Category Archives: 504ward

Gnarly NOLA-ites: The NOLA Project and Romeo and Juliet

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I know I said I was on hiatus from writing and trust me after this post I have full intention to sit back and enjoy the holiday season as any good New Orleanian should.  However, I am going to make an exception for this one post:

Years ago (about 6/7 years now), native New Orleanians Andrew Larimer and Alex Pomes came together with an idea to create a theater company that brought witty and intelligent theater to New Orleans.  At the time Larimer was a theater student at NYU and Pomes was actively pursuing his acting career in New Orleans and true to NOLA form, the duo met in high school while studying at NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts).

The idea was simple, bring fresh and undiscovered New York talent to New Orleans where the actors would find themselves participating in real theater in a community that not only appreciated it, but that they could afford to live in.  Pomes had the New Orleans connections and Larimer knew the fresh New York talent and in the summer of 2005 the idea was born in their first production, The Cripple of Inishmaan.  The production was sharp, witty and dark a perfect satire for the New Orleanian sense of humor.  Despite the shows interruption by Katrina, the NOLA project moved forward, offering satirical and intelligent productions every summer.

After completing college, Larimer moved back to New Orleans and the NOLA Project moved from summer theater to year round productions and by this time they had partnered with the talented Creative Director A.J. Allegra.  In the post-Katrina, renaissance of New Orleans, the NOLA Project thrived, finding creativity in the adversity of limited theater spaces and funding.  The young group not only thrived in the limited environment, their energy and youth actively engaged a once sleepy theater community and revived the cities passion for the stage.

In their most recent collaboration, the NOLA Project teamed up with the New Orleans Museum of Art for an outstanding and sold out production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden where fairies and misfits alike frolicked through the sculptures and pine grove, leading their audiences through the various scenes on foot in a dreamlike trance.

The Shakespeare production was such a success that a creative arts partnership was born.  Now on their third production at the museum, the NOLA Project presents their own rendition of Romeo and Juliet.  Using the New Orleans Museum of Art’s neo-classical building as inspiration, the company sets the play in the museum’s Great Hall amongst the ionic columns and the grandiose staircase.

The first scenes of the play begin outside the museum, set as the streets of Verona where the Capulet’s and the Montague’s first meet in the famous opening duel.  The audience is then brought into the Great Hall for the remainder of the performance, where they are treated to scenes set in the commons of the hall, the steps and even the second floor balcony.  In and of itself, the setting brings a romantic quality back to the Shakespearian play that is often missing from modern productions of the piece.  Finally a fantastic use of the museum’s problematic great hall design, theater in the round lives at NOMA.  New Orleans creativity at its finest, kudos to the NOLA Project for a fantastic performance that literally keeps the audience guessing from every angle.

The show opened last night, so be sure to get your tickets before they sell out!

http://nolaproject.com/shows.php

Why New Orleans? Why Now?

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It fascinates me to look through the lenses of the outsider.  As a native, I’m not always as in tune with what makes this city so unique as those who aren’t local. I adore meeting new people, especially people who aren’t from here.  I’m always intrigued by the many reasons that they chose to move.  Why New Orleans?  Why now?

The answers to these questions vary considerably.  Some came down to rebuild after hurricane Katrina, fell in love with the place and never wanted to leave.  Some loved it before the hurricane.  Some came for jobs.  Some came with no job all for a life change.  Whatever the reason, the common link points back to passion-for something, for someone, for anything, for New Orleans.

But, why New Orleans?  Why now? Earlier this year, Forbes Magazine has called New Orleans one of the biggest brain magnets in the country, while traditional magnet cities like New York have taken quite a hit. The common argument has been that the events following hurricane Katrina have set this new wave of energy into motion, and Forbes also agrees with this analysis.

It’s easy to point the finger to Katrina for the many changes taking place in New Orleans.  It is so easy that I find it often overshadows the other factors that are key elements to the changing city.  Have the years following hurricane Katrina impacted the city for the positive?  Absolutely.  Is it the only reason that New Orleans is considered the #1 brain magnet in the US?  Absolutely not.

Why now?  In the years following hurricane Katrina the government has made a concerted efforts to create jobs.  They have provided incentives for the film industry and for technology start-ups and this has brought creative talent to Southeastern Louisiana.  No doubt about it.  Combine new jobs, company incentives and a low-cost of living, New Orleans becomes a favorable environment for those with a vision.  But even with all the financial incentives in the mix, people still have to want to be here.

Why New Orleans?  In the broader culture of the US, we have seen the rise of something called the “creative class.” The description of the creative class sounds a lot like the younger generations (except it encompasses people of all age groups): a class of people who are educated and innovative, people who value culture, the arts, education and expect for their hometown to offer them a diverse buffet of ways to experience and learn.  These people see value in life outside of the office as much as they value their careers, they crave balance and actively seek it.

In a recent study of the cultural economy, Mayor Landrieu says, “This report…vividly illustrates that culture is inseparable from our way of life in New Orleans.  We enjoy a diversity of cultural riches that most cities can only dream about.  This report, for the first time in our City’s history, puts numbers to what we instinctively know—New Orleans is one of the leading centers in the world for the intersection of creativity and commerce.” If you look at the lifestyle of New Orleanians before the hurricane in relation to the creative class one can argue that New Orleans would have begun to move in this direction even if the hurricane hadn’t happened, the hurricane simply put the city on a national and global stage and lit a fire under the local governments initiatives.

Just as people are drawn to New York for its fast pace, energy and beauty, people are drawn to New Orleans for its slower pace, unique people and commitment to the soul.  People marvel at New Yorker’s lifestyles for the stuff that they have and the careers they devote themselves to, where they marvel at New Orleanians for the culture they create and the relationships can’t live without.  It comes down to passion.  New Yorkers are passionate about success: wealth, fame, knowledge, career skills.  New Orleanians are passionate about life: friends, family, conversations, experiences, feelings.

As gen-x and gen-y move to the forefront of national discussions, their perspectives on life will also evolve the US perspectives.  New Orleans appeals to the soul of the creative class and we are witnessing a shift.  A shift in the passions of United States citizens, and in the energy, business world and soul of New Orleans.

Born Again New Orleanian

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“This is a powerful moment in New Orleans. While Katrina may be our nation’s greatest challenge, it could also be our resounding legacy. For the first time in its storied history, New Orleans is saturated with talented networks of young people, who have followed the road less traveled all the way to the Crescent City. In what has become an incubator for innovation and intellectualism, New Orleans is watching the development of a generation of leaders, who will pay dividends to their country for generations to come.”-504ward.com/about-us

In the past few years there has been a lot of chatter surrounding the gen-x and gen-y-ers in the city.  These individuals are young, smart, educated, and innovative.  Never before has this city seen such a talented group of young professionals, many who came down to help rebuild the city, fell in love with its charm and never left.  These young innovators have in fact been an important part of the cities recovery, yet the nola converts have not been the only ones among the ranks of the young and talented.  There is another group of young professionals who have made a movement to New Orleans in these post-Katrina times: the Born Again New Orleanian.

The Born Again New Orleanian is a unique group among these energizers who have flocked to the city.  They are the original young and talented individuals of New Orleans, the ones who were forced out when the city had no jobs or prospects.  New Orleanian by birth, this group began their life during the decline of the New Orleans economy. Pre-Katrina it almost went without saying that if you were college educated and had any career aspirations at all that you would likely have to leave New Orleans to have that career.  They left NOLA for college spreading across the country in every direction in search of life outside the city, many of them never to return.  Efforts were made to prevent the brain drain such as the TOPS program designed to keep the youth of Louisiana in the state through in state tuition wavers for those with high enough GPA’s.  However despite the efforts to keep the talent, the jobs once these individuals graduated were few and far between.

Despite their love of the city these natives left their hearts at home to follow their dreams.  Practically speaking, their dreams were pointing towards a brighter future of careers that actually utilized their degrees.  You all know these individuals, they were the ones that would come home for the holidays and talk about how much they miss it down here.  Almost always making the comment “once I get my career started and I have the experience I need, I’ll move back.  I might take a pay cut to do it, but it’d be worth it.”  They left with the hopes of some day moving back, yet had the sinking feeling that someday may never come.

Flash forward to present, these young professionals are now presented with the opportunity to have a bright career and live in New Orleans.  Having spent years away from the city, these young professionals are also flooding into the city to take advantage of the new job opportunities that have arisen in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  The sudden burst of energy in NOLA has pulled them back with a magnetic force and for the first time in a long time they are seeing a bright future in New Orleans instead of away from it and these 20-somethings are coming in with guns blazing.  Armed the professional knowledge of “big city” business and the local knowledge of New Orleans these young professionals are a group unto themselves and need to be recognized as a unique part of the rebuilding movement.  Never wanting to leave in the first place, they are now back and ready to run with these new opportunities and the promise of a brighter New Orleans.  They are the Born Again New Orleanians.

August’s Forecast: White Linen

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August 6, the first Saturday of the hottest month in a New Orleans summer.  In the South, we usually reserve these brutal summer months for beach get aways, lazy afternoons on the sofa, or any activity that includes an air-conditioned building at sub-zero temperatures.  One would think that New Orleans, of all Southern cities, would be deep into summer hibernation by the time August rolls around, but then again this sultry city has never been that predictable.  How does the Crescent City beat the heat?  We flock to an over crowded outdoor block party wearing white linen of course!

Instead of hitting the pool the first Saturday in August, residents of the city flock to an art filled, outdoor block party on Julia Street: White Linen Night.  Asking yourself why we intend on spending a hot summer afternoon in the outdoor heat?  The answer is simple, its the party of the summer and the attire is white linen, so we won’t be hot…obviously!

Fifteen years after its inaugural event, White Linen Night has exploded as the Art Walk of the year.  Even those who are unfamiliar with the art featured in the galleries have come to include the event in their social calendar as the party of the season with plenty of live music, food, and drinks to make it a real block party.  After all, what do New Orleanians love more than being outside, eating, and drinking (even if there is a heat index of 100 degrees)?  Good art to boot just scores bonus points in our books.

For those of you who fancy yourselves art aficionados make sure to hit up the fabulous galleries such as Arthur Roger Gallery, Gallery Bienvenue, Heriard-Cimino Gallery, and Jonathan Ferrara Gallery.  Young professionals be sure to check out the 504ward party at the Louisiana Children’s Museum to network your white linen socks off.  And anyone who considers themselves a true White Linen fanatic should not miss the White Linen after party at the Contemporary Art Center.  The CAC party will be a who’s who of the NOLA Art scene and this girl just scored herself a free ticket!  See you next week, I’ll be the one in the white!