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Coming Out Stories

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Coming Out Stories

The Cast

"Repeated positive interaction with the object of one's prejudice is the most effective way to break down myths, stereotypes, and misunderstandings. When we come out and share our stories with others, we take a giant step toward dismantling prejudice and oppression, including changing public policy.
 
Theater can play an important role in this work. Theatrical presentations offer another excellent way to share stories that stimulate feelings of empathy and compassion, provoke thought, and lead to the discussions that can change hearts and minds."

Jeanette Mott Oxford
The Honorable State Representative, 59th District

Enter your name to win fabulous prizes at the event, including:

• Gift certificates from the restaurants, Atomic Cowboy and Five
• FREE one year membership to the Contemporary Art Museum
  

That Uppity Theatre Company and Playback Workshop Theatre to produce “Coming Out Stories” on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Boulevard, 63108.  Doors open at 6 PM, with the performance beginning at 7 PM.

Map of 3750 Washington Blvd
St Louis, MO 63108-3612

Press Release
(St. Louis , MO)
In honor of National Coming Out Day, That Uppity TheatreCompany (Joan Lipkin, Artistic Director) and Playback Workshop Theatre (Jacqueline Masei, Artistic Director) have teamed up to create a special event, “Coming Out Stories”.   It will take place at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis on Wednesday, October 11th beginning at 6 p.m., with a performance at 7 PM.
 
Tickets may be purchased at the door and range in price from $5-15. Tickets are free for veterans, $5 for seniors, students, people under 22, people with disabilities, and self-determined low-income.  They are $15 for the general public. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Coffee will be provided by Starbuck’s. For more information, see www.uppityco.com or call the 24-hour recorded hotline at 314-995-4600.

The performance will feature: Bill Chott, Nathan Graves, Chris Hartman, Dan Huck, Carol Lark, Joan Lipkin, Jacqueline Masei, Blaine Tinsley, and Magan Wiles.
  
Using "Playback Theatre," audience members will have the opportunity to share some of their coming out stories to be enacted by a professional company through the spontaneity of skilled improvisation.
 
Although the program may be of specific interest to the LGBTQ audiences, it is open and of interest to the wider community.   In addition to possibly having their personal stories honored and staged, attendees will have the opportunity to view the current exhibition at the Contemporary, receive literature and information from local non-profit organizations that support LGBTQ issues and activities such as: St. Louis Effort for AIDS, PROMO, ACLU, PFLAG, Growing American Youth, Vital Voice, CHARIS, Gateway Men’s Chorus, Doorways, Guardians, and Food Outreach, among others.
 
Collaborating for the first time on a project of this magnitude, That Uppity Theatre Company and Playback Workshop Theatre are well-suited to mount this type of theatrical experience.  Since its founding in 1989, That Uppity Theatre Company has attracted local and international attention for its various projects designed to put the principles of cultural diversity and social justice into innovative theatrical practice of the highest quality and to promote civic dialogue. 
 
Joan Lipkin, Uppity’s Founder and Artistic Director, is a proponent of collaboration and has worked with a number of underrepresented populations including people with disabilities, women with cancer, communities of color, gay men, and LGBTQ youth, among others.  She specializes in bringing together seasoned professionals and interested community members to develop original material based on lived experience, exploring the pressing concerns of our times.
 
Jacqueline Masei is the Artistic Director and Founder of the Playback Workshop Theatre in St. Louis. She is also an independent teaching artist, actress and director who has worked with many local companies and agencies including Metro Theater, Prison Performing Arts and the Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma, among others. Jacqueline began her career in film and television and more recently has been performing and teaching in the community and in the classroom. She was recently named as a recipient of the 2006 Visionary Award.
 
Playback Theatre is an original form of improvisational theatre in which audience or group members tell stories from their lives, and watch them enacted on the spot. “Whether in public theatres, workshops, educational or clinical settings, Playback Theatre affirms the importance and dignity of personal experience, enables people to view their lives in new ways, and draws people closer as they see their common humanity,” said Jacqueline Masei. First created in 1975, the form was developed by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas and the original Playback Theatre Company in the Hudson Valley of New York.
 
"It would be rare to find someone who does not have some connection or who can’t identify with the stories of both fear and emancipation,” said Joan Lipkin, Founder and Artistic Director of That Uppity Theatre Company. “I’m very excited about this program.  It is an election year and despite the popularity of such shows as ‘Will & Grace’ or ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ which suggest a certain level of mainstream acceptance, the gay community continues to experience a backlash of discrimination. Under the current administration, attempts are being made to rewrite the Constitution, to reinforce the second-class status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people who do not have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts. Given the political and social climate, we think it is more important than ever to celebrate LGBTQ identity and what more appropriate way than to share coming out stories on October 11th.”
 
The roots of National Coming Out Day can be traced back to Oct. 11, 1987, when half a million people participated in the march on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. This was the second such demonstration in our nation’s capital and the first display of the NAMES Project Quilt, remembering those who have died from AIDS. As a result of the march, several significant LGBTQ organizations were founded and the idea for a national coming out day was born.  Beyond celebrating the importance of this day, “Coming Out Stories” is part of a larger political event-- the first ever St. Louis Political Theatre Festival.
 
Nine of St. Louis' theatre companies have come together in an unprecedented collaboration to bring to local audiences eleven shows running from August to December, in venues all over the metro area, bringing the most important issues of our times to the stages of St. Louis. These shows will challenge audiences to think about and get involved in the great struggles of our times and our country, as we head for some of the most crucial midterm Congressional elections in recent history.

Member Bios

Paul Aubouchon....(Sound & Light Design)

Paul has a BA in Music Business from Fontbonne University.  In addition to working for Ironman Sound Industries, Paul is an accomplished piano player.

Bill Chott....(Performer)

Bill Chott stars in the Farrelly Brothers’ film The Ringer with Johnny Knoxville. Bill is also in the films Galaxy Quest and Dude Where's My Car? He’s currently voicing several characters on the new PBS Curious George animated series. On Saturday Night Live, you can hear Bill in the TV Funhouse cartoons. His TV credits include ER, CSI, and 3rd Rock from the Sun.

With the Second City, The Riot Act and Spark Creative Bill has performed and taught creativity and team-building workshops for Fortune 100 companies like Pepsico, Diamond Consulting, Boston Consulting Group, Tenneco, GE , and many others.
In St. Louis he offers free improv classes. For more info, see www.theimprovtrick.com.

Christine Elbert ....(Production Manager)

Christine has been involved in St Louis Theatre for the past 15 years as a stage manager, light board operator, performer, and all-around go-to woman. Having begun with That Uppity Theatre Company in 1992 with the AC/DC series, she has since been involved in the DisAbility Project, As American as Apple Pie, Peace Out, and various other Uppity Projects. Christine has also worked with Wired Women and Surragould Productions.  By day, Christine is a mortgage broker in South St. Louis.  By night, she is a woman dedicated to cultural and political events.

Nathan Graves...(Musician)

Nathan Graves is a musician who plays guitar, sings, writes and performs original music. He currently performs with his band The In? at venues such as Off Broadway, The Pageant and in Soulard. He has recorded two CDs of his original music in the home studio he operates, Firebeard Studios. Nathan also works as a producer and studio engineer in his spare time for both studio and live recordings and enjoys running pro audio and live sound. He has extensive experience working with youth as the musical director of the JCCA summer camp, the Activity Coordinator for the St. Louis City Juvenile Detention Center and a guitar instructor at Camp Jam, a summer camp for young musicians. 
 
Nathan has worked as a substitute teacher for elementary and high school students and as a youth specialist and counselor for at-risk teens at a residential treatment facility, where he developed and implemented outdoor-based programs and coordinated medical care for young adults. As Activity Coordinator at the St. Louis City Juvenile Detention Center, he is responsible for creating, maintaining, and evaluating programs for the 100 youth at the center and coordinating over 200 volunteer artists and educators. Nathan has performed on stage as an actor and musician and enjoys performing his original material and the language of music. He is excited to be part of this new and potential-filled Playback Workshop Theatre.

Chris Hartman ...(Performer)

Chris is a graduate student in Drama at Washington University and is the owner of Project Improv* Louisville and Producer of Project Improv*St. Louis.  Chris has toured the nation performing Shakespeare, spent half a year stumping for Kerry, and served a year in AmeriCorps…and he’s gay.

Bob Horner....(Sound & Light Design)

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), ten years ago.  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.

Dan Huck...(Musician)

Dan Huck is a musician and filmmaker from St. Louis.  He is a graduate of the University of Missouri where he studied sociology, music and communication.  Dan has worked in film and was part of a team that created the documentary, "Unreasonable Doubt: The Joe Amrine Case" which helped reverse the fate of a death row inmate.  Dan is passionate about music and currently plays with The In?, a progressive rock groove band in St. Louis, as well as The Perfect Teeth, a jazz combo he formed with other St. Louis musicians.

Dan is a songwriter, vocalist, bassist and guitar player known for his deadpan vocal stylings, well-constructed socially conscious lyrics and juicy upright bass licks.  Dan is a natural performer who relishes the opportunities to interact with a live audience.  He is joining the company fresh off the Love-O-Rama Music and Film Tour where he played shows in Seattle, Washington and Eugene, Oregon with fellow PWT artist, Mark Pagano. This will be his first performance with Playback Workshop Theatre.

Carol Lark...(Performer)

Carol has been an artist and avid fan of theater arts for over 40 years. As a young woman, she participated in two community theater groups in the Washington, D.C. area, acting, designing her own makeup and costuming, and performing backstage and prop construction. She has worked as an art therapist for 21 years. In her independent practice at the Art Therapy Center, she conducts psychotherapy with traumatized and questing adult women using art making and action methods. She believes passionately in the power of creative arts and drama in social action. She co-created TREC: Talking Race, Engaging Creatively, which uses art as a dialogue language. Her dissertation project, “Masked Encounters” was an interactive art installation that examined “mask” and “woman” within a “temenos” community of artists, therapists, and community members.
She teaches graduate art therapy courses at SIU-Edwardsville and Saint Mary of the Woods College in Indiana. She holds a doctorate in Applied Psychology/Art Therapy, is a fellow of the Community Arts Training Institute, and is an associate director candidate with the Toronto Centre for Psychodrama and Sociometry. She is a Board Certified Art Therapist and Certified Group Psychotherapist. She feels privileged and honored to be placed in the position of conductor with this talented and cutting edge playback troupe.

Joan Lipkin...(Producer & Conductor)

Joan is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of That Uppity Theatre Company in St. Louis.  A strong proponent of collaboration, Joan specializes in creating works with socially relevant themes and underserved populations.  Her company has received numerous commissions from various organizations to develop site-specific pieces, including the Greater St. Louis Federal Executive Board, Missouri Business Leadership Network, Provident Counseling, the ACLU of Eastern Missouri, SSM Healthcare, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and the Foster Care Coalition of Greater St. Louis, among others.  She has worked extensively with people with disabilities, women with cancer, GLBTQ youth, and gay men.  A playwright, director, activist, educator, and social critic, her award-winning work has been published in Ireland, Europe, Australia, and Asia.  She has been featured on network television, National Public Radio, the BBC, the Associated Press, and in a number of theatrical journals. Lipkin and Uppity have received numerous awards including: a Focus St. Louis “What’s Right with the Region” Award for Improving Racial Equality and Social Justice, a Missouri Governor’s Council on Disability Community Enhancement Award, a Missouri Arts Council Missouri Arts Award, a John Van Voris Award for Community Service, an Arts for Life Special Lifetime Achievement Award, a Human Rights Campaign Organizational Equality Award, a Distinguished Alumni Award from Webster University, a Woman of Worth Award, and a Visionary Award from Grand Center, Inc.

Jackie Masei....(Director & Performer)

Jackie is the Artistic Director and Founder of the Playback Workshop Theatre in St. Louis. She is also an independent teaching artist, actress and director who has worked with many local companies and agencies including Metro Theater, Prison Performing Arts and the Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma, among others.  Jackie was a member of the 2004 Community Arts Training Institute and was recently named as a recipient of the 2006 Visionary Award.

Blaine Tinsley...(Performer)

Blaine is a social service worker for the state of Missouri who has had a lifelong love for theatre and has acted in various productions in college and community theatre.  Although Blaine has been away from the theatre for a number of years, his passion was recently rekindled with the technique of playback theatre.  This will be Blaine’s first performance with Playback Workshop Theatre.  And he has the loving support of his wife and their four kids (their two cats and two rabbits).

Magan Wiles...(Performer)

Magan is a graduate of Saint Louis University, receiving her B.A in Theatre Performance. She is a regular performer in St. Louis, having performed with a variety of companies and in numerous roles.  She was nominated for a 2006 Kevin Kline Award.  Magan’s passion is theater for social change, and she recently returned from Palestine where she created theatre with youth in the Balata Refugee Camp.

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That Uppity Theatre Company and Playback Workshop Theatre's production of

“Coming Out Stories”

Wednesday, October 11, 2006


the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Boulevard, 63108.

  Doors open at 6 PM, with the performance beginning at 7 PM.

Map of 3750 Washington Blvd
St Louis, MO 63108-3612

Quick jump to

*Press Release

*Member Bios

*Information Packets

*Photos

*Testimonials

We are delighted to be part of St. Louis's first political theatre festival with an event called "Coming Out Stories" on Wed Oct 11 at 7 pm, at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
www.contemporarystl.org/

New Line Theatre Link

Information Tables*:

*subject to change

Food and beverages provided by Mokabe’s, Starbuck’s, and Tempt Café will be available for purchase or donation

Wild Oats will be providing food and snacks for Hosts

Snacks for event staff and performers provided by
Whole Foods Market

Press

Contact Us

[email protected]
4466 West Pine Blvd.
Suite 13C
St. Louis, Missouri 63108
USA
Phone: 314.995.4600
Fax: 314.534.6591