New Conservatory Theatre Center Announces Claudia Inglis Haas's MY BROTHER'S GIFT

New Conservatory Theatre Center will bring to stage, My Brother's Gift, an adaptation by Claudia Inglis Haas based of the writings and memories of Eva Geiringer Schloss and the poetry and paintings of Heinz Geiringer, as directed by NCTC Education Director Emeritus Andrew Nance.

Based on the remarkable true story of Heinz Geiringer – neighbor and friend of Anne Frank – we follow the story of a young artist and loving brother living in unconscionable circumstances. Through a blending of nostalgia, art, and love, My Brother's Gift is a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit through artistic expression.

My Brother's Gift follows the story of a young artist and loving brother living in unconscionable circumstances. A trained musician at only 15 years old and now forced to live in hiding and silence, Heinz turns to painting and poetry to express his everyday terror but also his faith in a brighter future. Through Heinz's inspired paintings, nostalgic love of life, and his sister Eva's remembrances, we are shown how art is part of our collective humanity and its power to help us cope, heal, and offer hope.

Founded in 1986, NCTC's innovative YouthAware Productions help students and teachers navigate topics that might otherwise be difficult to approach in a classroom setting, and better understand matters of equity and inclusion in a safe, engaging format. These performances have toured SFUSD and Private schools throughout the Bay Area and we are thrilled to welcome local SFUSD high schoolers to weekday performances of My Brother's Gift for FREE at NCTC thanks to the generosity of individual donors, Lesbians for Good of Horizons Foundation, The Libitzky Family Foundation Fund, and LSP Family Foundation. 

Playwright Claudia Inglis Haas (pronouns: she/her) has worked as a playwright, director, actor and teacher of theatre. She has created theatre in schools (including their gymnasiums and cafeterias), caves, nature centers and libraries. Theatre is everywhere. Claudia has fifty published plays which have seen over 1500 productions in every state in the U.S.A. as well as on five continents (Still looking for South American and Antarctica.) Her plays have been popular in the high school one-act play festival competitions and the ten-minute plays are used regularly for forensics.

Director Andrew Jordan Nance (pronouns: he/him) is the Founder and Lead Trainer for Mindful Arts San Francisco (MASF). Additionally, he offers trainings and assemblies around the globe for libraries, schools, and school districts to provide the principles of mindfulness to students and staff. His mindfulness training comes from Mindful Schools, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Omega and Esalen. A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, for almost two decades, he was the Conservatory Director of New Conservatory Theatre Center, providing educational theater experiences for thousands of Bay Area youth and adults. He is the author of four popular Mindfulness books, PUPPY MIND, MINDFUL ARTS in the CLASSROOM, THE LION IN ME, published by Parallax Press, and distributed by Penguin Random House. THE BAREFOOT KING, published by Shambhala /Bala Books, was released in June 2020. Learn more at andrewjnance.com or mindfulartssf.com.

Eva Schloss (pronouns: she/her) is an Austrian-English Holocaust survivor, memoirist and stepdaughter of Otto Frank, the father of Margot and diarist Anne Frank. Schloss speaks widely of her family's experiences during the Holocaust and is a participant in the USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive project to record video answers to be used in educational tools. She has authored three books (The Promise, Eva's Story, and After Auschwitz) and is a co-founder of the Anne Frank Trust in the UK. 

The cast of My Brother's Gift includes Michael Carroll (Pappy), and Rebecca Grintsaid (Mutti), Yamini Jain (Eva), Skyler Riordan (Heinz), Zoe Chien (Understudy), and Danny Georiev (Understudy). The creative team includes lighting Design by Nic Candito, stage Management by Liam Kirk, costume Design by Anthony Lopez, sound Design by Kaitlin Rosen,props & set Design by Matt Owens, technical direction by Alan Huang, and production management by Toni Quidry

New Conservatory Theatre Center has been San Francisco's premier LGBTQ+ 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.

Playing on Sundays at 1pm on October 6, 13, 20, and 27th, this YouthAware production of My Brother's Gift is a unique experience that is available for ages 10 and up. Tickets are $19.50-24.50 (costs include fees) for these performances in NCTC's Tucker Theatre and are available at nctcsf.org, by emailing boxoffice@nctcsf.org, or by calling (415) 861-8972. Each performance also includes a talkback with a cast following the show

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