Anthony Fusco News

Playing now through November 18, 'Elektra's keening, mournful and blood thirst quest for justice is challenging pedagogy but even more so, enthralling theatre.

Direct from its sold-out premiere in Los Angeles, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2012-13 season with A.C.T.

Both terribly morbid and wonderfully brilliant, Samuel Beckett's "Endgame" and "Play" are difficult at first to understand. Beckett's focus on existential themes of death and the meaning - or meaninglessness - of life make any interpretation of his work difficult to enjoy on its own.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2011-12 season with ENDGAME and PLAY-two landmark one-act plays by modernist master Samuel Beckett, directed by A.C.T. artistic director Carey Perloff. One of Beckett's most rarely performed works, PLAY, is the abstract tale of two women and one man encased in identical funeral urns as they obsess over an affair that ended unhappily for all. This production of Beckett plays performs a limited run May 9-June 3, 2012. Check out production shots below!

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Carey Perloff previously announced that an evening of short plays by modernist master Samuel Beckett replaces Twelfth Night for the 2011-12 season. The evening includes ENDGAME, Beckett's timeless rumination on the end of life, featuring two-time Tony Award winner and A.C.T. favorite Bill Irwin, who was recently hailed by The New York Times as 'an actor deeply steeped in the traditions of clowns, according to both the commedia dell'arte and Samuel Beckett,' and PLAY featuring A.C.T. core acting company members René Augesen, Anthony Fusco, and Omozé Idehenre. A longtime Bay Area favorite as one of the founders of the Pickle Family Circus, Irwin returns to A.C.T. after stealing the hearts of the Bay Area audiences last season as the loveable title character in Moliére's SCAPIN, which he also adapted and directed. Perloff, who has previously directed Beckett's WAITING FOR GODOT at A.C.T. and will helm the production, said: 'It was in Endgame that Beckett famously wrote: 'nothing is funnier than unhappiness.' And I cannot think of a more consummate artist than Bill Irwin to demonstrate that fact, undertaking the lead role of Hamm in this astonishing play. Endgame is a play Bill and I have wanted to do together for many years; when the opportunity suddenly presented itself to do it this season, we could not say no. I am thrilled to present Endgame in tandem with a comic gem from 1963 called PLAY, which will give our core company a chance to shine a spotlight on a hilarious tale of marriage and adultery that represents a very different side of Beckett's oeuvre. I hope that this Beckett pairing will add a rich chapter to A.C.T.'s explorations of the great modernists, Beckett and Pinter.' Endgame and Play play May 9-June 3, 2012, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Press night is Wednesday, May 16, 2012, at 8 p.m. Tickets (starting at $10) are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket Services at 415.749.2228 or at www.act-sf.org.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced two special events associated with their upcoming production of Samuel Beckett's Endgame and Play, opening May 9 at the American Conservatory Theater.

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program, which has trained such celebrated actors as Elizabeth Banks, Annette Bening, Anna Deavere Smith, and Denzel Washington, presents the sharp-witted, raunchy satire The Mandrake by Niccolò Machiavelli.

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program, which has trained such celebrated actors as Elizabeth Banks, Annette Bening, Anna Deavere Smith, and Denzel Washington, presents the sharp-witted, raunchy satire The Mandrake by Niccolò Machiavelli.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Carey Perloff announced that an evening of short plays by modernist master Samuel Beckett replaces Twelfth Night for the 2011-12 season. The evening includes ENDGAME, Beckett's timeless rumination on the end of life, featuring two-time Tony Award winner and A.C.T. favorite Bill Irwin, who was recently hailed by The New York Times as 'an actor deeply steeped in the traditions of clowns, according to both the commedia dell'arte and Samuel Beckett,' and PLAY featuring A.C.T. core acting company members René Augesen, Anthony Fusco, and Omozé Idehenre. A longtime Bay Area favorite as one of the founders of the Pickle Family Circus, Irwin returns to A.C.T. after stealing the hearts of the Bay Area audiences last season as the loveable title character in Moliére's SCAPIN, which he also adapted and directed. Perloff, who has previously directed Beckett's WAITING FOR GODOT at A.C.T. and will helm the production, said: 'It was in Endgame that Beckett famously wrote: 'nothing is funnier than unhappiness.' And I cannot think of a more consummate artist than Bill Irwin to demonstrate that fact, undertaking the lead role of Hamm in this astonishing play. Endgame is a play Bill and I have wanted to do together for many years; when the opportunity suddenly presented itself to do it this season, we could not say no. I am thrilled to present Endgame in tandem with a comic gem from 1963 called PLAY, which will give our core company a chance to shine a spotlight on a hilarious tale of marriage and adultery that represents a very different side of Beckett's oeuvre. I hope that this Beckett pairing will add a rich chapter to A.C.T.'s explorations of the great modernists, Beckett and Pinter.' Endgame and Play play May 9-June 3, 2012, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Press night is Wednesday, May 16, 2012, at 8 p.m. Tickets (starting at $10) are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket Services at 415.749.2228 or at www.act-sf.org.

In every case there are two fictions, two sides, each trying to tell the better story, each trying to triumph. Law isn't about justice. It's about winning. The truth is elusive. As personal prejudices come into play, the truth sneaks further and further into the background, especially in cases involving race and sex. Pulitzer Prize winner, David Mamet's play RACE explores the various prejudices and positions in racial arguments. Refreshingly, Mamet does not take sides. Instead, he focuses on getting the audience to think and to speak for themselves.

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) 2011-12 season continues with David Mamet's newest play, Race, directed by former CENTERSTAGE Artistic Director Irene Lewis. Fresh from a triumphant run on Broadway, Mamet's wicked and scathing courtroom comedy makes its West Coast premiere at A.C.T. With his trademark verbal pyrotechnics, Mamet unleashes two attorneys and the firm's young associate as they scramble to decide if they want to represent a wealthy white man accused of assaulting a black woman.

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) 2011-12 season continues with David Mamet's newest play, Race, directed by former CENTERSTAGE Artistic Director Irene Lewis. Fresh from a triumphant run on Broadway, Mamet's wicked and scathing courtroom comedy makes its West Coast premiere at A.C.T. With his trademark verbal pyrotechnics, Mamet unleashes two attorneys and the firm's young associate as they scramble to decide if they want to represent a wealthy white man accused of assaulting a black woman.

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) 2011-12 season continues with David Mamet's newest play, Race, directed by former CENTERSTAGE Artistic Director Irene Lewis. Fresh from a triumphant run on Broadway, Mamet's wicked and scathing courtroom comedy makes its West Coast premiere at A.C.T. With his trademark verbal pyrotechnics, Mamet unleashes two attorneys and the firm's young associate as they scramble to decide if they want to represent a wealthy white man accused of assaulting a black woman.

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program presents William Shakespeare's beloved comedy As You Like It, directed by A.C.T. Associate Artistic Director Mark Rucker.

The Homecoming closes March 27, 2011, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco).

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2010-11 season with a revival of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's most provocative play, The Homecoming, directed by A.C.T. Artistic Director and longtime Pinter collaborator Carey Perloff.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2010-11 season with a revival of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's most provocative play, The Homecoming, directed by A.C.T. Artistic Director and longtime Pinter collaborator Carey Perloff.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2010-11 season with the West Coast premiere of adamant provocateur Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park, winner of the prestigious London Evening Standard Award for Best New Play in 2010.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2010-11 season with the West Coast premiere of adamant provocateur Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park, winner of the prestigious London Evening Standard Award for Best New Play in 2010.

This Tuesday, November 16, at the New 42nd Street Studios, a new musical, Shoot the Piano Player, will be presented in two readings.