Frequently Asked Questions

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NOT a theater company OR a production company --  rather, ACT is an informal group of  actors, other artists, technicians and volunteers that has emerged and evolved over the years to support and realize the artistic projects of writer/director Alan Sharpe on an ad-hoc basis, as time and resources permit.

With origins in St. Louis and Boston, ACT officially began operations in the Nation's Capital, back in 1992.   Washington, DC remains our home base, although we have toured productions to New York, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Atlanta and Louisville, KY.  

There is no permanent, physical location.  Rental arrangements are made for performance space  as needed and we generally depend on donated space for our rehearsals.

In addition,  ACT maintains an online  presence via this website, Vimeo, You Tube and various social media.

While ACT has occasionally produced fully-staged productions, limited financial, space and other resources dictate that most of our more recent performance be presented "Reader's Theater" style.

Yes.  ACT only presents work created by Alan Sharpe -- whose writing focuses soley on those themes.

No.  While many are indeed LGBTQ+, that is NOT a requirement for participation.  Our casting encompasses the full spectrum of the African-American community.

Yes.   A large part of our mission is the exploration of LGBTQ+ themes, culture  and narratives that exist within the African-American community...subject matter that has historically been, and continues to be, significantly underrepresented on stage and screen.

Again, ACT is not a producer or production entity.  Rather it has developed specifically as a vehicle to showcase work originated by Alan Sharpe and that remains its sole mission.

We are always looking for talent and volunteers.  We welcome inquires via the "Contact" section on this webpage, as well as recommendations from those familiar with our work, interests and needs.

No, our resources do not make that possible at this time.  Auditions are generally by invitation directly to members of the pool of talent known to us.  However, it is extremely easy to join that group of potential auditionees, simply by submitting a photo  w/resume  if available, and/or indicating interest and background information, via e-mail.  

ACT 's projects and programs are solely  funded by ticket sales, occasional grants, and donations from the general public.

In addition to financial contributions,  which are always appreciated, we welcome volunteers interested in assisting  with our work.  Even those without time  to volunteer in person can be an enormous help with our e-mail and social media publicity and promotion.  Please contact us to become involved at any time.

Finally, we are always looking for donated rehearsal space that is conveniently accessible via public transportation and available weeknights and weekends.

African-American Collective Theater is not currently a 501(c) 3 organization, so monetary and in-kind donations are not tax-deductible.

The easiest method is via the CONTACT portion of this website.

We also encourage everyone to join our mailing list.  To do so, CLICK HERE.