MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Horhn, Butler (38th), Clarke, Dawkins, Fillingane, Frazier, Gollott, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Longwitz, Moran
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING PLAYWRIGHT BETH HENLEY UPON HER RECEIPT OF THE 2013 GOVERNOR'S ARTS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LITERATURE.
WHEREAS, the Mississippi Arts Commission has announced that Playwright Beth Henley has been named as recipient of the prestigious 2013 Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Literature, with the ceremony to be held on February 21, 2013, in the Concert Hall of Belhaven University Center for the Arts; and
WHEREAS, Beth Henley is a native of Jackson, Mississippi, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Playwright, screenwriter and actress, Beth Henley first entered the critical spotlight in 1978 with her play about three maladjusted sisters set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. Crimes of the Heart went on to win many awards, including the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New American Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, both in 1981; and
WHEREAS, Beth Henley also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play, and five years later, an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The play and subsequent film version showcased Beth Henley as one of a new breed of American dramatists dedicated to preserving regional voices on the stage; and
WHEREAS, she followed the success of Crimes of the Heart with The Miss Firecracker Contest, first produced on stage in Los Angeles in 1980 and later adapted for the big screen by Henley. In addition to playwriting, she has written several television and movie screenplays, including Survival Guides with Budge Threlkeld for Public Broadcasting Station and the films Nobody's Fool and True Stories; and
WHEREAS, the Governor's Arts Awards are presented annually to outstanding writers, artists, performers, craftsmen and educators who have made significant and lasting contributions through their work as well as to corporations or organizations on the basis of their dedication to arts advancement; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we pay tribute to this respected playwright whose body of work has brought honor to her community and to the State of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize Playwright Beth Henley upon her receipt of the 2013 Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Literature, and extend our best wishes to Beth and her family on the occasion of the Awards Ceremony on February 21, 2013.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Beth Henley, forwarded to the Governor and the Mississippi Arts Commission, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.