Hello NCTC family,
It is a tremendous honor to step into the role of Artistic Director at New Conservatory Theatre Center and a responsibility I carry with deep gratitude. NCTC shaped me, both as an artist and a human being. It’s where I first felt empowered to take risks, to tell stories from my perspective as a Queer, Latine artist, and where I learned how theatre can be both deeply personal and radically communal.
Ed Decker didn’t just create a theatre—he created a home. I’ve seen firsthand the impact this theatre can have and I believe in its power not just to reflect the world, but to shape it. I’m not only stepping into this role to continue his legacy, but also to serve it, to help it evolve, and reach its next promise.
In the coming years, my goals are to deepen NCTC’s roots and widen its reach. I want to produce the kind of innovative, high-quality theatre NCTC is known for—stories that inspire and challenge us, that build bridges within our community and beyond. At its best, NCTC brings people together around work that is brave and inspiring. That core identity won’t change. At the same time, I see incredible opportunities for growth. Ed worked continually to give NCTC a national profile, and I plan to build on those efforts and make our theatre a true launchpad for the next generation of LGBTQ+ storytelling.
I’m also committed to strengthening our education programs, which have always been at the heart of NCTC’s mission. We have a responsibility to keep innovating in that space so young people can continue to discover who they are and who they can become.
Ed and NCTC invested in me at a young age, as they have for so many. I’m ready to honor what’s come before while reimagining what’s possible in the chapters ahead.
I’m grateful to be home.
Photo by Samuel del Rosario
warplay, by JC Lee. Ed Moreno, JD Scalzo. Photo by Lois Tema.
Pansy, by Evan Johnson, in Collaboration with Ben Villegas Randle. Evan Johnson. Photo by Lois Tema.
Salome, Dance for Me, words by trixxie carr, music by trixxie carr with Robert Mollicone. trixxie carr. Photo by Maya Like.
The Submission, by Jeff Talbott. Eric Kerr, Sam Jackson. Photo by Lois Tema.
To My Girls, by JC Lee. Robert Rushin, James Arthur M.. Photo by Lois Tema.BEN VILLEGAS RANDLE (he/him) is the current Artistic Associate at New Conservatory Theatre Center and will step into the position of NCTC Artistic Director in 2026.
Prior to relocating to the Bay, Ben spent seven years in NYC, where he was the 2019 Drama League Leo Shull Musical Theatre Directing Fellow. In New York, Ben directed a newly re-imagined production of Michael John LaChiusa’s musical Hello Again with four actors, for Drama League’s DirectorFest 2020; a world premiere by Anniello Fontano for NYU/Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute; Clare Baron’s Dance Nation for NYU/Atlantic Acting School, and a virtual film of Lauren Yee’s existential slasher comedy Hookman for Atlantic Training Company. He was also a 2017-18 Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow.
In 2023, he directed the second production of Christopher Oscar Peña’s how to make an American Son at Profile Theatre, in Portland, OR. He will stage the Bay Area Premiere at NCTC in 2026.
Highlights from his NCTC productions include (in chronological order): The Submission by Jeff Talbott (West Coast Premiere, 2013); Pansy, a solo play written with Evan Johnson about generational ghosts in SF queer nightlife (2013, 2014); Salome, Dance for Me, an original glam rock musical he conceived with rock musician and award-winning drag queen trixxie carr and Robert Mollicone of San Francisco Opera (World Premiere, 2015); Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman, which is the first trans narrative by a trans writer in NCTC’s subscription season (World Premiere, 2016); Sons of the Prophet by Stephen Karam (Bay Area Premiere, 2016); warplay by JC Lee, an NCTC commission about the legendary love story between Achilles and Patroclus (World Premiere, 2017); and To My Girls by JC Lee (West Coast Premiere, 2025).
Other San Francisco (non-NCTC) highlights include the world premiere of Into the Clear Blue Sky by JC Lee (2011, BATCC Nom., Best Director), and The Fisherman’s Wife by Steve Yockey (Impact Theatre, 2012).
Ben has worked at New York Stage and Film, Berkeley Rep, NYU / Atlantic Acting School, Lee Strasberg Institute of Film & Theatre/NYU, Aurora Theatre, Latinx Playwrights Circle, National Queer Theater, CalShakes, Just Theater, Thrillpeddlers, Brava! and West Edge Opera. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University and a member of Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab.