A.C.T.'s RIOT Plays Zeum Theater, 4/1-4/17

The A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program and Young Conservatory present the world premiere production of Riot, celebrated Irish playwright Ursula Rani Sarma's hard-hitting play, in the newest commission from A.C.T.'s international partnership with Britain's Theatre Royal Bath. Directed by Young Conservatory Director Craig Slaight and featuring young actors from the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program and Young Conservatory, Riot follows the story of a young man who lands in a residency clinic for emotionally disturbed teens following an unexpected act of violence. Riot weaves Max's relationships with his fellow patients, his doctor, and his nurses into a moving portrait of the deep human need for connection.

The show plays April 1-17, 2010, at Zeum Theater, located at Yerba Buena Gardens (Fourth and Howard streets). Tickets are $15.50-$20.50 and are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket Services at 415.749.2228 or online at www.act-sf.org.

Playwright Sarma speaks to the unique nature of the development process for Riot: "I have really enjoyed this rare and unique opportunity to write a play for two different companies on two different continents. What I found so exciting about the project was that it challenged me to write a new piece of work that would be relevant to young people in the United States, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Within the microcosm of a psychiatric institution, I placed characters full of the contradictions, passions, and complexities of being a young person in a world you cannot control. What emerges, I hope, is a theatrical experience that is as much fun to watch as it is to perform."

Riot marks the third such collaboration between two arms of the A.C.T. Conservatory, following the successes of The Wendy Play and Volleygirls. "Riot continues A.C.T.'s commitment to new works, and to integrating teaching, learning, and performing in our training programs," says A.C.T. Conservatory Director Melissa Smith. "Given the multigenerational dynamic of our students at A.C.T., it's only natural for us to explore ways in which the journey can be bridged between the M.F.A. Program and the Young Conservatory." Receiving and providing mentorship is one of the cornerstones of the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program's unique approach to actor training. M.F.A. Program students get a chance to work closely with professional actors in A.C.T.'s core Acting Company on A.C.T.'s stages-the American Conservatory Theater and Zeum Theater-and in its classrooms, while mentoring young actors studying in A.C.T.'s Young Conservatory through their work on the annual production of A Christmas Carol and other productions such as Riot. Many A.C.T. M.F.A. Program candidates also teach in the Young Conservatory over the summer.

Director Slaight adds: "In expanding the collaboration between the Young Conservatory's new plays work and the M.F.A. Program, the exciting next step was, of course, to fold in our international artistic link with Theatre Royal Bath. The rich, highly poetic language of Ursula's plays, together with her hard-hitting subjects and themes, makes her a most exciting writer for this mix of young actors and our very best M.F.A. students." He also speaks to the unique international development process the play received: "The residency in Bath, working with Ursula and taking a variety of master classes, not only deepened our work as artists but bridged cultural and generational gaps. What has resulted is an astonishing play and a bond between the company members not forged in any standard rehearsal process."

"Our ongoing collaboration with A.C.T.'s incredible Young Conservatory is unique and the pinnacle of our work at Theatre Royal Bath," says Lee Lyford, artistic director of the Young People's Theatre at Theatre Royal Bath, where Riot received a workshop production over the summer with young actors from both A.C.T. and Theatre Royal Bath. Lyford will be directing the play later this year in England featuring Young People's Theatre members as part of the artistic partnership. "It has enabled us to work with the highest caliber of artists to produce outstanding work for and by young people, and Riot is no exception."

Since 1999, the A.C.T. Young Conservatory has nurtured uniquely successful international programs, working with such organizations as London's Royal National Theatre, Zürich's Hochschule für Musik und Theater, and Theatre Royal Bath. The programs, which have facilitated international exchange programs and new play development, have resulted in commissions or co-commissions of new works from world-renowned playwrights, including Timothy Mason, Constance Congdon, and Mark Ravenhill. Riot represents the Young Conservatory's seventh co-commission with Theatre Royal Bath. In preparation for this production, Young Conservatory actors traveled to England last summer to workshop the play with the playwright in residence, fostering an intimate relationship among the author, their counterparts at Theatre Royal Bath, and this production.
A talented group of young actors makes up the cast of Riot, including M.F.A. candidates Sara Hogrefe, Sophia Holman, Lakisha Michelle May, and Alex Ubokudom. Joining them are Young Conservatory actors Kaiso Hill, Casey Holmberg, Haley Leitman, Grace Phillips, Kathryn Rich, Anya Richkind, Forrest Tiffany, and Colin Woodell. The creative team for Riot includes scenic designer Liliana Duque-Pineiro, lighting designer Ian Smith, costume designer Callie Floor, and sound designer Sara Huddleston. Chandra Geiger Gordon acts as the assistant to the director and medical advisor on the production.

Ranked as one of the top programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program was the first theater training program in the country not affiliated with a college or university accredited to award the master of fine arts degree. The M.F.A. Program functions as the cornerstone of the A.C.T. Conservatory, which also includes the Summer Training Congress, Studio A.C.T., and the Young Conservatory. The third and final year of the program is designed to give students the opportunity to focus primarily on performing for a public audience. Past M.F.A. Program third-year productions have included works by Christopher Durang, Charles Busch, Marc Blitzstein, Georg Büchner, Caryl Churchill, George Farquhar, Henrik Ibsen, Robert O'Hara, Harold Pinter, William Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and Bertolt Brecht.
The A.C.T. Young Conservatory offers a broad range of theater training for young people aged 8 to 19. The ten sessions and four public productions offered throughout the year are designed to develop talent and creativity, as well as communication and cooperation skills, for young people with all levels of theater background. Working professional actors and directors lead students in a spectrum of classes, including acting, directing, voice and speech, musical theater, audition, and improvisation. Call 415.439.2444 or visit act-sf.org/conservatory for applications and information.
A.C.T.'s stage at Zeum Theater is dedicated to the development of new works, new forms, and new artists. A.C.T.@Zeum was launched in October 2001 with the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program's world-premiere staging of Marc Blitzstein's No for an Answer, directed by A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff. Zeum Theater is the current home of the Young Conservatory New Plays Program and gives A.C.T. an additional stage for readings, workshops, rehearsals, and other aspects of new play and production development.
Riot is made possible by a generous grant from The Bernard Osher Foundation. Additional support provided by The William G. Gilmore Foundation; The Craig Slaight Young Conservatory New Plays Fund, an endowed fund of The Next Generation Campaign; the Crescent Porter Hale Foundation; the van Löben Sels/RembeRock Foundation; and donors to A.C.T.'s season gala, the Crystal Ball, April 18, 2010.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Ursula Rani Sarma (Playwright) is a writer from the West of Ireland who has written extensively for stage, radio, and screen. Her award-winning plays-which include Touched, Blue, Car Four, Orpheus Road, Birdsong, The Spider Men, The Magic Tree, and The Dark Things-have been widely translated, performed, and published. These plays were commissioned by such companies as the National Theatre (London), the Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh), The Abbey Theatre (Dublin), and the BBC, among others. She has received many awards for her work, including an Irish Times ESB Irish Theatre Award and an Edinburgh Fringe Festival Award. Sarma was invited to the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference in 2006 and 2008, and her play The Parting Glass premiered at New York's 59E59 Theaters in September 2008. She is currently writing for the Traverse Theatre and the National Theatre as well as developing several projects for the screen.

Craig Slaight (Director) is an associate artist and the director of the Young Conservatory at American Conservatory Theater. Slaight assumed the leadership of the Young Conservatory in 1988. During his time at A.C.T. he has taught in all of the conservatory programs and served as a resident director on A.C.T. mainstage productions and as a member of the artistic team of the company. Slaight began the Young Conservatory's New Plays Program in 1989 with the mission to develop plays by outstanding professional playwrights that view the world through the eyes of the young. To date 37 new plays by leading American and British playwrights have been developed and produced. With A.C.T.'s Jack Sharrar, Slaight has edited numerous anthologies of scenes and monologues for actors and is the editor of five volumes of New Plays from A.C.T.'s Young Conservatory. Before coming to A.C.T., Slaight was an award-winning professional director in Los Angeles. He has also directed in England at the National Theatre and Theatre Royal Bath.

Designed by Liliana Duque-Pineiro (scenic designer), Callie Floor (costume designer), Sara Huddleston (sound designer), Ian Smith (lighting designer)

Featuring Kaiso Hill, Casey Holmberg, Sara Hogrefe*, Sophia Holman*, Haley Leitman, Lakisha May*, Grace Phillips, Kathryn Rich, Anya Richkind, Forrest Tiffany, Alex Ubokudom*, Colin Woodell

*Member of the A.C.T Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2010

WHERE: Zeum Theater
Yerba Buena Gardens, Fourth and Howard streets, San Francisco

WHEN: April 1-17, 2010
Wed.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m.; Sun. at 2 p.m.
Additional performances: 4/10 (2 p.m.)

HOW MUCH: $15-$20

TIX & INFO: 415.749.2228 | www.act-sf.org

 

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