Innovating the Stage: “Co-Founders” Fuses Tech, Hip-Hop, and Bay Area Stories

Once rehearsals for Co-Founders were underway, A.C.T. Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon sat down with BAR—the writing team of Beau Lewis, Adesha Adefela, and Ryan Nicole Austin—to talk about the origins of Co-Founders and the spirit of the Bay Area.

Pam: My first question has to do with the origin of Co-Founders. Around the table at the first rehearsal, we talked about the first song of this show. Can you talk about what that first song was, and why and how it led to other things?

Beau Lewis: This show’s earliest origins…it began with a group of four friends who were founders trying to make startups, and facing how difficult that was, and the truth of the difference between the pressure you feel to project success on the outside, and the fear and anxieties that you have of failing. To combat that, we had a weekly therapy session where people could get vulnerable, and the way we did that was through freestyle rap, and that was a medium where we couldn’t edit. We shared those stories together, and one of the themes that really came out of that is in that first song, “This Is the Bay”—the Bay Area is a place where things start. This is a place where people come to create opportunities that didn’t exist before. Whether you call that entrepreneurship or hustle, it’s the same idea.

On the Stage

This week, the Bay Area arts scene is spotlighting bold, thought-provoking performances that blend personal identity with cultural commentary.

Esa-Pekka Salonen and Hilary Hahn

Classical | San Francisco Symphony
Now – June 1 | Tickets

A blazingly beautiful all-Beethoven program: First, Hilary Hahn performs the Violin Concerto, a work of singular scope, vision, and majesty.

View the Program

More Events

• Sheku & Isata Kanneh-Mason | San Francisco Symphony | June 1 | View the Program
• Yellow Face | Shotgun Players | Now – June 14
  • Post-show Conversation: Thursdays & Sundays
• Co-Founders | American Conservatory Theater | Now – July 6 | View the Program
  • Teacher Preview: June 8
  • Pride Night: June 18

Next Line

Plan your summer with West Edge Opera’s Summer Festival and livestream performances from SF Opera.

• West Edge Opera has announced their 2025 Summer Festival, running from August 2 to 17 at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center, featuring a bold lineup that spans centuries. Highlights include the world premiere of Dolores, a new opera about civil rights leader Dolores Huerta; Charpentier’s rarely staged Baroque gem David & Jonathan; and Berg’s haunting modern masterpiece Wozzeck.
• Join San Francisco Opera from the comfort of your couch with a livestream performance of La Bohème on June 10 or Idomeneo on June 20. The livestream can be viewed on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. Plus you can even download the Front Row app on your smart tv to make viewing even easier.