This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
Del Shores â the queer, Southern creative mind behind many successful films, plays and television series such as âSordid Livesâ â will be in town at Out Front Theatre this weekend to host the second Del Shores Foundation Writers Festival. The first festival was held in Dallas in 2022.
âWe are coming back to your wonderful town,â Shores said of himself and his frequent collaborator, Emerson Collins, in a recent interview. âWe love Atlanta, and weâre so thrilled that weâre getting to return for this. This is such a special thing for our foundation.â
The festival and the year-round work of the foundation are designed to provide more opportunities to LGBTQ+ writers from Southern states. In 2023, the foundation hosted its Writers Search competition, and Atlanta playwright and actor Lee Osorio won the top prize with his play âA Third Way.â
Additionally, three other Atlanta playwrights placed as finalists and semifinalists in the competition: Davin Allen Grindstaff, Emily McClain and John Mabey. A reading of McClainâs script âThe Poet, The Spy and the Dark Lady,â developed by the foundation, was held at Out Front earlier this month.
Courtesy of Out Front Theatre
Courtesy of Out Front Theatre
Collins said it seemed natural to bring the festival to our town to celebrate the Atlanta writers.
âIt was very exciting,â he said. âYou know, itâs always interesting to see what turns out and who submits. And it just seemed like the universe was trying to tell us that Atlanta was the journey this year.â
This yearâs weekend of free events will celebrate distinctly Atlanta art, featuring panel discussions with writers such as Kayla Parker, Leslie Kimbell, Topher Payne, Ava Davis and Chad Darnell. There will also be moderated talks with local theater producers, including Paul Conroy, Jamil Jude and Freddie Ashley.
âIâm so excited that we have Out Front, Out on Film, True Colors and Actorâs Express all represented at the festival,â Collins said. âThatâs why we hope to move the festival every year, so we can celebrate different queer communities. Yâallâs is great.â
Also planned for the festival are a screening of Shoresâ film âSouthern Baptist Sissies,â attended by the filmâs actors â Dale Dickey, Bobbie Eakes, Ann Walker and Collins â as well as a conversation between Shores and celebrated playwright Jack Heifner. A staged reading of the competitionâs winning screenplay, âIstanbul Crossing,â by Timothy Jay Smith, featuring local actors, will be held Sunday.
The festivalâs celebration of Southern voices will feature a reading of Osorioâs winning script, performed by the cast and director of the world-premiere production at Actorâs Express scheduled for the fall. The foundation provided a $10,000 grant to Actorâs Express for the production.
Courtesy of Out Front Theatre
Courtesy of Out Front Theatre
Osorio said Shores and Collins have been terrific mentors since the competition began.
âItâs been really inspirational to work with Del and Emerson,â Osorio said in a statement. âTheyâre both very talented multi-hyphenates: They write, act, produce, run the foundation. Itâs been wonderful to not only learn more about how theyâve built incredible careers but to see how theyâre using their knowledge and connections to lift up other Southern queer writers.â
Asked if Southern literature is the best, Shores and Collins had no doubt.
âWeâre the wrong people to ask because . . . yes, absolutely,â Collins said.
âOf course!â Shores added. âWe have Tennessee Williams; we have William Faulkner; we have Eudora Welty; we have Capote! We have âTo Kill a Mockingbird!ââ
Collins concluded: âWe can spin a yarn into âJosephâs Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,â you know? There are no better storytellers.â
THEATER PREVIEW
Del Shores Foundation Writers Festival
Out Front Theatre. Friday-Sunday, Feb. 23-25. Free (donations suggested). 999 Brady Ave. NW, Atlanta. 404-448-2755, delshoresfoundation.org/writersfestival2024
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Benjamin Carr is an ArtsATL editor-at-large who has contributed to the publication since 2019 and a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Atlanta Press Club and the Horror Writers Association. His writing has been featured in podcasts for iHeartMedia, onstage as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and online in The Guardian. His debut novel, Impacted, was published by The Story Plant.
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