More than one dozen St. Louis-area theatre companies will unite to showcase the very best in local performance art at Making a Scene: A St. Louis Theatre Expo, presented by PNC Arts Alive, hosted Saturday, Sept. 29 at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.
The free event will run from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts (130 Edgar Road, on the campus of Webster University), and feature talks, demonstrations, pop-up performances, backstage tours, children’s craft activities and more. With numerous events happening throughout the building at any given time, visitors can create their own schedule as they explore the art of theatre. (See a schedule of events on the Expo’s online event page).
Featured speakers include local artistic directors, such as Michael Isaacson of The Muny, Steven Woolf of The Rep and Christina Rios of R-S Theatrics, as well as St. Louis-based actors and behind-the-scenes talents who make magic happen onstage.
Companies that will be on-hand to highlight their seasons include The Rep, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, STAGES St. Louis, Stray Dog Theatre, St. Lou Fringe Festival, New Jewish Theatre and Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble.
This is the second St. Louis Theatre Expo, following the inaugural edition in September 2016.
Support comes from PNC Foundation through the PNC Arts Alive initiative. A $20,000 grant will allow The Rep to hire videographers to film several of the Expo’s sessions, and then post those videos online as an educational resource for area students. Learn more about that grant here.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.