Who We Are

Mission

The mission of New Conservatory Theatre Center is to champion innovative, high-quality productions & educational theatre experiences for youth, artists, and the queer & allied communities to effect personal & societal growth, enlightenment and change.

Vision

Our vision is that theatre is a community event and a way to build community.

Values

COMMUNITY

We hold ourselves accountable to create and nurture a safe, vibrant, and welcoming place to connect and learn. Equity and inclusiveness are at the heart of what we do: in particular, we are about uplifting the voices of the queer community and of young people.

EDUCATION

We are committed to educating through art and humanity. Education plays a central role in our work for all ages, allowing us to create safe spaces in which our students, staff, artists, and audiences can learn and grow. As an organization devoted to learning, we recognize our responsibility to prompt meaningful and sometimes challenging conversations about our society and to be a positive force in shaping the world.

ACTIVISM

We pledge to challenge ourselves, our audiences, and our students to advance social justice. We are an anti-racist and queer-positive institution committed to activism through the arts. We believe theatre can reveal and illuminate the multiplicity of human nature to help shape the world we want.

JOY

We infuse our work with joy, kindness, empathy, curiosity – and a large dollop of humor. We endeavor to treat everyone who comes into our theatre and classrooms with courtesy, encouragement, compassion, integrity, and mutual respect.

PROGRAMS

There are five primary programs at New Conservatory Theatre Center with the following missions and central aims:

MAINSTAGE

To develop & produce queer & allied theatre that gives voice to, entertains, and promotes exploration in order to celebrate diversity and foster communication.

YOUTH CONSERVATORY

To provide theatre training to empower youth to express themselves, celebrate difference, and gain self-esteem.

YOUTHAWARE

To develop and produce performances to educate youth and those who guide them with particular focus on challenging issues, new ideas, and making choices that will positively impact their lives.

FAMILY MATINEES

To produce plays targeting young audiences ages 4-8 and their families.

NEW VOICES / NEW WORK

To develop world premieres and to produce second and third productions of new work at NCTC.

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) has been in operation since 1981. Still led by its Founding Artistic Director, Ed Decker, NCTC provides the San Francisco community with high quality youth education programming, Queer & Allied theatre, children’s theatre, new work commissions and emerging artists residencies that support local and national artists. NCTC’s annual operating budget is approximately 1.5 million.