FOUNDER/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/
PRODUCER:
Joan Lipkin
CO-FOUNDER,
THE DISABILITY PROJECT:
Fran Cohen
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS:
Jason Johannpeter
and Sarah Shimchick
ARTISTIC ASSOCIATES:
Kendra Elliott, Ashley Nanney,
Sarah Shimhick, and Susan Volkan
INTERNS:
Beth Hill and Casie Neu
ACCOUNTANT:
Susan Hagen
WEB MASTER:
Jill Hampton
NEWSLETTER & GRAPHIC DESIGN:
Cat Cheng
SOUND:
Bob Horner,
Iron Man Sound Systems, LLC
COMPUTER SUPPORT:
Heath Karch

Joan Lipkin and local poet, Deborah
Stoddard, conceived of “Peace Out!,” as an opportunity for both artists and the general public to process the concepts of peace and war through participation in various activities and experiences.
Joan and Deborah first worked together in a poetry performance group about race, “After Rodney,” in 1994. Ten years later, they reunited to put together this performance event that took place one week after the presidential debates were held in St. Louis and approximately two
weeks before Election Day. They were joined by a core organizing team of women that ranged from Jamie Cendroski, a 23 year old graphic designer, to Hedy Epstein, an 80 year old Holocaust survivor. Painter Peter Shank designed a compelling poster to promote the event that listed over 100 participants. The performance included staged interpretations of selected texts
from the Poets Against the War website (www.poetsagainstthewar.org). This website was founded by poet Sam Hamill upon receiving an invitation to the White House the morning after reading of President Bush’s proposed plans for a “shock and awe” attack on Iraq. Of the site’s approximate 22,000 poems, Joan and Deborah selected 20 to be featured during the central performance. Poems included the work of first-time writers, as well as work by well-known poets including Philip Whalen, Rita Dove, and Katha Pollitt.

Uppity invited both prominent and emerging local choreographers, directors, and composers to stage the individual poems. Musicians included Lydia Ruffin, Carol Schmidt, Blake Travis, Charlie Pfeiffer, John MacEnulty, Mitsu Saito, Jan Marra, Gloria and Michael Baumeister, Mary Sparks, Symmetry, Robin Anderson, Peco and the Messenger with Q. Man, and City Folk, among others. Additional participants included The Black Rep’s Peghee Calvin and Linda Kennedy, Lee Nolting and COCAdance, Gary W. Barker, Metro Theatre Company’s Emily Petkewich, Jacqueline Masei, Mariah Richardson, and Erica Sutherlin, Wendy Ballard, Alice Bloch, Dawn Karlovsky, Sarah Anne Patz, Mary Ann Rund, members of The DisAbility Project, Gary F. Bell’s Stray Dog Theatre, Ken Haller and members of Hydeware Theatre Collective, HotCity Theatre’s Chris Mannelli, Margeau Steineau, and Donna Parrone, Bill Grivna, Lavelle Wilkins-Chin, Shirley LeFlore, K. Curtis Lyle, and Jane Ellen Ibur, among others. The main stage performance was a compilation of the individual pieces and was offered twice during the evening. The performance was taped by KDHX TV and has been broadcast on local cable stations.

Beyond staging work from Poets Against the War, “Peace Out!” was an interactive event that featured many activities and modes of expression. Additional offerings included a St. Louis Poetry Salon, curated by WORD in Motion, the collective that produced the National Slam Festival in St. Louis. In another area, a Peace Coffeehouse facilitated by Gen Obata offered a place for the public to listen to music by local performers. Attendees could also create their own haikus or make origami. Finished products were displayed on installations created by visual artist Elisa S. Forgelman. Refreshments were available, as well as wares at the Peace Boutique, and over twenty peace and social justice organizations had tables with information including Alternatives to Military Service, American Civil Liberties Union, Citizens for Global Solutions, Equal Housing Opportunity Council, Healthcare Justice Education Fund, Human Rights Action Service, Leftbank
Books, Missourians Against Handgun Violence, Move on PAC, Peace Economy Project, PROMO, St. Louis Instead of War Coalition, St. Louis Labor Against the War, St. Louis Peace and Justice Shares, Veterans for Peace, Women in Black, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, among others.“As the casualties mount for both Americans and Iraqis, bold measures are required to promote real conversation about the path on which our nation is embarked,”
Joan said. “We are interested in breaking through the cacophony of sound bites and increasing claims on people’s time and attention. ‘Peace Out!’ was an opportunity to bring together the artistic community to use their particular skills to protest the war and to attract participation by a wide range of individuals.”

Peace Out! poster designed by Peter Shank

(On floor, in alphabetical order): Wendy Ballard, Summer Beasley, Alice Bloch, Rachel Carrico, Dawn Karlovsky, Monica Newsam, Sarah Anne Patz, Libby Salvia, Brenda Shoss (Standing): Daniel Logan performing Annette Allen’s “Written
on the Anniversary of the War in Iraq, March 2004” - Photo by Dale Dufer

Over 400 people packed the new Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis to see St. Louis’s first theater production featuring original work by LGBT youth and PFLAG parents. “As American as Apple Pie” was co-directed and produced by Joan Lipkin, in collaboration with PFLAG and Growing American Youth. Joan facilitated a team that included Uppity Associate Sarah Shimchick and Webster University Conservatory sophomore Andrew Schneider. As PFLAG moms and dads circulated with trays of apple pie, audience members were offered feather boas, masks and face glitter by a welcoming committee that included ACLU Legal Director Denise Lieberman and lawyer David Hale. The museum was open for viewing, an opportunity only enhanced by a great dance mix we had playing in the background. Representatives from various human rights organizations were available to answer questions and to pass out literature. With tickets priced as low as $5, it was one of the most affordable and age diverse events the area has seen. After expenses, proceeds were divided between PFLAG and Growing American Youth. The cast included Sam Kleinman, Chris Krug, Alex Nooran, Jeremie Pace, Dan Rea, Andrew Schneider, and Dream Weaver from G.A.Y. PFLAG parents included Millie Johanningmeier, Anne Kelsey, Dean Rosen, and Mary Wyss. At “curtain,” audience members were given a list of questions to discuss with people seated around them, after which they participated in an atypical recitation and deconstruction of the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the show officially began, alternating pieces by the LGBT youth and PFLAG parents.“I have a great interest in work that is community-based and developed by the participants, most of whom have limited theater experience. They inhabit what they are doing fully and with great heart. Which gives it a different kind of presence and makes it a different kind of beautiful,” explained Joan. The project was incredibly labor intensive and equally rewarding. Several youth were kicked out of their houses or had very limited support at home during their time involved with Apple Pie. To quote from the performance’s opening,“The lives of adolescents are complicated. The lives of LGBT youth are a whole different kind of complicated.” Elisa S. Forgelman created a beautiful rainbow flag backdrop and Webster University lent various items to complete the set. Uppity is grateful to all who volunteered, took out ads, or provided coverage. It really took a village to put this on and a village came together. Next up, we will be working with Gay Straight Alliances in the schools to further develop the project.

This is the project that people always talk about doing. There is always a sense of wonder when you see a show and it’s totally opened your eyes to the world you thought you knew. It taught me how theatre can come together and helped me to see that proactive side of my artistic self. Theatre and art are tools, now go build a shelter.”
Jeremie Pace, 16, Participant

Through a series of short vignettes, an ensemble of some of the area’s leading choreographers,dancers, and performers explored a series of scenarios affecting women’s experiences, including work environments,aging, pregnancy, gender roles, and body image for the opening of two art exhibits.
Performances were created
specifically for the opening of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum’s exhibit entitled, “Inside Out Loud:
Visualizing Women’s Health through Contemporary Art” as well as the St. Louis Artists’ Guild’s opening
of their exhibit, “Voices Within: Surviving Through the Arts.” Collaboratively created under the direction of Joan Lipkin, the ensemble for these site-specific performances included: Wendy Ballard, Summer Beasley, Sara
Bernal, Kendra Elliott, Beth Hill, Dawn Karlovsky, Tamara L. Kelly, Ashley Nanney, and Mary Ann Rund.

Joan Lipkin was commissioned by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus to write the lyrics for “The Sage Cycle,” one of the first pieces of its kind, exploring various issues associated with aging in the gay community. She conducted interviews in New York City, with members of various groups such as SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment), GMAD (Gay Men of African-American Descent), as well as men in the chorus. Lipkin worked closely with composer Eric Lane Barnes creating the show’s musical numbers. Barnes is well known for his choral music and has been commissioned by various GALA choruses, including Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, Windy City Gay Chorus, and the Lesbian & Gay Chorus of Washington, DC, among others. Following its debut in New York at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, one of the songs, “The Summer of’88,” was performed at McCaw Halfor the 25th Anniversary Concert of the Seattle Men’s Chorus. Several pieces were also performed by members of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus at the International GALA Choruses’ Festival at the Places des Arts in Montreal. Discussions are underway with choruses throughout the country to produce “The Sage Cycle.”

UPPITY PARTNERS WITH VSA ARTS TO PILOT PLAYWRITINGWORKSHOP

Uppity was approached by VSA arts Missouri’s Executive Director, Lisa Kemper, to help local schools create scripts for competition in the VSA arts Playwright Discovery Program. VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 upon the belief that the arts play a vital role in the lives of all people. VSA arts serves to communicate the power of the arts as a means to positively shape the lives of people with disabilities. The VSA arts Playwright Discovery Program is open to students in 6th-12th grade and challenges students of all abilities to take a closer look at the world around them, examine how disability affects their lives and the lives of others, and express their views through the art of playwriting. To be eligible, students must complete and submit a one-act play, created individually or in groups. Winning entries are presented at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Uppity enlisted the help of two teaching artists to pilot the program in Merri Ellen Brooks’ 8th grade class at Hancock Middle School. Lead teaching artist, Jeremy Sher, is a professional actor who has performed leading roles in most professional theatres in St. Louis. Additionally, Jeremy co-founded several performance ensembles including El Trupo (Barcelona), Elastic Picnic Improv (Seattle) and Ardeo Theatre Project (France).

He has performed and trained in disciplines from classical theatre to Japanese dance, and often with multi-nationalcasts in two or more languages. He is also the founder and artistic director of the International Theatre Collective, which premiered the acclaimed original work “Saltwater” in St. Louis in 2004, that he wrote and directed. Jeremy was joined by assistant teaching artist, Johanna Elkana. Johanna has been working in theatre since she was eleven years old. She’s performed with such companies as Hot House, City Theatre (now known as HotCity Theatre), New Jewish Theatre, DramaRama, the Black Rep, Stray Dog, and the Muny. She studied at the New Actors Workshop in New York City and plans to complete her Master’s in Education. The students worked with Jeremy and Johanna for one academic quarter. Jeremy used the class’s reflection journals to identify common themes dealing with disability issues. Students were assigned to groups to create a script about one of these themes. Scripts ranged in style, as well as content. Some were monologues, written from the perspective of various objects that were “related” to the person with the disability. Other scripts examined more typical preteen issues, such as dating, and how that is affected when one individual in the couple is a person with a disability. All scripts were submitted to the VSA arts Playwright Discovery Competition for consideration.