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.