What was the motivation behind founding the Tennessee Williams Festival?
I’ve been a Tennessee Williams fan for many years. I always enjoyed reading his plays or watching productions. He spent almost 20 years in St. Louis, and I never understood why we didn’t have a festival celebrating him. It started with me producing one production in 2014 of Stairs to the Roof, which was inspired by Williams’ youth here. It was a three-week run, and we sold out every show. People urged me to start a festival. I was living in Chicago at the time, commuting back and forth, but I knew the project would take a bigger commitment to pull off. I moved back to St. Louis and put together a board of wonderful local arts advocates.
Why is it important for St. Louis to celebrate Williams’ artistry and influence?
Williams’ relationship with his family in his youth and his feelings about working at the International Shoes factory were significant influences on his work. He took a lot away from his time in St. Louis—he never spent a longer period of time anywhere else. I think it’s important that St. Louis recognizes and celebrates that.
How has the festival evolved?
We really started off ambitiously as a full-fledged festival. The first event was four days long, and this year, it will be 11. We’ve always had multiple events with panels, a strong education component, parties, shows and a Tennessee Williams tribute with readings, poetry and music. This year, we’ll have our first international production. A company from Poland will be performing The Glass Menagerie in Polish with English subtitles. We’re excited to have them, and they’re looking forward to exploring the places where Williams wrote. During the pandemic, we started doing a program called Something Spoken, which is a radio production of one-act plays on Classic 107.3, and it’s something we’ve continued.
The festival has a Play Reading Initiative to engage local students.
I want future generations to know and appreciate Williams’ work. It’s just as relevant today as was when it was written. When I was growing up, we didn’t really have a theatrical component in high school. Today, St. Louis’ private high schools have wonderful drama programs, but that’s not the case for public schools that are dealing with budget cuts. American playwrights like Williams also aren’t always included in the English curriculum. Our goal is to provide copies of the plays we’re producing to drama departments in underserved schools. We also offer tickets so the kids can see performances. The pandemic limited what we could do with the Play Reading Initiative, but I’m looking forward to rebuilding it.
This year’s festival is themed The University City Years. How was it chosen?
The idea came from the fact that our venue this year is in U. City. We’re at COCA’s Catherine B. Berges Theatre, which is a beautiful, state-of-the-art space. Williams lived in the neighborhood for around seven years. He went to University City High School and attended Washington University. We’ll have panels to address how U. City influenced Williams’ work. It’s exciting to bring the festival to a different part of the community and broaden our audience.
What can people expect from this year’s festival?
I’m looking forward to our main stage production of Suddenly, Last Summer, which is directed by Tim Ocel. It’s one of the most provocative plays that Williams wrote. We’ve got the perfect cast, and our tech crew and designers are at the top of their game. We recently had a production meeting, and I felt so much excitement knowing that this production is in their hands. I can’t wait for everyone to see the finished product.
Pictured at the top: Carrie Houk
Photo: Suzy Gorman