Biography
Founded in 2008, Goat in the Road Productions is an award winning New Orleans based performance ensemble that: 1.) Creates new works of theatre that engage the community and foster discussion around important social issues. The history of GRP is full of long term, meaningful collaborations with local institutions in pursuit of community activation. 2.) Cultivates young artists through its Play/Write, its playwriting and theatre program that works with middle school students in NOLA. Recent awards include: Leadership in History Award from the American Alliance for State and Local Histories, the Monte Meacham Award for the American Alliance for Theatre Education, 2019 Big Easy Theatre Awards for The Stranger Disease (Best Play, Best Original Play, Best Ensemble, Best Directors).
Research
Goat in the Road Productions (GRP) is partnering with the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to create the Walter Anderson Immersive Experience (projected premiere, fall 2023). The Experience has three parts: interactive installation, immersive performance, and community education. Each part will be based in Anderson’s dynamic, kinetic art, whose passion for the Gulf South gives viewers a unique window into the rhythms of nature.
New Orleans Center for the Gulf South and the Monroe Fellowship opportunity is supporting GRP’s embodied research for this project, investigating the themes of Southern American identity, Walter Anderson’s struggle with mental illness, and the effects of climate change on the Gulf South. During their research trips, performers/researchers will spend extended time in Ocean Springs, at WAMA, and in the natural world of the Gulf South. The group will travel through the marshes and habitats that were Anderson’s inspiration, take a trip to Horn Island (where Anderson spent much of his time), connect with local scientists, and visit a number of sites important to Anderson’s legacy.
