Pick # 3 - Tennessee Williams/New Orleans
Literary Festival
2011 marks a banner year for the
Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, which celebrates its
25th anniversary on March 23rd through 27th, overlapping with its
eponymous playwright's 100th birthday on March 26th. The five-day
fête honors the legendary Tennessee Williams, his works, and
literary life in the adopted city he called his "spiritual
home."
The festival features two
days of master classes, a roster of lively discussions among
distinguished panelists, celebrity interviews, a scholars' conference,
and comedy improv and a poetry slam - and of course, theater, food and
music events. Also included in the five days of festivities are a
breakfast book club, French Quarter literary walking tours, a book
fair, special evening events and parties, and short fiction, poetry and
one-act play competitions.
The lofty list of celebrity
participants includes Estelle Parsons, Tony Award nominee for her
performance in Williams' play The Seven
Descents of Myrtle and well-known for her
Oscar-winning role in Bonnie and Clyde. Also slated to appear are Shirley Knight -
Oscar nominee for "Best Supporting Actress" in Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth and star
of his one-act play, A Lovely Sunday for
Creve Coeur, at the Hudson Guild Theatre
in 1979 - and Zoe Caldwell, who won one of her four Tony Awards for her role in
Williams' Slapstick Tragedy in 1966. New Orleans native Grace Zabriskie, who
just released her first collection of poetry, yet is best known for her
roles in many popular films and television series - including
"Twin Peaks" and HBO's "Big Love" - rounds out the
grand group of leading ladies.
Literary luminaries include
Armistead Maupin, whose new "Tales of the City" novel, Mary Ann in the Autumn,
debuts in November. The University of New Orleans theater
department will stage The Glass Menagerie with veteran New Orleans actress Janet Shea as
"Amanda Wingfield."
The theatre department will also
mount a production of Outside Sitka, by Josh Billig, the Festival's 2010 One-Act Play
Competition winner. The 2011 prize winner will receive a staged
reading during the festival.
The production company All
Kinds of Theatre will present the fifth installment of the wildly
popular monologue series, Native Tongues, created and directed by Carl
Walker. "Food, glorious New Orleans food" fuels this year's
theme, and features the original works of some of the area's sauciest
writers.
The public is invited to
get into the act at the festival's riotous closing ceremony: the
Stanley and Stella Shouting Contest, in playful homage to the bellowing
mates in Williams' masterpiece, A Streetcar
Named Desire.
Most of the events take place
in New Orleans' historic French Quarter. Select events being
staged at Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, The
Historic New Orleans Collection, Hotel Monteleone, Southern Rep
Theatre, the Royal Sonesta Hotel, Williams Research Center, Muriel's
Jackson Square, the Palm Court Jazz Café, the Windsor Court
Hoteml and others.
A Festival Panel Pass is $75
($50 for students), a One-Day Pass is $30, and individual theater and
special events range from $10 to $100. Master classes are $25,
and walking tours are $25.
From personal experience, last
year was incredible - and this festival has something for everyone.
It's worth every penny. For more information, call (504) 581-1144
or visit www.TennesseeWilliams.net for regular updates and information on how to become a
"Friend of Tennessee."
Nick Manix is a professional writer and journalist
who splits his time between Central Texas and New Orleans, and is an
avid supporter of charities - including The Hill Country Ride, SPCA,
Raising Malawi and Amnesty International
(Photos courtesy of Tennessee Williams/New
Orleans Literary Festival - from top:
- Tennessee Williams in 1965, celebrating the
20th anniversary of The Glass Menagerie;
- Estelle Parsons;
- David Melerine, 2010 winner of the Stanley
& Stella Shouting Contest; photo by Earl Perry)
