CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Several special events will look at the early work of Tennessee Williams in conjunction with a production of Williams’ “Not About Nightingales” at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
The play about prisoner abuse was written by Williams while he was a college student and was first produced in 1998. The Krannert Center production is directed by Tom Mitchell, a professor and the associate head of the University of Illinois department of theatre. It will be presented April 9-11 and April 14-19, the final production in the theatre department’s multiyear project of producing Williams’ early plays.
Special events in conjunction with the production are:
- Krannert Center’s Studio Theatre lobby. An exhibition of production photos and designs from six of Williams’ plays.
- 3 p.m. April 15, Studio Theatre. The Brown Theatre Collective – a U. of I. theater group emphasizing the importance of multicultural storytelling and using performance for civic change – will present scenes from “The Box,” a satirical play by Marcus Gardley about black men in prison.
- 10 p.m. April 15, Studio Theatre. Tom Mitchell, Marcus Gardley and Mateo Hurtado, student leader of The Brown Theatre Collective, will conduct a post-show discussion of “Not About Nightingales.”
- 10 p.m. April 16, Studio Theatre. Tom Mitchell will lead a post-show discussion of “Not About Nightingales.”
- 1 p.m. April 17, Krannert Room (Level 5 of Krannert Center). “Recognizing Genius in the Young Playwright.” Undergraduate students will present their papers on the early works of Williams.
- 2 p.m. April 18, Drama Rehearsal Room (Level 2 of Krannert Center). “Act of Love: A Multimedia Performance of an Early Political Play.” A performance of an unpublished early manuscript of Tennessee Williams, an anti-war play written to make use of music, dance and poetry.
All the events are free and open to the public.
More information about the production of “Not About Nightingales” can be found online at krannertcenter.com
