Workshops for Writers - May 2: Finding Essential Moments in Your Story
The St. Louis Writers Guild will host a free, two-hour workshop, “Finding Essential Moments in Your Story,” on Saturday, May 2, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. CDT. The workshop will be led by Joan Lipkin, Producing Artistic Director of That Uppity Theatre Company and an internationally recognized theatrical writer, director, and educator. The event will take place in person at The Lodge Des Peres, 1050 Des Peres Rd., St. Louis, MO 63131, and will also be available online. Attendance is free. Online access details are available at the events page of the St. Louis Writers Guild website.
This is a generative workshop for writers of all levels and genres, with particular relevance for those working in memoir and fiction. The most compelling stories are based on moments—an encounter, memory, or realization that reveals something essential. But sometimes we struggle with finding those moments, and then our writing may feel blocked. Through guided prompts, timed writing, discussion, and short exercises, participants will identify key elements in emotional turning points and transform them into vivid narrative scenes. Writers will generate new material and leave with practical strategies for bringing meaningful experiences to life on the page.
About Joan Lipkin
Joan Lipkin is a playwright, author, activist, and educator with over thirty years of experience teaching both writing and performance. She has led workshops across the United States and internationally, including at the National Women’s Music Festival, OASIS, Civil Rights Defenders, and Belgrade Pride, working with writers of diverse backgrounds and experience levels.
She is the Producing Artistic Director of That Uppity Theatre Company, where she has developed and directed many original works rooted in social justice and personal narrative. Her work has received numerous honors, including the 2026 Margo Jones Medal, induction into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, a Visionary, Arts Innovator of the Year, the St. Louis Theater Circle Lifetime Achievement Award, Ethical Humanist of the Year, and Woman of Achievement, among others.
Her writing appears in many anthologies, including Best American Short Plays, The Future Is Not Fixed: Short Plays Envisioning a Global Green New Deal, and After Orlando, among others. She is also the author of Embodied Playwriting: Improv and Acting Exercises for Writing and Devising, and a contributor to the forthcoming Devising Theatre for Social Change.
She has been published and presented throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Europe, Australia, and Asia. She is profiled in 50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre. In addition to her writing, she is an editor, curator, and director committed to collaborative processes that amplify underrepresented voices.