|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Tennessee Williams Festival
|
|
With such a rich musical heritage, is it any surprise that Clarksdale and Coahoma County also have a rich literary heritage as well? Clarksdale was the childhood home of America’s most performed playwright, Tom “Tennessee” Williams.
|
|
|
|
Williams’ grandfather, Reverend Walter Dakin, served as rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church for 16 years. As a small child, Tom Williams often accompanied his grandfather on parish calls and it was during these parish calls that his vivid imagination must have soaked up church gossip and expanded colorful local tales. Many of the settings and characters of Williams’ works were based on real places and people.
|
|
|
|
The Tennessee Williams Festival takes place during the fall and includes presentations by authorities on and friends of Tom “Tennessee” Williams. There are also live performances, porch plays, as well as screenings of films based on Williams’ works. Broadway stars Tammy Grimes and actor/producer Joel Vig are frequent guest performers of the festival. Also scheduled in conjunction with the festival are workshops for teachers and for student actors and a drama competition, with monetary prizes.
|
|
|
|
St. George’s Episcopal Church and its parsonage, where Williams lived, are still active today. Walking tours are available and allow visitors to tour the nearby historic neighborhood that greatly influenced many of the characters and events that are so well known in Williams’ plays and screen adaptations such as Summer and Smoke, The Glass Menagerie, Twenty-Four Wagons of Cotton (the movie Baby Doll), A Streetcar Named Desire and many more. A tour map of the historic district is available.
|
|
|
|
For more information, call us at: 662-627-7337
|
|
|
|
