SATE looks forward to a return to live, in-person productions in 2022, the Season of Party, with all world-premiere, original plays, including the Sixth Annual Aphra Behn Festival and Brontë Sister House Party by Courtney Bailey.
To kick off the 2022 Season of Party, SATE will present its sixth annual Aphra Behn Festival, April 29-May 1, 2022 at 8:00 PM (CST) at Centene Center for the Arts in midtown St. Louis. Established in 2017, the Aphra Behn Festival’s goal is to give women interested in directing and writing for theatre an opportunity to get more experience, experiment, and hone their craft. The Festival is named for the fascinating poet, translator, and spy, Aphra Behn, who is widely considered to be the first English woman to make her living as a playwright.
In 2022, SATE will produce three original plays written and directed by women artists.
Go Before I Do by Hazel McIntire, directed by LaWanda Jackson
A bar in the nightlife district becomes a portal into others life as drinks are poured and memories made. A daughter lives through the loss of both of her parents in the span of a few short years, which is viewed by her faithful bartender. A view of the world seen by the often unseen, Go Before I Do is a story of growth, exploration, and understanding.
Repurposed, by Michelle Zielinski, directed by Elizabeth Van Pelt
Will a downcast visitor on a dreary day find meaning in strange modern art? And which is stranger, the art or the other people? Reply Hazy, Try Again …
The Super Fun Time Party Palace by Lize Lewy, directed by Rae Davis
The Super Fun Time Party Palace is a look into the banality of parenthood. Frankie and Jessie are first time parents who will try anything to make their 6 year old son’s birthday a success, and in doing so, chaos ensues.
Audition information can be found on SATE website at www.satestl.org under the Auditions banner.
Festival Stage Manager: Emma Glose
Festival Designers: Bess Moynihan, Liz Henning, Grace Sellers, and students from East Central College.
Festival Graphic Design by Dottie Quick.
SATE’s 2022 Aphra Behn Festival is made possible by funding from the Missouri Arts Council and The Steven Nelson Memorial Playwright’s Fund.
The second show in the 2022 season is Brontë Sister House Party by Courtney Bailey, directed by Keating, designed by Bess Moynihan and Liz Henning, running August 10-27, 2022 at The Chapel. Originally commissioned by St. Louis Shakespeare Festival as part of the Confluence Writers Project 2021 cohort, Brontë Sister House Party will receive its world-premiere production by SATE.
The Brontë sisters of Victorian literary fame (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne) are trapped in a purgatorial time loop where they must throw a fabulous house party every night for eternity. Only when they reach The Point of Celebratory Reverence, the highest point of celebration that a party can achieve, will they be released. An absurd, feminist revisionist tribute to all the women artists who’ve created under pressure and still had it in them to throw a good party.
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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.