The Partnership between ACT and Mr. Peter
​​
​
​
​
​
​
began in 2012, when Mr. Peter met Education Director Elizabeth Brodersen at a professional development organized by the SFUSD Arts Department for the arts teachers at American Conservatory Theater.
They met periodically and a few programs were developed from the ideas they discussed, one being annual "Pre-Show" performances at student matinees. Peter Sroka offered to compose mini-musicals (10-15 minutes) related to plays the students would be going to see.
​
The Pre-Show tradition continues, now with the support of Natalie Greene (ACT's current Director of Education) and fellow arts teachers Joshua Benjamin Marrald at Bessie Carmichael, Sydney Dow at Carver, and Keith Carames at James Lick.
​
Note - ACT has worked with many schools/teachers in The San Francisco Bay Area throughout the years, however, the Pre-Show for "Stuck Elevator" marked the first time SFUSD students performed on the big stage at ACT.
​
​
"Mini-Musicals" were written for the following plays.
​
Stuck Elevator March 2013
1776 October 2013
Old Hats September 2014
Opening of Strand May 2015
Monstress November 2015
ACT 50th Anniversary Concert April 2017
A Christmas Carol December 2016
2017
2018
2019
2022
2023
A Comedy of Errors April 2025​​​​​​​
​​​​
​
​
Below are videos/articles/scripts from some of these shows.​
​
​
“The GOAT of Theater”
This Pre-Show musical by Peter Sroka was performed before the student matinee of
“Comedy of Errors”
ACT
Thursday, April 24, 2025,11 a.m.
​​
Featuring students from Bessie Carmichael, Carver, and James Lick
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
​
​
​
​
​Opening Song - "At ACT"
​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Welcome to the theater,
the Toni Rembe Theater.
Welcome to the theater at A.C.T.
Sit back and relate
to the stories we create,
Let the stage become your gate at A.C.T.
American Conservatory Theater
is the company that brought us here today,
to this 1910 one thousand forty seater.
It’s the place where you’re about to see "A Comedy of Errors.”
Welcome to the theater,
The Toni Rembe Theater.
Welcome to the theater at A.C.T.
The script is where we start,
then the process shapes the art.
Everybody plays a part at A.C.T.
American Conservatory Theater,
Imagination can become reality.
Words and sound and light trigger your feelings,
A kind of magic happens here, so enjoy the journey,
Welcome to the theater,
the Tony Rembe Theater!
Thank you for coming to A.C.T
SCENE 1
​​​​​​​​​
​
Markos: With all due respect, why are we thanking them?
We’re the ones up here on stage doing all the work.
KJ: Yeah, all they have to do is sit on their butts and enjoy the show.
Vivianna: Actually, the audience plays an important role in what we do.
KJ: Yeah right, look at them, half of them are already asleep.
Gaia: Maybe we’re not doing our job.
Mabel: Hey, speak for yourself up here. Theater is my life!
Do you know how much time I spent practicing this dialogue?
I have way more lines than you.
Namse: Divas please, Theater is a team art.
Without the audience, what would we be?
What would we be without lights, without sets, without costumes?
Mr. Peter: Without a director.
Namse: Of course, without a director. What would be be?
​
​​
​
​
​
Song - “Why Do the Actors Get All the Attention?”
​
Critic (Chloe)
Stage Manager (Kuheli)
​
​​​​​​​​
Soloist: (singing) So, why do the actors get all the attention?
All: What about those of us behind the scenes?
Hair Stylists: We do the hair.
​
Make Up Artists: We do the make up,
​
Lighting Team: We do the lighting,
Props Team: Who needs a prop?
Producers: And we finance the teams,
All: The producers so it seems.
So…
Why do the actors get all the attention?
What about those of us backstage as well?
Wardrobe: We dress the characters.
Sound Team: We do the sound effects,
Set Team: We build the set.
Director: The director directs.
Critic: And I write the reviews.
​
There is a collective gasp, then silence. The stage manager appears.
​
Stage Manager: (Singing) But, I call the cues.
She approaches the critic, clipboard in hand.
The critic is busy writing when the stage manager approaches.
Stage Manager:(Spoken) We’re not open yet.
Please exit the stage.
The critic stops writing and looks up.
Stage Manager: (Yelling) Now!
The critic drops their pad and runs off.
SM: (Singing) I’m the stage manager,
No one likes me,
‘cause I carry a check list, forget the charm.
If they’re late for their cue,
Tell me, what else can I do?
But raise my voice and sound the alarm.
The stage manager looks sad. Cast consoles, saying “We like you.”
Stage Manager: FINAL CALL!!!!!!! PLACES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cast scurries into positions for the kick line.
ALL: Why do the actors get all the attention?
Where would they be without us at their backs?
Naked and speechless,
Set-less and prop-less,
Directionless,
Lost in the darkness,
So why then does it go?
That the actors steal the show.
SCENE 2
​​
After the applause, a student looks down and notices the pad that the critic dropped. They pick it up.
Cleo: Look, it’s the critic’s note pad.
Reilley: What’s it say? What’s it say?
Cleo: It says I was brilliant, but you were a flop.
Another student grabs the note pad.
Riley: No, it doesn’t. It says…
“The talented students of SFUSD dazzled the crowd with a preshow
performance, before ACT’s modern adaptation of a comedy classic
by the GOAT of theater.
KJ: A goat?!!! ma-a-a-a?
Cailyn: A goat wrote the play we’re about to see today?
Aariah/Kuheli: No, sillies.
(to audience) You know, don’t you?
You know what GOAT means? Right?
(Gives audience a chance to respond)
That’s right, The Greatest of All Time."
​
SCENE 3
​
​
​​​​​​​Transition, perhaps indicated with lighting.
​
Namse: Can we break the ice?
Charlotte: This is a wild goose chase.
Leon: I’m really in a pickle
Cleo: It’s all Greek to Me
KJ: The world is my oyster.
Vivianna: Love Is Blind
Cailyn: I’m waiting with baited breath.
Markos: It’s dead as a doornail.
Cielo: Shh, mum’s the word.
Chloe: It's a brave new world.
​
Gaia: They have a heart of gold.
Mabel: All the world's a stage!
Kuheli: These are just a few common phrases first found in the plays by this man.
But who exactly are we talking about?
​​​​​​​Song “The G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) of Theater”
​
Note - Mistake in the recording, should be "Born in Stratford upon Avon" not "Born in Straton"
​
All: Can you guess what English playwright is the Greatest of all time?
After centuries he’s still the rave today,
A master of iambic pentameter and rhyme,
Who wove human behavior for display.
His comedies and tragedies have often been performed,
To audiences all around the earth,
Many would agree the world of theater was transformed,
With the advent of this poet’s birth.
Some call him the “GOAT” of Theatre,
Some call him “The Bard,”
Most everyone knows his name,
William Shakespeare
Kuheli: Born in Stratford upon Avon,
In April, 1564,
His father was a glove maker who later became mayor,
But some business trouble dashed his score.
Chloe: William was the eldest of 6 siblings,
His parents’ first two babies passed away,
He likely attended the local school,
Where he would’ve learned the classics of the day.
Kuhelii +: Will married an older woman,
Vivianna When he was eighteen years of age,
They had kids, a daughter, then twins,
But how did Shakespeare end up on the stage?
Kuheli + Scholars refer to “The Lost Years,”
Chloe Between 1585 and ’92,
There are theories that explain how he found himself in London,
But it’s hard to know which one is true.
Some call him the “GOAT” of Theatre,
Some call him “The Bard,”
Most everyone knows his name,
William Shakespeare
Mabel: He may have joined “The Queen’s Men,”
a traveling troupe sponsored by the crown.
Then he and some friends formed “Lord Chamberlain’s Men,”
Their shows were the talk of the town.
Kuheli and : In ’99 they opened “The Globe Theater,”
Chloe The queen died and James became the king.
Shakespeare wrote the plays that were performed.
The King took the men under his wing.
Mabel and : “The Globe” was home to heroes and villains,
Cleo in most of Shakespeare’s 37 plays,
A cannon misfired during Henry VIII,
It brought the theater down in a blaze.
All : Shakespeare likely suffered a depression,
Like the time when his son had passed away,
He returned to Stratford after the fire,
And there is where he'd stay.
slow down music
All: Shakespeare’s cause of death is also unknown,
But one fact can not be denied,
At the age of 52 in April 1616
William Shakespeare died.
Some call him the “GOAT” of Theatre,
Some call him “The Bard,”
Most everyone knows his name,
William Shakespeare.
William Shakespeare.
​​
​​​
SCENE 4
​​
​​​​​​​​​​
​Markos: Well friends, we’ve come to the end of our little preshow.
It's almost time for "A Comedy of Errors"
Cailyn: But before we take our seats we have some people to thank.
Jeh'Leana/Chloe: Thanks to ACT for inviting us here today.
Vivianna: Thanks to SFUSD for providing Arts Education.
Cielo: Thanks to our teachers and parents for their support.
Reilley/KJ: Thanks to you, the audience, for without you there would be no show.
Mabel: And thanks to The Bard,
Who by the way celebrated his 461st birthday yesterday.
​
So without further delay…
​
song reprise "At ACT"
All: Sit back and relate
to the stories we create.
Thank you for coming to ACT!
​​
​​​​​
The End - actors take a bow or two​​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Preshow for "Old Hats"
​​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
"Voice of the People"
Preshow for "1776"
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
"Opening of the Strand"
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
High Fives for Fifth Graders: Bessie Carmichael Students Perform at The Geary
By Annie Sears
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Fifth graders from Bessie Carmichael Elementary perform before the 2017 A Christmas Carol SMAT, led by teacher Peter Sroka. Photo by Ryan Montgomery.
Every year, 91 schools bring a total of 5,000 students to A.C.T. stages as part of our Student Matinee program (SMAT), which provides steeply discounted tickets to student-only performances. Local music and theater teacher Peter Sroka takes it a step further; not only does he bring 70 fifth-grade students from Bessie Carmichael PreK-8 School/Filipino Education Center to an annual SMAT, but he also leads them in a pre-show performance. At a Christmas Carol SMAT this week, students will stage one of these mini-musicals, which Sroka writes himself. He tailors the songs and comic scenes to the play’s themes. “It’s a chance for students to engage with the text,” says Sroka, “to think about the different layers of a show.”
Sroka combines many of his talents in leading these performances. He has a master’s degree in international education from Harvard and he’s acted on stages in Los Angeles and here in the Bay Area, including the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and 42nd Street Moon. He is now an itinerant arts teacher for the San Francisco Unified School District, which means he doesn’t have a classroom of his own. Instead, he shifts between five different schools, one for each day of the school week. Thursdays are Bessie Carmichael days, when he’ll work with all 560 students in a single day. Seventy of those students are fifth graders, who have been looking forward to their pre-SMAT A.C.T. performance since kindergarten.
“They’re always so excited,” says Sroka. “It’s a real, professional experience for them. They have a tech rehearsal, go backstage to wait, return to the big stage for their performance, then settle into the audience to watch a Broadway-caliber show. For a lot of students, that’s something they’ve never done before.” Depending on the show, students sometimes attend a fight call, tour the costume shop, or stay for a post-show Q&A with members of the cast and crew.
A.C.T. has partnered with the Galing Bata afterschool program at Bessie Carmichael to provide weekly theater classes since 2013. Sroka brought his students to a performance of Stuck Elevator (2013), which was such a hit with the children that Director of Education & Community Programs Elizabeth Brodersen invited Sroka’s students to return again. And again. And again. Their 2018 performance at A Christmas Carol will be the seventh time Bessie Carmichael students grace an A.C.T. mainstage. Each performance opens with “At A.C.T.,” an upbeat tune welcoming the audience into “the historic Geary Theater . . . this 1910 one thousand forty–seater.” Sroka has prepared several other songs for A Christmas Carol, including “Twas What Was Common” about Charles Dickens’s life and “Something to Think About,” which encourages students to consider empathy, just as Scrooge learns to do. You can hear recordings of these songs here.
For some students, the vastness of The Geary can be intimidating. But when they overcome their nerves, their sense of accomplishment is tremendous. Their pride is bolstered by the adult actors about to cross that same stage. Sroka recalls that, after his students bowed before A.C.T.’s 2013 production of 1776, “the actors—Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and John Adams—were lined up in the wings, high-fiving all the kids. It was so surreal, watching the Founding Fathers congratulate them for singing about civil rights. Almost like the past looking toward the future.”
Perhaps more important than affirmation from adults is affirmation from peers. “There are middle and high school students in the audience,” says Sroka. “Having those older kids applauding and praising the fifth graders—that kind of reinforcement is huge. There’s nothing quite like it.”
Join these students in experiencing A Christmas Carol this holiday season. Get your tickets today!
A Thrilling Pre-show Performance at 1776’s Student Matinee
Posted by Catherine Hendel, Marketing/PR Fellow
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Teacher Peter Sroka and A.C.T.'s special SMAT helped Bessie Carmichael students find joy in history, music and theater.
"It's as beautiful as I remember," an enthusiastic fifth grader from Bessie Carmichael Elementary School commented as she walked into A.C.T.'s Geary Theater, excited to perform there for the second time.
Thursday, October 3, marked a very special date on A.C.T.'s 2013–14 season calendar. The entire fifth grade of Bessie Carmichael—almost 70 students—performed Voice of the People, a mini musical created just for the occasion by San Francisco Unified School District Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) instructor Peter Sroka, on the Geary stage immediately before the Student Matinee ("SMAT") performance of 1776, the popular Revolutionary War musical that opened A.C.T.'s mainstage season. Following the success of last spring's Stuck Elevator SMAT event, this is the second time A.C.T. has partnered with Sroka and Bessie Carmichael to present an engaging and educational preshow performance inspired by a production in our mainstage repertory.
Dressed in patriotic red and blue, the eager Bessie Carmichael students paraded onstage carrying hand-made cardboard signs portraying important social and political leaders throughout U.S. history. Accompanied by Sroka on the piano and drum, they enthusiastically sang four original, history-inspired tunes to a theater packed full of young people, ranging from grades five through twelve. Each song related to 1776, covering such topics as the three branches of government, the power of education, the exclusion of particular groups (e.g., women and people of color) from the political process during the early days of democracy in America, and the courageous individuals throughout our country's history who have spoken up for the rights of those groups. During the preshow's final number, "The Voice of the People," each student excitedly held up a cardboard sign as their person's name was announced in song: "Sojourner Truth!" "Frederick Douglass!" "Elizabeth Stanton!" "Cesar Chavez!" "Harvey Milk!" "Martin Luther King, Jr.!" "Ruth Asawa!" etc.
Poised and practiced, Bessie Carmichael 5th graders
stand ready to dazzle a full audience.
Some of the kids could not stop themselves from dancing onstage to Sroka's catchy tunes, smiles plastered on their faces and full of pride. The audience (which included several Bessie Carmichael parent chaperones, dedicated fifth grade classroom teachers Mrs. Ebalo and Mrs. Salva, and Principal Lawrence Gotanco) cheered as the fifth graders performed solos, cracked jokes, and thoroughly entertained a sold-out audience of nearly one thousand young people from 19 schools from across the Bay Area and beyond. The adult cast of 1776, equally charmed by the students' dedicated performance, and by SMATs in general, found the whole experience inspiring and energizing. Sroka says, "One of the most surreal moments was when we were exiting the stage after the performance, and all the colonial congressmen were waiting in the wings applauding the youth of the future." Cast member Andrew Boyer, in full Benjamin Franklin costume, hair, and makeup, delighted the student performers by high-fiving each one as they passed on their way offstage and back into the audience, where they remained to watch the full afternoon performance of 1776.
A.C.T.'s Education and Outreach Department has facilitated a partnership with Bessie Carmichael Elementary School as part of the theater's ongoing efforts to deepen our relationship with the Central Market neighborhood, where our newly renovated Strand Theater is slated to open in 2015. When the VAPA leadership team introduced her to Sroka two years ago, A.C.T. Director of Education Elizabeth Brodersen asked him what he needed most. "A place for my kids to perform," he replied. A.C.T. has been able to give him exactly that, on our own Geary stage. Sroka, with fellow VAPA drama instructors David Greenbaum and Linda Ruth Cardozo, also attended (on full scholarship) A.C.T.'s acclaimed summer educator institute, Back to the Source, which is designed to help teachers develop strategies for using theater techniques to enhance creative learning in the classroom.
Bessie Carmichael Elementary School students having a blast entertaining the SMAT audience with educational songs about American history.
Sroka integrates fundamental aspects of classroom curriculum into original works of musical theater that engage students' creativity, intellectual curiosity, and self-expression. Voice of the People and 1776 offered the Bessie Carmichael students (96% of whom are children of color and 80% are Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Youth) the opportunity to research the origins and evolution of U.S. democracy, as well as to find their own place in that history, while offering them the rare opportunity to perform on The Geary's grand stage, which has hosted the theater's greatest professional artists for more than a century.
In the 1776 SMAT audience was SFUSD Arts Education Master Plan Implementation Manager Antigone Trimis, who was heard to say, "This is the Master Plan at work. San Francisco is the campus," as well as SFUSD Artistic Director Susan Stauter, who added: "There can be no more beautiful classroom than the stage of this historic theater, which has seen the likes of Laurence Olivier, the Lunts, Tennessee Williams, and now, for the second time, Peter Sroka and his talented young students from Bessie Carmichael. Thank you, A.C.T.!"
A cornerstone of our ACTsmart arts education initiative and one of the oldest student matinee programs in the country, A.C.T.'s SMAT program has introduced more than half a million young people to the power of theater over the past 40+ years with discounted tickets, workshops, postshow Q&A sessions with the cast, and in-depth study materials. For many, attending an A.C.T. SMAT is their very first chance to experience live performance firsthand. Brodersen says the most rewarding aspect of student matinees is "seeing young people light up when they enter the theater for the first time." Speaking of his Bessie Carmichael students after their performance last week, Sroka adds: "Those kids will never forget that experience. For some of them, it will be a formative block in their foundations as they build their life."
