Our production of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing opens this week! The play features theatre-goer’s favorite Shakespearian battle of the sexes, Beatrice vs. Benedick, whose ’will-they-or-won’t-they’ relationship drives much of Much Ado’s story and comedy.

Through the show’s rehearsal process the cast has become clearly divided between two camps: Team Beatrice and Team Benedick. Sides have been chosen and the battle has begun. Now you too can show your support by featuring your team’s image as your Facebook cover photo! Then come see Much Ado and show your support to your favorite team in person!

Click here to purchase tickets.

Theatre is no stranger to outrage.  The subjective art form lends itself to interpretation, which is inextricably tied to personal experience and self-knowledge.  In Ibsen’s day, when Nora walks out on her family at the conclusion of A Doll’s House, some critics praise its progressive stance.  Others burn down the theater.   Today audiences have cooled slightly in their active response, but not in their passion and reaction to the plays themselves.  Today we have Facebook, where the realm of outrage lives and, hopefully, extends beyond into action.  Anyone that keeps up with The NOLA Project on social media (our preferred marketing outlet-it’s free) has seen the sudden and stirring responses evoked by our production of Gabrielle Reisman’s play ‘Catch the Wall’ now playing at Dillard University.  Or maybe you haven’t.  The reaction began on our Facebook event wall for the show and was later removed (censored some call it) when a highly personal email was copied and pasted into the public forum.  I felt the action was offensive and disregarded the basic trust implicit in a personal email.  And as a response, our marketing director, by my request, made the event’s wall private, thusly deleting the original thread.  We then proceeded to create a Facebook group for a forum discussion that could last well beyond the show’s closing.  The inability for us to recover and copy the deleted comments outraged some, and that is something that as Artistic Director I must accept, take responsibility for, and move forward from. 

But what pleases me despite the bruises to the ego is that we have here a play that inspires these passionate responses.  And I welcome you to continue in this discussion.  Does a white playwright have the authority or even the right to craft a play about the experience of black characters?  Does a white director have the ability to comprehend and direct this play?  And does a company composed of more white faces than black have the ability to embrace and attempt to produce this play? 

Some have also questioned the motivations of the playwright and the intent of the production.  Is this a white playwrights personal perspective of bounce music and public education in black communities?  Or is this a call to action and social change?  In essence, why do we produce theatre?  To what end?

For me, and this is a lesson passed on from Stella Adler, great plays are about ideas. And the best plays pit two difficult and equally valid ideas directly against one another.  Take William’s The Glass Menagerie and the struggle to define life as better lived for one’s family or for one’s self.  Miller plays often deal with the difficult ideas of doing what is morally right versus what is socially and economically correct.  Now to place Gabrielle Reisman amongst those legends is certainly premature and possibly grandiose.  But my point is that the best plays have no easy answers and the productions of them often spark immense debate and argument.  It is why they are perpetually produced, over and over again for consideration and reconsideration.  They live with us far longer than the two hours we spend directly with them.  And perhaps they move us to action.  Or maybe they don’t.  Maybe they change our mind.  Or perhaps they just needle something in us that isn’t very comfortable.

You can charge that The NOLA Project, or Gabrielle Reisman, or Chris Kaminstein, or anyone involved in ‘Catch the Wall’ oversteps his or her boundary and rights in producing ‘Catch the Wall.’  But if we choose to avoid the challenge and potential backlash, we do our community a much greater disservice.

I think Troi Bechet, a fabulous actor in our company said it best when she said that one thing this debate makes crystal clear is the need for more artists of color in the New Orleans theatre.  We need directors and actors and designers and writers of color, and they need and deserve avenues of expression.  I hope that  The NOLA Project can be of assistance  and in partnership here. 

Please, if you haven’t seen ‘Catch the Wall’, go.  Your thoughts, for better or worse, are valuable.  If we inspire thought, serve the artists of our community, and keep interesting and new theatre thriving in the city of New Orleans, then we accomplish our mission, and I can hold my head up high.

-AJ Allegra

Artistic Director, The NOLA Project 

Join the discussion here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/555780277775654/

Here we go! #catchthewall (at Dillard University)

It’s the last week of our #CatchTheWall Instagram contest, which means your last chance to shake what your mama gave you for free tickets to ‘Catch the Wall’

Catch a cat! Catch a bat! Make a bat catch a cat in a vat! Just capture the moment on IG and tag it with #catchthewall before Wednesday!

@t0ups is our #catchthewall Instagram contest winner this week! The photo, titled “Twerk Over NOLA Ya’heard?” wins a coveted spot atop our FB page AND 2 free tickets to Catch the Wall!
This contest runs for just ONE more week, so tag your IG shots with #catchthewall and you could be our final winner!

Congratulations to @theshelbyshow - this week’s #catchthewall Instagram contest winner! We have been receiving some fantastically creative submissions! Keep catching and tagging! (at Disneyworld)

CATCH THE CAST:  Tenaj Jackson

Hey everyone, meet Tenaj Jackson!  Tenaj is playing Justice, the feisty student at the center of ‘CTW’s’ trio of students at Believe Academy.  Tenaj is an incredibly talented and versatile actress working in both live theatre and film and she can be seen in the recent ‘Django: Unchained.’  Here is Tenaj in her own words…

Full Name:  TENAJ L. JACKSON

Home town: NEW ORLEANS, LA

What was your first theatre experience (performing in or attending)? Technically my first theatre experience was in 2nd grade. I was the lightning bolt in a play about colors.

What type of music/what music artists are you listening to these days? Childish Gambino is overflowing in my iPod but my favorite Pandora stations are Bruno Mars and Lil Wayne….with a little TLC sprinkled on top.

Your Favorite class or subject in primary school (K-12): English across the board!

What is your favorite theatre ritual?: Not sure if there’s already a name for this warm up so I’ll call it the sound stretch lol: My castmates and I are in a circle stretching and start blurting out whichever sound we’re feeling at the moment. Oddly relaxing!!

What high school did you attend? REDEEMER-SETON

Mac or PC? Raised on PC; upgrading to Mac.

Favorite movie you’ve seen recently: Man on the Moon & Limitless. I’ve seen then both before, watched them again recently and I’m still in love!

Who was your childhood hero? Probably my sister Quian. There’s nothing she can’t do!

Anything we might not know about you that our audience would find interesting? Trick question!

The Man with the Magic Touch

Meet Justin Shiels.  You probably know him.  And if you don’t, you’ve probably seen his work as head honcho of the site InvadeNOLA .  Justin is also the graphic designer behind our posters for Catch the Wall !  We asked him about his work as a designer and a generally super cool dude…

Where are you from? 

I was born in Memphis TN

What brought you to New Orleans? 

I moved to New Orleans for undergrad and stuck around after I graduated. I’ve been a resident Aalmost 10 years now, so I like to think of myself as a local. 

What got you interested in graphic design? 

Visual culture has been a passion as long as I can remember. I started drawing as a child and was fortunate to take AP Art throughout high school. But I got into graphic design because there is this innate power with words and pictures to make social change regardless of industry. That intrigues me. 

How do you see graphic design affecting the future of arts advertising? 

Whether its advertising, publishing or creative strategy, the biggest challenge for the marketers for our generation is building relationships while being transparent and authentic. As a society, we are slowly moving past simple aesthetics and crave genuine connections — even with the products we use.  

Tell us a little about InvadeNOLA.

InvadeNOLA is a daily blog that answers the question: What’s happening in New Orleans? Gearing our content towards young professionals, we focus on the people, places, projects, and events that make our city so great. 

And Curious Tribe…

Founded in 2013, the Curious Tribe Blog is my personal blog that serves as a resource for creative people and creative enthusiasts. I also do Freelance design work through the Curious Tribe Studio. 

What are some pieces of advice you’d give to anyone interested in becoming a graphic or web designer today? 

Anyone can learn specific computer technical skills. There is a book for everything now and if you absolutely need to take a class from a teacher, there are classes at every community college and university across the country. But if you want to be a great designer you have to learn to think conceptually; You have to be able to communicate effectively; And you have to have the empathy to understand your client.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Danger Boys

CATCH THE CAST:  Joyce Deal

Meet Joyce Deal, playing the Bounce MC Benefit in ‘Catch the Wall.’  Joyce blew us away in 2009 with her thrilling performance as Saint Monica in ‘The Last Days of Judas Iscariot’ and we’ve been dying to work with her since.  Looks like 2013 is our lucky year!  Here is Joyce in her own words…

Hometown: New Orleans

What was your first theatre experience (performing in or attending)? My first theater experience was doing Raisin the musical in high school; I realized theater and acting period was going to be a prominent part of my life.

What type of music/what music artists are you listening to these days? I am a huge Anthony Hamilton and Kem fan, love Fantasia, and Alicia Keys – This girl is on fire is my theme song…smiles.

Your Favorite class or subject in primary school (K-12): My favorite subjects were English and Science.

What is your favorite theatre ritual? My favorite theater ritual is to meditate and then dance.

What high school did you attend? I attended Warren Easton Senior High school…Go Eagles!

Mac or PC? PC

Favorite movie you’ve seen recently: Django.

Who was your childhood hero? My childhood heroes were my parents Love you Dad and Mom.