Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival Journal: Day Three

So today was it. I’ve had a wonderful time connecting with friends, making some new ones, learning from other terrific authors, and attending some wonderful performances. But today was the day I would get to see my winning play performed at the award ceremony.

Since the first event for which I signed up didn’t begin until 11A.M., I was able to have a leisurely morning. I arrived at the Hotel Monteleone in time to see the NOLA Project perform a staged reading of three Tennessee Williams One Acts. The plays chosen for performance were “In Our Profession,” “Auto Da Fe,” and “Every Twenty Minutes.” Given the big event was going to be the staged reading of my one-act, this seemed like a very appropriate way to begin the day. I wasn’t familiar with any of the plays, but the actors from the NOLA project did a lovely job. The reading also occurred in what was essentially the penthouse of the hotel, so there was also a panoramic view of New Orleans to be enjoyed.

After the play reading, it was time for some poetry, and this discussion was a long elevator ride down to the first floor. The topic was Rendering the Landscape in Poetry, and featured three poets whose work I enjoyed immensely: former Alabama poet laureate Rodney Jones, current Louisiana Poet Laureate Allison Pelegrin and schoolteacher/poet Christine Kwan. All of them were excellent; I think Rodney’s poetry spoke to me the most, and I ordered a copy of his most recent collection upon my return home.

Normally at this point, I would have found something to eat, but I had a serious case of butterflies before the reading. I decided then to defer eating until after the awards ceremony and the play reading. Happily, my friends Amanda and Kara both attended the reading, and both being actor-writer-directors and both being totally awesome, got on very well. When I confessed that it was so strange knowing my work was going to be performed without any communication with the director or the actors, Kara–who has been involved in theatre longer than I–informed me that this is much more common than being treated as a collaborator. This was a feeling, then, I perhaps needed to get used to.

The awards ceremony involved more poetry from Allison Pelegrin, as well as a reading from Tara Lynn Masih, the Very Short Fiction Judge. All of the winners in the poetry and fiction categories were recognized, and then, finally, the staged reading of my play, “Leviathan.” The play was directed by David Hoover, a theatre professor at the University of New Orleans, and features only two characters: Father and Son. Mr. Hoover read stage directions. Overall, I was pleased with the reading. The actor playing Father was not particularly strong–I am uncertain if he was cast late, but he seemed as if he were encountering the script for the very first time. The young man who played, Son, however, was superb, and moved the audience with his emotional performance. Sadly, I never got to meet the actors, and did not even catch their names. I met Mr. Hoover very briefly, who followed up with a nice email. Not being able to meet and have a conversation with the director and actors was my only regret from the experience. Still, traveling a great distance to this remarkable literary festival and experiencing my play as a culminating activity? There aren’t a lot of things better than that.

After the reading, it was time for some food, so Kara, Amanda and I walked over to Louis Armstrong Park, where the New Orleans Rhythm Festival was in full swing. With a jazz, soul and funk soundtrack playing behind us, we sat down for a late lunch (I had some real New Orleans rice and beans, and they did not disappoint) and the three of us had a lovely time hanging out. We also got to see the Mardi Gras Indians in their elaborate, beautiful costumes–some of which take nearly a year to construct–and they were a wonder to behold. Eventually, I had to part ways with both Amanda and Kara, but not without expressing my gratitude for their support and their excellent company.

It was then time to experience my final event of the festival, and the final performance of a Tennessee Williams work. This performance was presented and performed by a theatre troupe called The Fire Weeds, and it was entitled “Outraged Hearts: The Pretty Trap and Interior: Panic.” These were performances of short plays, but they had the distinction of being early versions of “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.” It was an interesting experience, to be certain–the first play was performed in a traditional space (although the actors often worked amongst the audience). Afterwards, we were moved to another room that was set up in a horseshoe around a small kitchen set, and featured some of the actors performing through a video feed. While I appreciate the attempt to stage these works in a non-traditional manner, I am not convinced all of it worked. Instead, it seemed to present something of a distraction from the stories being dramatized. I will say the actors were very strong and threw their hearts into their performances.

And that was the end. I caught my rideshare back to my Vrbo, knowing that tomorrow a plane would take me back to reality. I have been to film festivals, and some literary festivals before, but I have never had an experience like the whirlwind of the Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival. It will be a treasured memory for the rest of my life.

And who knows? Maybe I will be back.