Planning ahead?
 

Well, if you’re anything like local theater companies, you’re already looking at next year’s calendar.
 

Spurred by Dallas Theater Center’s artistic director Kevin Moriarty, at least 10 professional theater companies and other organizations will be taking part in a groundbreaking festival celebrating the work of late Texas playwright and screenwriter, Horton Foote.
 

The proceedings will begin on March 14, 2011, with a party for what would have been Horton Foote’s 95th birthday.
 

Then, over six weeks, his entire repertoire of 49 plays will be produced by local theaters such as Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, Kitchen Dog Theater and Uptown Players, among others.
 

The Dallas Film Society will be screening his films, which include his Oscar-winning works “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Tender Mercies.”
 

Turns out that SMU will play a role in this as well, because The DeGolyer library has served as a storehouse for all of Foote’s scripts. The library will host an exhibit in connection with the festival next year.
 

Which theaters will put on what shows is still in the works, according to dallasnews.com, and the list will be announced alongside the companies’ individual seasons.
 

This festival is just one more way in which Dallas is proving to be a pioneer in the world of theater.