WAPP is at it again. After taking home the 2005 Kevin Kline Award for Best Original Play, WAPP has devised yet another original play that stands on its own, MOments…I Am What You Are.  Throw away all your expectations for what you think theatre should be and join this talented cast down at the ArtLoft Theatre for an exciting new play examining the bizarre people around us, diets, mother nature and the strange moments we inhabit. MOments will be a night of theatre you won’t forget. Don’t bother traveling to Edinburgh’s famed Fringe Festival to get your fix. You can experience summer fringe theatre right here in downtown St. Louis. The ArtLoft Theatre will be hosting this exciting world premiere theatrical happening inspired by the electric energy of the 60’s experimental groups like Café La Mama, The Open Theatre, The Living Theatre, and current experimental groups like P.S.122. The WAPP ensemble developed this new non-stop thought provoking piece to run two-weekends only! The house is small and tickets are limited. SHOW runs Aug 10^th   through Aug 19^th every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night at 8:00 p.m., at the ArtLoft Theatre, 1529 Washington Ave., east of the Fox Theatre.

MOments is a surreal, strange and often hilarious journey into the joys and struggles we experience throughout our quest for the right path in life. Mo Monahan is the featured performer and has been writing the material for this show for over a year now. Todd Schaefer takes on the role of director, editor and scene designer while also creating an original musical sound-scape to keep the play moving. Together, their talents for on-the-mark performances, engaging characters and dynamic stage presence take this polished work of fresh and unexpected new stories to a new level. Mo will be joined on stage by the very talented Alison Helmer, who was last scene in New Line Theatre’s politically charged Jesus Christ Superstar and who assisted with direction on WAPP’s The Last Five Years last August, and the exceptional Terry Love who was last seen at the ArtLoft in New Line’s socially relevant production of Kiss of The Spider Woman.

MOments is a project created out of the sheer desire to explore who we are as people and why we share this planet. It came about when Todd Schaefer, artistic director of WAPP and actor Mo Monahan decided that St. Louis was in need of more devised works, and that the ArtLoft proved to be the perfect location. They both began planning show last November after Mo had been writing several pieces that are now in the script. “The last devised work we did was such a joy to create, the location was great, and the audiences seemed to really have fun with it!” says actor Mo Monahan. The success of the last show, and the recent award opened up the possibilities for WAPP to continue devising this type of theatre here in St. Louis and the possibilities for other companies to do so as well. “We didn’t know what we were getting into…but throwing a talented artist into a collaborative creative process where he/she brings their personal story to the table always makes for unique and exciting art that everyone tends to identify with on some level”, says director Todd Schaefer. WAPP hopes that this project brings about more original work and a better understanding of the diversity that exists in this art form.

WAPP’s world premiere presentation of MOments runs at the ArtLoft, 1529 Washington Ave. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, August 10-19, at 8:00 p.m.  Tickets are $15 (cash or check), can be purchased at the door, or by calling Metrotix at 314-534-1111. All programs are subject to change. MOments is part of the St. Louis Political Theatre Festival.