- published: 11 Jan 2013
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American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. A.C.T. was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Tech by theatre and opera director William Ball. By invitation from San Francisco philanthropists and officials, Ball relocated the company to San Francisco and astonished the theatre world by presenting twenty-seven fully staged productions in rotating repertory, in two different theatres, during the first 40-week season. San Francisco Chronicle critic Paine Knickerbocker acclaimed Ball's opening performance of Molière's Tartuffe as "a screaming, bellowing unbelievable triumph."
A.C.T.'s original twenty-seven member acting company featured the talents of René Auberjonois, Peter Donat, Richard Dysart, Michael Learned, Ruth Kobart, Paul Shenar, Charles Siebert, Ken Ruta, and Kitty Winn among many others. Ball's mid-1970s productions of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, starring Marc Singer, and Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Peter Donat and Marsha Mason were televised by PBS and are available on video.
Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and composer. He is also a founding member and co-owner of StarKid Productions, a media and musical theater production company based in Chicago, Illinois. He is best known for portraying Blaine Anderson, an openly gay high school student, on the FOX television series Glee.
Criss first garnered attention playing the lead role of Harry Potter in StarKid's musical productions of A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel. In January 2012, he made his Broadway debut, starring as J. Pierrepont Finch in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
Criss was born in San Francisco, California, the youngest son of Cerina (née Bru) and Charles William Criss, a banker and a former director of the San Francisco Opera, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Stern Grove Festival, and San Francisco Performances. Criss is Eurasian – his mother, a native of Cebu, Philippines, is of Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino descent, while his father, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is of Irish descent. He has an older brother named Charles "Chuck" Criss (born April 15, 1985), a musician and member of the indie rock band Freelance Whales. Criss and his brother were raised in San Francisco, apart from 1988 to 1992, when the family relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii, and their father started the East West Bank, serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program in Acting
A.C.T.'s San Francisco Semester
American Conservatory Alums Creating Theater in NYC!
American Conservatory Theater: Kate meets Petruchio
Longer Version of Kate Meets Petruchio, The Taming of the Shrew, ACT, 1976
A Message from Olympia Dukakis and the American Conservatory Theater
Darren Criss Talks on American Conservatory Theater Gala 2012
William Bill describes American Conservatory Theater, 1976
Interview. Carey Perloff, Artistic Director of the American Conservatory Theater
It's Not Unusual - Darren Criss on American Conservatory Theater Gala 2012
Conversation with Carey Perloff, Artistic Director of American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco
Campo Santo & American Conservatory Theatre excerpt of "Holy Crime" from San Shepard (2014)
American Conservatory Theatre (Young Conservatory) 2010
Scottsboro Boys @ American Conservatory Theater