A.C.T. Raises Over $800K With Help From Alan Cumming at GET STRANDED! Gala

With the help of Tony Award winner Alan Cumming and students from the Master of Fine Arts Program, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) raised over $800,000 at its 2015 Season Gala, GET STRANDED!, which celebrated the soon-to-be-opened Strand Theater, A.C.T.'s brand-new performance venue and education center. The Gala took place on Saturday, April 25, under a tented UN Plaza in San Francisco. The proceeds from the Gala support A.C.T.'s actor training and arts education programs.

More than 350 guests attended this year's gala, which began with a cocktail reception and surprise performance of Lady Marmalade performed by students from the Master of Fine Arts Program. Immediately following, guests were treated to a lavish dinner prepared by McCalls Catering and Events, and a special performance by Tony Award winner Alan Cumming. Cast members of A Little Night Music then joined guests for an after-party featuring cocktails, dessert, and the music of DJ Flaxo.

The evening's live auction featured several one-of-a-kind items, including a private movie night for 50 guests at The Strand Theater, a pair of restored seats from the original Strand Theater, and a dinner for 12 at designer Ken Fulk's Magic Factory with celebrity chef Nancy Oakes.

Led by Gala Co-Chairs Prisca Geeslin and Ken Fulk, Gala sponsors for the evening included: Wells Fargo, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, PG&E, U.S. Bank, Ascent Private Capital Management, Makena Capital, Plant Construction, Dark Horse Winery, Hafner Winery, Ravenswood Winery, Blue Print Studios, and Fairmont Hotel San Francisco.

Led by Melissa Smith, the A.C.T. Conservatory serves 3,000 students each year through its acclaimed actor training programs and represents an integral part of A.C.T.'s mission. Ranked as one of the top programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program functions as the cornerstone of the A.C.T. Conservatory, which also includes the Young Conservatory, the Summer Training Congress, Studio A.C.T., San Francisco Semester, and the brand-new American Musical Theater Conservatory. Elizabeth Banks, Benjamin Bratt, Annette Bening, Darren Criss, Danny Glover, Elizabeth McGovern, Anika Noni Rose, and Denzel Washington are among A.C.T.'s distinguished former students. With its commitment to artistic excellence and to the relationship between training, performance, and audience, the A.C.T. Conservatory has moved to the forefront of America's actor training programs, while serving as the creative engine of the company at large. For more information, visit act-sf.org/conservatory.

A.C.T.'s Young Conservatory (YC), led by Craig Slaight, 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.

Each year A.C.T.'s multifaceted Education & Community Programs-led by Elizabeth Brodersen-provide more than 10,000 students from the San Francisco Bay Area, many from low-income households, with access to live theatrical experiences through low- to no-cost Student Matinee (SMAT)performances of mainstage and M.F.A. Program productions, Will on Wheels touring productions of Shakespeare classics, stimulating in-depth study guides developed for the classroom, and customized workshops led by master teaching artists. The ACTsmart Partnership Program offers free student matinee tickets and theater-based pre- and postshow workshops at no cost to more than 40 public schools (including all San Francisco public high schools) and community-based organizations (CBOs) in the Bay Area serving low-income students who otherwise would have little exposure to the arts. A.C.T. has established year-longintensive residencies in three San Francisco continuation schools serving high percentages of socioeconomically disadvantaged youth (SDY) who have not experienced success in traditional comprehensive public schools; the schools are Downtown High School (76.4% SDY), Ida B. Wells High School (71.1% SDY), and Hilltop Special Services Center (for pregnant and parenting teens). A.C.T. also has residencies at Bessie Carmichael Elementary School (85.2% SDY), the Tenderloin Boys & Girls Club, and Access SFUSD: The Arc (serving developmentally disabled transition-age youth and adults). More than 50 percent of all students attending schools participating in the ACTsmart Partnership Program receive free or reduced-cost lunches. In 2014, A.C.T. launched Stage Coach, a new community-based, participatory theater program that is aimed at engaging San Franciscans in telling un- and undertold stories by supporting multigenerational audiences in the creation of theater. Programming includes stand-alone theatrical experiences at street fairs and festivals throughout the city, as well as ongoing residencies with partners in three San Francisco neighborhoods: Central Market/Tenderloin, Bayview-Hunters Point, and Mission/Excelsior.These partnerships allow us to re-center the stories and experiences of marginalized communities and provide multiple entry points into creative participation and expression at all ages. For more information, visit act-sf.org/education.