Disney/ABC's Kevin Brockman Joins Second Stage Board of Directors

Second Stage Theater, the preeminent home for American plays and living American Playwrights, has announced that Kevin Brockman, Executive Vice President, Global Communications, Disney/ABC Television Group, has joined the company's Board of Directors.

"We are thrilled to welcome Kevin to the Second Stage Board of Directors," said Artistic Director Carole Rothman. "His years of expertise and his many professional relationships in the entertainment industry will be a very welcome asset to our Board, especially as we embark on our first Broadway season."

"I started my career in theatrical publicity, so joining the Board of Second Stage feels a bit like coming home," said Mr. Brockman. "I'm honored to be a part of this storied organization and to bring my experience to bear on its behalf."

Kevin Brockman was named executive vice president, Global Communications, Disney/ABC Television Group in March 2008. He reports to Ben Sherwood, co-chairman, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group, and Zenia Mucha, executive vice president and Chief Communications Officer, The Walt Disney Company. In this position Mr. Brockman oversees all corporate, news and entertainment communication efforts worldwide on behalf of the Disney/ABC Television Group, which is comprised of ABC Studios, a global leader in the development, production and distribution of entertainment content across broadcast, cable and on-demand platforms; the ABC Owned Television Stations Group; and The ABC Television Network, which provides entertainment and news programming to viewers via more than 200 affiliated stations across the U.S. It also includes Disney Channels Worldwide, a portfolio of 120 kid-driven, family-inclusive entertainment channels, including Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Disney Cinemagic, Hungama, and Radio Disney brands, as well as cable network Freeform, which targets millennials. Disney|ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution and Disney Media Distribution round out the portfolio. Disney|ABC Television Group also has equity interests in A+E Networks and Hulu.

Previously, since May 2005, Mr. Brockman served as senior vice president, Communications, Disney/ABC Television Group. Prior to that, Mr. Brockman had been senior vice president, Entertainment Communications, Disney/ABC Television Group from September 2004, and from 2000-2004, Mr. Brockman was senior vice president, Entertainment Communications, ABC Television Network, having joined the Company in 1997. Mr. Brockman joined The Walt Disney Company from UPN, where he was part of the senior executive team that successfully launched the network in January 1995, overseeing all corporate and entertainment communications. He began his career in television communications as the director of Public Relations, Marketing and On-Air Promo for Fox Television Stations Productions (FTSP), a development division of FOX, Inc.

Earlier, Mr. Brockman worked at Radio City Music Hall Productions, overseeing media relations and corporate communications for the entertainment Production Company. There he was responsible for the public relations campaigns for more than 350 live concerts and theatricals, as well as numerous television specials and corporate events, including the Super Bowl XXVII Half-Time show starring Michael Jackson. Mr. Brockman began his entertainment career in theatrical publicity, where he worked on a wide variety of Broadway and off-Broadway productions.

Mr. Brockman served for two years as Chairman of TPEC, the Television Publicity Executives Committee, and recently completed an 11-year Board term with GLSEN, the nation's leading not-for-profit education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students, especially those targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. He served the last four-years of his term on the Executive Committee, and the last two years as Chairman.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of Florida.

Under the artistic direction of Carole Rothman, Second Stage THEATER produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best contemporary theatre, including 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis; 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegria Hudes; The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown; Dogfight by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Peter Duchan; Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Steven Levenson; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage; Trust and Lonely, I'm Not by Paul Weitz; The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz; Everyday Rapture and Whorl Inside a Loop by Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott; Let Me Down Easy by Anna Deavere Smith; Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo; Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; Jitney by August Wilson; Jar the Floor by Cheryl L. West; Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Crowns by ReGina Taylor; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants by Ricky Jay; Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Little Murders by Jules Feiffer; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; and Tiny Alice by Edward Albee.

The company's more than 130 citations include the 2009 Tony Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley, Next to Normal) and Best Score (Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal); the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed); the 2005 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, ...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, ...Spelling Bee); the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses); the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 30 Obie Awards, eight Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence Derwent Awards, 13 Drama Desk Awards, nine Theatre World Awards, 19 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 23 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theater opened The Tony Kiser Theater, its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theatre, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. In 2002, Second Stage launched "Second Stage Theater Uptown" series to showcase the work of up and coming artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theater. The Theatre supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs.

Second Stage Theater purchased the historic Helen Hayes Theater, located at 240 W. 44th Street, in 2015. The company will continue to lease and operate their original theaters on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan. Second Stage Theater has enlisted David Rockwell and The Rockwell Group to make renovations and updates to the 104 year old landmark building.

Second Stage Theater's inaugural Broadway season will kick off in March 2018 with Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero, directed by Trip Cullman and starring Michael Cera and Chris Evans in his Broadway debut. The season will also include the New York Premiere of Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men, directed by Anna B. Shapiro.

This inaugural season kicks off Second Stage's mission of creating and building a permanent home on Broadway dedicated exclusively to American plays and living American Playwrights.

Second Stage Theater is investing in its future on Broadway by co-commissioning established playwrights through its STAGE-2-STAGE program, launching with Los Angeles's Center Theatre Group. This ongoing program will provide a pathway to Broadway, with each play receiving an initial production in Los Angeles at one of CTG's three theatres before moving to New York. The commissioned playwrights are Jon Robin Baitz, Will Eno, Lisa Kron, Young Jean Lee, Lynn Nottage, and Paula Vogel.

Second Stage Theater is also co-commissioning a new work from Bess Wohl for Broadway, through a partnership with the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and new works for Broadway from Lydia R. Diamond and Dominique Morisseau, which will be developed in association with Kenny Leon's True Colors Theater.

Second Stage Theater's upcoming off-Broadway productions include the New York premiere of Bruce Norris's A Parallelogram, directed by Michael Greif, beginning previews July 11 and opening August 2; and the Second Stage Theater Uptown world premiere production of Somebody's Daughter by Chisa Hutchinson, directed by May Adrales, beginning previews May 23 and opening June 6 at the McGinn/Cazale Theater.

Next season will bring the 35th Anniversary production of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song, directed by Moisés Kaufman, beginning performances in September, as well as the New York premiere of Tracy Letts' Mary Page Marlowe in June of 2018.

For more information, visit www.2ST.com.

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