NCTC Presents World Premiere of JC Lee's WARPLAY

In June, New Conservatory Theatre Center closes its 35th Anniversary celebration and 2016-17 Season with the world premiere of warplay by JC Lee (Luce at Lincoln Center Theater, ABC's How to Get Away with Murder), directed by NCTC Artistic Associate Ben Randle. Inspired by Homer's The Iliad and the epic tale of Achilles and Patroclus, warplay is a shockingly funny, poetic and radical reimagining of one of the oldest love stories in all of Western literature. Two young men. A battle rages in the distance. Game on.

warplay was commissioned and developed as part of NCTC's New Play Development Lab.

warplay runs June 2 - July 2, 2017. Opening Night is Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 8pm. Tickets are $25-50 and available at nctcsf.org or by calling (415) 861-8972

Playwright JC Lee's play Luce received its world premiere in 2013 at Lincoln Center Theater. Lee's plays have been developed and staged at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, Center Theatre Group, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Marin Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, Azuka Theatre Company, and other theatres across the country. A graduate of The Julliard School and Bloomsburg University, he was a writer and co-producer for Looking on HBO, where he previously wrote for the hit series Girls. Lee is currently a writer for ABC's How to Get Away with Murderand screenwriter for The Weinstein Company's movie adaptation of the musical Pippin.

Director Ben Randle is NCTC's first Artistic Associate. He has directed the world premieres of Into the Clear Blue Sky by JC Lee for Sleepwalkers Theater (Bay Area Critics Circle Award nomination, Best Director); Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman, at NCTC; The Fisherman's Wife by Steve Yockey, for Impact Theatre; Salome, Dance for Me, an original glam rock musical he conceived and directed by trixxie carr, with Robert Mollicone, at NCTC; Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dionysus, at CounterPULSE; and EVan Johnson's acclaimed solo play, Pansy, at NCTC and on tour. West Coast and regional premieres include Sons of the Prophet, The Submission, Treefall, at NCTC; The Chalk Boy, Joshua Conkel at Impact Theatre. Other credits include Sweeney Todd, for Ray of Light Theatre; Hank Williams: Lost Highway at Douglas Morrison Theatre. Randle has also worked at California Shakespeare Theater, Aurora Theatre, ZSpace, JustTheater, Thrillpeddlers and West Edge Opera. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University and a member of Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab 2010.

The cast of warplay features Ed Berkeley and JD Scalzo.

The warplay creative team includes scenic design by Devin Kasper, costume design by Miriam Lewis, lighting design by Christian V. Mejia, sound design by Theodore J.H. Hulsker, prop design by Adeline Smith, fight direction by Will Springhorn, Jr. and stage management by Kaitlin Rosen.

NCTC's New Play Development was created in 2002 to commission and develop new work to expand the canon of LGBT-themed plays, give voice to new and diverse playwrights, and add to the list of over 40 World Premieres NCTC has produced since 1981. The Lab is currently developing plays by such playwrights as Ryan Fogarty and Harrison David Rivers.

New Conservatory Theatre Center has been San Francisco's premier LGBTQIA and allied performing arts institution and progressive arts education conservatory since 1981. NCTC is renowned for its diverse range of innovative, high-quality productions, touring productions and shows for young audiences; its foundational anti-bullying work with youth and educators through YouthAware; and its commitment to developing new plays to continue expanding the canon of queer and allied dramatic work.

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