Featured Upstream Theater Events this Season:

September 26, 2026: Upstream will participate in the annual St. Louis Public Radio Theatre Showcase, where over the course of two nights, local theatre companies share short performances to St. Louis audiences under the night sky. Bring your favorite lawn chair and a picnic; cold drinks will be available to purchase.

October 8, 2026: REVEL WITH A CAUSE
Join us for rooftop-high spirits, festive fare, an exciting live auction, and scintillating entertainment by local Upstream artists emceed by Jane Paradise, with upbeat Brazilian music by Samba Bom! Upstream's Biennial celebration and fundraiser, bringing St. Louis artists, audiences and philanthropists together to uplift the arts in St. Louis and celebrate Upstream's unique place in our theater ecosystem.

November 6 - 22, 2026: THE JANEIAD
by Anna Ziegler 
This play connects the title character Jane to Homer's Penelope from The Odyssey. While Penelope waits for Odysseus to return from the Trojan War, Jane’s husband was lost to 9/11. The play merges the two stories, as Penelope enters Jane's life, helping her to wait 20 years for her husband, just as Penelope waited for Odysseus. Penelope kindles an eternal hope for her husband’s return, while Jane is counting on a miracle to occur for her reconciliation. Do you believe in miracles? On Sunday, November 15, Join us for a post-show Springboard discussion!

December 2026: The third annual "Critics' Roundtable" focuses on journalistic criticism in an age of shrinking local news coverage and expanding social media. Special Guests from the Mizzou School of Journalism--sponsored in part by the Missouri Humanities Council.

January 2027: Upstream LAB, a research space for professional performers, directors and educators.

January 22 - February 7, 2027:
SECOND ACT/DEUXIEME PARTIE
by Samuel Benchetrit and translated by Jon Goldman
SECOND ACT/DEUXIEME PARTIEis a delightfully bizarre comedy by contemporary French playwright, Samuel Benchetrit and translated by Jon Goldman. Carole and Vincent have been married for about thirty years, and they seem perfectly happy in their routine. But then Pierre Kraft shows up in the middle of the night… with more than a blast from the past. This play is both funny and profound, with a surreal and tender touch. On Sunday, January 31, join us for a post-show Springboard discussion with local Francophiles and a representative from the Alliance Française de St. Louis about French culture, alive and well in St. Louis.

January 23, 2027: Translation SLAM: en français!
Local high school and university French scholars come together to discuss the creative act of translating for the stage. As the name suggests, a Translation Slam is modeled after a Poetry Slam, a public performance of a verbal art form that invites audience participation. This year’s Slam will celebrate our production of DEUXIEME PARTIE written by French playwright Samuel Benchetrit and translated by Jon Goldman.

Feb 20–21: Staged reading of RHINOCEROS, a play by Eugène Ionesco and translated by Derek Prouse. This classic absurdist play is set in a small provincial French town, where the inhabitants slowly and inexplicably transform into rhinoceroses—an allegorical outbreak representing the rise of totalitarianism, mass conformity, and ideological mob mentality.

April 23 - May 9, 2027: THE ADDING MACHINE
by Elmer Rice, in a new adaptation by Philip Boehm
First performed in the 1920s, this classic of American Expressionism delves into the anxieties surrounding technological advancements and their impact on the workplace, specifically through the story of Mr. Zero, a low-level accountant whose monotonous job becomes obsolete when he is replaced by an adding machine after twenty-five years of service. This play remains a poignant examination of the struggles of the individual in an increasingly mechanized world. Join us on Sunday, May 2nd for a special Springboard discussion on the challenges and promises of AI.

March 21, 2026: “Mississippi Currents” – our fourth poetry/music event at the International Institute--celebrates the influence of Missouri's landscape on the creative life of its poets. This event will highlight music and poetry by local writers and musicians, with a particular focus on immigrant and indigenous contributions. Sponsored in part by the Missouri Humanities Council.

May/June 2027: Upstream LAB, a research space for professional performers, directors and educators.

June 14, 2027: Streams of Thought, a community conversation about the role of theater in the social fabric.