Tennessee Williams Program 34th Annual | Page 17

March 27-28, 2020 10 – 11:15 AM—Literary Discussion MISSISSIPPI RIVER JOURNEYS Photographers and authors Melody Golding (Life Between the Levees) and Randy Roussel (Alluvial) discuss photographing the river and the people who make their lives and livelihoods along its length, along with Captain (retired) Clarke “Doc” Hawley and river pilot Captain Joy Manthey of New Orleans. Moderated by NOMA Publications Editor David Johnson. Sponsored by the Confucius Institute at Xavier University of Louisiana. Special thanks to Dr. Yu Jiang, Director. Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom, $10 or Literary Discussion, Combo, or VIP Pass 10 – 11:15 AM—Literary Discussion EXPERIMENTING WITH TENNESSEE What does it mean to experiment when staging the plays of Tennessee Williams? And why would you do it? With a canonized playwright whose work is still under copyright, you cannot change, cut, or rewrite the text, nor can you “alter the spirit of the play as written.” Yet, Williams remains so popular that—as with Shakespeare—directors and producers often want to try to tell his stories in new ways. This panel will investigate how and why directors experiment with Williams’ plays, and when this kind of experimentation illuminates the stories and when it fails them. As part of this discussion, panelists will also consider questions of nontraditional race and gender casting. Panelists include Augustin J Correro, Aimée Hayes, David Kaplan, with moderator Thomas Keith. Williams Research Center, $10 or Literary Discussion, Combo, or VIP Pass COCKTAILS & BAR BITES 139 Chartres backspacenola MARCH 25-29, 2020 15