That Uppity Theatre Company

NEWS RELEASE
http://www.UppityCo.com
e-mail: [email protected]

AC/DC CONTINUES ITS 7TH SEASON
WITH MICHAEL KEARNS IN "ALIVE & KICKING"

ST. LOUIS, November 9, 1999, - Joan Lipkin's That Uppity Theatre Company presents Michael Kearns in Alive & Kicking, the second show in the 1999-2000 Alternate Currents/Direct Currents (AC/DC) Series for three performances only: Friday, Dec. 3, Saturday, Dec. 4 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 5 at 4:00 p.m. at the St. Marcus Theatre. The Friday evening performance will be preceded by a short concert by the Gateway Men's Chorus Ambassadors. Recent additions to the AIDS Memorial Quilt will also be on display.

In his latest effort, Alive & Kicking, Michael Kearns explores the world of theatre pre-AIDS through the present. Some highlights include juicy tidbits from an actual column that he writes, presentation of several favorite characters from intimacies and an audience-participation scene from The Boys in the Band.

Joan Lipkin, Artistic Director for That Uppity Theatre Company, has arranged for the Los Angeles-based Kearns to arrive early in the week to participate in the World AIDS Day Service and to conduct a theatre workshop for The Disability Project. "Michael has always pursued bridges between his activism and his art," said Lipkin. "He is an extraordinarily talented and generous individual whose contributions as an actor, writer, teacher and director range from founding Artists Confronting AIDS, to groundbreaking performances of his own work on stage, and in film and television."

ABOUT WORLD AIDS DAY
Native St. Louisan Michael Kearns will take part in the World AIDS Day Service at Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, 3021 Franklin on Wednesday, December 1 at 7:00 p.m. with a talk that he has prepared especially for the occasion, entitled Coming Home.

"Since adopting my daughter Tia over five years ago, I perform far less than I used to. It has to really be something special. For the past ten years, I've always done a performance on World AIDS day, but rarely in my hometown. This feels so right. So emotional," said Michael Kearns. "Coinciding with World AIDS Day, my stage performances later that week are something I feel is necessary for my soul. AIDS has tragically taken a back seat in people's consciousness; it is no longer the hot button disease. Yet its devastation continues. I hope my presence calls attention to the on-going AIDS battle and I hope to do it entertainingly."

World AIDS Day is sponsored by the AIDS Interfaith Network of St. Louis and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, Metro St. Louis Chapter. Some of the highlights of the event will include a display of panel from the quilt, along with the presentation of new panels, and a performance by the YMCA Boys Choir.

World AIDS Day has a special place in the history of the AIDS pandemic. Since 1988, December 1 has been a day bringing messages of compassion, hope, solidarity and understanding about AIDS to every country in the world.

ABOUT MICHAEL KEARNS
Michael Kearns has been concentrating on AIDS art since 1984, establishing himself as one of the country's most consistent and respected theatre artists.

His two widely-lauded theatre pieces, intimacies and more intimacies, in which he portrays a dozen culturally diverse HIV-impacted personalities, have been produced in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Portland, Eugene, Minneapolis, San Antonio, Austin, San Diego, St. Louis, Tucson, Phoenix, Washington D.C., New York City, San Diego, Hartford, New Haven, Northhampton, Sydney (Australia), Liverpool, London, and Manchester (England).

Other writing for the theatre includes his autobiographical The Truth is Bad Enough and Rock. Kearns' first multiple-character play, Myron, has been produced in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington D.C. He has also written Mijo, Robert's Memorial and the lyrics for Homeless, the Street Opera.

As an actor, he made television history in 1992, as an openly gay/openly HIV-impacted actor, guesting on a segment of ABC-TV's Life Goes On in which he played a character who has the virus. He played Cleve Jones in the HBO adaptation of Randy Shilts' And The Band Played On and appeared in A Mother's Prayer and It's My Party.

Other television and film credits include Cheers, Murder She Wrote, The Waltons, Knots Landing, General Hospital, Days Of Our Lives, Beverly Hills 90210, The Fall Guy, A River Made To Drown In, Kentucky Fried Movie and Brian DePalma's Body Double.

In 1993, Kearns fulfilled a dream, playing the title role in Charles Ludlam's Camille at Highways in Santa Monica, garnering unprecedented rave reviews from the Los Angeles critics. In addition to winning a Drama-Logue Award and a Robby Award, he was nominated by the prestigious Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle for Lead Performance.

The artist has received numerous additional acting awards, including the 1989 Bay Area Theatre Critics Award, Best Solo Performance, for intimacies. As a humanitarian, he has been honored by the L.A.Weekly, PFLAG (Parents and Friends/Families of Lesbians and Gays), the Gay and Lesbian Rights Chapter of the ACLU, and National Coming Out Day. On November 19, 1992, the Mayor of St. Louis, the artist's hometown, proclaimed "Michael Kearns Day."

In addition to T-Cells & Sympathy, he has written two other theatre books: Acting=Life and Getting Your Solo Act Together.

Kearns' founded and remains Artistic Director of Artists Confronting AIDS, where he directed and co-produced the landmark productions of AIDS/US in 1986 and AIDS/US II in 1990. He has also previously served as Artistic Director of Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles.

A member of the Dramatists Guild and PEN Center USA West, he lives in Los Angeles where he teaches acting and contributes regularly to Edge Magazine while attending to the duties of being a single parent.

ABOUT THAT UPPITY THEATRE COMPANY
The AC/DC Series, one of the few series of its kind in the country, has been widely recognized for its innovative programming and the nationally/ internationally celebrated artists it has brought to St. Louis. The AC/DC Series is co-sponsored by PFLAG and Growing American Youth.

That Uppity Theatre Company and the AC/DC Series receive funding from the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. Michael Kearns' visit is also made possible in part by support from Frank Siano, and Healthline Management, Inc.

Left Bank Books, the oldest independent bookseller in Missouri is co-sponsoring this event and will have books for sale at all performances.

ABOUT TICKET INFORMATION
Alive & Kicking will be presented for three performances, Friday, Dec. 3 and Saturday, Dec. 4 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 5 at 4:00 p.m., at the St. Marcus Theatre at 2102 Russell Blvd. Tickets are $15, with discounts for students, seniors, and groups.

For reservations, call 314-995-4600.

Alive & Kicking is intended for adult audiences.