NCTC Fall 2018 Newsletter

YOUR H OM E FO R AR T WO R LD & US PR EM IER E UTHAWARE QUEER & ALL BEHIND-THE-SCENES MMUNIT Y DRAMA CREAT F a l l 2 0 1 8 MUSICALS THEATRE N UCATION CLASSES & CAM ISTS INNOVATION COM

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newsflash!

YO UR H OM WO R LD & US YOUTHAWARE Q COMMUNIT Y DR Happy Holidays!

MUSICALS TH EDUCATION CLA ARTISTS INNOVA WELCOMING A NEW BOARD CHAIR

In July, we welcomed long-time Board member Andrew Smith to the position of Board Chair. Andrew works in communications at Kaiser Permanente, and he and his husband Brian have been supporting members of our Producers Circle for a number of years. Our Board Chair Emeritus Jeff Malloy has completed his final term at NCTC’s helm. Jeff, thank you for your years of dedicated service to NCTC. You have brought so much knowledge and wisdom to NCTC and have truly shaped our future to be bright and prosperous.

We’ve also added Renee Roux from The James Irvine Foundation as a new Board member. Welcome a-board, Renee!

We wish you a joyous holiday season and New Year. Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support.

From the artists, students, staff, and Board of New Conservatory Theatre Center

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M E FO R AR T S PR EM IER E S QUEER & ALLIED RAMA CREATIV HEATRE NEW ASSES & CAMPS ATION COMEDY NCTC HAS RECEIVED THEATRE BAY AREA AWARD NOMINATIONS IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

• Wes Crain, Keri Fitch, and Jorge R. Hernández for Outstanding Costume Design in Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly* • Sarah Phykitt in the Creative Specialties category for her Projection Design in This Bitter Earth • Devin Kasper for Outstanding Scenic Design in This Bitter Earth • Kuo-Hao Lo for Outstanding Scenic Design in It’s Only a Play* • Outstanding Ensemble of a Play, Still at Risk • Desiree Rogers for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role in a Play in Still at Risk • H. Adam Harris for Outstanding Performance in a Principal Role in a Play in This Bitter Earth • Kevin Rolston for Outstanding Solo Production in Deal with the Dragon* • Outstanding Production of a Play, This Bitter Earth *Denotes winner, announced at the TBA Awards Gala on November 5th.

WELCOME NEW PRODUCTION STAFF, AND BON VOYAGE PAUL

NCTC’s Production department is undergoing some big changes. We’ve said goodbye to Devin Kasper, our Technical Director, and welcomed Carlos Aceves (pictured to the left) to the position, working alongside the newly promoted Production Manager Stephanie Desnoyers. We’ve also brought on John Owens as our new Master Electrician and Patrik Hendrickson as Master Carpenter, replacing Paul Collins who has moved to Beijing to teach English. This restructuring will expand our capacity and allow the technical aspects of NCTC’s productions to reach their fullest potential at all levels. These positions could not have been created without the sustaining support of our donors. Thank you!

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LAUGHING MATTERS: A CONVERSATION WITH CHARLES BUSCH

YO UR H OM WO R LD & US YOUTHAWARE Q COMMUNIT Y DR MUSICALS TH EDUCATION CLA ARTISTS INNOVA You’ll find parts of an interview with Charles Busch in the playbill for Red Scare on Sunset, but we saved some of the inside scoop just for you!

People frequently use the term “subversive” when they describe your shows. Do you feel like your shows are subversive?

I don’t know why that term has ever been used to describe me. Perhaps it’s because I’ve played with gender roles and sometimes get a little bawdy with my humor. I see myself as an old-fashioned entertainer and comedy writer. I work in traditional comedy rhythms and structure. I just think people throw that term “subversive” around when they can’t think of anything more specific.

What’s the most surprising reaction Red Scare has received?

Because the comic view of the McCarthy era in the play is intentionally skewed upside down, it requires the audience to have a strong sense of irony. Not everyone can go there. Consequently, some people have missed the point and assumed that the author shares the point of view of the extreme right-wing characters. It ain’t so.

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M E FO R AR T S PR EM IER E S QUEER & ALLIED RAMA CREATIV HEATRE NEW ASSES & CAMPS ATION COMEDY New York Newsday has said that Red Scare on Sunset “marks the politicization of Charles Busch”. Do you agree with that statement?

Red Scare on Sunset is the only overtly political play I’ve ever written. At the time, many of the reviews seemed delighted that I was delving into more complex subject matter than simply Hollywood pastiche. I think all of my Hollywood genre parodies stemming back to Vampire Lesbians of Sodom have more going on in them than simply “Aren’t old movies fun?” Every play I’ve written comes from a personal place, even if I’m not aware of it at the time. My opinions on a variety of contemporary subjects are explored in all of my plays. You just have to take the time to look for it.

How do you feel the current political climate affects your play?

We’re living in such an emotionally tumultuous time that everything seems fraught with extra meaning. I do a Christmas show every year and end it by singing the beautiful standard “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” For the last few years, when I sing the line “But till then, we’ll have to muddle through some time”, those words take on a new poignancy of life in an uncertain time. Red Scare on Sunset with its paranoid view of the Soviet Union certainly strikes a chord with a contemporary audience when we see that perhaps the Russians have never viewed the Cold War as over.

J. CONRAD FRANK & NANCY FRENCH IN RED SCARE ON SUNSET.

Do you think comedy can cause societal change?

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nonem aute comedy has Yes, I do. eaI aceaturepe think nissum television eaquae volendia etur ressus simenecta cor the greatest influence. Shows like Will & aperume mol Lum etur magnit ommodit, Grace and Modern Family have probably nuscia quunturis se dolectur. done more to bring about societal attitude changes towards LGBTQ people than anything else.

Is that the goal for your shows?

Not really. I don’t have a goal for any play other than entertaining an audience, providing some insight into the human condition and perhaps challenging my talent.

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YO UR H OM WO R LD & US YOUTHAWARE Q COMMUNIT Y DR MUSICALS TH EDUCATION CLA ARTISTS INNOVA #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving, fueled by the people through the power of social media, to support the many causes that we find ourselves thankful for during the holiday season. Celebrated on November 27, 2018, after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday aims to remind us all to value those institutions that serve our community that wouldn’t otherwise exist without the generosity of their supporters and their belief in necessity of the work. We hope that you join us by making a contribution to NCTC on November 27th to help kick off our holiday fundraising. Last year we raised over $4,000, and with your help we know we can do even better in 2018!

Want to support in another way? Create a personal fundraiser on your Facebook page for NCTC on #GivingTuesday and PayPal will match all gifts, doubling the impact of any contributions! This will give you and your friends the opportunity to double the impact of your support. It takes just a few easy steps: 1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/fundraisers/ 2. Click “Raise Money”, then “Get Started”.

3. Under “Who are you raising money for?” Select “Non-profit” and search for New Conservatory Theatre Center.

4. Decide how much you’d like to raise and select 11/27/2018 as your fundraiser start and end date.

5. Customize your personal message as you’d like, choose a cover photo, and then click “create”. Your fundraiser will be live and shared to your Facebook page.

We’ll receive any contributions and matches within 75 days, and best of all, they will count towards your donor level at NCTC!

If you have any questions, please contact Development Manager Andrea Partridge at andreap@nctcsf.org, or visit an informational page here.

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M E FO R AR T S PR EM IER E S QUEER & ALLIED RAMA CREATIV HEATRE NEW ASSES & CAMPS ATION COMEDY NCTC’S FAMILY TIES

From Conservatory to Mainstage, & Beyond

Over the last 38 years, New Conservatory Theater Center has produced first-rate theatre education programs and groundbreaking mainstage productions. These two programs operate under the same roof, but with their relative independence, one might not know how deeply interrelated they are. NCTC creates an environment from the Conservatory on through the mainstage productions that fosters inclusion, community, and most of all, a feeling of belonging and of family.

These family ties remain strong for years after our students leave the Conservatory program. This season, NCTC is proud to welcome two talented Conservatory alumni into our mainstage company. Firstly, Megan Timpane is playing the role of Chris in Cardboard Piano

by Hansol Jung, a powerful interracial LGBT love story set in Uganda. Megan brings decades of experience to the role, experience that began at just 6 years old in 1997 with NCTC’s youth summer camp. She continued to attend summer camp through middle school, and then became a camp counselor, and then performed in the inaugural Youth Musical Production of Really Rosie at 14.

Megan credits her acting career to her initial time

“I always felt so at home at NCTC. There is such a strong sense of a supportive community there that made me feel comfortable opening up.” - Megan

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spent at NCTC. Her instructor here, Diane Lane, was also a drama teacher at a local middle school. Megan’s intention to pursue theatre professionally lead her to switch to that school to study with Diane. She then continued to act throughout high school and became a professional film and television actress in Los Angeles before returning to the Bay Area. She says, “If I hadn’t made that move early on, I don’t know if I would have pursued acting for as long as I did.”

YO UR H OM WO R LD & US YOUTHAWARE Q COMMUNIT Y DR MUSICALS TH EDUCATION CLA ARTISTS INNOVA On her return to our stages for Cardboard Piano, Megan says, “It is so great to be back and see some of the same faces I grew up with. It still feels like home.” She was impressed with the longevity of the Conservatory program and the opportunities it provides for young artists to gain experience in and exposure to performing at an early age, “without the pressure of some of the more massive theaters in the Bay Area.” As a mainstage player, she finds that the same support and values she experienced in the Conservatory are innate to the creative process for our full productions, saying, “It really is a team effort. I love how involved everyone at the theatre is. It really pushes me to make everyone proud and to do my best work when everyone is working towards a greater goal.”

Our second former Conservatory student joining the mainstage season is Alex Akin, who will be performing as Bad Idea Bear/ Mrs. T/Auxiliary Puppeteer in the Purple cast of Avenue Q! Alex has recently returned to San Francisco after performing in New York for the last 5 years. Alex attended youth summer camp when she was in middle school, taught by our current Conservatory Director Stephanie Temple.

I’ve been away for so long, but I’ve been welcomed back with open arms. - Alex

Alex remains involved in the Conservatory as an afterschool drama teacher. While our Conservatory program offers an array of classes and camps on-site, it also facilitates after-school drama classes at schools throughout San Francisco. With dwindling arts budgets in our schools, sending teaching artists to provide high-quality theatre arts education affords opportunities to hundreds of students each year. We are delighted to have Alex back reinvesting her experience and creativity in the betterment of both programs. She says, “I am grateful for my experience at NCTC as a youth and how it helped shape me as a performer and still grateful for the opportunities I now have.”

That she is now imparting her knowledge to a new generation is an affirmation of Conservatory’s capacity to create long-term relationships between artists, their art, and the organization at large.

In her role in Avenue Q, Alex continues her education by learning a brand new skill: puppetry! Her show track (an actor’s path through an ensemble performance, indicating which roles they play in each section of the show) involves 3 different puppets and roles, making for a detailed learning process. She feels up to the challenge, in part due to the positive attitudes of the entire creative team, saying “…everyone was focused and on top of their game.” She continued to praise the atmosphere: “The level of professionalism is the first thing I noticed when I started rehearsals. Everyone is kind and respectful and here for the work.”

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shyness, to recognize and confront those fear of social anxiety.” Although it didn’t occur to her at the time that there would be an LGBT focus to the organization, she reflected on the congruous values instilled in her by her classes: that NCTC was a space to find out who you are, explore yourself, and be celebrated for it.

M E FO R AR T S PR EM IER E S QUEER & ALLIED RAMA CREATIV HEATRE NEW ASSES & CAMPS ATION COMEDY While these two talented alumni have returned to NCTC to perform, another has joined us in a leadership position as a member of our Board of Directors. Serenity Siya Mlay came to our Board after graduating from business school at Mills College in Oakland. In her search for an opportunity to use her skills in service of a non-profit, she rediscovered NCTC and saw the growth that the organization has experienced since her time at the Conservatory. After reconnecting with Ed in 2016, Serenity has been an active Board member. By learning what NCTC is now, focusing on being a champion for the Conservatory, and utilizing her capacity for outreach, visibility, and making connections, she works to continually answer the question “What can I do to make sure these doors stay open?”

Serenity attended Conservatory classes in the program’s very early days, from 19871989. She was just 8-10 at that time, but the classes had a profound effect on her personal development. It helped her to “realize it was ok to be funny, to be bold”. She says, “Two hours a week trained me to shed my

She said that attending classes was her “me time”, but it also helped her get to know her father better. He drove her to class here on Saturdays, and because he worked during the week, that was one of the only times they spent alone together. Her parents emigrated from Tanzania, and she was raised in between two cultures in America, “feeling like not enough of any one thing”. She experienced a tremendous amount of “othering” from many people in her life, but NCTC was a place where she could be whatever she wanted to be. It was “the flag that I would not stand for othering, and that I would stand up for myself and for others” with recognition of the common human condition and with love.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM PRIDE PARTY 2018

YO UR H OM WO R LD & US YOUTHAWARE Q COMMUNIT Y DR MUSICALS TH EDUCATION CLA ARTISTS INNOVA We hosted our annual Pride Party on Tuesday, November 13th to celebrate all of the programs that make up NCTC. We wanted to share a few highlights from the event with our community of supporters. Enjoy!

We asked attendees to share what they love about NCTC

Supporter Michael Golden smiles for the camera

Students from Lincoln High School perform with Identity Matters

Playwright Patricia Milton writes a message on our paper wall

Supporters Andy Leas & Bong Villa-Leas enjoy refreshments

Future Stages sustaining partner Ted Tucker with guest, John W.

P.S. If you did not receive the invitation to the party, you may not be subscribed to our mailing list. To subscribe, please visit our email signup page here. If you have any questions, please contact Development Manager Andrea Partridge at andreap@ nctcsf.org.

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M E FO RNCTC’s AR T FUTURE STAGES S PR EM IER E S QUEER & ALLIED RAMA CREATIV HEATRE NEW ASSES & CAMPS ATION COMEDY When we dream of our future,

we think about what we can do for our artisans, who make magic happen. We think about our Health and Wellness programs that teach students about HIV/ AIDS prevention and the importance of diversity in our world. We imagine how we can reach more young people and introduce them to the wonder of creativity and live theatre through our Conservatory. We envision the future of American theatre and how we can use our space to add to the canon of Queer & Allied theatre in this country and beyond.

Your help will allow NCTC to have a more robust financial foundation to plan for the longer term, push artistic boundaries, continue to improve the quality of our shows, reach broader audiences and expand our impact.

Our new sustainability partnership program, Future Stages, is designed to help NCTC reach all of those dreams.

We aim to: - Increase actor & teaching artist compensation

- Continue to raise the production quality of our shows

- Invest in the next generation through broader development of our outreach programs

- Commission & support new works for the Mainstage and our YouthAware program from both emerging and nationally-recognized playwrights, growing the canon of work celebrating LGBTQ and Allied voices while providing crucial developmental & dramaturgical support

If you would like more information on joining this journey by becoming a sustaining partner with Future Stages, either by increasing your current giving or committing to long-term support, please contact Director of Development Shannon McDonnell at 415.694.150 or shannon@nctcsf.org. We look forward to building a bright future for NCTC with you.

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YO UR H OM WO R LD & US YOUTHAWARE Q COMMUNIT Y DR MUSICALS TH EDUCATION CLA ARTISTS INNOVA