| About Small Domestic Acts |
Part Brecht, part Pirandello and part day time drama, "Small
Domestic Acts" at once examines and deconstructs
relationships, love, gender roles and the definition of family.
"...searing and insightful...Lipkin's script is seamless, with
near-constant, edge-of-the-seat momentum..."
Edward R. Allen, Chicago Sun Times
"...unusually intelligent drama ... that hops between theatrical
deconstruction, comedy and sudden, all-too-real emotional
violence, as it explores love, sex, modern relationships and
the rules by which we conduct them. Lipkin doesn't presume
to find ready answers."
Carole Woddis, The Herald (Scotland)
Domestic Acts" at once examines and deconstructs
relationships, love, gender roles and the definition of family.
"...searing and insightful...Lipkin's script is seamless, with
near-constant, edge-of-the-seat momentum..."
Edward R. Allen, Chicago Sun Times
"...unusually intelligent drama ... that hops between theatrical
deconstruction, comedy and sudden, all-too-real emotional
violence, as it explores love, sex, modern relationships and
the rules by which we conduct them. Lipkin doesn't presume
to find ready answers."
Carole Woddis, The Herald (Scotland)
| About The Playwright |
Joan Lipkin is the
Producing Artistic Director
of That Uppity Theatre
Company in St. Louis,
Missouri where she
founded the nationally
acclaimed Alternate
Currents/Direct Currents
Series, The DisAbility
Project, the Louies and
Apple Pie. A strong
proponent of collaboration,
she also co-founded
Women CenterStage! with
the Center of Creative Arts,
Producing Artistic Director
of That Uppity Theatre
Company in St. Louis,
Missouri where she
founded the nationally
acclaimed Alternate
Currents/Direct Currents
Series, The DisAbility
Project, the Louies and
Apple Pie. A strong
proponent of collaboration,
she also co-founded
Women CenterStage! with
the Center of Creative Arts,
the Nadadada Festival at The Contemporary Art Museum St.
Louis, Democracy on Stage with the American Civil Liberties
Union, and the Mid-Sized Arts Cooperative.
A playwright, director, activist, educator, and social critic, her
award-winning work has been featured on network television,
National Public Radio, the BBC and the Associated Press.
Her work has been published and presented throughout the
United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Europe,
Australia and Asia. She was an Artist-in-Residence at
Washington University for five years and served on the
faculty of the Community Arts Training Institute for three
years.
Joan specializes in creating original work with
underrepresented populations including people with
disabilities, women with cancer, LGBT youth and adults,
seniors, adolescent girls and youth at risk.
She has received commissions from numerous organizations
including the Foster Care Coalition of St. Louis (“Will the
Real Foster Parent Please Stand Up?”) the Susan G. Komen
Foundation (“The Real Deal”), SSM Healthcare (“Diverse
Works”), Provident Counseling (“Hello, Is Anybody There?”),
the ACLU-Eastern Missouri (“Democracy on Stage”), the
Federal Reserve Board of Greater St. Louis ( “Ten Percent:
Sexual Orientation and Homophobia in the Workplace”) the
New York City Gay Men’s Chorus (“The Sage Cycle”) and
One Mississippi (“H20”).
She has served on advisory committees for the International
Women Playwrights Festival, Theatre Nausicaa (Paris), and
Fragments and Monuments Theatre Company (London). In
St. Louis, Lipkin has served on committees for the Susan G.
Komen Foundation-St. Louis, VSA arts, PROMO, Center for
Creative Arts, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Edison
Theatre, Gateway Men’s Chorus, Missouri Arts Council and
Pride Partnership. Currently, she is on the executive board
of the national Women and Theatre Program.
She has adjudicated or been the respondent for several
competitions including the National Women Playwrights’
Competition, North American Junior Colleges Playwrights’
Competition, Society of Arts and Letters Comedic Acting
Award, Jane Chambers Award and the Visionary Awards.
She has lectured and presented widely including at Davidson
College, New York University, the University of London,
Southwestern University, University of Texas – Austin,
Washington and Lee, Missouri School for the Blind, Women
in Theatre, Association for Theatre in Higher Education,
International Playback Symposium, International Society for
Disability Studies, Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed,
and Creating Change.
Some of her honors include the Outstanding Alumna Award
from Webster University, a Woman of Worth Award from the
Gateway Older Women's League, a Visionary Award from
Grand Center, the Special Recognition Award from the
Recreational Council of Greater St. Louis, Special
Recognition from Arts for Life, Frederick A. Laas Award from
the Missouri Citizens for the Arts, the James F. Hornback
Ethical Humanist of the Year, a Healthcare Hero Finalist, and
the Missouri Arts Award, the state’s highest honor to
individuals and institutions that have made profound and
lasting contributions to the cultural and artistic landscape of
Missouri.
Her company has also received numerous honors including
the John Van Voris Award for Community Service, What’s
Right with the Region Award for Improving Racial Equality
and Social Justice from Focus St. Louis, the Community
Enhancement Award from the Governor’s Council on
Disabilities and the Midwest Gala Human Rights Campaign
Organization Equality Award.
Her work is published in Upstaging Big Daddy: Directing
Theater as if Race and Gender Matter (University of
Michigan), Contemporary Feminist Theatres: To Each Her
Own (Routledge), Amazon All Stars (Applause), Monologues
By Women, For Women (Heinemann), More Monologues By
Women, For Women (Heinemann), Sexuality in Performance
(Faber & Faber), Nice Jewish Girls: Growing Up in America
(Plume/Penguin), Mythic Women/Real Women: New Plays
and Performance Pieces (Faber & Faber) Women’s Comedy:
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Gender and Humor (Polity),
Outstanding Monologues and Scenes from the 90’s
(Meriwether Publishing), 60 Seconds to Shine: 221 One-
Minute Monologues for Men (Smith & Kraus), 60 Seconds to
Shine: 221 One-Minute Monologues for Women (Smith &
Kraus), One on One: The Best Women’s Monologues for the
21st Century (Applause), One on One: The Best Men’s
Monologues for the 21st Century (Applause), Radical Acts
(Aunt Lute), Body In Performance (Routledge) and 2005-
2006 Best American Short Plays (Applause).
Her work and the work of her company have been featured
in New Theatre Quarterly (Great Britain), Contemporary
Theatre Review (Great Britain), American Theatre, The
Drama Review, National Women Studies Journal, Australian
Feminist Studies, The Dramatists Guild Quarterly, Southern
Poverty Law Center Journal, Curtain Call, In Theater,
Playbill, Theatre and Social Change, Theatre.com,
Intermission, The Purple Circuit, and St. Louis Magazine,
among other publications.
She is a member of the Missouri Citizens for the Arts, Arts
Round Table, Dramatists Guild, Women and Theatre
Program, Association for Theatre in Higher Education,
Theatre and Social Change Forum, Pedagogy and Theatre
of the Oppressed, American Association of People with
Disabilities, Association for Theatre and Accessibility, Society
for Disability Studies and PEN.
Louis, Democracy on Stage with the American Civil Liberties
Union, and the Mid-Sized Arts Cooperative.
A playwright, director, activist, educator, and social critic, her
award-winning work has been featured on network television,
National Public Radio, the BBC and the Associated Press.
Her work has been published and presented throughout the
United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Europe,
Australia and Asia. She was an Artist-in-Residence at
Washington University for five years and served on the
faculty of the Community Arts Training Institute for three
years.
Joan specializes in creating original work with
underrepresented populations including people with
disabilities, women with cancer, LGBT youth and adults,
seniors, adolescent girls and youth at risk.
She has received commissions from numerous organizations
including the Foster Care Coalition of St. Louis (“Will the
Real Foster Parent Please Stand Up?”) the Susan G. Komen
Foundation (“The Real Deal”), SSM Healthcare (“Diverse
Works”), Provident Counseling (“Hello, Is Anybody There?”),
the ACLU-Eastern Missouri (“Democracy on Stage”), the
Federal Reserve Board of Greater St. Louis ( “Ten Percent:
Sexual Orientation and Homophobia in the Workplace”) the
New York City Gay Men’s Chorus (“The Sage Cycle”) and
One Mississippi (“H20”).
She has served on advisory committees for the International
Women Playwrights Festival, Theatre Nausicaa (Paris), and
Fragments and Monuments Theatre Company (London). In
St. Louis, Lipkin has served on committees for the Susan G.
Komen Foundation-St. Louis, VSA arts, PROMO, Center for
Creative Arts, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Edison
Theatre, Gateway Men’s Chorus, Missouri Arts Council and
Pride Partnership. Currently, she is on the executive board
of the national Women and Theatre Program.
She has adjudicated or been the respondent for several
competitions including the National Women Playwrights’
Competition, North American Junior Colleges Playwrights’
Competition, Society of Arts and Letters Comedic Acting
Award, Jane Chambers Award and the Visionary Awards.
She has lectured and presented widely including at Davidson
College, New York University, the University of London,
Southwestern University, University of Texas – Austin,
Washington and Lee, Missouri School for the Blind, Women
in Theatre, Association for Theatre in Higher Education,
International Playback Symposium, International Society for
Disability Studies, Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed,
and Creating Change.
Some of her honors include the Outstanding Alumna Award
from Webster University, a Woman of Worth Award from the
Gateway Older Women's League, a Visionary Award from
Grand Center, the Special Recognition Award from the
Recreational Council of Greater St. Louis, Special
Recognition from Arts for Life, Frederick A. Laas Award from
the Missouri Citizens for the Arts, the James F. Hornback
Ethical Humanist of the Year, a Healthcare Hero Finalist, and
the Missouri Arts Award, the state’s highest honor to
individuals and institutions that have made profound and
lasting contributions to the cultural and artistic landscape of
Missouri.
Her company has also received numerous honors including
the John Van Voris Award for Community Service, What’s
Right with the Region Award for Improving Racial Equality
and Social Justice from Focus St. Louis, the Community
Enhancement Award from the Governor’s Council on
Disabilities and the Midwest Gala Human Rights Campaign
Organization Equality Award.
Her work is published in Upstaging Big Daddy: Directing
Theater as if Race and Gender Matter (University of
Michigan), Contemporary Feminist Theatres: To Each Her
Own (Routledge), Amazon All Stars (Applause), Monologues
By Women, For Women (Heinemann), More Monologues By
Women, For Women (Heinemann), Sexuality in Performance
(Faber & Faber), Nice Jewish Girls: Growing Up in America
(Plume/Penguin), Mythic Women/Real Women: New Plays
and Performance Pieces (Faber & Faber) Women’s Comedy:
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Gender and Humor (Polity),
Outstanding Monologues and Scenes from the 90’s
(Meriwether Publishing), 60 Seconds to Shine: 221 One-
Minute Monologues for Men (Smith & Kraus), 60 Seconds to
Shine: 221 One-Minute Monologues for Women (Smith &
Kraus), One on One: The Best Women’s Monologues for the
21st Century (Applause), One on One: The Best Men’s
Monologues for the 21st Century (Applause), Radical Acts
(Aunt Lute), Body In Performance (Routledge) and 2005-
2006 Best American Short Plays (Applause).
Her work and the work of her company have been featured
in New Theatre Quarterly (Great Britain), Contemporary
Theatre Review (Great Britain), American Theatre, The
Drama Review, National Women Studies Journal, Australian
Feminist Studies, The Dramatists Guild Quarterly, Southern
Poverty Law Center Journal, Curtain Call, In Theater,
Playbill, Theatre and Social Change, Theatre.com,
Intermission, The Purple Circuit, and St. Louis Magazine,
among other publications.
She is a member of the Missouri Citizens for the Arts, Arts
Round Table, Dramatists Guild, Women and Theatre
Program, Association for Theatre in Higher Education,
Theatre and Social Change Forum, Pedagogy and Theatre
of the Oppressed, American Association of People with
Disabilities, Association for Theatre and Accessibility, Society
for Disability Studies and PEN.