Editor’s note: Join us for the Out In STL Luminary Awards on December 4.
A candid of Lipkin in thoughtful, theatrical discussion. Chris Andoe.
Joan Lipkin has been designated an Icon by St Louis Magazine, profiled in 50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre, received numerous local and national awards as a visionary and community leader, and last spring was elected into the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Theatre, the only person in St Louis in their 60-year history.
We think it’s because she sees a need and fills it, in various capacities as a writer, director, producer, and community organizer.
Before Ellen or Will & Grace, she created the first lesbian and gay theatre in Missouri, the groundbreaking Some of My Best Friends Are. . ., followed by the AC/DC Series and Women CenterStage. With Vital Voice, she produced Briefs: a Festival of LGBTQ + Short Plays, producing 50 in six years. Four years ago, she founded Queer Writes with the Missouri History Museum, an annual literary event to elevate local voices.
A model of intersectionality, Lipkin has equally turned her eye to accessibility, founding and directing the internationally acclaimed DisAbility Project that performed for over 100,000 people over twenty years. Her Dance the Vote project regularly attracts over a thousand people to events, using the arts to promote intergenerational voting literacy. And she has written and produced work about climate change throughout the US and abroad. Just this fall, she directed her first opera, As One, based on the life of trans woman and filmmaker Kimberly Reed, for Union Avenue Opera to rave reviews.
Joan is bold, ethical, brilliant, and holds us to a higher standard, and if something important needs to be addressed, she is probably on it. She is also the first to be honored twice by Out In STL. In 2020, we honored Lipkin with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
