Kickstarter

Rights of Passage: Sometimes it takes a world of courage to just be who you are.

Hello, we’re Ed Decker and Robert Leone, playwrights and producers of Rights of Passage.

Rights of Passage is a brand-new play that will begin its world premiere run on August 17, 2012 at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco. Our play is about people and courage. And strength-- to rise up for what you believe is right. To take joy in the good things that come your way. It's a complex, fast moving story about LGBT people and the worlds they live in.

The Play
The play revolves around three key rights of passage in every person’s life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood. Our story starts on the Indonesian Island of Bali where we meet Wayan a young gay Hindu man. His life and other lives in Africa, the US, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe are woven together. The joyful and the heartrending realities of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender existence.

Rights of Passage is not something you've seen anywhere else which is one of the reasons we're so excited about it. LGBT human rights on a global scale can be overwhelming (it overwhelmed us at first!) but at its heart, this compelling series of interwoven stories, is approached on a very human scale, enlivened with music, dance, humor, digital media and puppetry created especially for this production.

In addition to the play itself, we’ve got some great rewards in store for you--our patrons. We hope that our heartfelt words and these humble offerings will entice you into the magical world of Rights of Passage.

Ten percent of ticket sales from our world premiere run will be donated to advance the outstanding work of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Watch who have supported this project from the beginning.

More about Rights of Passage (2008-2012)
Phase 1 (Completed): The co-writers do research. Conduct interviews. Write (separately). Do more research. Conduct more interviews. Write (collaboratively). Argue with each other over points large and small.

Phase 2 (Completed): Three public staged readings and talk-back sessions take place. Feedback is evaluated. Some is incorporated into a new draft. The rest is burned. Co-writers are still on speaking terms! A first draft is finished.

Phase 3 (Completed): Two more public readings, more rewrites. A director is chosen and some of the actors are cast. A production team comes on board. A rehearsal script is completed.

Phase 4 (June 2012) The Rights of Passage Kickstarter campaign is launched. (This is where you come in!)

Phase 5 (July 2012): Rehearsals for Rights of Passage begin.

Phase 6 (August 17, 2012): Rights of Passage begins its world premiere run at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco.

Raising Production Costs
We are seeking $30,000 to match our existing gifts from the Small Change Foundation and the NCTC Producers club. While this is a substantial amount, the costs of mounting a production are high. But the exposure it will receive will also be substantial. The money raised will go to pay the actors and the creative team. In addition all production elements will be realized. As you know, Kickstarter's terms are all or nothing. We must raise the entire $30,000 or we wind up not only with empty pockets but with a dark and empty stage. Please check the sidebar for the unique rewards we have in store for our patrons.

Since 1981 the mission of The New Conservatory Theatre Center has been to champion innovative, high quality productions and educational theatre experiences for youth, artists, and the queer and allied communities.
Follow us on the Rights of Passage blog (http://rightsofpassage-nctc.blogspot.com/), the New Conservatory Theatre Center website (www.nctcsf,org) or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/nctcsf) for the latest about Rights of Passage. Thank you for your kind attention!