American Conservatory Theater facts for kids

Geary Theater
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
(2017)
Location in San Francisco County
Location	415 Geary Street San Francisco, California
Built	1910
Architect	Walter D. Bliss & William B. Faville
Architectural style	Classical Revival Late Victorian
NRHP reference No.	75000472
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 27, 1975

The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a special theater group in San Francisco, California. It is a non-profit organization. This means it uses its money to put on amazing plays and teach acting, instead of making a profit. ACT performs both classic plays, like those by William Shakespeare, and new, modern shows. It also has a famous acting school where people can learn to become great actors.

History of ACT

The American Conservatory Theater started in 1965. It was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by a theater and opera director named William Ball. He worked with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Mellon University.

In its first year, Ball put on 27 different plays. These shows were performed in two theaters: the Geary Theater and the Marines Memorial Theatre. The acting company had 27 members. Some famous actors from that time included René Auberjonois and Michael Learned.

In the mid-1970s, some of ACT's plays were shown on TV by PBS. These included Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew and Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac.

Later, in the mid-1980s, William Ball left his job as artistic director. Edward Hastings, one of the original members, took over. He helped the company do well again. However, the Geary Theater was badly damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. After that, the company performed in different places around San Francisco.

Carey Perloff became the artistic director in 1992. She led ACT until 2018. In 2007, ACT released a music album from one of its shows. It was for the musical Happy End. This was the first time the musical's full score was recorded in English. Pam MacKinnon took over as artistic director after Carey Perloff in 2018.

ACT's Theaters

J. Gottlob and Melville Marx, who owned the Columbia Theater before it became the Geary Theater.

ACT has two main homes in San Francisco. The first is the Toni Rembe Theater. It used to be called the Geary Theater. You can find it at 415 Geary Street in the Theatre District.

The Toni Rembe Theater

The Toni Rembe Theater was built in 1910. It was designed by Walter D. Bliss and William B. Faville. The building has a Classical Revival and Late Victorian style. It was first known as the Columbia Theater.

The theater is an important historical building. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It also became an official San Francisco Designated Landmark in 1976. In 2022, its name changed to the Toni Rembe Theater. This happened after a large donation was given to ACT. Toni Rembe is an important person on ACT's board.

The Strand Theater

In 2015, ACT opened a second theater called the Strand Theater. It is located at 1127 Market Street. This theater first opened in 1917. It used to show silent films. Later, it was closed down in 2003.

ACT bought the Strand Theater in 2012. It was then completely made new by the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP. The building has a theater with 283 seats. It also has a smaller space with 120 seats for events and performances. ACT uses the Strand Theater for many things. These include workshops for students, small shows, and new plays. It also hosts programs for their acting school.

A close-up of The Toni Rembe Theatre (formerly Geary Theater)

The Strand Theater, opened in 2015, is ACT's second performance space (2017).

ACT's Acting School

ACT has a well-known acting school. It used to offer a special degree called a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) for actors. This program ran from 1984 to 2022. However, it was stopped in June 2022 because of a lack of money.

Even without the M.F.A. program, ACT still offers many ways to learn acting. These include:

• Studio A.C.T.
• The Summer Training Congress
• The Young Conservatory programs

The Young Conservatory

ACT's Young Conservatory is a theater training program just for young people. It is for kids and teens up to 19 years old. It was started in 1971 by Luanne and Ross Graham.

The Young Conservatory focuses on performing new plays. These plays are often written especially for young actors. Famous writers like Horton Foote have had their plays premiered here. Young Conservatory members also get to act in ACT's main shows. A popular one is A Christmas Carol, which is performed every winter.

Sound Design at ACT

ACT was a leader in the field of sound design for theater. Dan Dugan was the first person to be called a "sound designer" in a regional theater. This happened at ACT in the late 1960s.

The idea of sound design also became important in movies. This happened when director Francis Ford Coppola worked on a play at ACT. His father, Carmine Coppola, arranged the music. Charlie Richmond was the sound designer for that play. This was around the same time Francis Ford Coppola was finishing his famous movie The Godfather in 1972.

Famous Alumni

Many talented actors have studied or performed at ACT.

Young Conservatory Actors

• Darren Criss
• Brie Larson
• Milo Ventimiglia
• Zendaya

Actors

• Elizabeth Banks
• Annette Bening
• Benjamin Bratt
• Danny Glover
• Teri Hatcher
• Amy Irving
• Don Johnson
• Delroy Lindo
• Elizabeth McGovern
• Winona Ryder
• Denzel Washington

Sound Design Alumni

• Dan Dugan

See also

• List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks
• American Musical Theatre of San Jose