Marian Brickner | Kevin Chestnut | Bob Horner
Joan Lipkin | Michael B. Perkins | Paige Russell
Marian Brickner (Photographer)
Marian is Uppity's resident photographer, documenting most of our work.
Her photographs have appeared in numerous publications, including the
Annals of Internal Medicine, International Journal of Arts Medicine,
Swedish Society of Gerris remigis (water striders), Civitas, Institute
of Noetic Sciences, Laboratory Primate Newsletter, Missouri Conservation
Magazine, Symphony Orchestra Playbills, Saint Louis Review, Saint Louis
Magazine, West End Word, Jewish Light, Suburban Journals, and Saint
Louis Post Dispatch.
She has done voluntary photography work for the Saint Louis Neurological
Aid Project, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya; Stella Maris
Child Center; Buttons and Bows Child Care Center; Uppity Theatre;
and Make a Wish Foundation. Marian also has a book pending on bonobo
children with a forward written by Jane Goodall. She has contributed
book reviews for Care Management Journal's Journal of Case.
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Kevin Chestnut (Assistant Administrative Director)
Kevin Chestnut has a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Kansas. He does online academic proofreading and is a nonviolence activist who has worked for full community inclusion ever since arriving in St. Louis through VISTA in 1978. He founded the diverse Leader Support Groups program in the city and conducted its sessions for many years. He has done funding development for Missouri’s phone relay for the deaf and hearing-impaired, for the Lewis and Clark Institute’s summer youth programs, and for the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations, where he was a northside neighborhood organizer for 10 years. Kevin also served several years on the board of RAVEN to work against domestic violence.
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Bob Horner (Sound Technician)
Bob has a B.A. in Communications, with an Audio Specialization, as
well as a B.A. in Business, from Webster University. Bob has extensive
light and sound experience, working in all kinds of venues. He
works with a diverse client base, including the JCCA, various religious
institutions, MO Historical Society, St. Louis Blues' Society,
the St. Louis County Park System, Blueberry Hill, and Chuck Berry,
among others. He founded his own company, Ironman Sound Industries
(ISI). As the principal for ISI, Bob has worked with Uppity on
sound design, trouble shooting, equipment repair, and running sound
for many of our shows.
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Joan Lipkin (Artistic Director)
Joan Lipkin is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of That
Uppity Theatre Company in St. Louis, Missouri. Her company founded
the nationally acclaimed Alternate Currents/Direct Currents Series,
The DisAbility Project, Diverse Works and the Louies. A strong
proponent of collaboration, she also co-founded Women CenterStage!
with the Center of Contemporary Arts, the Nadadada Festival at
The Forum for Contemporary Art, Democracy on Stage with the American
Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, and the Mid-Sized Arts
Cooperative.
Joan specializes in creating works with socially relevant themes
and underserved populations. Her company has received numerous commissions
from various organizations. She has worked extensively with people
with disabilities, women with cancer, GLBTQ youth and adults, people
with early stage dementia and Alzheimer's and at risk youth.
A playwright, director, activist, educator, and social critic, her
award-winning work has been published and produced throughout the
United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Europe, Australia,
and Asia. She has been featured on network television, National Public
Radio, the BBC and the Associated Press and in a number of theatrical
journals.
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Michael B. Perkins (Associate Producer/Webmaster)
Michael
is a St. Louis-based freelance artist who has worked as an actor, director, designer (sound, graphics, & video), producer, and teaching artist. He holds a BFA in Theatre Directing from Lindenwood University, and has worked primarily with Shakespeare Festival St. Louis since graduating in 2007. He has also worked with just about every professional theatre company in the St. Louis area including The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The New Jewish Theatre, HotCity, Mustard Seed, Dramatic License, Gitana Productions, and many more. For Uppity, he was associate producer for the Kaleidoscope Project at Yale University in 2011, and produced a 15-minute documentary about the project; he also has maintained the Uppity website and produced online video packages for Uppity since 2011. He has a passion for ensemble-based projects that emphasize integrating movement-based methods, making Uppity an ideal artistic home. www.michaelbperkins.com
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Paige
Russell (Assistant Coordinator)
Paige has a Masters in Education degree from Drury University and
is a professional actor (AFTRA) who is passionate about the inherent
talents and abilities that all people possess. For four years,
she was the Theatre Director of Operations and Development at the
Sullivan Performing Arts Theatre, a multi-million dollar facility
in rural Missouri, which became the cultural cornerstone of the
area, bringing in a variety of performances and cultural experiences
including The Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, the St. Louis Symphony
Orchestra (Brass Quintet & String Quartet), the St. Louis Ballet,
the Anne Frank Exhibit from NYC, the Smithsonian "Key Ingredients" national
touring exhibit, Grammy Award-winning bluegrass musician Tim O'Brien,
and Louise Harrison's Liverpool Legends, to name a few. Having
been in love with and active in theatre for several decades, Paige
strongly believes in the symbiotic relationship that beautifully
exists between the arts and social/political activism and consciousness.
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