Mark Jackson Named New Director of Studio A.C.T.

Melissa Smith, American Conservatory Theater's conservatory director, announced today the appointment of Mark Jackson as the company’s new Studio A.C.T. director. Jackson succeeds former resident company member Nick Gabriel, who recently departed from A.C.T.

Designed for students 19 years old and up, Studio A.C.T. offers intensive actor training classes for adults of all backgrounds and levels of experience that utilize acting techniques for a variety of classes including Introduction to Acting, Voice Building, Musical Theater Performance, and Audition Prep. The program features eight-week training classes during the fall, winter, and spring, and four-week training classes during the summer. Studio A.C.T. classes are scheduled for nights and weekends to accommodate work and home commitments and feature limited class sizes (14 students) to ensure personal attention from the instructors.

"Mark Jackson is an award-winning playwright and director, an experienced actor, and a wonderful teacher," said Smith. "We are thrilled to have him come on board as the Director of Studio A.C.T. and believe his years of artistic and educational experience, along with his many relationships in the Bay Area arts community and beyond, will elevate the visibility and reputation of the program."

Jackson was artistic director of Art Street Theatre in San Francisco from 1995-2004, during which time he wrote, directed, and performed in numerous productions for the company. Jackson’s work in theater, dance, and performance has also been seen in the Bay Area at A.C.T., Aurora Theatre Company, Encore Theatre Company, EXIT Theatre, Potrzebie Dance Project, San Francisco International Arts Festival, San Francisco State University, Shotgun Players, and Z Space, among others.

His plays have been developed at A.C.T., Capital Stage, Cutting Ball Theater, English Theatre Berlin (Germany), EXIT Theatre, Magic Theatre, Playwrights Foundation, and Z Space. EXIT Press has published two collections of Mark’s plays, Three Plays and Ten Plays, as well as his play Little Erik and his book Playing Hamlet Roulette: Failure, Expectation, Possibility & Democracy.

For additional information on Studio A.C.T., click here.