Bourbon & Canal

Beignets at Du Monde

written by Dan Roeder, presented by UMBC TheatreCOM’s New Playwright’s Festival 2012 

My initial reaction was that I expected more. I didn’t realize it was over when the lights went out. The last line, “I’ll never forgive you,” was just so full of emotion that I just didn’t want to believe it was over. It took place with limited resources, since the TheatreCOM was sharing the space with the Dance Department that night. (Such problems will be avoided once the new Performing Arts and Humanities Building is fully open!) It was set in only a few places in New Orleans: Tilda’s front porch, Tilda’s house, Cafe Du Monde, a train station, and Lake Pontchartrain.  Using only a few characters,  my friend Dan combined his theater experience with his budding knowledge of New Orleans and the French Quarter. I saw it on opening night; my professors saw its final performance. I’m hoping that a more embellished play involving more scenes and more character development will be on the new stage next semester — this should give him the chance to enhance Jacob’s character. I’m impressed that Dan was able to write this play without definite knowledge of what kind of space he would have. 
The pivotal scene definitely was at Cafe Du Monde, a restaurant in the French Quarter (incidentally, founded by the Spanish) famous for beignets. Dan obviously conducted a good deal of research to discover the tradition of blowing sugar on the guest of honor. Unfortunately, Eve didn’t understand this tradition that was so essential to her older sister Tilda. Right down to the costumes, the scene at Du Monde was perfectly crafted. Tilda wore an imperious red dress, and Eve’s dress was stained red after her unexpected miscarriage in the bathroom. The whole time, Eve was an outsider — refusing to embrace her sister’s French Catholicism, rejecting New Orleans customs, and generally playing her Methodist father’s favorite. Meanwhile, Tilda was rejected by her father as she embraced the French Quarter.
Overall, the play kept me at the edge of my seat and I kept expecting more. Well done, Dan!
also, props to the Stage Manager, my partner in crime (see my previous posts about bananas foster http://bourbonandcanal.tumblr.com/post/20015712577/bananas-foster-my-humanities-course-had-a and making the video project http://bourbonandcanal.tumblr.com/post/23118272631/i-hope-youre-hungry-after-you-watch-that-video). I have referred to my friend throughout this blog as my “partner in crime” so that she remained anonymous.

A Walk on the Wild Side - and the Depression in the South

On one of the first days of class, our seminar discussed A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren. Looking back on last January, it was an interesting introduction to New Orleans for someone who had only a basic background in the context of United States history. As someone who is interested in the historical side of literature, I found the context of A Walk on the Wild Side especially intriguing.It was written in the mid-1950s and targeted the Baby Boom middle class. It painted a picture of the 1930s Depression in the Deep South. The fringes of society it showed were “exotic” and “spicy”, and it would have been considered risque for the 1950s. In my opinion, it exposes the underbelly of New Orleans and intentionally makes the readers uncomfortable with the problems perpetuating in New Orleans and its surroundings, especially because Dove had to take desperate measures to survive. Algren addresses the value of education and access to education in the 1930s. The target audience in the 1950s had already lived through the Depression and assumed that they knew about it — but only two decades later, the readers were forced to accept the realization that the Depression in New Orleans was nothing like what they expected. 

The Sounds of Garifuna Music and Dance (as promised)

As is to be expected, Garifuna music is heavily influenced by West African rhythm of dance and drums. It also reflects a lengthy oral tradition of call and response as well as ancestor worship. Latin American and Caribbean music is characterized by sentiment and motion; Garifuna music is about events, rituals, and concerns. Dancing and music is fundamental at birthday celebrations, rites of passage, festivals, sports bars, and a more reverent version in church. 

Garifuna musical instruments are usually hollow drums, including tenor drums, counter-rhythmic drums, and bass drums. Most of their music is percussion based, so most of their other instruments involve scratching, beating, or tapping. They use gourd maracas filled with dried seeds, similar to other Latin American customs. Sometimes they stretch wires over the hollow drums to add a buzzing noise similar to West African music. Most instruments are made from natural objects (other than bottle percussion) such as turtle shells, wood, and seashells. There are variety of music styles, with differing rhythms and expressions depending on the event and time of year. 

In New Orleans, the Garifuna have dances especially for the winter holidays. The New Orleanian Garifuna people follow a man dressed in coconut leaves (the Guarine) , who dances a traditional dance called the punta. The Pastorales, a female choir singing songs about rural Garifuna life, join him. Flandigano, another male member of the celebration, dances through the streets on stilts. Garifuna in New Orleans also have similar death rites to their counterparts, displaying food for the deceased. Family members sing, dance, and find comfort around the displayed food. 

Serrano, Amy. “From Punta to Chumba: Garifuna Music and Dance in New Orleans”. Louisiana Living Traditions. http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/garifuna2.html