American Conservatory Theater announces new performance dates and initial casting for A.C.T. OUT LOUD

Photo credit: American Conservatory Theater

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) have announced new performance dates and initial casting for a series of filmed play readings featuring enduring works by some of the greatest minds of generations past, A.C.T. Out Loud.

The three upcoming readings are: Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind, directed by Awoye Timpo; George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, directed by 2020 SAG Award nominee, Obie Award winner, and Tony Award nominee Colman Domingo; and Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker, directed by Dawn Monique Williams.

These plays have the power to reach across time, speaking both to the age in which they were written and the ever-changing currents of today, and include works that have been long-celebrated as well as those that have not received the attention they are due.

Trouble in Mind will be available to stream from 29 March-4 April. A boulevard comedy with undeniable dramatic force, Alice Childress’s masterpiece would have been the first play by a Black woman produced on Broadway if she had agreed to the producers’ demands that she soften its message. Funny, incisive, and poignant, this play-within-a-play is an unflinching examination of white fragility and liberalism in the theater industry. Casting for Trouble in Mind includes: Patrice Johnson Chevannes, Anthony Fusco, David Harbour, Kadeem Ali Harris, Steven Anthony Jones, Eliza Kaye, Dakin Matthews, Johnny Rice, Lauren Spencer, and Kaiy Watts.

Arms and the Man will be available to stream from 12-18 April. Set against the backdrop of the Serbian-Bulgarian War, this play is a comedy of manners about the limits of romance and the unexpected allure of practicality. Casting for Arms and the Man includes: Phillip James Brannon, Allen Darby, Allie Marie Evans, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Ariel Shafir, and Liam Vincent. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

The Matchmaker will stream from 26 April-2 May. From one of America’s most beloved playwrights Thornton Wilder, this charming farce inspired the popular musical Hello, Dolly!, and is an uproarious exploration of the necessity of generosity, the limits of wealth, and the pursuit of the good life. Casting for The Matchmaker includes: Michael J. Asberry, Clint Bidwell, Aldo Billingslea, Catherine Castellanos, John Chukwudelunzu, Will Dao, Ashley J. Hicks, Jordan Maia, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, Zahan F. Mehta, Mākena Miller,Rachel Morrison, Chris Stevens, and Kaiy Watts. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

A.C.T. Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon said: “I am thrilled to get to hear these three great plays, and to see performers up close. Readings always strip a play down to the essentials of language, story, and performance. Three visionary directors and A.C.T. bring together actors from around the Bay and the country to entertain, provoke, and investigate big themes of racism, power, agency, war, money, and marriage with Childress, Shaw, and Wilder standing the test of time and showing the way. We’re happy after four days of rollicking and rigorous process to capture each play, alive with first impressions, big truth, and happy energy.”

Tickets are available now here.