Wednesday, August 27, 2008
 

Join us as we kickoff DecaFest 2008 with a reception at 6 pm, followed at 7 pm with “A Vision of Tomorrow.” Roberts Batson, in this hour and a half multi-media stage adaptation of his acclaimed Gay Heritage Tour of New Orleans, illustrates how an LGBT community emerged here – the horrors, the hilarity, the heroes, the homophobes. He recounts important events that shaped an era: The Clay Shaw trial and Oliver Stone’s misrepresentation of it, The Gay Liberation Front and unspeakable police brutality, the tragic Upstairs Lounge Fire. Mixing respect and irreverent humor, Batson brings to life the personalities of the time: Tennessee Williams, Frances Benjamin Johnston, Truman Capote, Anita Bryant, and, of course, New Orleans’ own Ellen.

DecaFest thanks the New Orleans Chapter of PFLAG for underwriting this event.

Admission: $20 ( buy now)
Voodoo Mystere Theatre 

  Thursday, August 28, 2008

  Friday, August 29, 2008

Frederick Mead stars in this one-man comedy by David Schein that explores the outer limits of self-awareness and self-creation.

Out Comes Butch is the story of a redneck launched on a hilarious journey of self-discovery after his neglected wife leaves him. Determined to become the man he wants to be (sensitive, caring, healthy), Butch moves through one identity after another: first as a with-it New Age swinger, then as a newly gay man, then a transvestite, then transsexual...and beyond. And he’s certain that each stage is his ultimate destination, his "real self."

Writer and director of the show, The Kung Fu Evangelist, Frederick Mead has appeared on numerous San Francisco and New Orleans stages as an actor, sketch comic, and storyteller. Gay son of a New Orleans deacon, Frederick learned the art of storytelling from Sunday school teachers, and honed his craft as Captain of the Sunday Joy bus.

Recent stage appearances include Uncle Vanya, Take Me Out, and the critically-acclaimed seven-week run of Out Comes Butch.

“Schein‘s full-circle tale of outrageous self-deception/realization is insanely involving. When you’re not laughing, you’re watching with your mouth agape…This surprising, entertaining oddity is delivered with complete commitment by Frederick Mead, whose subtle, gender-specific, ever-changing vocal inflections, physical stance, and crazy-eyed performance is a knock out.”
                                                                  David Cuthbert, The Times-Picayune

“"A whale of a performance!"
                                                                  Al Shea, WYES TV

"If you haven't seen it, do so...a knock-out audience winner with an astonishing performance by Frederick Mead."
                                    Patrick Shannon, Ambush Entertainment/Travel Magazine

Admission:   $15 (buy now)
Voodoo Mystere Theatre

  Saturday, August 30, 2008

Cemetery and Voodoo Tour   
Departs From: Voodoo Mystere Theatre
718 N Rampart St

A visit to New Orleans’ oldest and most historic cemetery will show you our unique burial practices and above-ground tombs. See the burial sites of figures such as Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau and civil rights pioneer Homer Plessy.  Hear why the film "Easy Rider" caused a scandal, and learn how African religious culture interacted here with Roman Catholicism. .

Admission:  $20 (buy now)
Departs From: Voodoo Mystere Theatre

Frederick Mead stars in this one-man comedy by David Schein that explores the outer limits of self-awareness and self-creation.

Out Comes Butch is the story of a redneck launched on a hilarious journey of self-discovery after his neglected wife leaves him. Determined to become the man he wants to be (sensitive, caring, healthy), Butch moves through one identity after another: first as a with-it New Age swinger, then as a newly gay man, then a transvestite, then transsexual...and beyond. And he’s certain that each stage is his ultimate destination, his "real self."

Writer and director of the show, The Kung Fu Evangelist, Frederick Mead has appeared on numerous San Francisco and New Orleans stages as an actor, sketch comic, and storyteller. Gay son of a New Orleans deacon, Frederick learned the art of storytelling from Sunday school teachers, and honed his craft as Captain of the Sunday Joy bus.

Recent stage appearances include Uncle Vanya, Take Me Out, and the critically-acclaimed seven-week run of Out Comes Butch.

“Schein‘s full-circle tale of outrageous self-deception/realization is insanely involving. When you’re not laughing, you’re watching with your mouth agape…This surprising, entertaining oddity is delivered with complete commitment by Frederick Mead, whose subtle, gender-specific, ever-changing vocal inflections, physical stance, and crazy-eyed performance is a knock out.”
                                                       David Cuthbert, The Times-Picayune  

“"A whale of a performance!"
                                                       Al Shea, WYES TV

"If you haven't seen it, do so...a knock-out audience winner with an astonishing performance by Frederick Mead."
                                   Patrick Shannon, Ambush Entertainment/Travel Magazine

Admission:   $15 (buy now)
Voodoo Mystere Theatre

"New Orleans, Mon Amour: Christian Lloyd on Stage and in Film" 
Freeport-McMoRan Theatre, Contemporary Arts Center,  900 Camp St

Canadian actor/writer came to New Orleans for Southern Decadence in 2004, hoping to escape the heartbreak of a recently-ended love affair. What he found was something more. “The beauty in New Orleans can take your breath away,” he wrote. “The city and I consumed each other. She distracted me with her many wiles. Silently, she exhumed my pain, threading it into her nettled fabric; the shawl of a thousand loses.”

 Returning home, he wrote a script based on his New Orleans experience. It was filmed as “Getting Lucky,” a sexy psychological thriller about a Canadian visitor who wakes up in bed with a handsome Orleanian, who says his name is Lucky.

 In addition to writing and directing, Lloyd also plays himself in the film. The mysterious Lucky is played by handsome Gray Powell.

 In this unique entertainment, DecaFest presents the regional premiere of the film “Getting Lucky,” and Christian Lloyd will appear live, narrating the processes of dealing with personal loss and bringing the autobiographical story to film.

 He will also relate his impressions of the city when he returned after the storm. “There exists a very real pain,” he wrote in 2006. Nevertheless, he added, “Whereas other cities might concede defeat, this tough broad, with her terrific bone structure and unstoppable spirit, refuses to submit. It’s simply not in her nature.” 

Film reviews:

 "Genuinely eerie with a creepy twist, Getting Lucky will give you chills."
                                                               Instinct Magazine

"Getting Lucky is a tightly written thriller which delivers its engrossingly and uncomfortable chills by tapping into our anxieties about how small errors in judgment can turn into big ones. The brave performances, especially from writer/director Christian Lloyd, keep pulling you through the claustrophobia.”
                                                             Fab Magazine

"I loved the suspense tale with a sexy gay twist. A guy wakes up with a sexy stranger and has no idea where he is or what day or time it is. Great acting by both actors. I also love the movie looping in on itself. He is writing a screenplay about what is happening right then as we are watching it unfold."
                                                            Enter Hollywood

DecaFest thanks Getting Film Productions for underwriting this event.
Sneak Preview! To see a trailer of "Getting Lucky": www.gettingfilm.com

Admission:$20 ( buy now)
Freeport-McMoRan Theatre, Contemporary Arts Center

  Sunday, September 31, 2008

Frederick Mead stars in this one-man comedy by David Schein that explores the outer limits of self-awareness and self-creation.

Out Comes Butch is the story of a redneck launched on a hilarious journey of self-discovery after his neglected wife leaves him. Determined to become the man he wants to be (sensitive, caring, healthy), Butch moves through one identity after another: first as a with-it New Age swinger, then as a newly gay man, then a transvestite, then transsexual...and beyond. And he’s certain that each stage is his ultimate destination, his "real self."

Writer and director of the show, The Kung Fu Evangelist, Frederick Mead has appeared on numerous San Francisco and New Orleans stages as an actor, sketch comic, and storyteller. Gay son of a New Orleans deacon, Frederick learned the art of storytelling from Sunday school teachers, and honed his craft as Captain of the Sunday Joy bus.

Recent stage appearances include Uncle Vanya, Take Me Out, and the critically-acclaimed seven-week run of Out Comes Butch.

“Schein‘s full-circle tale of outrageous self-deception/realization is insanely involving. When you’re not laughing, you’re watching with your mouth agape…This surprising, entertaining oddity is delivered with complete commitment by Frederick Mead, whose subtle, gender-specific, ever-changing vocal inflections, physical stance, and crazy-eyed performance is a knock out.”
                                                       David Cuthbert, The Times-Picayune  

“"A whale of a performance!"
                                                       Al Shea, WYES TV

"If you haven't seen it, do so...a knock-out audience winner with an astonishing performance by Frederick Mead."
                                   Patrick Shannon, Ambush Entertainment/Travel Magazine

Admission:   $15 (buy now)
Voodoo Mystere Theatre

"New Orleans, Mon Amour: Christian Lloyd on Stage and in Film" 
Freeport-McMoRan Theatre, Contemporary Arts Center,  900 Camp St

Canadian actor/writer came to New Orleans for Southern Decadence in 2004, hoping to escape the heartbreak of a recently-ended love affair. What he found was something more. “The beauty in New Orleans can take your breath away,” he wrote. “The city and I consumed each other. She distracted me with her many wiles. Silently, she exhumed my pain, threading it into her nettled fabric; the shawl of a thousand loses.”

 Returning home, he wrote a script based on his New Orleans experience. It was filmed as “Getting Lucky,” a sexy psychological thriller about a Canadian visitor who wakes up in bed with a handsome Orleanian, who says his name is Lucky.

 In addition to writing and directing, Lloyd also plays himself in the film. The mysterious Lucky is played by handsome Gray Powell.

 In this unique entertainment, DecaFest presents the regional premiere of the film “Getting Lucky,” and Christian Lloyd will appear live, narrating the processes of dealing with personal loss and bringing the autobiographical story to film.

 He will also relate his impressions of the city when he returned after the storm. “There exists a very real pain,” he wrote in 2006. Nevertheless, he added, “Whereas other cities might concede defeat, this tough broad, with her terrific bone structure and unstoppable spirit, refuses to submit. It’s simply not in her nature.” 

 Film reviews:

 "Genuinely eerie with a creepy twist, Getting Lucky will give you chills."
                                                               Instinct Magazine

"Getting Lucky is a tightly written thriller which delivers its engrossingly and uncomfortable chills by tapping into our anxieties about how small errors in judgment can turn into big ones. The brave performances, especially from writer/director Christian Lloyd, keep pulling you through the claustrophobia.”
                                                             Fab Magazine

"I loved the suspense tale with a sexy gay twist. A guy wakes up with a sexy stranger and has no idea where he is or what day or time it is. Great acting by both actors. I also love the movie looping in on itself. He is writing a screenplay about what is happening right then as we are watching it unfold."
                                                            Enter Hollywood

DecaFest thanks Getting Film Productions for underwriting this event.
Sneak Preview! To see a trailer of "Getting Lucky": www.gettingfilm.com

Admission:$20 ( buy now)
Freeport-McMoRan Theatre, Contemporary Arts Center

  Monday, September 3, 2007