"Uppity" is a word with a history of keeping women and minorities "in their place." But when Joan Lipkin named her theater company in 1989, she showed marginalized people that their "place" was in the spotlight.
Since then, That Uppity Theatre has celebrated the LGBT population and people with various abilities and addressed issues including abortion and racism. The work has provoked thought, fostered acceptance and won numerous awards.
This weekend, Lipkin will be honored for personal achievement with a Bud Light/"Alive" magazine Ultra Pride Award. Later this month, she'll accept an award for leadership by the Association for Theatre in Education, in Montreal. For Lipkin, awards are "less about recognition and more about keeping the work visible."
Here's a little of what you'll hear in our "Cut & Paste" podcast with Lipkin:
- On an early production that drew bomb threats: "It was a gender-reversed, pro-choice musical comedy about a teenage boy who gets pregnant his first time out with the captain of the girls' field hockey team." Tweet #CutPasteSTL
- About having Birmingham, Ala., abortion clinic bombing victim Emily Lyons come onstage for a production about the attack: "She said to me, 'I haven't danced since that happened but I danced tonight." Tweet #CutPasteSTL
- On bringing ordinary people together to create a piece of theater: "To be an artist doesn't have to be this person who's out there on a stage, maybe it's you." Tweet #CutPasteSTL
Look for new "Cut & Paste" (#cutpastestl) podcasts every few weeks on our website. You can also view all previous podcasts, which focus on a diverse collection of visual and performing artists, and subscribe to “Cut & Paste” through this link.
Follow Willis Ryder Arnold on Twitter: @WillisRArnold
Follow Nancy Fowler on Twitter: @NancyFowlerSTL
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