Auberjonois, Bailey, Bratt, Rose, et al. to Participate in A.C.T. Panel Series

René Auberjonois, Steven Bailey, Benjamin Bratt, and Anika Noni Rose are among those set to participate in A.C.T.’s Visiting Artists series of four panel discussions with theater professionals. All events will take place at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and are free and open to the public.

The discussions are designed to illuminate the ways in which a theater company affects and strengthens a community, the responsibilities of the artist in modern society, and the challenges of the creative process.

Auberjonois, a founding A.C.T. company member who earned a Tony Award for Coco and Tony nominations for The Good Doctor, Big River, and City of Angels, will participate in the first panel discussion, titled “In Good Company.” It will be held on Sunday, January 28 at 5pm, following the matinee of A.C.T.’s production of The Circle. Performers from 40 years of A.C.T. will talk about the unique experience of being core acting company members. The discussion will be moderated by A.C.T. artistic director Carey Perloff; among the participants will be Joy Carlin, Ken Ruta, Marco Barricelli, and Allison Jean White.

Rose, a Tony Award-winner for Caroline, or Change and one of the stars of the film version of Dreamgirls; Bratt, who is best known for playing Detective Rey Curtis on Law and Order; and Bailey, a co-star of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, will participate in the second panel discussion, “What I Learned in Acting School. ” It will take place on Saturday, March 3 at 11am, prior to the matinee performance of A.C.T.’s Hedda Gabler. The talk will be moderated by A.C.T. conservatory director Melissa Smith and will feature Conservatory alumni discussing lessons they’ve learned about life, art, and “making it.” Ryan Rillette, artistic director of New Orleans’ Southern Rep, will also participate.

A panel titled “Hometowns / Theater Towns” will be held on Sunday, April 15 at 5pm, following the matinee performance of After the War. Artistic directors from leading regional theaters across the country will discuss their relationships with their respective communities. Perloff will moderate.

The final panel of the season, “New Voices, New Works,” will take place on Saturday, May 5 at 11am, prior to the matinee performance of Blackbird. Groundbreaking playwrights will discuss the process of developing new plays for the theater, from inspiration to workshop to financing to the final curtain. Among the scheduled particpants are Philip Kan Gotanda, author of After the War, and moderator Johanna Pfaelzer, associate artistic director of A.C.T.

For more information, visit www.act-sfbay.org.