Upstream Theater

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our staged reading last weekend. ✨

We were thrilled to have two full houses filled with curiosity, laughter, thoughtfulness, and incredible energy from our St. Louis community. This story truly was a mind trip… one moment you’re laughing, the next you’re scratching your head, and then suddenly feeling unexpectedly emotional.

A huge thank you to Patrick Siler, our talented cast, and everyone who helped bring this unique evening to life.

If you made it out to the reading, we’d love to hear your thoughts! What stayed with you most? Drop a comment below or send us a DM. 🪐

🌍✨ Upstream Theater closes out our 21st season with the final installment of our Local Waters | Global Waves free community programming series.

Join us for a special staged reading directed by Patrick Siler and featuring a talented group of St. Louis actors bringing this mysterious and thought-provoking world to life for two nights only.

May 15 & 16 at 7pm
Crossroads Preparatory School
500 DeBaliviere

Come experience an evening of imagination, intrigue, and live storytelling with Upstream Theater.

🌍✨ Upstream Theater closes out our 21st season with the final installment of our Local Waters | Global Waves free community programming series.

Join us for a special staged reading directed by Patrick Siler and featuring a talented group of St. Louis actors bringing this mysterious and thought-provoking world to life for two nights only.

May 15 & 16 at 7pm
Crossroads Preparatory School
500 DeBaliviere

Come experience an evening of imagination, intrigue, and live storytelling with Upstream Theater.

Isaiah Di LorenzoKari ElyElizabeth WattPatrick SilerAndre Navid Eslamian

Twenty-one seasons ago, a vision began:
To bring an international perspective to St. Louis theatre and trust audiences to rise to meet bold, thought-provoking work.

Since then, Upstream Theater has become a home for adventurous theatre lovers, groundbreaking productions, and stories that continue to spark discourse both within and beyond our local community.

Now, we’re looking ahead to what comes next.

More productions.
More collaborations.
More education.
More community engagement.
More space for artists and audiences to gather together.

As we dream toward a future permanent home for Upstream, we envision a space where local artistry collides with global ideas year-round, helping establish St. Louis as a true center for theatrical innovation.

This Give STL Day, help us move into our next era.

If you’ve ever been moved by an Upstream production, shared one of our posts, brought a friend to a show, or believed in the importance of daring storytelling, you’re already part of this journey.

Now we invite you to help shape what comes next.

Donate here (link in bio):
https://www.givestlday.org/organization/upstreamtheater?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

Behind every production at Upstream Theater is a community of artists giving their hearts, time, talent, and imagination to create something unforgettable.

Actors.
Designers.
Stage managers.
Directors.
Musicians.
Technicians.
Playwrights.
Dreamers.

Since our very first production, Upstream has remained committed to professionalism, operating under full Actors’ Equity contracts to ensure safe working conditions, regulated wages, and professional standards for the artists who bring these stories to life.

As one of the few theatre companies in the region consistently committed to Equity contracts, Upstream believes professional artists deserve professional opportunities right here in St. Louis.

We want to continue working with talented local Equity actors while also encouraging and inspiring the next generation of performers to take that leap into professional union work. But continuing to grow and sustain our Equity roster takes community support.

When you support Upstream on Give STL Day, you are directly investing in local artists, fair working conditions, professional wages, and the future of ambitious theatre in St. Louis.

You are helping create a city where artists do not have to leave in order to pursue meaningful, professional theatrical work.

Art changes people.
People change cities.

Donate here (link in bio):
https://www.givestlday.org/organization/upstreamtheater?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

World-class theatre belongs in a world-class city.

Theatre can entertain and theatre can connect strangers, challenge perspectives, and remind us of our shared humanity.

That has always been the mission of Upstream Theater.

Since 2005, Upstream has brought a world of theatre to St. Louis, producing plays from places as far-reaching as Argentina and Australia. Two-thirds of our productions have been U.S. premieres, each chosen not only for artistic excellence, but for their local impact and ability to spark meaningful conversation.

Because art should engage as much as it entertains.

This Give STL Day, we’re not simply asking people to donate. We want to highlight the impact and cultural value that Upstream has brought to St. Louis for more than two decades and position Upstream as a gift to the cultural fabric of this city, an organization whose legacy deserves to continue thriving for the next 21 years and beyond.

Your support helps us continue producing theatre that takes risks, broadens perspectives, and establishes St. Louis as a center for theatrical innovation.

Donate here (link in bio):
https://www.givestlday.org/organization/upstreamtheater?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

What if St. Louis had a permanent home for daring international theatre?

For 21 seasons, Upstream Theater has produced bold work that challenges audiences, sparks conversation, and brings global stories to our city through fifty-four productions and thirty-six U.S. premieres.

Now we’re dreaming beyond a single production.

In the upcoming years, our goal is to build towards a future where Upstream has a space of its very own. A creative home for year-round programming, local artists, community events, and fearless storytelling.

This Give STL Day, you’re not just donating to a theatre company.

You’re investing in the cultural future of St. Louis.

Every gift tells us:
✨ Keep going.
✨ Keep creating.
✨ Keep bringing the world to our stage.

If you believe ambitious art deserves a permanent place in this city, we invite you to help us build it.

Donate here (link in bio):
https://www.givestlday.org/organization/upstreamtheater?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

As The End of the World Cabaret has officially come to a close, I’ve been sitting with so much gratitude for this experience, the art, and every single soul who helped bring this strange, hilarious, heartbreaking, and deeply human story to life.

To our cast, crew, musicians, designers, choreographers, stage management team, board members, creative team, and our fearless director Lizi Watt, thank you for your passion and artistry. To Philip Boehm for adapting Jura Soyfer’s work, and to Jura Soyfer himself for having the courage to speak truth through art during such a terrifying moment in history, thank you. Your words still echo loudly today.

To our audiences, supporters, donors, producing sponsor Stellie Siteman, the critics and journalists who championed this production, and every person who bought a ticket, shared a post, laughed, cried, and experienced this journey with us, thank you for believing in live theatre.

There’s a lyric near the end of the show that shattered me the first time I heard it in rehearsal:

“The earth’s full of hunger
The earth’s full of bread
The earth’s full of life
The world’s full of dread…”

Night after night, I watched audiences react to those words and Konrad’s song with the same emotional depth I felt in that rehearsal room.

Because despite the horrific things happening on this planet, this show reminded us not to forget the beauty, the joy, the art, the music, the plants and trees, the sound of a baby taking its first breath, and the sacredness of a loved one taking their last.

I was deeply honored not only to help market this production, but to witness it from the very beginning as an Assistant Stage Manager. This show was quirky, absurd, playful, and wonderfully weird, but underneath all of that silliness was extraordinary depth and humanity.

This was something truly special. 🌍✨

Over & out,
Jocelyn Padilla
Social Media Manager / Assistant Stage Manager
The End of the World Cabaret
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Thank you all for the support and love. We are officially sold out for the remainder of our run! 🌎🎭❤️🪐
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