Create your own toast to Tosca—and win!

Submit your own signature cocktail inspired by the spirit(s) of The Tosca Project for your chance to win tickets to a future A.C.T. production!

1. Create your own signature cocktail and give it a name (be creative!). The cocktail should include only regular well drinks and standard mixers. Unlike Tosca Cafe, the A.C.T. bar does not stock flavored liqueurs.

2. Submit your drink to drink@act-sf.org by Tuesday, June 29. Please be sure to include your name, phone number, the name of your drink, a complete list of the drink's ingredients, and any mixing instructions. Be specific! Everyone who enters will receive a special discount on tickets to The Tosca Project on Thursday, July 1, at 8 p.m.

3. Following the 8 p.m. performance on July 1, head down to the theater's lower-level bar, where two semi-finalists will be announced. The two drinks will then be sampled—and the winner chosen—by members of the cast of The Tosca Project. The winner will receive an autographed cast poster, a pair of tickets to a future A.C.T. production, and bragging rights—the winning drink will be served at the A.C.T. bars throughout the rest of the show's run.

InterACT Events

Prologue*
June 8, 5:30 p.m.
Get inside the artistic process with a free preshow discussion featuring co-creators Carey Perloff and Val Caniparoli.

Audience Exchanges*
June 15, 7 p.m.
June 16, 2 p.m.
June 20, 2 p.m.
After the show, stick around for a lively Q&A session with the actors and dancers.

OUT with A.C.T.
June 23, 8 p.m.
Mingle with the cast while enjoying free wine and catered treats at A.C.T.'s popular LGBT-night parties.

Special Offers

Step Up to the Bar on Tosca Tuesdays
Visit the legendary Tosca Cafe (located at 242 Columbus Avenue) and save $1 on a house cappuccino when you present your ticket stub on any Tuesday during the run (June 3–July 3). Drink in the ambiance, and do your part to add to the Tosca legend.

Meet Me at Michael Mina
Enjoy a delectable three-course menu before the show at restaurant Michael Mina for $60. Available Tue–Sat when you put in your order by 6 p.m. For reservations, call 415.397.9222.

*Discussions are free for ticket holders. Please note that performance times vary.

Meet the Artists

Sabina Allemann Lorena Feijoo Pascal Molat Nol Simonse Gregory Wallace

Peter Anderson Sara Hogrefe Kyle Schaefer Rachel Ticotin Jack Willis

Insight into the Play, the Playwright, and the Production

Each entertaining and informative issue of Words on Plays, A.C.T.'s in-depth performance guide series, contains a synopsis, advance program notes, study questions, and additional background information about the historical and cultural context of the play.

Words on Plays is available for purchase in the lobby of the theater during performances or online ($12 each + postage and handling). To subscribe to the full season ($70), call 415.749.2250.

Words on Plays Prepared by
Elizabeth Brodersen, Publications Editor
Dan Rubin, Publications & Literary Associate
Michael Paller, Resident Dramaturg
Katie May, Publications Intern
Ellen Cassidy, Dramaturgy Intern
Shelley Carter, Artistic Intern

Table of Contents

1.	Characters, Cast, and Scenario of The Tosca Project
3.	Tosca Inspirations by Elizabeth Brodersen
8.	Thinking on Their Feet: An Interview with Cocreator Carey Perloff about the Development of The Tosca Project by Elizabeth Brodersen
18.	"A Character Study Through Movement": An Interview with Cocreator Val Caniparoli about the Development of The Tosca Project by Michael Paller
22.	"A Mosquito in Amber": An Interview with Scenic Designer Douglas Schmidt and A.C.T. Properties Supervisor Ryan Parham by Ellen Cassidy
28.	"Art by Democracy": An Interview with Costume Designer Robert de La Rose by Katie May
33.	"The One Thing in the World I Know How to Do": An Interview with Sound Designer Darron L West by Ellen Cassidy
39.	Insights from the Rehearsal Room: Interviews with Actor Gregory Wallace, Dancer Pascal Molat, and Performance Artist Peter Anderson by Katie May, Ellen Cassidy, and Shelley Carter
51.	Tosca's Seductive Song: The Play. The Opera. The Project. by Dan Rubin
58.	A Guide to a Few of the People, Places, Music, Dances, and Other Interesting Things That Inspired The Tosca Project by Katie May and Dan Rubin
73.	San Francisco's Dance Through Time by Elizabeth Brodersen
82.	Questions to Consider
83.	For Further Information . . .

Adobe Reader is required to view A.C.T. publications.

Production Photos

Click to view larger images of the cast.

Tosca Cafe and San Francisco: A Dance Across Time

After a major earthquake rocks San Francisco, the reconstruction of North Beach draws Italian immigrants to the area's docks and wharves.

The Lambardi Grand Opera Company performs Puccini's Tosca at the Columbia Theatre—today known as the American Conservatory Theater.

Tosca Cafe is founded by co-owners Gesualdo "Baldo" Francesconi and Nando and Ugo Pieri.

As Prohibition goes into effect, Tosca Cafe disguises its liquor as a house "coffee royale."

The San Francisco Opera Ballet (later San Francisco Ballet) is founded, the first professional ballet company in the United States.

During World War II, a million and a half troops crowd into San Francisco before embarking for the Pacific theater.

City Lights Bookstore is founded by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin.

Allen Ginsberg reads his incendiary poem "Howl" at the Six Gallery on Fillmore Street, launching the Beat movement.

Russian ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev defects to the United States, where he befriends San Francisco restauranteur Armen Baliantz and her daughter, Jeannette Etheredge.

Etheredge becomes the owner of Tosca Cafe after Al Landi, nephew of original co-owner Baldo Francesconi, retires.

Mayor Gavin Newsom issues a proclamation declaring "Tosca Cafe Day" in San Francisco.

For a more detailed timeline celebrating the history of San Francisco and the Tosca Cafe, purchase your copy of Words on Plays online or in the lobby of the theater during performances.

On the A.C.T. Blog

Monday, June 28, 2010
Listening to History
posted by Elizabeth Brodersen, A.C.T. Publications Editor and a research dramaturg on The Tosca Project

Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Graduating to The Tosca Project
posted by Kyle Schaefer, cast member of The Tosca Project

Thursday, May 28, 2009
'Tosca' Wrap Up: A Thread, The Bartender
posted by Beatrice Basso, Dramaturg and A.C.T. Artistic Consultant

Friday, May 22, 2009
A 'Tosca' Diary: Day 3
posted by Beatrice Basso, Dramaturg and A.C.T. Artistic Consultant

Thursday, May 21, 2009
A 'Tosca' Diary: Day 2
posted by Beatrice Basso, Dramaturg and A.C.T. Artistic Consultant

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
A 'Tosca' Diary
posted by Beatrice Basso, Dramaturg and A.C.T. Artistic Consultant

Thursday, March 26, 2009
Mastering Uncertainty
posted by Carey Perloff, A.C.T. Artistic Director

Press Releases

San Francisco Loves the "Phenomenal" Tosca Project: Production Extends by Popular Demand
June 17, 2010

World Premiere of The Tosca Project is A.C.T.'s Valentine to San Francisco
May 12, 2010

Visionary New Works, Master Artists, and Reimagined Classics Fill
A.C.T.'s 2009–10 Season
March 26, 2009

Reviews and Other Press

Theater review: 'The Tosca Project'
Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle

Vivid, yet remote, homage to Tosca Cafe
Jean Schiffman, San Francisco Examiner

Review: The Tosca Project
Robert Sokol, Theatermania.com

Love and Loss at Heart of The Tosca Project (PDF)
Jean Schiffman, San Francisco Arts Monthly

New show based on North Beach location debuts (Watch online)
Don Sanchez, ABC7

Cheers to A.C.T.'s Tosca Project
Catherine Bigelow, SFGate.com

'Tosca Project' intriguing mix of acting, dance
Jesse Hamlin, San Francisco Chronicle

'Tosca': from opera to café to musical
Janos Gereben, San Francisco Examiner

New American Conservatory Theater show 'Tosca Project' conjures the ghosts of North Beach
Pat Craig, San Jose Mercury News

Excavating an American Café (PDF)
Daniel Sack, American Theatre Magazine

North Beach's Tosca turns 90
Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle