2019 Encore Society Newsletter

YOUR HOME FOR ART WORLD & US PREMIERES YOUTHAWARE QUEER & ALLIED SET THE STAGE OMMUNIT Y DRAMA CREATIVIT 2 019 E n c o r e S o c i e t y N e w s l e t t e r MUSICALS THEATRE NEW EDUCATION CLASSES & CAMP ARTISTS INNOVATION COMEDY

2018 Highlights We’re entering a new year at New Conservatory Theatre Center, and with that, we like to look back on the past year in the Encore Society.

• In 2018 we welcomed our newest Encore Society Member, Bill Gregory!

Bill is an avid supporter of theatre in San Francisco and serves on the Board of San Francisco Playhouse. He is also generously supporting NCTC as an Executive Producer of our current production, Late Company, which runs January 18-February 24, 2019 in Bill Gregory, Encore Society Member The Walker Theatre. Bill will be hosting a Producer Party for his guests to enjoy the play in February.

Thank you for your generosity, and for introducing new folks to the theatre!

• NCTC received a bequest from longtime supporter and subscriber Earl Diskin. Earl’s support of NCTC extends past even our record-keeping (starting in 2001!). We are so grateful for his support through the decades and for his generous legacy gift.

• The Wells Fargo Foundation has provided a generous grant in support of NCTC’s YouthAware program, which serves San Francisco youth with touring and in-house educational theatre. By exploring issues like HIV & AIDS education, peer pressure, substance abuse, dating violence, homophobia, stereotypes & gender expectation, YouthAware programs are designed to help young people ask tough questions about equity and inclusion in a safe and engaging format. Wells Fargo will also generously be hosting NCTC’s free informational seminar on estate planning on Monday, February 4th, 5:30-7:00pm. For information on the event and our guest speakers, check out the following page. Thank you Wells Fargo!

As members of our Encore Society, we want to invite you to join us for our informational event on planned giving. Thank you for making the commitment to support NCTC in your estate plans.

We are honored to have your support!

NCTC’s Estate Planning Seminar

JOIN US ON

Monday, February 4, 2019 5:30 - 7:00 PM at the

Wells Fargo Penthouse

420 Montgomery Street (Between California St & Sacramento St) Penthouse Level, San Francisco Space is limited for this event.

Please RSVP by January 31 to Director of Individual Giving Andrea Partridge at andreap@nctcsf.org

Featuring guest speakers

Deb L. Kinney, Attorney & Matthew E. Brady, Regional Managing Director, Wells Fargo

Deb L. Kinney is a partner at Johnston, Kinney & Zulaica LLP, a law firm providing estate planning, trust administration and probate services and family law.

She has been extensively involved and remains commited to obtaining equality for all LGBT people, and has worked tirelessly on behalf of the LGBT community regarding income, property, and estate tax issues.

Matt E. Brady is the regional director for Wells Fargo Wealth Management in San Francisco, Marin, Santa Rosa, and Napa Valley. He actively leads advisors who help clients meet their wealth management needs through a variety of wealth planning, investment management, private banking, trust services, insurance, and integrated financial solutions.

Ma

Telling our Story from Encore Society & Board Member, David Beery 1980’s AIDS crisis is the focus of that play, The Inheritance addresses inter-generational differences and relationships.

Photo by Simon Annand

The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez

My husband, Norm Abramson, and I recently saw The Inheritance, a two-part, 6 ½ hour play by American LGBTQ playwright, Matthew Lopez, in London. For those of you who know E. M. Forster’s novel Howard’s End, or the movie made from it, Lopez has incorporated plot elements and characterizations from Forster’s work into a play about New York City gay men today.

Cardboard Piano by Hansol Jung

AIDS is one dividing line between those who lived during its isolating devastation, and those who are now increasingly accepted by a larger society.

E. M. Forster, who lived when men could not love each othIt invites comparison to Angels er openly, is also a character in the play. He defends hiding his in America. But whereas the

sexuality in the social milieu of his time. Each generation bears its own pain in the progress of gay life.

Fiona Mountford, writing for the London Evening Standard, states: “This is a work of rare grace, truth and beauty and is undoubtedly this century’s answer to Angels in America – and then some.”

Although commissioned by the Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut, the play premiered at the Young Vic Theatre in London. It is now performing for a 15 week, run, in a major London production.

“It speaks to and for the LGBTQ Community.”

It commissions original works, produces plays by LGBTQ writers, presents diversity and understanding of others through its YouthAware programs in San Francisco schools.

It speaks to and for the LGBTQ community. The breadth of this activity is possible because of the theater’s donors.

If we do not tell our stories, who will?

What does this have to do with New Conservatory Theatre?

Playwrights like Matthew Lopez are telling our story. The New Conservatory Theatre also excels in conveying the LGBTQ experience.

Still at Risk by Tim Pinckney