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Fourth annual Briefs Festival showcases eight playwrights

By KATIE COOK

Dr. Ken Haller, far left, Joan Lipkin and John Schmidt are participating in next week’s Briefs Festival. The trio talked to ‘Cityscape’ host Steve Potter, far right, about the event on Friday at St. Louis Public Radio in St. Louis.
CREDIT ALEX HEUER / ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO

What do a gay mermaid looking for love, a Jewish mother who competitively wants her single son to have the biggest wedding, and a lesbian version of Dr. Seuss have in common?

They are all themes in this year’s Briefs Festival of Short LGBT Plays, a festival that brings together numerous directors and actors to showcase the work of eight different playwrights under one roof.

The eight plays being performed at the festival on March 27-29 at the Centene Center for the Arts have been selected out of more than 170 submissions from across the country.

On Friday, “Cityscape” host Steve Potter talked about the festival with Joan Lipkin, the festival’s co-producer and artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company; Dr. Ken Haller, a pediatrician and actor; and John Schmidt, a playwright and the winner of the Ken Haller Playwriting Competition for LGBTQ and Allied Youth.

Briefs: A Festival of Short LGBT Plays

  • When: 8 p.m. March 27, 2015; 4 and 8 p.m. March 28, 2015; 2 p.m. March 29, 2015; the Ken Haller Award Reception is 6:30 p.m. March 27, 2015.
  • Where: The Rialto Ballroom at Grand Center, 3547 Olive St., St. Louis
  • More information

“Cityscape” is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and sponsored in part by the Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis.