San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater has revealed its 2018–2019 season, with one final production yet to be announced. The season will mark the first with newly appointed Artistic Director Tony winner Pam MacKinnon, who steps in this summer.
Read: PAM MACKINNON NAMED ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF A.C.T.
“Inspired by [current Artistic Director] Carey Perloff’s amazing legacy, I am thrilled to share my inaugural season with San Francisco Bay Area audiences,” commented MacKinnon in a statement. “Featuring diverse new voices alongside American master playwrights, this season is full of big stories, memorable characters, rich language, and bold leaps of imagination. Each production explores who we are, where we come from, and what we aspire to be, while also offering insight into lives beyond our own.”
The season will kick off with Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat, a drama inspired by the stories of America's Rust Belt workers. Loretta Greco will direct, with performances scheduled to begin in September.
Next up will be Jaclyn Backhaus’ 21st-century telling of 19th-century American explorer and one-armed Civil War veteran John Wesley Powell, Men on Boats. The play, which was a hit Off-Broadway, will be directed by Tamilla Woodard. Performances are scheduled for October–December.
Ringing in the new year, A.C.T. will present Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy, Seascape, directed by MacKinnon (January–February 2019); followed by Mfoniso Udofia’s Her Portmanteau, which recently debuted at New York Theatre Workshop Off-Broadway, directed by Victor Malana Maog (February–April).
Next spring, the theatre will stage Lauren Yee’s exploration of cultural identity, global politics, and basketball, The Great Leap (debuting this spring Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company); followed by Kate Hamill’s new stage adaptation of William Thackeray’s classic novel, Vanity Fair. Lisa Peterson will direct Great Leap, with performances scheduled for March, and Jessica Stone will helm Vanity Fair, scheduled for April–May.
The lineup also includes a holiday production of A Christmas Carol in December. A final production of the season will be announced at a later date.
For more information and to subscribe, visit ACT-SF.org or call the A.C.T. Subscriptions Office at (415) 749-2250.