St. Louis' JOAN LIPKIN Inducted into the College Of Fellows Of The AmericanTheatre
This week St. Louisan Joan Lipkin was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre in ceremonies held on April 26 – 27, 2025 at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Lipkin is a internationally renowned theatre artist, playwright, educator, and activist who works in the intersection of performance and civic engagement to create dialogue about pressing issues.
Lipkin called the cohort inducted this year “wonderful.” She was humbled to be included with the esteemed group of theatre professionals who were also inducted including Tony winner André De Shields, theatre artist Caridad Svich, playwright and screenwriter Kristopher Diaz, theatre artist Daniel Banks, author J. Ellen Gainor, and Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning Playwright August Wilson who was inducted posthumously on what would have been his 80th birthday.
Lipkin is the only theatre professional from St. Louis to have received this honor in the organizations 60-year history. “I truly believe that the work my fellow artists and I do reinforces our shared humanity, promotes community cohesion and mental health, promotes civic dialogue and action, and engages our imaginations in envisions a productive and collective future,” says Lipkin. She continued, “I was surprised and thrilled that my acknowledged activities reflect positively on the city of St. Louis.”
Lipkin’s work takes on issues of climate change, voting advocacy, disability, racial justice, gender equality, LGBTQ+ experience, gun sense, reproductive choice, and immigration reform. Her recent production of “Plays for The Planet” was a staged reading of nine short plays addressing climate issues. The presentation was a collaboration with the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. Broadway World called “Plays for the Planet” a real opportunity to change beliefs about climate change.
Lipkin is the producing director of That Uppity Theatre Company in St. Louis, Missouri. She is a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the St. Louis Theater Circle, the Orfeos & Thalia Award from ILGCN, The Sister Lucy Ruth Rawe Disability Activism Award from the Sisters of Loretto, The Bud Light Ultra Pride Award, and named Ethical Humanist of the year. Lipkin has also been recognized for her Leadership for Community-based Theatre and Civic Engagement, named as the recipient of the Lisa Wagaman Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2025 Margo Jones Medal, recognized by Women of Achievement, is a Visionary Award winner, has been named an Icon by St. Louis Magazine, and Arts Innovator of the Year.
Next up in St Louis, Lipkin is producing “Queer Writes” on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at the Missouri History Museum. In addition, her short play, “My Eating Disorder, Donald Trump and Me” will be staged as a part of the program A Call 2 Conscience and Bread & Roses as part of their Social Justice Shorts on June 6-8, 2025, in the rehearsal space at Metro Theatres.
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