New Conservatory Theatre Center
The New Conservatory Theatre Center is a not-for-profit theatre company located in San Francisco, California. NCTC showcases a Pride Season, an In-Concert/Cabaret Series, Family Matinee performances, YouthAware Touring Educational Theatre, and an Emerging Artists program. NCTC also houses a comprehensive Conservatory for youth and adults. It is located in San Francisco at 25 Van Ness Avenue, near Market Street. Organizational history Founded in 1981 as a small theatre arts conservatory for low-income youth by Ed Decker (a former director of the American Conservatory Theater’s Young Conservatory), NCTC has been in operation for 31 years. In 1986, as a response to the AIDS epidemic sweeping the nation and heavily concentrated in San Francisco, Decker created the landmark YouthAware Touring Educational Theatre program which has since expanded to address an array of health and wellness concerns, been translated into five languages, and achieved national and international recognition. To date, more than 4.5 million youth in the U.S., Germany, Australia, South Africa, Holland, and the U.K. have seen YouthAware Theatre-in-Education programs in their schools and communities. In 2004, Decker received the STOP AIDS Award for his work. In 1995, Decker premiered the first Pride Season, a series of LGBT-themed performances that has since