DecadesOut News

Still Accepting Submissions for 2009 and
Looking Forward to 2010!!

The Launch Pad is a FREE arts development program focusing on theatre. Submissions are open globally, and we encourage writers, directors and actors to submit both new plays and new visions of established plays. The only thing we ask (in keeping with our mission) is that the play invoke science.

Check Out Our Submission Guidelines

There are those times in life when you set out to do something with a crystal clear idea, with the attitude that you’ll see exactly what you set out to see. Then the thing happens. The horizon widens, and suddenly you realize that everything was so easy to see because you had blinders on.

We’ve been back one month from our southern excursion to Houston, Galveston, Austin and New Orleans shooting interviews for New Land, and it’s taken me this long to get my brain around enough of it to write this.

First the facts. We’ve got over 40 interviews and 25 hours of footage. We toured every inch of Houston, New Orleans, Galveston, and had a quick jaunt through Austin (too bad, it’s a great city). We  logged a good 2,000 miles in the car. Not bad when you’re spending the majority of your time city driving. We happily got to know more about those cities through their people then we could ever have imagined. By the time we left (fully knowing that we only scratched the surface and had to return), we could attach faces to the Wards of New Orleans (and Houston) as well as Sugar Land, Metarie, New Orleans East, Chalmette, Galleria, Sea Wall Boulevard, Bastrop, Austin…and yes, the French Quarter. (All work and no play….)

We got fed like nobody’s business. Walking into complete strangers’ houses, the greeting often went like this: “Hi. I made jambalaya/gumbo/eggs/pancakes and brownies, and we have plenty of beer. You’re staying to eat, right!?” We stayed and left something richer for the company, and we were definitely no longer complete strangers. Thank you Grenier’s, LaVigne’s and Galatoire’s.

We talked with white collar, blue collar, scholars, sociologists, community activists, enthusiasts, musicians, politicians, painters, poets, priests, parents, and children. The list goes on. No alliterative joke.  These were people who had lost everything and had gotten shaken to their cores. Now they were gracious enough to open themselves up to us, and the strength of this seemingly simple action was not lost. It broadened our vision to encompass the science behind change and the greater meaning that lies in the conflict of sharing.

Now it’s time to regroup, revisit the trip digitally and plan the next leg (probably back down to New Orleans) to follow up.

David Fountain, New Orleans, Musician's Village Enthusiast

The teaser is up!! Go to the New Land, New Life Project Page to watch it.

DecadesOut will be filming their documentary entitled New Land, New Life in Houston, Galveston, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Jackson from July 27-August 9, 2009. A film about the mass migration of New Orleans residents displaced during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, New Land, New Life will share stories of the new lives created in these new cities and the impact that the largest migration since the Civil War has had on the surrounding towns and cities.

We will be meeting and interviewing evacuees from New Orleans to learn about their unfiltered accounts of what really happened to them and their families during and since Katrina forced them to flee. Interviews will also be conducted with residents of Houston, Galveston, Baton Rouge and Jackson to fully comprehend both the social and economic ripple effects this migration has created in their personal lives and their communities. We will interview residents ranging from political and community leaders, influencers, media, business owners, artists, and residents who have been involved directly with organizations that have assisted with the ”clean up” of Katrina.

We will be updating the blog while on the road during production, so stay tuned for the latest on who we’ve met, and what we’ve learned!

Hey Everyone!

Production is rolling along with Burning to Communicate, our documentary piece on the history and development of the Off-Off Broadway theatre movement!

The trailer is up too. Check it out at the Burning to Communicate webpage.

In late June, we filmed a great interview with Emmy nominated William Hoffman, author of the critically acclaimed play, As Is. He had much to say about the start of the Caffe Cino and how he began his career as a writer.

Last week we had the privilege of working with Tom Walker, the head archivist at The Living Theatre! He provided us with several stills and candid images from The Living Theatre’s earliest works and years, and we’re most grateful to have such access.

We’ll keep you up to date with our progress as we continue to shoot more interviews!