This fall, the Centene Center for the Arts welcomed Sharon Hunter, a St. Louis native and life-long performing artist.

Hunter has worn many hats over the course of her career, but some St. Louisans may recognize her from her time as a radio personality with local stations KEZK, where she was the original host of Pillow Talk, and Y98FM.

She continued to work in radio for some time, but she found herself pulled toward different forms of live performance. Her acting portfolio includes credits like “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, “Falsettos” and the popular CBS political drama “The Good Wife”. She has also found herself playing the roles of director, producer, costume and set designer for various stage productions. Her years of experience in the arts are what inspired her to create her own professional performing arts organization: Moonstone Theatre Company. She will serve as the company's artistic director and producer.

While her work has taken her across the country, Hunter knew St. Louis would be a great home for Moonstone.

"Moonstone Theatre Company was founded in response to my vision for creating a cultural theatrical environment in St. Louis to inspire actors and artists to do their best work," explained Hunter "St. Louis is a great theatre city and I think it's wonderful to be a part of that cultural conversation. It is essential for the arts to contribute to this conversation particularly during challenging times."

Moonstone’s productions will focus on socially relevant themes, including those of equality, diversity and acceptance, as well as support local arts and education endeavors.

The Centene Center for the Arts, the Arts and Education Council’s arts incubator, proved to be the perfect home for this developing company.

Hunter shared, “It’s so exciting to be in the Centene Center. Being a part of this has been a dream come true. A year ago when I started thinking about doing this, I didn’t know where I was going to be, but I kept thinking I hope I’m in a place with other wonderful people and creatives.”

The Centene Center fosters a community of growth for St. Louis arts organizations by offering facilities and services they need - from below-market rate office spaces to free rehearsal and event spaces to collaborative spaces for idea-sharing. The Centene Center for the Arts allows arts organizations to apply their resources to expand programming and outreach efforts and make a greater impact in our community.

She went on to say, “It really inspires me to work hard and do good work. Everyone raises their level and does their best work. I’m proud to be here.”

Be sure to look out for Moonstone Theatre Company’s debut production, “The House of Blue Leaves” by John Guare, in July of 2020. Learn more at moonstonetheatrecompany.com.

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