The 32nd Annual Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival, has been scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, October 17-19 this year and the community is urged to set the date aside.
As always the Tennessee Williams Festival is free and open to the public.
This year the festifal focus will be “Spring Storm.”
Williams wrote this play, set in the fictional town of Port Tyler, Miss., in 1937-1938 while finishing his undergraduate degree in the theater department at the University of Iowa.
The play is about the unrequited love of four young people in a small Delta town near the Mississippi River which closely resembles Clarksdale — the play features local landmarks in Coahoma County such as Moon Lake, Friar's Point, the Carnegie Public Library and St. George's Episcopal Church, and is filled with character types and story elements that Williams would develop in several of his later plays.
The festival will feature a performance of Spring Storm by the Tennessee Williams Theater Company of New Orleans, directed by Salvatore Mannino.
Special festival guest will be Austin Pendleton.
“We're thrilled to announce that we will host legendary actor, director and acting teacher Austin Pendleton for this year's festival,” said Jen Waller, event coordinator. “Austin knew Tennessee Williams, and has worked with many celebrated performers on the stage or in film including Barbara Streisand and Elizabeth Taylor.”
Austin is scheduled to speak on Friday evening at the wine and cheese party, and will participate at other events during the festival too.
GENERAL SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, OCT. 17
The festival will start with a bus and car tour of historic Clarksdale, focusing on locations from Spring Storm and other plays, and featuring performances of Williams scenes and monologues.
The tour will culminate in a dinner at Uncle Henry's on Moon Lake, known in Williams' plays as Moon Lake Casino.
The food and beverage fee for the dinner will be published later this summer. (The dinner is the only festival event with a fee.)
FRIDAY, OCT. 18
Day two will include a day of scholar presentations, a site-specific scene from Spring Storm at the Carnegie Public Library, visits to the Tennessee Williams Rectory Museum, and a wine and cheese porch party with very special guest Austin Pendleton.
SATURDAY, OCT. 19
Day Three will include the Student Drama Competition, a reception at the Clarksdale Woman's Club, a visit to St. George's Episcopal Church where Williams' grandfather Reverend Walter E. Dakin served as Rector for 16 years, and afternoon Porch Plays in Clarksdale's historic district, ending with a full performance of Spring Storm.
An afterparty will follow.
“We encourage people to come visit Clarksdale and enjoy this three-day literary festival filled with scholar presentations, live performances, and social events featuring live Blues music and local cuisine,” said Waller. “A detailed schedule will be sent out on this list later this summer.”
