Playwright Tennessee Williams once said, “I have found it easier to identify with the characters who verge upon hysteria, who were frightened of life, who were desperate to reach out to another person. But these seemingly fragile people are the strong people really.” True to these beliefs, he created some of the most complex characters ever to be seen onstage, while the truth behind his own identification with these people is the subject of fascinating exploration.
| If you go |
| For complete information on the Tenn Cent Festival, Georgetown campus locations, performance times as well as single-event tickets and full Centennial passes, please phone 202-687-2787 or visit performingarts.georgetown.edu/tenncentfest. |
The Tennessee Williams Centennial Festival is being held this weekend throughout the campus of Georgetown University. The Tenn Cent Festival, as it has been called, recognizes Williams’ 100th birthday and is a presented by Georgetown University Theatre and Performance Studies Program at the Davis Performing Arts Center, in partnership with the American Studies Program and Arena stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.
Not for casual festivalgoers, Tenn Cent, running Friday through Sunday, is an ambitious, multifaceted visit to the artist’s world through dramatic readings, panel discussions, screenings, full-stage presentations and even director John Waters’ one-man commentary on the man he says “saved him.”
“I’ve been a lifelong fan of Williams and certainly have taught the work and seen productions,” said Derek Goldman, Davis Performing Arts Center artistic director and associate professor of Georgetown’s Theatre and Performance Studies Program. “But something struck a chord when I realized [in 2009] the centennial was coming and thinking about the kind of programming we like to do at Georgetown.”
Goldman began talking to people in the theater and American studies departments about a multifaceted program. Excitement grew stronger and one good idea led to another. As a result, festival offerings include a Friday evening stage reading with live music of “Camino Real,” “An Evening in Paradise” series of readings on Saturday and Sunday, John Waters’ Sunday performance of his show “This Filthy World,” and the full stage production of “The Glass Menagerie” on Friday and Saturday.
“The opportunity to engage so deeply [in] … Williams’ work and life has inspired and transformed our students and our wider community,” Goldman said. “His work is still radical. It was not only ahead of its time, but in many ways ahead of our time.”
