Please join us as we return to our popular Southern Literary Salon Series featuring author Truman Capote and his short story “A Christmas Memory” performing on the Tabor Stage December 12 and 19 at 3:00 pm and December 17 and 18 at 7:30 pm.
Truman Capote’s Christmas Memory is generously sponsored by Anne and Michael Keeney in memory of Jim Eikner and Helen Lowrance.
Curated and directed by Stephanie Shine, the Salon will be a fun and festive mix of a reading of every word from his “Christmas Memory,” as well as readings of excerpts from “One Christmas” and “The Thanksgiving Visitor,” a discussion about the author, and a HaHa Jones-inspired cocktail or two.
Mr. Capote published his famous holiday short story in 1956. Based on his memories as a young boy growing up with extended family in Monroeville, Alabama, “A Christmas Memory” takes place in the 1930s and tells the story of seven-year-old Buddy and his loving, eccentric, elderly cousin Sook. Even though money is tight and times are tough, Buddy and Sook embrace country life, friendship, and the joy of giving during the holiday season.
“One Christmas” is Mr. Capote’s 1983 short story featuring young Buddy and Sook again, this time following Buddy to New Orleans where he is sent to spend time with his estranged father – a con artist who finds himself taking the first steps toward becoming a genuine family member.
“The Thanksgiving Visitor” was originally published as a short story in 1967 as the sequel to “Christmas Memory.” Buddy is now nine years old and has a bully problem. Sook proceeds to invite the bully to a surprising Thanksgiving dinner, which teaches everyone a moral lesson.
“Truman Capote revisited a brief period of his childhood in these three different short stories composed decades apart,” says Shine. “Always, even when she is not the main figure, his distant cousin Sook and her lessons and love are the inspirations for the stories. Capote lived with her when he was seven years old, and his close relationship with her is evident in these stories. She is ‘sixty something’ and his best friend. While A Christmas Memory, the first of the stories written about this period, is a bedrock of Holiday Stories (and in my humble opinion, a perfect short story), we will explore other aspects of his transformative relationship with his dear friend as young Buddy meets adversity in short excerpts from The Thanksgiving Visitor and One Christmas.”
Shine directs a cast that includes TSC company members Michael Khanlarian, Kellan Oelkers, and Nicolas Dureaux Picou. Shine also participates in the ensemble. P.J. Townsend is the stage manager.
Artist and Production Bios
Michael Khanlarian (Ensemble) TSC: King Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses, Macbeth Initiative, Julius Caesar, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Macbeth, As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, To Kill a Mockingbird, Henry V, All’s Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, Othello, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet. Education: University of Memphis. Michael is a founding member of TSC.
Kellan Oelkers (Ensemble) TSC: King Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses, Macbeth Initiative, Romeo and Juliet Project. Baltimore Shakespeare Factory: Romeo and Juliet. Theater J: The Jewish Queen Lear. Georgetown University: The Rover, An Acorn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Education: Georgetown University (B.A. in Theater and Performance Studies).
Nicolas Dureaux Picou (Ensemble) TSC: Ada and the Engine, King Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses, The Tempest, As You Like It, Macbeth, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Comedy of Errors, Henry V. Other favorite productions include M. Butterfly, The Physicists, Private Eyes. Nic holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from the University of Memphis.
Stephanie Shine+ (Curator, Director, Ensemble) TSC directorial credits include King Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses, Macbeth Initiative, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Southern Yuletide, Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits, Shake(s), Rattle, and Roll, Shakespeare Said It, Lend Me Thy Sword, ten productions of Romeo and Juliet, and many Literary Salons. On stage at TSC, she played the Abbess in The Comedy of Errors, Countess in All’s Well That Ends Well, the female roles in Unto the Breach, and Gertrude in Hamlet. Prior to joining TSC, she was Artistic Director of Seattle Shakespeare Company, a position she enjoyed for 13 years. Other directorial credits include As You Like It for Houston Shakespeare Festival, The Taming of the Shrew and The Comedy of Errors for Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the award-winning one-woman internationally-touring Marilyn Monroe Biopic, Marilyn: Forever Blonde, and several new works for Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre. Her production of I am of Ireland (which she also conceived and adapted) opened Book-It’s 25th Anniversary Season in 2014. As an actor, she has performed with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, NYC’s Theatre for a New Audience, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Alley Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, ACT, The Empty Space, and Seattle Children’s Theatre, among others. Roles include Juliet, Rosalind, Lady Macbeth, Beatrice, Regan, Feste, Kate, Bianca, Dionyza, the Princess of France, Hero, Perdita, and the Chorus in Henry V. The Germantown Arts Alliance honored her with its 2016 Distinguished Arts and Humanities Medal for Performing Arts. She is the mother of four exceptional young humans: Conor, Cahilan, Sullivan, and Collins. Education: graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts; B.F.A in Acting from the University of Washington’s Professional Actor Training Program; M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Memphis.
P.J. Townsend (Stage Manager) Credits: Stage Manager/Props Master for Sterling Renaissance Festival; Stage Manager for Blues for an Alabama Sky; Assistant Stage Manager for Cabaret, The Seagull, and Next to Normal. P.J. is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, with a B.A. in Theater and an emphasis in technical theatre and management.
+ member, Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.
Health Safety Information for the Tabor Stage
All TSC personnel are fully-vaccinated against COVID-19.
TSC follows Shelby County Health Department directives and recommendations: As it is possible TSC actors could be within 15 feet of patrons, all patrons aged 2+ must wear a facial mask at all times inside TSC’s facility and must present (at point of entry) a valid proof of receipt of at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose, or, if patrons are aged 12+ and unvaccinated, must present valid proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken at least 72 hours prior.
Box Office Information
Purchase tickets now and receive more information by calling TSC’s Box Office at (901) 759-0604 or going online to www.tnshakespeare.org.
TSC’s Tabor Stage is located at 7950 Trinity Road, Memphis, TN 38018-6297.
Tickets range from $15-$27, including tiered seating tickets for Seniors (age 62+) ranging from $20-$24 and tiered seating tickets for Students (age +/-22, with identification) ranging from $15-$20.
No refunds/exchanges. House opens 30 minutes prior to curtain for purchase of specialty Salon cocktail. Credit Card charges require a $1 per-ticket fee. Cast/schedule subject to change with notice. Free parking and covered drop-off area.
Schedule for Truman Capote’s Christmas Memory
Sunday, December 12: 3:00 pm matinee
Friday, December 17: 7:30 pm
Saturday, December 18: 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 19: 3:00 pm matinee
Season 14 Sponsors and Partners
TSC’s generous sponsors of its season, productions, and Education and Outreach Program include FedEx, International Paper, the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Midwest, ArtsMemphis, Tennessee Arts Commission, Independent Bank, Evans|Petree, P.C., First Horizon Foundation through an ArtsFirst grant, AutoZone, Campbell Clinic, the family of Pat and Ernest Kelly, The Sims Family Charitable Trust, Nancy R. Copp, the Jack Jones Children’s Literacy Fund, the family of Owen and Margaret Wellford Tabor, the Barbara B. Apperson Angel Fund, the Dunbar Abston Fund for Sustainable Excellence, Anne and Michael Keeney, Irene and Fred Smith, and the Memphis City Council. TSC’s season is funded under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee.
TSC’s programming and outreach partners include University of Memphis’ Department of Theatre & Dance, Shelby County Schools, Collierville Municipal School District, Memphis Juvenile Justice System, the Memphis V.A. Hospital, Cities of Bartlett/Collierville/Germantown/Lakeland/Memphis, and the Benjamin Hooks Public Library Friends.
About Tennessee Shakespeare Company:
Tennessee Shakespeare Company is a professional, not-for-profit theatre and education organization in Memphis dedicated to live, diverse performances of William Shakespeare’s plays, as well as works of social significance by classical, Southern, and modern writers/composers; and to providing innovative educational and training programming in-person and online.
Founded in 2008 by Producing Artistic Director Dan McCleary, Tennessee Shakespeare Company is Memphis’ first and only professional, classical theatre. In 2017, TSC purchased its first performing arts facility, which is being renovated into the state’s only permanent home for professional, year-round Shakespeare performance, education, and training. The company is engaged in its Brave New World capital campaign with a goal of $9.2 million, of which nearly one-third has been raised.
TSC has engaged its community with 58 site-specific plays and events for over 52,000 patrons. Its ground-breaking Education Program has reached 120 schools across nine states, totaling over 275,000 student interactions. The Program has achieved a high regional and national profile, partners annually with most local school systems, and this year is a recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts/Arts Midwest’s Shakespeare in American Communities grants: one for The Romeo and Juliet Project in underserved local schools, and the other for expanded residencies with local incarcerated youth. TSC is one of just a handful of U.S. theatres to be awarded this grant for the third consecutive year.
