The Del Shores Foundation (DSF) recently announced that it will present its first weekend-long Del Shores Foundation Writers Festival here in Dallas next month. The event will be held Sept. 9-11 at the Trinity River Arts Center in Dallas. The festival will feature live stage readings of all three winning scripts from the first Del Shores Foundation Writers Search. Panels will feature industry experts in theater and film focused specifically on writing.
The festival is the next step of programming for the DSF in support of its mission “to find and facilitate the development of new Southern queer artistic voices through bringing together artists and working professionals, amplifying new work and connecting artists to platforms for the creation of the work.”
“I am so proud of the work of The Del Shores Foundation and of all our winners. Their work is just beautifully drawn. And finally – we get to have our first writers festival! As a storyteller, the most exciting moment in giving birth to a new work is hearing your creation read by actors for the first time. I’m not sure if I’ll be watching the actors or our winning writers’ faces,” Shores said in a press release.
Appearances at the event will include Shores’ Sordid Lives stars Rosemary Alexander, Newell Alexander and Ann Walker. Other guests of the festival will be Emerson Collins, Chad Darnell, Mat Hayes, Leslie Kimbell, Dathan Smith and special guest Jaston Williams, co-creator of Greater Tuna.
The schedule for the festival features the following:
Sept. 9: Opening night
8 p.m. Shelter in Place stage reading;
Cognitive screening;
“In Conversation with Del Shores.”
Sept. 10: Panel discussions
10 a.m.-5 p.m.: Schedule and speakers TBA;
8 p.m. The Red Suitcase stage reading.
Sept. 11: Festival closing
2 p.m. – Knead stage reading
Admission to all readings and panels is free and open to the public but registration is required. To register, click here.
–Rich Lopez