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Theatre, Visiting Artist, Public Events

2026 Morrin Lecture: A Conversation with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Through the Helen Clanton Morrin Lecture series we continue to teach our students that theatre does not simply entertain, but in fact emboldens us to make change.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is a writer and theatre artist whose plays include Purpose, Appropriate, The Comeuppance, Girls, Everybody, War, Gloria, Appropriate, An Octoroon and Neighbors. He is a Professor in the Practice at Yale University and serves as Vice President of the Dramatists Guild council. He has been the recipient of two Tony awards, a Pulitzer Prize, the MacArthur fellowship, the Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama, and the inaugural Tennessee Williams Award.

Event details:

Friday, September 18, 2026
3:00 PM - Reception immediately to follow
Emerson Auditorium, Knight Hall

Please submit your RSVP by September 1, 2026!

Branden’s visit is in conjunction with the Tennessee Williams Festival of St. Louis and its production of ‘Appropriate’ and is co-sponsored by the WashU Departments of African & African American Studies, American Culture Studies, Art History & Archeology, English, History, and the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE2).

About the Helen Clanton Morrin Lecture Series
Helen Clanton Morrin, was a former writer, editor, public relations director, and community service volunteer in St. Louis. From 1969 to 1988, Mrs. Morrin was executive director of the World Affairs Council in St. Louis. In that capacity, she was responsible for planning and directing programs, volunteer recruitment, membership, and travel. From 1934 to 1941, she was a feature writer and editor to the Globe-Democrat. After that, she was public information director for the Post-Dispatch. Some of her high-profile interviews included Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Davis, Helen Hayes, Gen. James Doolittle, and the Dalai Lama. She also did public relations work with Fleishman-Hillard Inc., St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and several others. She was a past president of the Junior League of St. Louis and served on numerous boards including Mary Institute, John Burroughs School, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and the St. Louis Nanjing Sister Committee. Click here for more information about the Helen Clanton Morrin Lecture Series

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