The COVID-19 pandemic presents a multitude of obstacles to overcome for organizations of all types, and theater groups are no exception. Sharon Hunter, Artistic Director-Producer of Moonstone Theatre Company, aims to help address some of the virus-related challenges that the St. Louis theatre community faces by forming the St. Louis Theatre Community Task Force.

“As I was thinking about how to proceed with my own company in the wake of the pandemic, I started thinking it would be helpful  to get a lot of the theaters to sit down via Zoom and discuss concerns, ideas and solutions for moving forward as we navigate the future of theatre in St. Louis,” Hunter explains.

Sharon Hunter

The Task Force will address concerns including conducting safe auditions, rehearsals and performances, finding new ways to seat audiences, maintaining the visibility of the St. Louis theatre community, new ways to offer theatre experiences and recommendations for the use of personal protective equipment.

Hunter said the Task Force, which is the first of its kind in the St. Louis area, welcomes local theatre groups of all sizes. In addition to these organizations, representatives from the St. Louis County Department of Health and the Center For Disease Control have also been invited to the first online meeting to address questions and concerns.

Theatre companies invited to participate include R-S Theatrics, The Q Collective, The Midnight Company, Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble, Upstream Theater, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, COCA, Shakespeare Festival STL, Black Rep, Stray Dog Theatre, Stages St. Louis, St. Louis Actors’ Studio, The Muny, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, New Jewish Theatre, Cherokee Street Theatre, The Cabaret Project of St. Louis, Max & Louie Productions, Black Mirror Theatre, Young Liars, West End Players Guild, Tennessee Williams Festival St Louis, New Line Theatre, ERA Theatre Company, STL Fringe Festival, St Louis Shakespeare, Metro Theatre Company, That Uppity Theatre Company and the Tesseract Theatre Company.

The initial meeting of the Task Force is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, at 7 p.m. Theatre groups interested in interested in participating should contact Hunter at moonstonetheatrestl@gmail.com to get access to the Zoom link. For more info, check their Facebook page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/STLTheatre/.

In 1999, Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble began as Off Center Theatre, a community theatre group. Then in January 2001, the company began to pay artistic and technical staff, making the switch to becoming a non-Equity professional theatre company. In this capacity, Off Center presented 15 productions from 2001 to 2005.

Founding Artistic Director, Margeau Baue Steinau, took over directorship of the company in 2005, shortly after which, in 2006, Steinau and other local artists formed Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble (SATE), under the umbrella of Off Center Theatre.

To mark the year 2020, SATE is looking back on productions from its history. We are re-visiting plays that were popular with audiences at the time and deserve another production. Given the growth of the company over the past 20 years, HINDSIGHT IS 20/20.

The SEASON OF HINDSIGHT will include the following productions:

  • Aphra Behn Festival, SATE’s annual festival founded in 2017, highlighting woman directors and designers (March 6-8, 2020)
  • Top Girls by Caryl Churchill, originally produced in 2009, examining the paradoxical lives of women in the workforce and at home, directed by Rachel Tibbetts (Aug. 12-29, 2020)
  • Classic Mystery Game adapted and directed by Keating, originally produced in 2019, investigating Western society in 2020 through the lens of the 1985 movie, CLUE (Oct. 28-Nov. 21, 2020)

To kick off the SEASON OF HINDSIGHT, SATE will present its annual
Aphra Behn Festival

March 6-8 (Friday-Sunday), 8:00pm
Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63103.Tickets: $15 though Brown Paper Tickets or at the door.
(314) 827-5760, info@slightlyoff.org or slightlyoff.org for more information.