That Pioneering Theatre Company Is More Than Uppity
In The Spotlight
Corey Stulce
Joan Lipkin is hardly arrogant, even if her theatre company's namesake implies
it. In fact, as the Fairy Godmother to St. Louis' alternative theatre
scene, she's more "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" than "Uppity."
For nearly fifteen years, Lipkin's That Uppity
Theatre Company has helped to spread cultural diversity throughout the St.
Louis area with original productions and performance art pieces that have been
presented to audiences of all backgrounds and orientations.
Through all sorts of struggles - like bomb and death threats - and getting
kicked out of longtime playing space the St. Marcus Theatre, Lipkin has been
able to maintain an upbeat attitude and enthusiasm for introducing audiences to
theater that they might not see anywhere else.
In fact, she's so upbeat, she's libel to break into song, sweetly crooning a
number about the fear of having top billing in a show called "Some of My
Best Friends Are ..." Lipkin claims that production, which debuted in
1989, was the first to address the issues of gays and lesbians in St. Louis.
"It was a very exciting time to be doing theatre, and I felt like I was touching
people's lives," Lipkin said.
As producing artistic director for That Uppity Theatre Company, Lipkin has
written original pieces like "Some of ... ", "He's Having
Her Baby" and "Love, Work and Other Four Letter Words", as
well as producing the long-running Alternate Currents/Direct Currents series of
performance pieces by regional and national artists.
She also helped found the DisAbility Project six years ago, and has been
working for the last two years with a group of gay men called the Louies, the
"Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie"s, to be more specific.
"Guys would come up to me after (AC/DC) shows and say, 'I've got a story.
Why don't you tell my story?' I began to think about that and said, 'Yeah, we
should,'" Lipkin said. "About two years ago, I got the idea that I wanted to put
together a project that identified the issues of what it means to be a gay man
in St. Louis, and what might be different than in a larger city like Los Angeles
or New York."
Not one to
spark a concept and present it too quickly, Lipkin likes to take time to develop
her projects, and let the natural progression of different pieces take form.
The members of the DisAbility project were working together for three years
before Lipkin allowed a peep of publicity out, and she and the Louies have
been working together for two years, molding their monologues, scenes and
songs.
Lipkin said she
has been meeting weekly with the Louies, a group of non-traditional actors,
putting together different groups within the group, having them come up with
scene concepts based on themes, and experimenting with different styles and
theatre forms to determine the best way to present the Louies.
She said some of the members choose to perform their own piece or story, and
others will be performed by another actor in the troupe.
"It's an interesting phenomenon," Lipkin said. "Other people want their
material to be in there, but it's not necessarily something that they're
comfortable doing themselves. They still think it needs to be said. I will make
it clear that it's all material that's come out of the group."
Lipkin said the pieces vary on subject matter, and while some pieces are
appropriate for all ages, others are strictly for an adult audience.
"There are pieces on early childhood fantasies brought on by the Sears-Roebuck
catalog; we have a piece about homophobia and violence; we have a series of
beautiful pieces about relationships with fathers; a piece about an Internet
chat room; a piece about AIDS and its relationship to breast cancer; (and) a
piece called 'Addictions' about substance and alcohol abuse," Lipkin said.
"It's an interesting combination of aesthetic styles and forms. Some pieces are
quite funny, others are more poignant."
Lipkin said she hopes the Louies are able to take the audience on a
rollercoaster ride of sorts, and wants to reach audiences that might not
normally attend this type of theatre.
That might be the case when the Louies perform in Blueberry Hill's Duck Room at
8p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23rd and 4p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24th, a venue that
normally features national folk and rock acts and monthly appearances by one of
rock's founding father's, Chuck Berry.
"I'll be taking the temperature of the group and the audience in November,"
Lipkin said of the Louie's upcoming gigs.
She said she hopes to eventually expand the performance schedule to have the
Louies travel the region performing for various audiences and organizations like
Growing American Youth.
The
St. Louie Louies won't be moving to Cleveland any time soon, though, because
Lipkin is firmly planted in St. Louis, and plans on expanding the horizons of
the art scene in the Metro area for a long time to come.
"When a community creates art instead of just importing it, it stabilizes the
community. It bolsters the self-esteem of the people who are in it, because
they realize they have this creative capacity. It fosters relationships, helps
negate isolation," Lipkin said. "It excites the audience to see something
coming from their own community. I think it's really important for
people to see work that is based in their community."
Lipkin and That Uppity Theatre Company will accept the 2002 Midwest Gala Human
Rights Campaign Equality Award on Saturday, Nov. 9th at the annual HRC dinner,
where writer-director John Waters will be the key note speaker. For more
information about Lipkin, the Louies and That Uppity Theatre Company, visit
uppityco.com.