| The Festival | The Shows | Get Involved |
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The
Immediacy Theatre Project |
St. Louis Shakespeare |
The
NonProphet Theatre Company THE PATRIOTIC FREEDOM BINGO MACHINE |
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The
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis FROST / NIXON |
Stray
Dog Theatre REGRETS ONLY |
New Line Theatre HAIR |
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The Orange Girls SCORCHED |
West End Players Guild |
St. Louis Actors' Theatre |
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That
Uppity Theatre Company COMING OUT STORIES 2008 |
Stray
Dog Theatre PIPPIN |
Upstream Theater BLOOD KNOT |
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St. Louis Actors' Theatre |
Bill Chott Presents |
The
NonProphet Theatre Company LAURA'S BUSH |
| THE FESTIVAL |
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"I'm not only an artist, but a citizen." -- Broadway director Bartlett Sher
Twelve of St. Louis' most exciting, most adventurous theatre companies have come together in an unprecedented collaboration to bring to local audiences the second bi-annual St. Louis Political Theatre Festival. As part of the Festival, St. Louis Actors' Studio has announced an entire season of shows about politics and power, New Line Theatre will run Hair for six weeks, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis will hold pre-show and post-show discussions about Frost/Nixon, and The Immediacy Theatre Project will hold an opening reception for the Festival on August 15, after opening night of the world premiere of Johnny A. Cannon II: Johnny Descending.
The 2006 festival was a tremendous success and
received some national press as well as plenty of local coverage. The 2008 festival features
fifteen shows (several of them St. Louis premieres) running from
August through November, in venues all over the St. Louis metro area (like a
smaller version of the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival), bringing the most
important issues of the day 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 one of the most
crucial Presidential elections in our lifetimes.
Throughout history, the times of greatest tumult are also the times of the greatest theatre -- in America in the 1930s and in the 1960s and 70s, but also in Elizabethan England and modern day Iraq. We believe that America in the new millennium is one such place and time. Back during the height of the Depression, the American theatre became increasingly, intensely political, with shows like Waiting for Lefty, The Cradle Will Rock, Power, Awake and Sing!, One Third of a Nation, It Can't Happen Here, Pins and Needles, and many others. Once America entered World War II, rabid patriotism overpowered political dissent, and political theatre faded away. But when the 60s arrived with renewed political and social unrest, the theatre returned to fiercely political drama and satire, with shows like Hair, Viet Rock, Cabaret, McBird, US, Tom Paine, Futz, and many others. But the materialism of the 80s and the dot-com prosperity of the 90s lessened the public appetite for political theatre once again. Then came the September 11 attacks, and the Bush administration. Now, political theatre is back again, and it's healthier and fiercer than ever. Festival organizer Scott Miller, artistic director of New Line Theatre, says, "I reject the notion that people go to the theatre to escape -- I've never believed it and I never will -- and I fully embrace the notion that we are the shamans of our tribe. We are the ones chosen to tell our stories, to document our civilization and our history, to make sense of our world, to start conversations about everything that matters in our lives. Shamans are the intermediaries between the natural world and the spiritual world, and I can't imagine a better definition of a theatre artist." The companies involved in the Festival believe that live theatre is one of the most powerful tools for social and political change, appealing not just to the intellect but, more importantly, to the emotions and to our primeval need for stories that make order out of the chaos of our world. In what may prove to be the most important and most exciting political season in decades, the theatres of St. Louis reaffirm our commitment to involving the people of our region in the thrill of politically relevant, live theatre.
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Festival Announcement in
the Post-Dispatch Item in American Theatre magazine |
Relive the 2006 St. Louis Political Theatre Festival Post-Dispatch Article about the 2006 festival.
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| THE SHOWS |
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The Immediacy Theatre Project presents the world premiere of The Tin Ceiling, 3159 Cherokee
618-978-8470 Johnny A Cannon is back in this sequel to Immediacy Theatre Project's 2006 satire on pop culture. After Johnny defeated Saruman the Puce and Nefarious Villain, he and Party Guest Number Four departed to live their life of peace together, but a new and darker thing threatens the safety of the United Confederacy of the New Americas. The Others have been killing off the Secret Council of the Six, and only Johnny's mother now remains. Meanwhile, the incumbent President President fights for reelection against his upstart opponent Dark Horse, Danny DeVito searches for a mystic stone, and all our hopes rest on Goldie Hawn Wenobi. Opening Night Reception for the St. Louis Political Theatre Festival
after the August 15 performance at The
Tin Ceiling. St. Louis Shakespeare presents KING LEAR August 15-24, 2008 Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square 314-361-5664 When England's aging King Lear renounces his throne to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, treachery, madness and murder soon follow. After banishing Cordelia, his loyal daughter, Lear is betrayed and cast out by her elder sisters, Goneril and Regan. Meanwhile, evil brews at Gloucester castle as Edgar falls victim to his brother Edmund's deceptions.
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents David Frost’s 1977 interviews with Richard Nixon, following the Watergate scandal and the President’s humiliating resignation, drew the largest audience ever for television news. Could this British talk show host, with a playboy reputation and no known political convictions, be the one to elicit the apology the world awaited from the man at the center of one of America’s greatest political scandals? An Olivier, Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee for Best Play by Peter Morgan. Pre-show discussions Sept. 23 and 25, and post-show discussions performances on Sept. 10, 11, 18, and 24.
The NonProphet Theatre Company presents
Paul Rudnick's topical comedy of upper class manners explores the politics of
marriage, friendships, and The Powers That Be. In a Park Avenue penthouse high
above Manhattan we meet a prominent attorney, his deliriously social wife and
her closest friend, one of the world’s most successful fashion designers who has
recently lost his gay lover. Add a daughter’s wedding plans, some major gowns,
the President of the United States, and stir.
New Line Theatre presents
The Orange Girls present As two adult children seek to resolve the mystery of their mother’s life, their journey to the truth forces them to reconsider who and what they are. The Orange Girls present the United States debut of Wajdi Mouawad’s award-winning play which celebrates the triumph of the spirit over the forces of silence, catastrophe and terrorism.
West End Players Guild presents
September 19-21, 26-28, 8:00 p.m. Fri-Sat;
2:00 p.m. Sun Michael Frayn's drama about German Physicist Wenrer Heisenberg and his Danish counterpart, Niels Bohr, who revolutionized atomic science in the 1920s. Now, in 1941, they find themselves on opposite sides of a World War when they meet in Copenhagen.
St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Jean Anouilh’s
ANTIGONE Gaslight Theatre 358 N Boyle in historic Gaslight Square 314-458-2978 St. Louis Actors’ Studio opens its Power and Politics season with Antigone by French playwright Jean Anouilh. This adaptation of the Greek tragedy sets Antigone in modern times. Originally produced in Nazi-occupied France, Antigone’s tragedy is not based on her inability to change her fate, rather it is founded on her futile struggle against the all-powerful state. This production is directed by artistic director Milt Zoth.
That Uppity Theatre Company presents
Playback
Workshop Theatre in With the recent legalization of gay marriage in California, have lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people moved into a different level of mainstream acceptance? Or is a backlash on the rise, especially in this election year? Given the political and social climate, what is the significance of "coming out," a traditional rite of passage? What are the advantages? The pitfalls? What might be the connections between coming out and getting married? Audience members of all genders and orientations will have the opportunity to share some of their own coming out stories as well as those of friends and family members through the spontaneity of skilled improvisation by Playback Workshop Theatre. This event was so well received by a sold-out crowd during the first St. Louis Political Theatre Festival that it is back by popular demand. But with improvisation, there are always new stories to be told and shared. PIPPIN October 23-November 8, 2008, Thursday-Saturday, 8:00 p.m. and Nov. 8, 2:00 and 8:00 p.m. Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee Avenue 314-865-1995 www.StrayDogTheatre.org The classic musical tale of one man's search for the meaning of life follows the son of Charlemagne. The magical Leading Player narrates as Pippin endures trials of war, love, and politics before finding his true self. BLOOD KNOT Oct. 23 - Nov 9, 2008, Thursday-Saturday 8:00 p.m., Sundays at 7:00 p.m. Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand 314-863-1077 www.upstreamtheater.org Athol Fugard's Blood Knot tells the story of two brothers in 1960's South Africa: one distinctly black, and one light-skinned enough to pass for white. Squeezed together in a run-down shack, the two men struggle with each other and themselves, with poverty and possibility, with hope and the bitter reality of apartheid. A brilliant exploration of the ties that bind -- or fetter, and a searing look at racism and its repercussions.
St. Louis Actors' Studio presents 9 PARTS OF DESIRE November 7- 23 Gaslight Theatre 358 N Boyle in historic Gaslight Square 314-458-2978 St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents a St. Louis premiere — Iraqi-American playwright Heather Raffo’s 9 Parts of Desire. First performed in August 2003, 9 Parts of Desire shines a spotlight on a cross-section of Iraqi women in “an unusually timely meditation on the ancient, the modern and the feminine in a country overshadowed by war.” Artistic Director Milt Zoth will direct this critically acclaimed show that The New Yorker calls “an example of how art can remake the world.” COMEDY ON PARADE Monday nights throughout November, 8:00 p.m. Atomic Cowboy, 4140 Manchester Ave 314-775-0775 www.atomic-cowboy.com www.theimprovtrick.com Star of television and film, Bill Chott presents the return of Comedy on Parade, St. Louis’s Independent Comedy Night, and all throughout November, the focus will be on politics. Before his last trip to LA, his edgy comedy showcase drew huge crowds that summoned up memories of the cutting edge comedy scene of long ago in Gaslight Square. In the last run of this amazing show, St. Louis was introduced to the stars of tomorrow. This time, he’s coming to The Atomic Cowboy.
The NonProphet Theatre Company presents Dates and Venue to be Announced 314-752-5075 The NonProphets present this wickedly funny and pointed play by Jane Martin centered around a small town dominatrix and a librarian who set out to save Laura Bush. |
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GET INVOLVED! |
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Register to vote at Rock the Vote
CNN's Impact webapge at www.cnn.com/impact The ACLU of Eastern Missouri, and the national ACLU
Protest.Net
- worldwide calendar offers locations, dates and information for
activism, protests, pickets, strikes, demonstrations, meetings,
and direct political action. Progressive Secretary - letter writing cooperative sends out emails to Congress, the President, and elected officials on peace, ecology, civil rights, and other issues. Topics and messages are suggested and selected by participants.
E-The People - a nonpartisan site working with over 400 online newspapers, television stations and Internet portals to bring government closer to the people, allowing users to send an e-mailed or faxed letter or a petition to over thousands of federal, state, and local officials.
Amnesty International
322
8th Avenue 212 807 8400
NAACP
MTV’s Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Discrimination www.fightforyourrights.mtv.com
Doctors Without Borders
6
E. 39th St., 8th floor (212) 679-6800 or www.doctorswithoutborders.org
Heifer Project International P.O. Box 8058
Little
Rock, AR 72203
Nature Conservancy
4245
North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100
Earth Island Institute
300
Broadway, Suite 28 (415) 788-3666
National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML) 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 710 Washington, DC 20036 202-483-5500
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The website