The decade of the 2020s started with ACT being dark for the entire 2020 mainstage season. While closed
for the pandemic, there was a change in leadership as Anita Shah moved in as Managing Director. The
first play after the pandemic closure was Hotter Than Egypt, written by Core Company member Yussef el Guindi
- a world premiere.
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2018
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Ride The Cyclone (2018)
At 8:17 PM, the Saint Cassian High School Chamber Choir will board the Cyclone roller coaster. At 8:19, the front axle will break, sending them to their tragic demise. Trapped in fantastical carnival-like purgatory, the recently deceased teens discover a mechanical fortune teller, who invites them to tell their stories of life interrupted, with the promise of a prize like no other. Welcome to the West Coast premiere of Ride the Cyclone, a wildly original new musical. Part comedy, part tragedy and completely unexpected, this wonderfully weird story is at every turn satirical, macabre, creepy, campy and hilarious.
The Wolves (2018)
The Wolves is about an all-girls
soccer team that tackles friendships, sex, society and how to
navigate their world. The pressures of soccer and life are
interwoven through quick wit and heavy conversations throughout
the play, ending in a powerful, emotional turn that brings the girls
to the root of their unbreakable bond.
One of the most genuine depictions of young female conversations
seen on stage in a long time.
Until The Flood (2018)
Playwright and actor, Dael Orlandersmith, went into Ferguson, MO
after the police killing of Michael Brown. The characters are
composites of the people she spoke with. The play is about the
aftermath and how the community reacted and was affected by the
shooting. She confronts race from all sides; black, white, young, old,
male, female. It’s going to leave audiences with a lot to think about. A
lot to start talking about. And, hopefully, the kick in the butt to take
action.
Lauren Weedman Doesn't Live Here Anymore (2018)
Lauren describes it as a “Jungian fever dream”. It’s touching, a little bit painful, and hilarious. The play is about aging and what it means to get to the middle part of your life and realize that the work that satisfied you 5 years ago, no longer does. Also, it's about what it means to be an aging actress in Hollywood and how you find some semblance of peace and personal power with that. And it’s also about what happens when you find that your husband is sleeping with the 18-year-old super hot babysitter.
Lauren is a comedian who spent a lot of time in Seattle. Empty
Space, OTB, Almost Live, etc. On HBO’s Looking, plus numerous
TV and films
Skylight (2018)
On a bitterly cold London evening, schoolteacher Kyra Hollis (Elinor Gunn) receives an unexpected visit from her former lover,
successful businessman Tom Sergeant (Daniel Gerroll). As the evening progresses, the two cook and converse in an attempt to rekindle
their once passionate relationship. The conversation is intimate and explosive as they reminisce, confront truths never before addressed
and find themselves locked in a dangerous battle of opposing ideologies and mutual desires.
David Hare’s Tony-Award® winning play delves deep into the inner workings of conversation and human intimacy
Oslo (2018)
Oslo is about the Norwegian couple that brought the PLO and Israeli leaders together over waffles and brandy to wage peace between Palestine and Israel. The outcome was known as the Oslo Accord. This play is fascinating, and really funny. It’s a very accessible introduction to the conflict in the Middle East. Big cast with a meaty script which won every theatre award possible in 2017.
