About The Process

Theatre is a highly collaborative art form. Nowhere is this more apparent than in a project like The Louies. We began by putting the word out through a variety of channels to see who might be interested. We asked organizations like Pride St. Louis, the Gateway Men's Chorus, St. Louis Effort for AIDS, Blacks Assisting Blacks Against AIDS, and St Louis Effort for AIDS to help us get the word out.

About 50 people responded and and we began a series of workshops on Wednesday nights to identify topics of interest or concern to the participants. We generated material in a variety of ways.

Often, we would identify a topic and then break into smaller working groups of several people to brainstorm and create work on the spot. The pressure to work quickly helped to cut through self consciousness and make the act of creating less precious. Then the groups would reassemble to present various takes on the same topic. We would talk about where we were more and less engaged. Most pieces, including improvisations, were usually scripted for future consideration.

We held story circles where we raised a series of questions and explored a topic for an entire night. People also responded privately to an email call on various topics. Additionally, if there was a theme that someone felt strongly about, they might write something independently and bring it in for consideration by the group.

For one performance, we selected a range of material in a variety of styles to craft an emotional journey. Not all of the work we developed was seen in each performance.

It is challenging to work on autobiographical material. Because a primary goal of the project is to communicate deeply with an audience, we attempt to find an appropriate theatrical structure for each piece. If a piece is relevant to a member of the ensemble, but not necessarily to a wider audience, we may not pursue it.

This winnowing process is not always comfortable. We worked through it and became stronger artists because of our growing ability to take feedback. As in any artistic endeavor, there was a lot of experimenting to identify what works. Pieces and ideas that seemed less stage ready were also valued an essential parts of this process.

The process occurred in several stages. We began by building trust through theatre exercises and discussion. Once we had developed a sense of team, we focused on the generating of material. The next stage was highly interactive as people went to bat for particular pieces and offered input in the editing and staging process.

Guest artists including Ed Reggi, Bill Chott and Petra Kuppers facilitated workshops with us to bring fresh perspective to the generating of material and developing of stage presence.

Final decisions were made by an artistic team headed up by artistic director Joan Lipkin in collaboration with artistic associates J.T. Ricroft and Karen Werner, and the group.