Award-winning Missouri poet and photographer Justin Hamm, with equal parts humor and wonder, performs poems soaked in Missouri creekwater and dried in her prairie winds. He draws on the people and landscapes of his Midwestern home to illustrate the region is not, as the saying goes, “flyover country,” but rather a place of compelling culture, conflict, drama, and beauty. Justin performs with an accessibility and warmth that is perfect for both seasoned poetry fans and those who have yet to make up their mind about the genre. Performances are often accompanied by Justin’s rustic Midwestern photography.
Microphone and occasionally a projector
Circus Harmony, St. Louis’ only social circus school, uses the teaching and performing of circus arts to motivate social change. Their high flying youth circus performance troupe is composed of young people aged 10-17 from the St. Louis area. These acclaimed and accomplished young people appear year-round in their home ring at City Museum as well as at events throughout St. Louis and beyond. This talented troupe performs a variety of circus arts including acrobatic, aerial, juggling, and balancing feats of skill and daring. Their graduates can be seen touring the world with Cirque du Soleil, Les 7 Doigts de la Main, The Flying Wallendas, at NBA Halftime Shows, on Broadway, and with other circus companies. Their performances can be combined with circus workshops for audience members. Bring the excitement of the circus to you with ordinary children doing extraordinary things!
Adaptable but need 20’ x 20’ space minimum
Founded in St. Louis in 1999, Jest Murder Mystery Company is the funniest murder mystery dinner theater company in the U.S. specializing in interactive murder mystery parties for all occasions.
Jest’s professional entertainers lead audiences through interactive three-act murder mystery shows performed between courses of a meal (provided by a client). The audience is involved in every aspect of the show with everyone playing a part. That’s right, EVERYONE participates at their comfort level! Those with supportive roles get involved with cued exclamations while others are interviewed amid applause and still others are suspects who must defend themselves with improv to avoid suspicion. In the end, one of the guests will be outed as a murderer!
If you’re looking for a truly laugh-out-loud entertainment option that will keep your guests involved and guessing, this is it. Dates sell out months in advance so book your show right now!
A private room close to the performance space for our actors to do quick changes and store belongings. This can be a storage room, an office, a closet, dry storage, unused banquet space, etc. (but not a restroom). Our shows are built to be performed between courses of a meal service. This can be changed to a snack/bathroom break if no meal is being served. Courses will need to be served and cleared between acts of the show. We ask that no table service, bar service, or other distractions occur during the performance. All guests will need to be seated in one space with no visual obstructions so every attendee can see the entire audience. We ask that tables be set up as close together as possible while still allowing ease of movement with 10’ x 10’ space left open in the middle. e ask that the room lighting be as bright as possible. If the audience is over 65 guests, we will require two lapel or headset microphones, one handheld wireless microphone, and a sound system (preferably run by a sound engineer depending on the audience size).
Kinetic Tapestry is an international troupe performed in Spain, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Egypt, and at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. In 2018, Kinetic Tapestry was named “Favorite Stage Act” at the St. Louis Renaissance Festival.
Kinetic Tapestry will captivate your audience and give them an experience they will remember forever. Our one-hour performance material is original and inventive, and will leave a lasting impression through entertaining and meaningful performances using a unique blend of Theater, Dance, and Circus Arts. Whether the gathering is intimate or large-scale, our ensemble of storytellers, comedians, and circus artists will impact and inspire your audience.
Technical rider available upon request
Student audiences are invited to laugh as they learn with the award-winning DisAbility Project. This theatre ensemble enhances public awareness about various disabilities through original, high-quality theatre. The program empowers individuals, honors their stories, sparks imaginations, and encourages dialogue about disability issues in our community. Ensemble members, both with and without disabilities, present scenes about the true-life experiences of people with disabilities in a format designed to educate and also entertain. Performances are tailored for students of all ages and also school district personnel. Age-appropriate study guides can assist with preparation or follow up learning. All questions are encouraged in the concluding Q&A session with the DP performers.
Need 16' x 24' performance area and 90 minutes advance access for warm up and sound check. If stage is raised, our wheelchairs need a back wall and guide rails along the ramp for safety. Need 2 clip-on or handheld microphones and a movable podium. Easy access to restrooms with 31-inch clearance for stalls. Three accessible parking spaces near building entrance, with clearance on one side for exit by ramp.
K-12 students experience the magic of live professional theatre through The Black Rep Professional Touring Company productions. Three different grade-level appropriate productions are available. The shows are performed by The Black Rep’s professional interns and include question and answer sessions. The performance experience can encourage study in history and literature, develop imagination, stimulate practice in writing, comprehension, and oral skills, foster interest in the arts, and develop an appreciation for the artistic expressions of diverse cultures.
Available on request
A performance of Shakespeare by our touring ensemble, TourCo, will dazzle your students, inspiring them to read, respond, reflect, discuss, and write. in 2020, we will presents a 90-minute touring production and living study guide of Cymbeline. One of Shakespeare’s final plays – and one of his greatest achievements – Cymbeline is a romantic adventure story on an epic scale. It tells the story of Innogen, the princess of Britain, who embarks on a dangerous journey to find her husband and through courage and ingenuity clears her good name. Combining elements of comedy, tragedy, history and fairy tale, Cymbeline is not only a summation of Shakespeare’s incomparable career but a dazzling piece of showmanship that culminates in one of the most masterful final scenes of revelation and reconciliation in the canon. Featuring an inventive and energetic company of six actors, the Shakespeare Festival TourCo’s production offers a fast-paced, easy-to-understand performance of this underappreciated gem that revels in all the unbridled theatricality of a writer pushing the boundaries of what a play can be.
Students will be greeted first by the actors and led through discussion and activity prior to the start of the show, called the Living Study Guide, to increase performance literacy. How do we decipher, understand, and analyze a performance that you are unfamiliar with? How do we as audience members know which part of the performance is most important to understanding and enjoyment? The Tour Co will walk audiences through skill level appropriate exercises and discussion topics to break down the mystique and foreignness of Shakespeare’s plays and language. The performance of the show that follows will be appropriately set up for the audience in a unique way designed to provide definitions, vocabulary preview, authorial information, and structural patterns.
Quixotic is an ensemble of musicians, dancers, aerialists, composers, technicians, designers, and choreographers collaborating to produce new forms of artistic expression through customized experiences. This inventive group of artists goes beyond the limits of any specific art form to create total sensory immersion for its audiences. Quixotic makes unique memorable experiences ranging from site specific installations to full stage performances.
Available on request.
Step right up folks, for an engaging bit of Americana, ideal for audiences of all ages. Professor Farquar and Polecat Annie set entertainment back more than a century. Unlike the snake oil hucksters of the past, they peddle no elixirs or patent pills. Instead, they dispense copious amounts of laughter, the best medicine of all. With guitar, banjo and an odd collection of percussive instruments, they perform timeless toe-tapping traditional tunes, lyrical laments and droll ditties from the Civil War, the Ozarks and the Old West. Astonishing demonstrations of illusion, chicanery, hoodwinking and flimlam. Hands-on instruction in juggling and archaic amusements. Vibrant, vintage vaudeville virtousity!
Prefer 60 minutes for set up and sound check. If we're sharing a stage with other acts, we can do it in less than ten minutes. Need an 8' x 12' stage or performance area. Require three microphones with stands (or we can provide our own system). Gaily festooned medicine show wagon available as a stage set (optional).
OMG Josh has been performing literacy, good character and other educational themed shows for over 20 years. His biggest hits have included – ‘The Pirates of Reading Island’ and ‘The Character Circus’. In 2011 he performed his science based reading show, ‘Mr. Gigglewatt and The Science of Bubbles’ at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC! Shows come complete with a study guide for pre and post show support. He is perfect for audiences PK-8th grade. He also has a comedic “just for fun show” for larger audiences and theaters called The OMG Josh Experience!
10x15 performing space, 8ft table, 2 chairs, electric outlet or extension cord near performing space, 1 hour minimum set up time.