New San Francisco. In the third grade, he York–based actress played Dionysus, the god of wine and and a graduate of fertility, in Gods and Goddesses, and a New York fairy godmother in Fairytales. Previous University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her roles include a toucan in The Great Tree, Personal attention recent off-Broadway and regional the title role in Martin Luther King Jr., and thoughtful litigation theater credits include The Who & the Captain Edward John Smith in Titanic. final resolution What (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), Zamora is a San Francisco native who the world premiere of A Thousand enjoys BMX racing, making do-it-yourself Our goal is to preserve our LAW FAMILY Splendid Suns (A.C.T., Theatre Calgary, projects, and DJing. client’s dignity and humanity. The Old Globe), The Fall (SoHo Playhouse), and A Muslim in the Midst RINABETH (Thespis Theater Festival). Her television APOSTOL*

FA M I LYLAW G R OUP, P. C . credits include The Affair (Showtime) (Ensemble) returns and Falling Water (USA Network). to A.C.T. after A 575 Market Street, Suite 4000 Tewani has also appeared in national Thousand Splendid San Francisco, CA 94105 commercials and ad campaigns. She is a Suns, The Hard 415.834.1120 member of Actors’ Equity Association Problem, and www.sflg.com and SAG/AFTRA. Monstress. Recent projects include the world premieres of ANTOINE Two Mile Hollow (Ferocious Lotus); we, YARED* (Tariq), the people (Humana Festival, Actors NADINE who was born Theatre of Louisville); The Four MALOUF* (Laila) in Lebanon and Immigrants: An American Musical Manga originated the role raised in Montreal, (TheatreWorks; Theatre Bay Area of Laila at A.C.T. last has performed in Outstanding Featured Actress in a year. She was most theaters across Musical nominee); and peerless (Marin recently seen off the Canadian Theatre Company; Bay Area Theatre Broadway in provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and the Critics Circle Award for Principal Actress Martyna Majok’s Maritimes. He most recently appeared as in a Play). Select credits include The Kite new play queens at Lincoln Center Edgar in Groundling Theatre Company’s Runner (world premiere; San Jose Theater’s LCT3. Malouf performed in the production of Shakespeare’s LEAR in Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre one-woman, site-specific New York , and he played one of the titular Company), Dogeaters (Magic Theatre), premiere of Oh My Sweet Land with The roles in last season’s Romeo and at Othello (Marin Theatre Company), Aliens Play Company. She also played the title the . His other recent with Extraordinary Skills (B Street role in the world premiere of Salomé theater credits include The Madwoman of Theatre), Of Mice and Men (San Jose with Shakespeare Theatre Company in Chaillot, John Gabriel Borkman, Macbeth, Rep), and Red (TheatreWorks), as well as Washington, DC (winner of seven Helen , The Physicists, , collaborations with Berkeley Repertory Hayes Awards in 2016). Her other recent The Alchemist, , Theatre, Playwrights Foundation, off-Broadway work includes Today Is My Mother Courage and Her Children, The Crowded Fire Theater, and Skirball Birthday and Ultimate Beauty Bible Merchant of Venice, and Pericles, Prince Center for the Performing Arts, among (Page 73), The School for Scandal (Red of Tyre (Stratford Festival); and The Snow others. Apostol is a member of Bull Theater), The Who & the What Queen (Theatre New Brunswick). PlayGround, Ferocious Lotus Theatre (LCT3), and Exile (Cherry Lane Theatre). Company, and SAG/AFTRA. In film and television, her credits include The Looming Tower, Resolutions, and

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States ** Member of the A.C.T. Young Conservatory 22 ACT-SF.ORG KUNAL URSULA RANI SARMA CAREY PERLOFF (Director), PRASAD* (Playwright) is an award-winning writer A.C.T. Artistic Director Emerita, (Ensemble) of Irish Indian descent. She has written recently completed a 25-year tenure makes his A.C.T. plays for , the National as artistic director of A.C.T., where she debut with A Theatre of Ireland in Dublin, A.C.T., commissioned and developed this Thousand Splendid Ambassador Theatre Group, Traverse adaptation of A Thousand Splendid Suns, Suns. He was Theatre, Paines Plough, and the BBC. which just concluded acclaimed runs recently seen in Her recent productions include Joanne in Canada and at The Old Globe in San Wisdom From Everything directed by (Clean Break, Soho Theatre), Débris Diego, and will open Seattle Repertory Seema Sueko at Local Theater Company (Théâtre La Licorne), The Ripple Effect Theatre’s season this fall. Known for in Colorado. Other theater credits include (Ambassador Theatre Group/London innovative productions of classics and Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Cultural Olympiad), Yerma (West for championing new writing, she has Popular Music (Curran), Vignettes on Yorkshire Playhouse), Riot (A.C.T. Young directed classical plays from around the Love (PlayGround), Our Enemies: Lively Conservatory/Theatre Royal Bath), world, 10 plays by , and Scenes of Love and Combat (Golden The Dark Things (Traverse Theatre), productions by writers such as Samuel Thread Productions), and and Birdsong (Abbey Theatre, Dublin). Beckett, Harold Pinter, José Rivera, and and A Dreamplay (The Cutting Ball Sarma has been writer in residence Philip Kan Gotanda. Other productions Theater). He has worked at California for Paines Plough, the Eugene O’Neill include Hecuba, Mary Stuart, The Tosca Shakespeare Theater and Magic Theatre, Theater Center, and the Royal National Project, Scorched, and Underneath and understudied and performed the role Theatre, among other companies. the Lintel. Perloff is an award-winning of Amir in Disgraced at Berkeley She is currently developing plays for playwright whose works include Kinship, Repertory Theatre. He is an improviser, Abbey Theatre, Traverse Theatre, Higher, Luminescence Dating, and The dancer, and a graduate of the American and Djinn Theatre Company. For Fit, which will be produced by San Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theatre the screen, her work includes Raw, Francisco Playhouse in May 2019. Her Institute for Advanced Theater Training Red Rock, Anywhere But Here, and book Beautiful Chaos: A Life in the at Harvard University. Judge Dee. She is currently adapting Theater was selected as San Francisco the book Henry’s Demons for BBC Public Library’s One City One Book SUNIL One and writing an original drama selection for 2016. Before joining A.C.T., MUKHERJEE entitled Guardian for Channel 4. she was artistic director of Classic Stage MAURILLO** Company. Perloff received a BA Phi (Understudy) KHALED HOSSEINI (Author) Beta Kappa in classics and comparative returns to the Geary was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in literature from Stanford University and stage after making 1965. In 1976, his family relocated to was a Fulbright Fellow at Oxford. his theatrical debut Paris. They were ready to return to as Ned Cratchit in Kabul in 1980, but by then the Soviet DAVID COULTER (Original Music) A.C.T.’s 2017 production of A Christmas invasion was underway, so the Hosseini is an English-born multidisciplinary Carol. Last year, he understudied for the family moved to San Jose, California. artist, musician, composer, director, character Zalmai in A.C.T.’s world- Hosseini went on to become a doctor, and educator based in the Bay Area. premiere production of A Thousand practicing medicine as an internist Since the 1980s, he has directed shows, Splendid Suns. Maurillo played an indigo between 1996 and 2004. He is the produced records, and played his musical child in visual artist Desirée Holman’s author of three award-winning and saw and other assorted weird and less- video and performance work Sophont in internationally best-selling novels: weird instruments in studios, theaters, Action, produced by the San Francisco The Kite Runner (2003), A Thousand and stages and on recordings around Museum of Modern Art. His theater Splendid Suns (2007), and And the the world with the likes of The Pogues, training includes classes with A.C.T.’s Mountains Echoed (2013). In 2006, Tom Waits and Robert Wilson, Kronos Young Conservatory, New Conservatory Hosseini was named a Goodwill Envoy Quartet, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, Theatre Center, and the San Francisco to the United Nations Refugee Agency. Hal Willner, and Gorillaz. Coulter curates Arts Education Project’s Broadway After a trip to Afghanistan in this and directs numerous multi-artist events. Bound program. He plays drums in the position, he was inspired to establish His credits include Monkey: Journey to band Acre with Rock Band Land. Maurillo The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a not- the West (Gorillaz/Chen Shi-Zheng), is a triplet and a recent graduate of for-profit that provides humanitarian Double Fantasy Live, Rain Dogs Revisited, Lakeshore Elementary School. He will be assistance to the people of Afghanistan. Twisted Christmas, In Dreams: David joining Live Oak School as a sixth grader Lynch Revisited, and An Anatomy Act. in fall 2018. He was also associate musical director and multi-instrumentalist on The Black

415.749.2228 23 A.C.T.’S YOUNGA.C.T.’s Young CONSERVATORY Conservatory presents PRESENTS URINETOWN: the musical

Music and Lyrics by Mark Hollmann Book and Lyrics by Greg Kotis Directed by Jessica Bird

A super-fictitious, unrealistic, totally-not-gonna-happen story where peeing is political AUG 8–18 A.C.T.’S STRAND THEATER In a world of water shortages, corporate greed, and 1127 MARKET STREET, SAN FRANCISCO bureaucratic mismanagement, you’re either one of the powerful or one of the powerless. But for the residents outside Public Amenity #9, the time has come to stand up to the Urine Good Company and assert their right to pee for free. A comedic lampooning of everything from TO PURCHASE TICKETS, capitalism and big industry to city life and Broadway VISIT ACT-SF.ORG/YCSHOWS. classics, this Tony Award–winning musical is a quirky look at the forces that divide us and unite us.

Urinetown is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets Theatre Company, the Oregon STEPHEN BUESCHER (A.C.T.). He is a visiting lecturer at Shakespeare Festival, the Williamstown (Choreographer) designed movement Goldsmiths, University of London, and Theatre Festival, Goodspeed Musicals, for Monstress, The Orphan of Zhao, he has played the didgeridoo at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Seattle Let There Be Love, Stuck Elevator, invitation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Opera in its upcoming production of and Underneath the Lintel at A.C.T.; A II on a number of official occasions. the Ring Cycle. Internationally, Cho Midsummer Night’s Dream and Private has designed costumes at the Royal Lives at ; and A KEN MACDONALD (Scenic Shakespeare Company in England and the Christmas Carol at Trinity Repertory Designer) has designed The Overcoat: Stratford Festival in Canada. She received Company. For A.C.T.’s Master of A Musical Tailoring (Canadian Stage, her MFA from Yale School of Drama. Fine Arts Program, he directed The Vancouver Opera, Tapestry Opera); The She sits on the advisory committee Bacchae of , The Taming of Barber of Seville and Macbeth (Pacific for the American Theater Wing. the Shrew, , Black Opera Victoria); The Threepenny Opera, Orpheus: Una Historia de Amor, and The Rake’s Progress, and Susannah ROBERT WIERZEL (Lighting The House of Bernarda Alba (which (Vancouver Opera); A Thousand Splendid Designer) recently designed the lighting traveled to the Moscow Art Theatre). Suns (A.C.T., The Old Globe, Grand for A.C.T.’s new musical A Walk on the He has taught physical theater at Yale Theatre, Theatre Calgary); Sovereignty Moon. He has worked with artists from School of Drama, Brown University/ and The Shoplifters (Arena Stage, diverse disciplines and backgrounds in Trinity Repertory Company, and New Theatre Calgary); Engaged, Our Betters, opera, theater, dance, museums, and York University. He has performed and The Doctor’s Dilemma ( contemporary music, and on stages nationally and internationally with Theatre); Wanderlust, Moby Dick, and throughout the country and abroad. Dell’Arte International School of Physical The Trespassers (Stratford Festival); Wierzel’s theater work has been seen Theatre, and locally with A.C.T., Shotgun Parfumerie, Blithe Spirit, The Government on and off Broadway, including Fela! Players, Scott Wells & Dancers, and Inspector, and ’night, Mother (Soulpepper (Tony Award nomination), Lady Day at Deborah Slater Dance Theater. Buescher Theatre Company); The Arsonists and Emerson’s Bar & Grill starring Audra is a graduate of Dell’Arte International Vigil (Canadian Stage); Sextet, The McDonald, David Copperfield: Dreams and California Institute of the Arts. Amorous Adventures of Anatol, Marry and Nightmares, and productions at New Me a Little, Benevolence, and The York Shakespeare Festival/The Public MICHAEL PALLER (Dramaturg) Dishwashers (Tarragon Theatre); and The Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, joined A.C.T. as resident dramaturg and Waiting Room, , and Art (Arts Signature Theatre Company, Playwrights director of humanities in 2005, where Club Theatre Company). MacDonald has Horizons, Mostly Mozart Festival, he has been the dramaturg for more received a Gemini Award for Outstanding Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Acting than 80 productions and workshops. Production Design (The Overcoat: A Company, and Lincoln Center Festival/ He began his professional career as Musical Tailoring), two Dora Mavor Moore American Songbook. He has collaborated literary manager at Center Repertory Awards, a Betty Mitchell Award, and 17 for decades with choreographer and Theatre (Cleveland), then worked as Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards. director Bill T. Jones and the Bill T. script consultant for Manhattan Theatre Jones/Arnie Zane Company. He is on Club and the Eugene O’Neill Theater LINDA CHO (Costume Designer)’s the faculty at New York University’s Center, and has since been a dramaturg Broadway credits include Anastasia Tisch School of the Arts and is a creative for George Street Playhouse, the (Tony Award nomination), A Gentleman’s partner at Spark Design Collaborative. Berkshire Theatre Festival, Barrington Guide to Love and Murder (Tony Stage Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Award for Best Costume Design in a JAKE RODRIGUEZ (Sound Roundabout Theatre Company, and Musical), and The Velocity of Autumn. Designer) is a sound designer and others. He dramaturged the Russian Off Broadway, she has designed The composer based out of the San Francisco premiere of ’s Merchant of Venice for Theatre for a Bay Area. His recent credits include Small Craft Warnings at Moscow’s New Audience, and shows at Manhattan we, the invisibles (Actors Theatre of Sovremennik Theater. Paller is the Theatre Club, Second Stage Theatre, The Louisville), Vietgone (A.C.T.), An Octoroon author of Gentlemen Callers: Tennessee Public Theater, Classic Stage Company, (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), The Events Williams, Homosexuality, and Mid- Drama Department, The Acting (Shotgun Players), A Thousand Splendid Twentieth-Century Drama; Williams in Company, and . Suns (A.C.T., Theatre Calgary, Grand an Hour; and A Five-Act Play: 50 Years Regionally, her designs have been seen at Theatre), The Christians (Playwrights of A.C.T. He has also written theater and Los Angeles Opera, , Horizons, Mark Taper Forum), Girlfriend book reviews for the Washington Post, Arena Stage, The Old Globe, the Guthrie (Kirk Douglas Theatre), and Mr. Burns, Village Voice, and Newsday magazine. Theater, , Chicago a post-electric play (A.C.T., the Guthrie Before his arrival at A.C.T., he taught Shakespeare Theater, Shakespeare Theater). Rodriguez is the recipient at Columbia University and the State of a 2004 Princess Grace Award. University of New York at Purchase.

415.749.2228 25 JANET FOSTER, CSA (Casting DANI BAE* (Assistant Stage Director) has cast for A.C.T. for six Manager) returns to A.C.T. for A seasons, including Hamlet, The Hard Thousand Splendid Suns. Recent A.C.T. Problem, King Charles III, John, Arcadia, credits include Heisenberg, The Birthday Stuck Elevator, The Orphan of Zhao, Party, and the world premiere of A Napoli!, Elektra, Scorched, and Endgame Thousand Splendid Suns in 2017. Recent and Play. On Broadway she cast The Bay Area credits include Dry Powder, Light in the Piazza (Artios Award Luna Gale, and Splendour. Other stage nomination), Lennon, Ma Rainey’s Black management credits include the Bard Bottom, and Taking Sides (co-cast). Music Festival (Bard SummerScape) Off-Broadway credits include True Love, and Urinetown: The Musical (American Floyd Collins, The Monogamist, A Cheever Theatre of Actors). Bae has a BFA in stage Evening, and Later Life. Regionally, management from Syracuse University. she has worked at Intiman Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, , Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Old Globe, and American Repertory Theater. Film, television, and radio credits include Cosby, Tracey Takes On New York, The Deal, Advice from a Caterpillar, The Day That Lehman Died (Peabody, SONY, and Wincott awards), and “T” Is for Tom (Tom Stoppard radio plays, WNYC and WQXR). She also cast LifeAfter, a GE Theater podcast.

ELISA GUTHERTZ* (Production Stage Manager) has been a Bay Area stage manager for over 25 years. Her most recent A.C.T. credits are Heisenberg, The Birthday Party, and Hamlet. She stage-managed A Thousand Splendid Suns at A.C.T., The Old Globe, and Theatre Calgary. Her numerous other productions for A.C.T. include A Night with Janis Joplin, The Realistic Joneses, Monstress, Love and Information, Testament, Major Barbara, Underneath the Lintel, Arcadia, The Normal Heart, The Scottsboro Boys, Clybourne Park, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Rainmaker, A Number, and Eve Ensler’s The Good Body, among others. She has also stage-managed The Mystery of Irma Vep, Suddenly Last Summer, Rhinoceros, Big Love, Collected Stories, and Cloud Tectonics (Berkeley Repertory Theatre); The Good Body (Broadway); Big Love (Brooklyn Academy of Music); and The Vagina Monologues (Alcazar Theatre).

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States 26 ACT-SF.ORG PRESENTS LONDON THEATER TOUR

FIVE STAR-STUDDED PRODUCTIONS, INCLUDING:

• with Sir Ian McKellen • Martin McDonagh’s new play, A Very Very Very Dark Matter, starring Jim Broadbent • The Height of the Storm, featuring Jonathan Pryce and OCT 15–21, 2018 Eileen Atkins • Macbeth with and Niamh Cusack • Director Marianne Elliott’s new production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company with Patti LuPone Discover the cultural ALL THEATER TOURS ARE LED BY A.C.T. ARTISTIC legacy of London, STAFF AND INCLUDE: plus a trip to Windsor • Luxury accommodations Castle and the real-life • Discussions with guest artists and behind-the-scenes tours Downton Abbey! • Complimentary breakfast each morning in our hotel • Sightseeing excursions and walking tours • Travel companions who love theater • Plus a day trip to Windsor Castle and Highclere Castle— the home of Downton Abbey—and a farewell dinner at the famed Ivy

For more information, visit act-sf.org/theatertours or contact Caitlin A. Quinn at [email protected] or 415.439.2436. Space is very limited. Call now to reserve! INSIDE A.C.T. PHOTO BY ADELE REDING BY PHOTO

2 8 ACT-SF.ORG the managing director of Actors Theatre of Louisville. She served on the boards of Theatre Forward, the Louisville INTRODUCING Downtown Development Corporation, the Arts and Cultural Attractions Council, and Greater Louisville Inc., as well as the National Endowment for the Arts as a review panelist. A.C.T.’S NEW After ten seasons with Actors Theatre of Louisville, Bielstein joined the as its managing director.

“A.C.T. could not have made a better choice,” says Joseph EXECUTIVE Haj, artistic director of the Guthrie Theater. “Jennifer is tireless, smart, collegial, and skilled.” Actors Theatre of Louisville Artistic Director Les Waters agrees: “Jennifer DIRECTOR is one of the finest people working in the theater today. She is a consummate professional—dedicated, creative, GET TO KNOW JENNIFER BIELSTEIN and passionate about the art. I loved working with her at Actors Theatre of Louisville and look forward to the BY A.C.T. PUBLICATIONS STAFF magnificent work that she and Pam will make at A.C.T.”

A.C.T.’s incoming executive director, Jennifer Bielstein, is a During her distinguished career, Bielstein has received force. For more than 25 years, she has managed America’s many awards, including the Pyramid Award of Excellence top regional theaters—including Actors Theatre of Louisville in Leadership from the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. and the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis—and has served in She has been recognized as one of Louisville’s Business leadership roles with the League of Resident (LORT), First’s 40 Under 40 and Today’s Woman magazine’s Most the leading professional theater organization that represents Admired Woman in the Arts. She was named by Twin Cities 74 theaters nationwide, including A.C.T. She quickly rose Business as a Person to Know in 2017, and by Minnesota through the ranks as a LORT officer, chairing the Equity, Business magazine as a Real Power 50 member in 2018. Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative, and serving as secretary, vice president, and now, president.

“On behalf of the board of trustees, I am delighted to welcome “JENNIFER IS ONE OF THE FINEST Jennifer Bielstein as A.C.T.’s new executive director,” says A.C.T. Board of Trustees President Kay Yun. “Her passion and PEOPLE WORKING IN THE THEATER dedication to the arts make her one of the most respected and sought-after arts leaders in the country.” TODAY. SHE IS A CONSUMMATE

As executive director, Bielstein will work closely with A.C.T.’s PROFESSIONAL—DEDICATED, incoming artistic director, Pam MacKinnon. “I am thrilled Jennifer will be stepping into A.C.T. with me,” says MacKinnon. CREATIVE, AND PASSIONATE “Her knowledge of, commitment to, and passion for theater is unparalleled. I cannot wait!” ABOUT THE ART.”

Bielstein is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at —LES WATERS, ACTORS THEATRE OF Chapel Hill, attended Stanford’s Graduate School of Business LOUISVILLE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders in the Arts, and earned an MBA from Bellarmine University. During her time at Bellarmine, she received the MBA Faculty Merit Award and “I am honored for this opportunity to lead American was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for Conservatory Theater alongside Pam MacKinnon,” says business programs. Bielstein. “I look forward to becoming a part of the San Francisco Bay Area community and working with the board of Prior to relocating to Minneapolis, Bielstein worked in trustees, the staff, the artists, and all the theater’s stakeholders Chicago as the executive director of Writers Theatre and to build upon and expand A.C.T.’s impressive legacy.” with several other organizations, including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, About Face Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre, and the Lincoln Park Zoo. She also For more information about A.C.T.’s new executive served on the board of the League of Chicago Theatres. In director, visit act-sf.org/jennifer. 2006, Bielstein moved to Louisville, Kentucky, to become

415.749.2228 29 FRANNIE FLEISHHACKER, CO-CHAIR • ROBINA RICCITIELLO, CO-CHAIR We are privileged to recognize Producers Circle members’ generosity during the June 1, 2017, to June 1, 2018, period. For information about Producers Circle membership, please contact Tiffany Redmon at 415.439.2482 or [email protected].

†A Dickens of a Holiday event sponsor/lead supporter wLead Gala supporter

SEASON PRESENTERS

JEROME L. AND JAMES C. HORMEL AND TONI REMBE AND ARTHUR ROCK JEFF AND LAURIE UBBEN THAO N. DODSONw MICHAEL P. NGUYENw Past chair of A.C.T.’s Board of Jeff is a founder of ValueAct Capital Jerry is president of Parnassus James, the first openly gay US Trustees, Toni is a retired partner at and a director of 21st Century Fox Investments and serves on the boards ambassador, founded the James C. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Inc. and Willis Towers Watson PLC. of San Francisco Opera and A.C.T. Thao Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center at the Arthur was one of America’s first He serves on the boards of Duke and Jerry have established scholarships San Francisco Public Library (SFPL). venture capitalists. Along with other University, Northwestern University, for music education at the San Francisco Michael works alongside James on their community endeavors, they are and the E. O. Wilson Biodiversity Symphony, undergraduate education at charitable giving foundation, and has cofounders of the Arthur and Toni Foundation. Laurie founded San UC Berkeley, and high school education served on the SFPL Commission for Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Francisco’s Bird School of Music. for 125 girls in Vietnam. two terms. A trustee of A.C.T., Michael Governance at Stanford Law School. is profoundly passionate about the arts KAY YUN AND ANDRE PRISCILLA AND KEITH GEESLIN†w and humanities. ROBINA RICCITIELLO†w NEUMANN-LORECKw Priscilla is a vice chair of A.C.T.’s Robina is communications director for President of A.C.T.’s Board of Trustees, Board of Trustees and chairs the FRED M. LEVIN AND the Million Person Project, a company Kay is a partner at private equity fund Development Committee. She serves NANCY LIVINGSTONw that helps people identify their core Health Evolution Partners. She is a on the boards of SF General Hospital Nancy is the chair emeritus of A.C.T.’s values to tell their personal story. She trustee of Parnassus Funds and a board Foundation, the SF Symphony, Grace Board of Trustees. She serves on is involved with the UCLA Depression member of San Francisco University Cathedral, and NARAL Pro-Choice the boards at the College of Fine Grand Challenge, an effort to cure High School. Andre, the founder of On America. A principal of Francisco Arts at Boston University and the depression by the end of this century, Tap Consulting, has held executive roles Partners, Keith is the president of National Council for the American and with NARAL Pro-Choice America. in startups and Fortune 500 companies. SF Opera’s board of trustees. Theatre. Fred serves on the boards of the SF Symphony, the Asian Art Museum, and the SF Film Society.

COMPANY SPONSORS EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS PRODUCERS Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund◆ Lesley Ann Clement and Karl Lukaszewicz◆ Paul Asente and Ron Jenks Clay Foundation - West Frannie Fleishhacker◆ Mrs. Barbara Bakar◆ Nancy and Joachim Bechtle Rich Rava and Elisa Neipp Kevin and Celeste Ford◆ Bill Draper Lloyd and Janet Cluff Elsa and Neil Pering Mr. and Mrs. Gordon P. Getty Sakana Foundation†◆ Daniel E. Cohn and Lynn Brinton◆ Merrill Randol Sherwin Jeri Lynn and Jeffrey W. Johnson† Jo S. Hurley◆ Carlotta and Robert Dathe◆ David and Carla Riemer◆ Burt and Deedee McMurtry◆ Christopher and Leslie Johnson Concepción and Irwin Federman Sally and Toby Rosenblatt◆ Kenneth and Gisele Miller John Little and Heather Stallings Little◆ Linda Jo Fitz◆ Dr. Caroline Emmett and Dr. Russell Rydel Barbara Ravizza and John S. Osterweis Janet V. Lustgarten† Kirke and Nancy Sawyer Hasson◆ Abby and Gene Schnair◆ Patti and Rusty Rueff◆ Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman◆ Stephen and Diane Heiman Kathleen Scutchfield◆ Mary and Steven Swig◆ Lori Halverson Schryer†◆ Dianne and Ron Hoge† Anne and Michelle Shonk◆ Aaron Vermut and Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Schwab Jennifer S. Lindsay Cherie Sorokin◆ Adriana López Vermut†◆ Susan A. Van Wagner The Marymor Family Fund Emmett and Marion Stanton Jack and Susy Wadsworth†◆ Barbara and Stephan Vermut Don and Judy McCubbin Valli Benesch and Bob Tandler◆ Barry Williams and Lalita Tademy◆ Diane B. Wilsey◆ Mr. and Mrs. J. A. McQuown Nola Yee Mary and Gene Metz◆ Donald J. and Toni Ratner Miller◆

DIANNE HOGE, CO-CHAIR • NOLA YEE, CO-CHAIR

We are privileged to recognize these members’ generosity during the June 1, 2017, to June 1, 2018, period. For information about Directors Circle membership, please contact Tiffany Redmon at 415.439.2482 or [email protected].

†A Dickens of a Holiday event sponsor/lead supporter w Lead Gala supporter

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS Nancy and Jerry Falk Luba Kipnis and David Russel◆ Marcy S. Nathan Paul Angelo Mr. Rodney Ferguson and Mr. Joel Krauska and Ms. Patricia Fox Terry and Jan Opdendyk Kenneth Berryman Ms. Kathleen Egan Linda Kurtz◆ The Bernard Osher Foundation Dr. Barbara L. Bessey◆ Vicki and David Fleishhacker◆ Ken Lamb Mr. and Mrs. Tom Perkins◆ Ben and Noel Bouck Tom Frankel Helen M. Marcus, in memory of Marjorie Perloff Linda K. Brewer Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Gallagher David Williamson Ms. Saga Perry and Mr. Frederick Perry Linda Joanne Brown Dr. and Mrs. Richard E. Geist Drs. Michael and Jane Marmor, Barbara Phillips Gayle and Steve Brugler Arnie and Shelly Glassberg◆ The Marmor Foundation Joseph E. and Julie Ratner†◆ James and Julia Davidson Glasser Family Fund Mr. and Mrs. Robert McGrath◆ Rick and Anne Riley Richard Davis-Lowell and Bill Lowell◆ Dr. Allan P. Gold and Mr. Alan C. Ferrara Milton Mosk and Thomas Foutch Dr. James Robinson and Carol Dollinger Marcia and John Goldman◆ Tim Mott and Pegan Brooke Ms. Kathy Kohrman The New Ark Fund Marcia and Geoffrey Green Paula and John Murphy Susan Roos Betty Hoener

30 ACT-SF.ORG Paul and Julie Seipp Mr. Daniel Murphy Art and JoAnne Dlott Mr. and Mrs. Roger Miles Rick and Cindy Simons Don and Sally O’Neal Bonnie and Rick Dlott J. Sanford Miller and Vinie Zhang Miller Lee and Carolyn Snowberg Peter Pastreich and Jamie Whittington Ms. Kathleen Dumas Jeffrey and Elizabeth Minick Vera and Harold Stein Ms. Carey Perloff and Mr. Anthony Giles Robert Ellis Mr. and Mrs. Merrill E. Newman Dr. Martin and Elizabeth Terplan Mr. and Mrs. William Pitcher Philip and Judy Erdberg Ms. Mary D. Niemiller Mrs. Katherine G. Wallin and Mr. and Mrs. John A. Reitan Charles and Susan Fadley Barbara O’Connor Mr. Homer Wallin◆ Gary Rubenstein and Nancy Matthews Joseph Fanone Mrs. Margaret O’Drain Katherine Welch Scott and Janis Sachtjen Mr. Alexander L. Fetter and Emilie and Douglas Ogden Mr. and Mrs. Bruce White George and Camilla Smith Ms. Lynn Bunim Ms. Barbara Oleksiw Beverly and Loring Wyllie The Somekh Family Foundation Laura Frey and Erico Gomes Janet and Clyde Ostler Matthew and Lisa Sonsini Mrs. Susan Fuller Janine Paver and Eric Brown BENEFACTORS Mr. Richard Spaete Ms. Kathleen Gallivan Gordon Radley Sara and Wm. Anderson Barnes Fund Laura and Gregory Spivy† Sameer Gandhi and Monica Lopez Sandi and Mark Randall Dr. and Mrs. Fred N. Fritsch Diana L. Starcher Marilee K. Gardner Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Ratinoff Kaatri and Doug Grigg◆ Roselyne C. Swig◆ William Garland and Michael Mooney Albert and Roxanne Richards Fund Marcia and Jim Levy◆ Patrick S. Thompson◆ Mr. Michael R. Genesereth Jeff and Karen Richardson Lisa and John Pritzker Family Fund Pasha and Laney Thornton Susan and Dennis Gilardi Gary and Joyce Rifkind Matt and Yvonne Rogers Doug Tilden◆ Mark and Renee Greenstein Victoria and Daniel Rivas Mr. Laurence L. Spitters Joy and Ellis Wallenberg, Raymond and Gale L. Grinsell Mr. Orrin W. Robinson, III Milton Meyer Foundation James Haire and Timothy Cole Ms. Shelagh Rohlen PLAYWRIGHTS Ms. Allie Weissman Mr. and Mrs. Richard Halliday Ms. Irene Rothschild Anonymous (3) Barbara and Chris Westover Vera and David Hartford Ms. Dace Rutland Ray and Jackie Apple◆ Kenneth and Sharon Wilson Mr. and Mrs. David M. Hartley Ms. Monica Salusky and Mr. Eugene Barcone Mr. and Mrs. Roger Wu Ms. Kendra Hartnett and Robert Santilli Mr. John Sutherland The Tournesol Project Kent Harvey◆ Betty and Jack Schafer Donna L. Beres and Terry Dahl DIRECTORS Mrs. Deirdre Henderson Kent and Nancy Clancy Roger and Helen Bohl Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. Henry Paul Hensley Mr. James Shay and Mr. Steven Correll Ms. Donna Bohling and Mr. Howard J. Adams Ms. Marcia Hooper Mr. Earl G. Singer Mr. Douglas Kalish Martha and Michael Adler Bannus and Cecily Hudson Richard and Jerry Smallwood Mr. Mitchell Bolen and Bruce and Betty Alberts Barbara Rosenblum Ms. Judith O. Smith Mr. John Christner Lynn Altshuler and Stanley D. Herzstein Rob Hulteng Kristine Soorian and Bryce Ikeda Christopher and Debora Booth Mr. and Mrs. Harold P. Anderson Robert Humphrey & Diane Amend Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Spears Ed Brakeman Sharon L. Anderson Robert and Riki Intner Steven and Chris Spencer Mr. Mark Casagranda Ms. Kay Auciello Harold and Lyn Isbell Lillis and Max Stern Dolly Chammas Jeanne and William Barulich Phil and Edina Jennison Vibeke Strand, MD and Jack Loftis, PhD Madeline and Myrkle Deaton David V. Beery and Norman Abramson Stephanie and Owen Jensen Richard and Michele Stratton Richard DeNatale and Craig Latker David and Rosalind Bloom Sy Kaufman and Kerstin Edgerton Mr. Jay Streets Ms. Roberta Denning Peter Blume Ms. Pamela L. Kershner Dawna Stroeh William H. Donner Foundation John Boland and James Carroll Miss Angèle Khachadour Mr. M. H. Suelzle Anne and Gerald Down Brenda and Roger Borovoy Ms. Nancy L. Kittle Susan Terris Sue and Ed Fish Nicholas and Janice Brathwaite Mr. R. Samuel Klatchko Nancy Thompson and Andy Kerr Mr. and Mrs. Patrick F. Flannery Benjamin Bratt and Talisa Soto Mr. Brian Kliment Mrs. Helena Troy Wasp Lynda Fu Jean L. Brenner Harold L. Wyman Foundation John R. Upton Jr. and The Golden Mercer Charitable Mrs. Libi Cape Thomas and Barbara Lasinski Janet Sassoon-Upton Giving Fund Denis Carrade and Jeanne Fadelli Harriet Lawrie Larry Vales Dr. A. Goldschlager Steven and Karin Chase Dr. Lois Levine Mundie Arnie and Gail Wagner Barbara Grasseschi and Tony Crabb Teresa Clark and Martin Lay Ms. Helen S. Lewis Mr. and Mrs. James Wagstaffe Mr. Bill Gregory Susan and Ralph G. Coan, Jr. Sue Yung Li and Dale K. Ikeda◆ Ms. Margaret Warton and Rose Hagan and Mark Lemley Rebecca Coleman Ron and Mary Loar Mr. Steve Benting Chris and Holly Hollenbeck Mr. and Mrs. David Crane Ms. Gayla Lorthridge Louise Wattrus Alex Ingersoll and Martin Tannenbaum† Ms. Karen T. Crommie Dr. Thane Kreiner and Ms. Carol Watts Alan and Cricket Jones◆ Joan T Dea and Lionel F. Conacher Dr. Steven Lovejoy Ms. Patricia Tomlinson and Paola and Richard Kulp Robert and Judith DeFranco Richard N. Hill and Nancy Lundeen Mr. Bennet Weintraub Melanie and Peter Maier -John Ingrid M. Deiwiks John B. McCallister Irv Weissman and Family Brockway Huntington Foundation Reid and Peggy Dennis Elisabeth and Daniel McKinnon Ms. Beth Weissman Christine and Stan Mattison William Dewey Sue and Ken Merrill Marie and Daniel Welch Mr. Byron R. Meyer Mrs. Julie D. Dickson Ms. Nancy Michel Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Wiesenthal Mr. and Mrs. David Wilcox

415.749.2228 31 ALAN JONES, CHAIR We are privileged to recognize Friends of A.C.T. members’ generosity during the June 1, 2017, to June 1, 2018, period. Space limitations prevent us from listing all those who have generously supported the Annual Fund. For information about Friends of A.C.T. membership, please contact Hillary Bray at 415.439.2353 or [email protected].

†A Dickens of a Holiday event sponsor/lead supporter wLead Gala supporter

PATRONS Karen and John McGuinn Cecily Cassel & Larry Cassel Joseph C. Najpaver and Deana Logan Anonymous (3) Dr. Margaret R. McLean Glenn Chapman Jon Nakamura Mr. Paul Anderson Craig and Kathy Moody Mr. Todd Charles Ms. Berna Neumiller Ms. Patricia Wilde Anderson Thomas and Lydia Moran Ms. Linda R. Clem Jeanne Newman Mr. David N. Barnard John and Betsy Munz Drs. James and Linda Clever Ms. Nancy F. Noe Mr. Michael Bassi and Ms. Christy Styer Jane and Bill Neilson Mr. Edward Conger Ms. Joanna Officier and Mr. Ralph Tiegel Mr. and Mrs. Paul Berg Nancy and Bill Newmeyer Mr. Copley E. Crosby Janine O’Flaherty Fred and Nancy Bjork Ms. Lisa Nolan James Cuthbertson Barbara Paschke and Mr. John Blankenship and Margo and Roy Ogus Ms. Kathleen Damron David Volpendesta Ms. Linda Carter LeRoy Ortopan Jill and Stephen Davis Mr. David J. Pasta Mr. Roland E. Brandel Ann Paras Kelly and Olive DePonte Richard and Donna Perkins Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Butcher Caitlin A. Quinn and Peter C. Garenani Edward and Della Dobranski Ms. M. N. Plant Jaime Caban and Rob Mitchell Ms. Diane Raile Ms. Joanne Dunn Ms. Joyce Ratner◆ Mr. Byde Clawson and Helen Hilton Raiser Ms. Kirsty Ellis Mr. and Mrs. Charles Rino Dr. Patricia Conolly Ms. Danielle Rebischung Ms. Winn Ellis and Mr. David Mahoney Mr. and Mrs. Richard Rogers Ms. Renate Coombs Maryalice Reinmuller Marilynne Elverson Marguerite Romanello Jean and Mike Couch Barbara and Saul Rockman Mr. Robert G. Evans Mr. L. Kyle Rowley Mr. and Mrs. Ricky J. Curotto Deborah Romer and William Tucker M. Daniel and Carla Flamm Ms. Diane Rudden Ron Dickel Ms. Mary Ellen Rossi Mrs. Dorothy A. Flanagan Mr. Joshua Rutberg Elizabeth Eaton Michele and John Ruskin Karen and Stuart Gansky Louise Adler Sampson Michael Kalkstein and Susan English Mr. and Mrs. David Sargent Frederick and Leslie Gaylord Carolynne Schloeder Leif and Sharon Erickson Andrew and Marva Seidl David and Betty Gibson Sonja Schmid Dr. Angela Sowa and Ms. Ruth A. Short Kathleen and Paul Goldman David Schnur Dr. Dennis B. Facchino Dr. Elliot and Mrs. Kathy Shubin David B. Goldstein and Julia Vetromile Mr. James J. Scillian Mr. and Mrs. Richard Fowler Ms. Patricia Sims Dr. and Mrs. Gabriel Gregoratos Mr. Jim Sciuto Elizabeth and Paul Fraley Mr. Mark Small Dr. James and Suzette Hessler Ms. Karen Scussel and Mr. Curt Riffle Ms. Susan Free Candrah Smith Ginger and Bill Hedden Mr. Jon Shantz Alan and Susan Fritz Ms. Valerie Sopher Lenore Heffernan Catharine Shirley John L. Garfinkle Dr. Gary Stein and Jana Stein Mr. John Heisse and Donna and Michael Sicilian Ms. Nonie Greene and Mr. Todd Werby Joe Tally and Dan Strauss Ms. Karin Scholz-Grace Bert and LeAnne Steinberg Ms. Margaret J. Grover Robert Tufts Ms. Dixie Hersh Jeffrey Stern, M.D. Mr. Kim Harris and Bennet Marks Mr. Douglass J. Warner Ms. Sandra Hess Margaret Stewart and Kathy Hart Ms. Meredith J. Watts Edward L. Howes, MD Severin Borenstein Mr. John F. Heil Mr. David S. Wood and Anne and Ed Jamieson Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Strickberger Leni and Doug Herst Ms. Kathleen Garrison Allan and Rebecca Jergesen Mr. Jason Surles Tracy Brown and Greg Holland Mr. and Mrs. Roy B. Woolsey Mr. and Mrs. Norman L. Johnson Ms. Kim Szelog Dr. and Mrs. John E. Jansheski Christina Yu Mrs. Zeeva Kardos Marvin Tanigawa Ms. Carolyn Jayne The Arthur and Charlotte Louise Karr Maggie Thompson Jeffrey and Loretta Kaskey Zitrin Foundation Dan and Gloria Kearney Fund Ian and Olga Thomson Ed and Peggy Kavounas Jody Kelley Wypych Melita Wade Thorpe Michael Kim SUSTAINERS Dr. and Mrs. David Kessler Ms. Leslie Tyler George and Janet King Anonymous (3) Harold and Leslie Kruth Leon Van Steen Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Klotter Mr. and Mrs. James Michael Allen Edward and Miriam Landesman Mr. and Mrs. Ronald G. VandenBerghe Eileen Landauer and Mark Michael Dick Barker Carlene Laughlin Mr. and Mrs. Ron Vitt Jennifer Langan Mr. William Barnard Mrs. Judith T. Leahy Mr. Richard West Mr. Richard Lee and Ms. Pamela Barnes Barry and Ellen Levine Mr. Robert Weston Ms. Patricia Taylor Lee Ms. Linda J. Barron Kathleen Anderson and Jeff Lipkin Judie and Howard Wexler Julius Leiman-Carbia Robert H. Beadle Thomas Lange and Spencer Lockson Mr. Steven Winkel Mrs. Gary Letson Mr. Daniel R. Bedford Ms. Linda Lonay Timothy Wu Julia Lobel Monique and Avner Ben-Dor Marsha Mason Marilyn and Irvin Yalom Ms. Evelyn Lockton David and Michele Benjamin Robert McCleskey Nancy and Kell Yang Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Logan Ms. Joyce Avery and Mr. Brian A. Berg Carol McCutcheon-Aguilar and Ms. Emerald Yeh Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Long Richard and Katherine Berman Luis Aguilar Jacqueline L. Young Jeff and Susanne Lyons Mrs. Fowler A. Biggs Linda McPharlin and Nick Nichols Mr. and Mrs. Philip Zimbardo Mr. and Mrs. William Manheim Carol M. Bowen and Ms. Jane E. Miller Mr. and Mrs. Bruce A. Mann Christopher R. Bowen Trudy and Gary Moore John G. McGehee Ms. Angela Brunton Sharon and Jeffrey Morris Amelia Lis Ms. Jean Cardoza Mr. Ronald Morrison

32 ACT-SF.ORG JO S. HURLEY, CHAIR A.C.T. gratefully acknowledges the Prospero Society members listed below, who have made an investment in the future of A.C.T. by providing for the theater in their estate plans.

**Deceased

Providing a Legacy for A.C.T.

GIFTS DESIGNATED TO Marilee K. Gardner John McGehee GIFTS RECEIVED BY AMERICAN CONSERVATORY John L. Garfinkle Burt and Deedee McMurtry AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER Michele Garside Dr. Mary S. and F. Eugene Metz THEATER Anonymous (8) Dr. Allan P. Gold and J. Sanford Miller and The Estate of Barbara Beard Anthony J. Alfidi Mr. Alan C. Ferrara Vinie Zhang Miller The Estate of John Bissinger Judith and David Anderson Arnold and Nina Goldschlager Milton Mosk and Tom Foutch The Estate of Ronald Casassa Kay Auciello Carol Goodman and Anthony Gane Bill** and Pennie Needham The Estate of Rosemary Cozzo Ms. Nancy Axelrod JeNeal Granieri and Walter A. Nelson-Rees and The Estate of Nancy Croley M. L. Baird, in memory of Alfred F. McDonnell James Coran The Estate of Leonie Darwin Travis and Marion Baird William Gregory Michael Peter Nguyen The Estate of Mary Jane Detwiler Therese L. Baker-Degler James Haire and Timothy Cole Dante Noto The Estate of Olga Diora Ms. Teveia Rose Barnes and Richard and Lois Halliday Sheldeen Osborne The Estate of Mortimer Fleishhacker Mr. Alan Sankin Terilyn Hanko Elsa and Neil Pering The Estate of Mary Gamburg Eugene Barcone Mr. Richard H. Harding Marcia and Robert Popper The Estate of Rudolf Glauser Robert H. Beadle Kent Harvey Kellie Yvonne Raines The Estate of Phillip E. Goddard Susan B. Beer Betty Hoener Anne and Bertram Raphael The Estate of Mrs. Lester G. Hamilton David Beery and Norman Abramson R. W. and T. M. Horrigan Jacob and Maria Elena Ratinoff The Estate of Sue Hamister J. Michael and Leon Berry-Lawhorn Jo S. Hurley Mary L. Renner The Estate of Howard R. Hollinger Dr. Barbara L. Bessey and Barry Lee Johnson Ellen Richard The Estate of William S. Howe, Jr. Dr. Kevin J. Gilmartin** Paul and Carol Kameny Jillian C. Robinson The Estate of Thomas H. Maryanski Lucia Brandon** Dr. and Mrs. Stewart Karlinsky Susan Roos The Estate of Michael L. Mellor Mr. Arthur H. Bredenbeck and Nelda Kilguss Andrea Rouah The Estate of Bruce Tyson Mitchell Mr. Michael Kilpatrick Ms. Heather M. Kitchen David Rovno, MD The Estate of Gail Oakley Linda K. Brewer Mr. Jonathan Kitchen and Paul and Renae Sandberg The Estate of Dennis Edward Parker Agnes Chen Brown Ms. Nina Hatvany Harold Segelstad The Estate of Rose Penn Martin and Geraldine Brownstein John and Karen Kopac Reis F. Stanley Seifried The Estate of Shepard P. Pollack Gayle and Steve Brugler Catherine Kuss and Danilo Purlia Ruth Short The Estate of Margaret Purvine Christine Bunn and William Risseeuw Mr. Patrick Lamey Dr. Eliot and Mrs. Kathy Shubin The Estate of Gerald B. Rosenstein Bruce Carlton and Richard McCall** Philip C. Lang Andrew Smith and Brian Savard The Estate of Charles Sassoon Florence Cepeda and Earl Frick Mindy Lechman Cherie Sorokin The Estate of Olivia Thebus Paula Champagne and David Watson Marcia Lowell Leonhardt Alan L.** and Ruth Stein The Estate of Ayn and Brian Thorne Mr. and Mrs. Steven B. Chase Marcia and Jim Levy Mr. and Mrs. Bert Steinberg The Estate of Sylvia Coe Tolk Lesley Ann Clement Ines R. Lewandowitz** Jane and Jay Taber The Estate of Elizabeth Wallace Lloyd and Janet Cluff Jennifer Lindsay Mr. Marvin Tanigawa The Estate of Frances Webb Patricia Corrigan Nancy Livingston and Fred M. Levin Martin Tannenbaum and Alex Ingersoll† The Estate of William Zoller Susan and Jack Cortis Dot Lofstrom and Robin C. Johnson Nancy Thompson and Andy Kerr Ms. Joan Danforth Ms. Paulette Long Phyllis and Dayton Torrence FOR MORE INFORMATION Richard T. Davis-Lowell Dr. Steve Lovejoy and Michael E. Tully ABOUT PROSPERO SOCIETY Sharon Dickson Dr. Thane Kreiner Ms. Nadine Walas Jerome L. and Thao N. Dodson Melanie and Peter Maier Marla Meridoyne Walcott MEMBERSHIP Drs. Peter and Ludmila Eggleton Jasmine Stirling Malaga and Katherine G. Wallin Linda Jo Fitz Michael William Malaga David Weber and Ruth Goldstine TIFFANY REDMON, Frannie Fleishhacker Mr. Jeffrey Malloy Paul D. Weintraub and DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF Mr. Kenneth Marks Raymond J. Szczesny Kevin and Celeste Ford DEVELOPMENT Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Fowler Michael and Sharon Marron Beth Weissman Alan and Susan Fritz Mr. John B. McCallister Tim M. Whalen 415.439.2482 Mr. Barry Lawson Williams [email protected]

The following members of the A.C.T. community made gifts in memory and in honor of friends, Memorial & Tribute Gifts colleagues, and family members of $100 or more during the June 1, 2017, to June 1, 2018, period.

Susan Medak and Gregory S. Murphy In Honor of Louisa Balch Mr. David J. Pasta In Memory of Gloria J. A. Guth Mr. Robert G. Evans In Honor of Linda Fitz Susan L. Kaplan In Memory of Richard M. Kaplan Mary Cathryn Houston In Honor of Arnie Glassberg Dr. Margaret R. McLean In Memory of Teresa and Phillip McLean Patrick Hobin In Honor of Giles Havergal Richard and Victoria Larson In Memory of Dennis Powers Daniel E. Cohn and Lynn Brinton In Honor of Nancy Livingston Ms. Peggy Kivel In Memory of Eva Ramos Ms. Roberta Denning In Honor of Carey Perloff Susan Terris In Memory of Barbara Rosenblum Dorothy Saxe In Honor of Carey Perloff Philip Huff In Memory of Mrs. Barbara Rosenblum Kristina Veaco In Honor of Carey Perloff Wendy, David, Marisa, and Jared In Memory of Barbara Rosenblum Jacqueline L. Young In Honor of Carey Perloff and Linda Jo Fitz Rosenblum - Silverman - Sutton, SF Inc. In Memory of Mrs. Barbara Rosenblum Bill Draper In Honor of Carey Perloff Ms. Carol Tessler In Memory of Barbara Rosenblum The Kellners & The Bunises In Honor of David A. Riemer Barbara C. Ross In Memory of Barbara Rosenblum Jon Nakamura In Honor of Craig Slaight Alan P. Winston In Memory of Deborah Rush Eric and Susan Nitzberg In Honor of Craig Slaight Susan Terris In Memory of Alan Stein Mr. and Mrs. Sandy Dean In Honor of Adriana Vermut Susan and John Weiss In Memory of Alan Stein Judy and Robert Aptekar In Memory of Alan Stein Anonymous In Memory of Ruth Asawa Dan and Gloria Kearney Fund In Memory of Alan Stein Michael Kim In Memory of Youngmee Baik Sally-Ann and Ervin Epstein, Jr. In Memory of Alan Stein Marilee K. Gardner In Memory of Winnie Biocini, Joey Chait, Fred M. Levin and Nancy Livingston, The Shenson Foundation In Memory of Alan Stein Joe Greenbach, and Roland Lampert Ms. Joy Eaton In Memory of Todd Wees Jane Shurtleff In Memory of John Chapot 415.749.2228 33 SET THE STAGE FOR AN ENRICHED COMMUNITY

BECOME A FRIEND OF A.C.T. TODAY!

For a full listing of member benefits, visit ACT-SF.ORG/MEMBERSHIPS or contact A.C.T.’s Development Department w at 415.439.2353.

Corporate Partners Circle

The Corporate Partners Circle comprises businesses that support the artistic mission of A.C.T., including A.C.T.’s investment in the next generation of theater artists and audiences, and its vibrant educational and community outreach programs. Corporate Partners Circle members receive extraordinary entertainment and networking opportunities, unique access to renowned actors and artists, premium complimentary tickets, and targeted brand recognition. For information about how to become a Corporate Partner, please contact Caitlin A. Quinn at 415.439.2436 or [email protected].

LEAD EDUCATION OFFICIAL HOTEL PRESENTING PRESENTING PARTNERS PERFORMANCE STAGE PARTNERS SPONSORw SPONSOR HOST ($25,000–$49,999) PARTNERS ($5,000–$9,999) Hotel G Bank of America Foundation ($10,000–$24,999) Burr Pilger Mayer, Inc. City National Bank BNY Mellon Wealth S&P Global Theatre Forward Management Schoenberg Family Ascent/U.S. Bank Bank of the West Law Group Farella Braun + Martel Perkins Coie LLP SEASON SPONSORw PRESENTING Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw SPONSOR Pittman LLP

w Lead Gala supporter

Foundations and Government Agencies

The following foundations and government agencies provide vital support for A.C.T. For more information, please contact Nicole Chalas at 415.439.2337 or [email protected].

$100,000 AND ABOVE $50,000–$99,999 $25,000–$49,999 $10,000–$24,999 $5,000–$9,999 Jewels of Charity, Inc. The Bernard Osher Anonymous The Kenneth Rainin Davis/Dauray Family Fund Doris Duke Charitable Foundation The Kimball Foundation Foundation Edna M. Reichmuth Foundation Department of Children, The Harold and Mimi Laird Norton Family Educational Fund of San Francisco Grants Youth & Their Families Steinberg Trust Foundation The San Francisco for the Arts The Edgerton Foundation MAP Fund The Sato Foundation Foundation The William Randolph Hearst The Koret Foundation Saint Francis Foundation The Stanley S. Langendorf Foundation National Endowment for San Francisco’s Office of Foundation The William and Flora the Arts Economic and Workforce Wallis Foundation Hewlett Foundations Development The Zellerbach Family The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Foundation Walter and Elise Haas Fund

34 ACT-SF.ORG Theatre Forward Current Funders List as of January 2017

Theatre Forward advances American theater and its communities by providing funding and other resources to the country’s leading nonprofit theaters. Theatre Forward and its theaters are most grateful to the following funders:

THEATRE EXECUTIVES PACESETTERS DONORS Kevin & Anne Driscoll *Theatre Forward Fund for ($50,000+) ($15,000–$24,999) ($10,000–$14,999) John R. Dutt*▴ New American Theatre AT&T▴ American Express* Paula A. Dominick*▴ Bruce R. and Tracey Ewing*▴ †Includes in-kind support ▴ Bank of America* Bloomberg Dorsey & Whitney Foundation Jessica Farr* ▴Educating through Theatre Support James S. & Lynne Turley*▴ Cisco Systems, Inc.* Epiq Systems* Mason & Kim Granger*▴ The Schloss Family The Estée Lauder Karen A. & Kevin W. Kennedy Brian J. Harkins*▴ Theatre Forward supporters are former Foundation▴ Companies Inc. Foundation Gregory S. Hurst*▴ supporters of National Corporate Theatre Fund and Impact Creativity. ▴ Howard and Janet Kagan▴ EY* Lisa Orberg For a complete list of funders, visit ▴ BENEFACTORS Alan & Jennifer Freedman*▴ Presidio* Joseph F. Kirk* theatreforward.org. ($25,000–$49,999) Frank & Bonnie Orlowski*▴ Thomas C. Quick* Mary Kitchen and Jon Orszag Buford Alexander and Marsh & McLennan RBC Wealth Management▴ Anthony and Diane Lembke, Pamela Farr*▴ Companies, Inc. Daniel A. Simkowitz*▴ in honor of Brian J Harkins, BNY Mellon National Endowment for S&P Global board member Steven & Joy Bunson*▴ the Arts▴ TD Charitable Foundation▴ John R. Mathena*▴ Citi Pfizer, Inc. Isabelle Winkles*▴ Jonathan Maurer and DeWitt Stern* Southwest Airlines▴† Gretchen Shugart*▴ Goldman, Sachs & Co. Theatermania/Gretchen SUPPORTERS Dina Merrill & Ted Hartley* MetLife Shugart*▴ ($2,500–$9,999) Newmark Holdings* Morgan Stanley George S. Smith, Jr.*▴ Mitchell J. Auslander*▴ Sills Cummis & Gross P.C.* Wells Fargo*▴ UBS Sue Ann Collins John Thomopoulos*▴ Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP* Disney/ABC Television Group* Evelyn Mack Truitt* Dorfman and Kaish Family Leslie C. & Regina Quick Foundation, Inc.▴ Charitable Trust Dramatists Play Service, Inc.*

Gifts in Kind

A.C.T. thanks the following donors for their generous contributions of goods and services.

Clift Hotel Krista Coupar CyberTools for Libraries The Marker Hotel Emergency BBQ Company Moleskine First Crush Restaurant Piedmont Piano Company and Wine Bar Premium Port Wines, Inc. Inspiration Vineyards Rust & Flourish Florals Joe Tally and Dan Strauss Tout Sweet Pâtisserie

Corporations Matching Annual Fund Gifts

As A.C.T. is both a cultural and an educational institution, many employers will match individual employee contributions to the theater. The following corporate matching gift programs honor their employees’ support of A.C.T., multiplying the impact of those contributions.

Acxiom Corporation BlackRock GE Foundation Macy’s, Inc. The Clorox Company Adobe Systems Inc. Charles Schwab Google Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation Apple, Inc. Chevron Hewlett-Packard Foundation, Inc. The James Irvine Foundation Applied Materials Chubb & Son IBM International Foundation Northwestern Mutual The Morrison & Foerster AT&T Foundation Dell Direct Giving Campaign JPMorgan Chase Foundation Foundation Bank of America Dodge & Cox Johnson & Johnson Family Pacific Gas and Electric TPG Capital, L.P. Bank of America Foundation Ericsson, Inc. of Companies Arthur Rock Verizon Bank of New York Mellon Federated Department Stores Levi Strauss Foundation Salesforce Visa International Community Partnership The Gap Lockheed Martin Corporation State Farm Companies John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Foundation

415.749.2228 35 A.C.T. STAFF

PAM MACKINNON JENNIFER BIELSTEIN MELISSA SMITH Artistic Director Executive Director Conservatory Director

Artistic Director Emerita Costume Shop Ticket Services M.F.A. Program Core Faculty Carey Perloff Jessie Amoroso, Costume Director Ian Fullmer, Director of Ticket Services Christine Adaire, Head of Voice Callie Floor, Rentals Manager Mark C. Peters, Subscriptions Manager Danyon Davis, Head of Movement Producing Director Emeritus Keely Weiman, Build Manager/Draper David Engelmann, Head Treasurer Lisa Anne Porter, Head of Voice and Dialects James Haire Jef Valentine, Inventory Manager Elizabeth Halperin, Assistant Head Treasurer Jack Sharrar, PhD, Theater History Maria Montoya, Head Stitcher Anthony Miller, Group Sales Melissa Smith, Head of Acting, Director Associate Artists Kelly Koehn, Accessories & Crafts Artisan Scott Tignor, Stephanie Arora, Marco Barricelli, Olympia Dukakis, Giles Chanterelle Grover, First Hand Subscriptions Coordinators M.F.A. Program Adjunct Faculty Havergal, Bill Irwin, Steven Anthony Jones, Andy Alabran, Liam Blaney, Richard Claar, Milissa Carey, Singing, Director Andrew Polk, Tom Stoppard, Gregory Wallace, Victoria Mortimer, Costume Administrator Peter Davey, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, Alex Andy Donald, Arts Leadership Timberlake Wertenbaker Wig Shop Mechanic, Katharine Torres, Treasurers Julie Douglas, Improv Lindsay Saier, Wig Master Lauren English, Business of Acting Playwrights Front of House Edward Albee, Jaclyn Backhaus, Kate Hamill, Daniel Feyer, Music Director, Accompanist Kevin Nelson, Theater Manager Eugène Ionesco, Lynn Nottage, Carey Perloff STAGE STAFF Janet Foster, Audition, Showcase David Whitman, House Manager and Paul Walsh, Ursula Rani Sarma, Mfoniso Gregory Hoffman, Combat/Weapons The Geary: Megan Murray, Genevieve Pabon, Udofia, Lauren Yee Miguel Ongpin, Head Carpenter Jasmin Hoo, Citizen Artistry Tuesday Ray, Associate House Managers Suzanna Bailey, Head Sound Mark Jackson, Performance Making Directors Oliver Sutton, Security Mark Pugh, Head Properties Darryl Jones, Acting Frank Galati, Loretta Greco, Domenique Ramsey Abouremeleh, Monica Amitin, Colin Wade, Flyman W. D. Keith, On-Camera Acting Lozano, Pam MacKinnon, Victor Malana Maog, Shannon Amitin, Forrest Choy, Bernadette Carey Perloff, Lisa Peterson, Jessica Stone, Mary Montijo, Wardrobe Supervisor Fons, Anthony Hernandez, Svetlana Philip Charles MacKenzie, On-Camera Acting Tamilla Woodard Diane Cornelius, Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor Karasyova, Susan Monson, Haley Nielsen, Heidi Marshall, On-Camera Acting Loren Lewis, Joe Nelson, Stage Door Monitor Trever Pearson, Scott Phillips, Pete Pickens, Seana McKenna, Acting Choreographers Miki Richmond, Travis Rowland, Tracey Caymichael Patten, On-Camera Acting Sylvester, Cevie Toure, Robyn Williams, Stephen Buescher, Val Caniparoli The Strand: Kari Prindl, Alexander Technique Bartenders Patsy McCormack, Strand Master Technician Stacey Printz, Dance Susan Allen, Rodney Anderson, Branden Composers/Orchestrators Sarah Jacquez, Strand Sound Engineer Bowman, Serena Broussard, Danica Burt, Tiffany Redmon, Fundraising David Coulter, Karl Lundeberg Jose Camello, Barbara Casey, Wendy Elyse Shafarman, Alexander Technique ADMINISTRATION Chang, Niyjale Cummings, Kathy Dere, Lisa Townsend, Director, Choreographer Music Directors Coralyn Bond, John Doll, Larry Emms, Doris Flamm, Claire Stephanie Wilborn, Citizen Artistry Daniel Feyer Executive Assistant and Board Liaison Gerndt, Louisa Githuka, Carol Grace, Blue Kesler, Ryszard Koprowski, Sharon Lee, Studio A.C.T. Designers Human Resources Sadie Li, Joe MacDonald, Maria Markoff, Mark Jackson, Program Director John Arnone, Nina Ball, Robert Brill, Val Mason, Sam Mesinger, Edvida Moore, Amanda Williams, Human Resources Director Liz Anderson, On-Camera Acting, Improv Alexander Dodge, Ken MacDonald, Robert Kathy Napoleone, Mary O’Connell, Brandie Heidi Carlsen, Acting, Voice, Movement Perdziola, David Zinn, Scenic General Management Pilapil, Mark Saladino, Steve Salzman, Walter Schoonmaker, Stephanie Somersille, Michael Julie Douglas, Acting, Clown Beaver Bauer, Linda Cho, Christine Crooke, Louisa Balch, General Manager Sousa, Melissa Stern, Dale Whitmill, Lorraine Francie Epsen-Devlin, Musical Theater Jennifer Moeller, Meg Neville, Robert Amy Dalba, Associate General Manager Perdziola, David Zinn, Costumes Williams, June Yee, Ushers Paul Finocchiaro, Acting Sabra Jaffe, Company Manager Robert Hand, Nancy Schertler, Jen Shriever, Margo Hall, Acting Emma Penny, General/Company David Weiner, Robert Wierzel, Lighting The Strand Cafe W. D. Keith, Acting Management Fellow Brendan Aanes, Kate Marvin, Jane Shaw, Rafael Monge, Cafe Manager Drew Khalouf, Speech, Shakespeare LaRina Hazel, Raj Paul Pannu, Baristas Jake Rodriguez, Sound Finance Kari Prindl, Alexander Technique Mark Rafael, Acting Coaches Rob Fore, Chief Financial Officer EDUCATION & COMMUNITY Sharon Boyce, Accounting Manager Katie Rubin, Stand-Up Comedy, Acting Christine Adaire, Lisa Anne Porter, PROGRAMS Patrick Russell, Acting, Clown Voice and Text May Chin, Matt Jones, Ryan Jones, Finance Associates Elizabeth Brodersen, Naomi Sanchez, Musical Theater Dave Maier, Danielle O’Dea, Jonathan Rider, Director of Education & Community Programs Playwriting Fights Michael Gene Sullivan, Information Technology Jasmin Hoo, Associate Director of Education & Caitlyn Tella, Movement Daniel Feyer, Music Community Programs Thomas Morgan, Director Laura Wayth, Acting, Musical Theater Joone Pajar, Network Administrator Vincent Amelio, Workshops & Events Manager ARTISTIC Vanessa Ramos, Residencies Coordinator Conservatory Accompanists Andy Donald, Associate Artistic Director Operations Stephanie Wilborn, Lynden James Bair, Daniel Feyer, Christopher Janet Foster, Director of Casting and Jeffrey Warren, Assistant Facilities Manager Community Programs Manager Hewitt, Paul McCurdy, Thaddeus Pinkston, Artistic Associate Leopoldo Benavente, Facilities Crew Member Elizabeth Halperin, Student Matinees Naomi Sanchez Allie Moss, Literary Manager and Curtis Carr, Jr., Jesse Nightchase, Theo Sims, Artistic Associate Security YOUNG CONSERVATORY Library Staff Ken Savage, Associate Producer Jaime Morales, Geary Cleaning Foreman Jill MacLean, Craig Slaight Director of the Young Joseph Tally, Head Librarian Conservatory Jamal Alsaidi, Jeaneth Alvarado, Lidia G. David Anderson, Theresa Bell, Laurie PRODUCTION Godinez, Geary Cleaning Crew Emily Hanna, Young Conservatory & Studio Bernstein, Helen Jean Bowie, Bruce Carlton, A.C.T. Coordinator Audrey Hoo, Production Manager Barbara Cohrssen, William Goldstein, Pat Andy Alabran, Acting Robert Hand, Associate Production Manager Development Hunter, Connie Ikert, Ashok Katdare, Martha Cristina Anselmo, Acting Kessler, Nelda Kilguss, Barbara Kornstein, Jack Horton, Associate Production Manager Caitlin A. Quinn, Director of Development Analise Leiva, Ines Lewandowitz, Patricia Tiffany Redmon, Enrico Banson, Musical Theater Marlena Schwartz, Assistant Production O’Connell, Roy Ortopan, Maida Paxton, Deputy Director of Development Kimberly Braun, Musical Theater Manager Connie Pelkey, Christine Peterson, Dana Nancy Gold, Physical Character, Acting Chris Lundahl, Design and Production Associate Nicole Chalas, Rees, Roger Silver, Jane Taber, Susan Torres, Michelle Symons, Conservatory Production Director of Grants and Foundation Relations Dan Griffith, Movement Joyce Weisman, Jean Wilcox, Marie Wood, Manager Jody Price, Director of Special Events Jane Hammett, Musical Theater Library Volunteers Haley Miller, Conservatory Design and Hillary Bray, W. D. Keith, Director Production Associate Donor Relations and Memberships Manager Domenique Lozano, Director, Acting A.C.T. thanks the physicians and staff of the Sean Key-Ketter, Conservatory Technical Renée Gholikely, Danielle O’Dea, Stage Combat Centers for Sports Medicine, Saint Francis Development Research and Prospect Manager Director Thaddeus Pinkston, Accompanist Memorial Hospital, for their care of the A.C.T. Stephanie Swide, Maggie Manzano, Conservatory Production and Lauren Rosi, Musical Theater company: Dr. Victor Prieto, Dr. Hoylond Stage Management Coordinator Development Operations Manager Hong, Dr. Susan Lewis, Don Kemp, P.A., and Vivian Sam, Musical Theater, Dance Emily Remsen, Special Events Associate Chris Corpus, Clinic Supervisor. Lauren Spencer, Acting Stage Management Jordan Nickels, Development Assistant Trish Tillman, Acting Elisa Guthertz, Head Stage Manager Erica Love, Development Coordinator Accreditation Valerie Weak, Acting Dani Bae, Elisa Guthertz, Christina Hogan, A.C.T. is accredited by the Accrediting Karen Szpaller, Stage Managers Marketing & Public Relations Krista Wigle, Musical Theater Commission for Senior Colleges and Dani Bae, Deirdre Rose Holland, Randy Taradash, Acting Director of Marketing Universities of the Western Association CONSERVATORY of Schools and Colleges (WASC), 985 Maggie Manzano, Leslie M. Radin, Syche Phillips, Associate Director of Marketing Dan Kolodny, Manager, Conservatory Operations Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, Assistant Stage Managers Simon Hodgson, Publications Manager & Professional Development Training 510.748.9001, an institutional accrediting body Hal Day, Production Assistant Simone Finney, Digital Content Manager Christopher Herold, Director of Summer recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Kevin Kopjak/Charles Zukow Associates, Training Congress Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. Prop Shop Public Relations Counsel Jack Sharrar, PhD, Director of Academic Affairs Ryan L. Parham, Supervisor Diana Freeberg, Conservatory Marketing Jerry Lopez, Director of Financial Aid Abo Greenwald, Assistant Manager Emily Hanna, Young Conservatory & Studio Beryl Baker, Digital Content Associate A.C.T. Coordinator Stefanie Shoemaker, Graphic Designer Callie Garrett, Conservatory Associate, Elspeth Sweatman, Publications Associate Academic Programs Miranda Ashland, Marketing Assistant Matt Jones, Bursar/Payroll Administrator Ilyssa Ernsteen, Conservatory Fellow

36 ACT-SF.ORG A.C.T. PROFILES

PAM MACKINNON (Artistic Director) Drama Desk Awards for direction. Other Broadway grew up in Toronto, Canada, and Buffalo, productions include Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park (Obie New York. She acted through her teens Award for Excellence in Directing; Tony and Lortel nominations but majored in economics and political for direction); Beau Willimon’s The Parisian Woman; Amélie, science at the University of Toronto and A New Musical, which debuted at Berkeley Repertory Theatre briefly pursued a PhD in political science before running on Broadway; David Mamet’s China Doll; Wendy at UC San Diego, before returning to her Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles; and Albee’s A Delicate true passion: theater. Since then, Balance. After five years as board chair of Clubbed Thumb, MacKinnon has become one of American theater’s most beloved a downtown New York theater company dedicated to new directors and a leading interpreter of Edward Albee’s work. Her American plays, she sits on its advisory board. She is an artistic directing career spans more than 20 years and 70 productions associate of the Roundabout Theatre Company, a Usual Suspect off Broadway and in the Bay Area, Southern California, Chicago, of New York Theatre Workshop, and an alumna of the Drama and Washington, DC, as well as recently on Broadway. Her League, Women’s Project, and Lincoln Center Theater’s production of Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won the Directors Labs. She is also the executive board president of Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play and earned her Tony and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).

JENNIFER BIELSTEIN (Executive Lincoln Park Zoo, as well as serving on the boards of the Director) joins A.C.T. with more than 25 League of Chicago Theatres, Theatre Forward, the Arts and years of theater management experience. Cultural Attractions Council, and other civic boards. She has She is currently president of the League received the Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s Pyramid of Resident Theatres (LORT)—an Award of Excellence in Leadership, and has been recognized organization that represents 74 theaters as one of Louisville’s Business First’s 40 Under 40. In 2017, nationwide—having previously served Bielstein was named by Twin Cities Business as a Person to as LORT’s vice president; chair of its Know, and, in 2018, Minnesota Business magazine named her Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee; secretary; and on as a Real Power 50 member. Bielstein is a graduate of the multiple union negotiating teams. Before relocating to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, attended Bay Area, Bielstein was the managing director of the Guthrie Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program Theater in Minneapolis, managing director of Actors Theatre for Nonprofit Leaders in the Arts, and earned an MBA from of Louisville, and executive director of Writers Theatre in Bellarmine University, where she received the MBA Faculty Chicago. She has also worked for Steppenwolf Theatre Merit Award and was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the Company, About Face Theatre, Northlight Theatre, and the honor society for business programs.

MELISSA SMITH (Conservatory landscape of the Bay Area. Prior to assuming leadership of Director, Head of Acting) has served as the Conservatory, Smith was the director of the Program in Conservatory director and head of acting Theater and Dance at Princeton University. She has taught in the Master of Fine Arts Program at acting classes to students of all ages in various colleges, high A.C.T. since 1995. During that time, she schools, and studios around the continental United States, has overseen the expansion of the M.F.A. at the Mid-Pacific Institute in Hawaii, New York University’s Program from a two- to a three-year La Pietra campus in Florence, and the Teatro di Pisa in San course of study and the further Miniato, Italy. She is featured in Acting Teachers of America: integration of the M.F.A. Program faculty and student body A Vital Tradition. Also a professional actor, she has performed with A.C.T.’s artistic wing, while also teaching and directing in regionally at the Hangar Theatre, A.C.T., the California the M.F.A. Program, Summer Training Congress, and Studio Shakespeare Festival, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre; A.C.T. She also successfully launched the San Francisco in New York at Primary Stages and Soho Rep.; and in England Semester, a semester-long intensive that deepens students’ at the in London and Birmingham Repertory acting, broadens knowledge of dramatic literature, and Theatre. Smith holds a BA from Yale College and an MFA sharpens technical skills, while immersing actors in the cultural in acting from Yale School of Drama.

415.749.2228 37 F.Y. I .

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES REFRESHMENTS AFFILIATIONS Full bar service, sweets, and savory items are A.C.T.’s administrative and conservatory A.C.T. is a constituent of Theatre available one hour before the performance in offices are located at 30 Grant Avenue, San Communications Group, the national Fred’s Columbia Room on the lower level and Francisco, CA 94108, 415.834.3200. On the organization for the nonprofit professional the Sky Bar on the third level. You can avoid web: act-sf.org. theater. A.C.T. is a member of Theatre Bay the long lines at intermission by preordering Area, the Union Square Association, the San food and beverages in the lower- and third- Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and the level bars. Bar drinks are now permitted in BOX OFFICE INFORMATION San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau. the theater. A.C.T. BOX OFFICE Visit us at 405 Geary Street at Mason, next to CELL PHONES A.C.T. operates under an agreement the theater, one block west of Union Square; If you carry a pager, beeper, cell phone, or between the League of Resident Theatres or at 1127 Market Street at 7th Street, watch with an alarm, please make sure that and Actors’ Equity Association, the union of across from the UN Plaza. Walk-up hours it is set to the “off” position while you are professional actors and stage managers in are Tuesday–Sunday (noon–curtain) on in the theater. Text messaging during the the United States. performance days, and Monday–Friday performance is very disruptive and not allowed. The Director is a member of the STAGE (noon–6 p.m.) and Saturday–Sunday DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS PERFUMES (noon–4 p.m.) on nonperformance days. SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union. (For Strand Box Office walk-up hours, please The chemicals found in perfumes, colognes, visit act-sf.org.) Phone hours are Tuesday– and scented aftershave lotions, even in The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound Sunday (10 a.m.–curtain) on performance small amounts, can cause severe physical designers in LORT theaters are represented days, and Monday–Friday (10 a.m.–6 p.m.) reactions in some individuals. As a courtesy to by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of and Saturday–Sunday (10 a.m.–4 p.m.) on fellow patrons, please avoid the use of these the IATSE. nonperformance days. Call 415.749.2228 and products when you attend the theater. use American Express, Visa, or MasterCard; The scenic shop, prop shop, and stage crew or fax your ticket request with credit card EMERGENCY TELEPHONE are represented by Local 16 of the IATSE. information to 415.749.2291. Tickets are also Leave your seat location with those who available 24 hours a day on our website at may need to reach you and have them call 415.439.2317 in an emergency. A.C.T. is supported in part by an award from act-sf.org. All sales are final, and there are no the National Endowment for the Arts. refunds. Only current ticket subscribers and LATECOMERS those who purchase ticket insurance enjoy Performances begin promptly, and late ticket exchange privileges. Packages are A.C.T. is supported in part by a grant from seating is at the house manager’s discretion. Grants for the Arts. available by calling 415.749.2250. A.C.T. gift Latecomers may have to watch the certificates can be purchased in any amount performance on a video monitor in the lobby online, by phone or fax, or in person. until intermission. Latecomers and those who GEARY THEATER EXITS SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION DISCOUNTS leave the theater during the performance may Full-time students, educators, and be seated in alternate seats (especially if they administrators save up to 50% off season were in the first few rows) and can take their subscriptions with valid ID. Visit act-sf.org/ assigned seats at intermission. educate for details. Seniors (65+) save $40 on LISTENING SYSTEMS 8 plays, $35 on 7 plays, $30 on 6 plays, $25 Headsets designed to provide clear, amplified ORCHESTRA on 5 plays, and $20 on 4 plays. sound anywhere in the auditorium are SINGLE TICKET DISCOUNTS available free of charge in the lobby before Joining our eClub is the best—and sometimes performances. Please turn off your hearing aid only—way to find out about special ticket when using an A.C.T. headset, as it will react to offers. Visit act-sf.org/eclub to sign up. Find the sound system and make a disruptive noise. us on Facebook and Twitter for other great PHOTOGRAPHS AND RECORDINGS of A.C.T. deals. Beginning two hours before curtain, performances are strictly forbidden. a limited number of discounted tickets are available to seniors (65+), educators, RESTROOMS are located in Fred’s Columbia administrators, and full-time students. For Room on the lower lobby level, the Mezzanine matinee performances, all seats are just $20 Lobby, and the Garret on the uppermost for seniors (65+). Valid ID required—limit lobby level. one ticket per ID. Not valid for Premiere Wheelchair Seating is located Orchestra seating. All rush tickets are subject in Fred’s Columbia Room on the MEZZANINE to availability. lower lobby level, the Balcony Lobby, and the Garret on the GROUP DISCOUNTS uppermost lobby level. Groups of 15 or more save up to 35%! For more information, call Anthony Miller A.C.T. is pleased to announce that an Automatic at 415.439.2424. External Defibrillator (AED) is now available in the house management closet in the lobby AT THE THEATER of The Geary. A.C.T.’s Geary Theater is located at 415 Geary Street. The lobby opens one hour before LOST AND FOUND curtain. Bar service and refreshments are If you’ve misplaced an item while you’re available one hour before curtain. The theater still at the theater, please look for it at our opens 30 minutes before curtain. merchandise stand in the lobby. Any items found by ushers or other patrons will be taken ABOUT OUR PLAYS there. If you’ve already left the theater, please BALCONY Copies of Words on Plays, A.C.T.’s in-depth call 415.439.2471 and we’ll be happy to check performance guide, are on sale in the main our lost and found for you. Please be prepared lobby, at the theater bars, at the box office, with the date you attended the performance and online at act-sf.org/wordsonplays. and your seat location.

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