Theatre artist and activist Joan Lipkin was honored Sunday evening with the 2026 Margo Jones Award, one of the most prestigious recognitions in American theatre. The award, which had never previously been awarded to a St. Louis resident, celebrates a lifetime of achievement, honoring individuals who have made a profound and lasting impact on the craft of playwriting and the vitality of the living theatre.
Allegro, a chorus of youth from COCA led by Dr Philip Woodmore. Photo credit: Lisa Caplan
Named for the pioneering director who first staged Inherit the Wind in 1955, the Margo Jones Award is presented to a “citizen-of-the-theatre” whose work reflects deep commitment to artistic excellence, mentorship, and the advancement of the field. Lipkin joins an esteemed list of past recipients that includes Joseph Papp, Jane Alexander, George C. Wolfe, Paula Vogel, Oskar Eustis, and, most recently, Idris Goodwin.
Lipkin was recognized for decades of work as the founder and artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company, as well as her broader contributions as an educator, mentor, and activist throughout the country and abroad. Her career has consistently centered on using theatre as a tool for social change—creating work that challenges audiences, fosters empathy, and amplifies marginalized voices.
Photo credit: Alex Johnmeyer
Lipkin received the award at a private event at the Missouri History Museum. Speakers included Webster University’s Gad Gutterman, who referred to Lipkin as “a hurricane of hope.”
Entertainment by Allegro, a chorus of youth from COCA led by Dr Philip Woodmore, poetry by disability advocate and Visionary Award recipient Katie Bannister, and a dance solo by Dance the Vote co-founder Ashley L. Tate to Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” reflected some of the interests and aesthetics of Lipkin’s company.
Event organizers counted five standing ovations during the hour-long program that was preceded by a dinner buffet catered by Russo’s, and followed by a dessert buffet.
Given a choice of locations, Lipkin said she wanted to be at the Missouri History Museum because it is a public institution with which she has partnered for 25 years and that she appreciates the values it espouses.
Ruth Kim, amplifier and super-connector, said, “Congratulations to Joan for being the first St. Louisan to win this prestigious national award. The event was an all-out celebration of arts, activism, and culture, with community leaders present, and performances by established and rising spoken word, dance, and singing artists.”
In remarks surrounding the award, Lipkin emphasized the collective nature of her work. She noted that the honor reflects not only her own efforts, but also the artists, activists, and supporters who have collaborated with her over the years. At a time she described as particularly challenging, Lipkin framed the recognition as an opportunity to uplift the broader community that sustains and advances meaningful theatre.
Lipkin also cited the irony of receiving this significant award for a kind of work whose funding is being cut and essentially censored.
Her comment, “Language matters and that the assertion of identity has necessarily meant naming things,” brought a resounding cheer from the crowd.
She concluded by saying that “To be an artist is a wonderful if challenging thing and that she hoped that people would be proud of being artists as part of a long, resilient tradition of telling stories,” elaborating, “ When the cultural landscape feels uncertain, it is our responsibility to stand in the light and tell the truth.”
Longtime supporters Keith A. Buchholz and C Paul Bott. Photo credit: Lisa Caplan
For longtime performance artist and director Keith Buchholz, who has attended many of Lipkin’s productions with his husband C. Paul Bott for years, the evening felt like a theatrical homecoming. “The room was full of everyone who was anyone who was left, and Joan’s benediction to people that we’ve lost seemed to fill out the balance of the community. There were people there that I hadn’t seen in ten years: friends, funders, and people who had been doing work alongside you all through the 90s,” he said. “It was an evening of tight hugs and remembering the good parts and the hard parts in theater and activism in the past three decades.”
Several days after the event, the internet continued to be filled with testimonies by attendees as well as people who read about it, citing her as a role model, mentor, icon, arts leader, colleague or friend.
Following her election into the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Theatre last spring in Washington DC, the Margo Jones Award underscores Lipkin’s enduring influence on both the local and national and international stage, affirming her legacy as a trailblazing artist committed to justice, education, and the transformative power of performance.
