[StBernard] Voices From The Storm

[Westley Annis]

Storm survivors gathered at Skyfire Theatre in Covington on Wednesday night,
to share their stories of Hurricane Katrina.  Hosted by Shine Productions
and SkyfireTheater, the Wednesday night Voices project provides an
opportunity for healing and fellowship.  The project was borne from Shine
partner Barry Lemoine's 2001 original play entitled "An Evening with Betsy,
Voices from the Storm."

 

That play, which garnered a Big Easy nomination for best original play, was
the result of a lifelong ambition to document stories about the New Orleans
and St. Bernard area survivors of Hurricane Betsy, a not-so-perfect storm
which devestated and united the community. According to Lemoine, sharing
stories can be cathartic and theraputic, and also to some degree
entertaining. 

 

"Six of the people that came Wednesday night were people I didn't even know
before I gathered stories of Betsy.  Now these people are some of the most
important in my life," Lemoine said.

  

Lemoine said he was both touched and flattered by the "Betsy family," those
who shared their stories in the stage play, is still intact.   

 

"It is my hope that just as Betsy destroyed property and, perhaps, a sense
of complacency, enduring friendships were created.  This project is a
testament to the endurance of people and the power of friendship," Lemoine
said.

 

One such storm survivor of Betsy, Rose Marie Sand, became partnered with
Lemoine through the voices project.

 

"My experiences in Hurricanes Betsy and Katrina shaped my life.  I met my
husband at an evacuation shelter during Betsy in 1965, and almost forty
years later to the day, he and I lost all of our possessions and our St.
Bernard community because of Katrina.  Yet both storms strengthened our love
and commitment to one another," Sand said.

 

After the first evening, nov 30, Sand felt it was evident that the need to
share and the healing that brings is all the more important after the
catrstrophic Hurricanes of 2005.

 

As the discussion ranged from what the survivors missed the most about their
pre-Katrina lives, a comment from former Arabi resident Annette Campo drew
commiserative laughs, as she missed her own apartment where she 'didn't have
to wait in line to use the bathroom."

 

Anna Bienvenu of Chalmette espressed a common thread of those who gathered
that night.

 

"What I think I miss most is my mind," Anna said, as she went on to explain
that these days, focusing on even the simplest tasks can be difficult.  

 

Many who visited Skyfire Theatre that night expressed gratitude for the
opportunity to express their thoughts and to a group who shared the
Hurricane Katrina experience.  

Skyfire Theatre, 332 N. New Hampshire Street in Covington, 985.875.7577,
will open its doors for two additional Wednesday night sessions for
gathering storm stories, December 7 and 14, from 6 - 8:30 pm.  

 

In addition, St. Bernard relief workers and residents will be invited to
share their first hand accounts in St. Bernard Parish on Dec 17.  For more
information, call Sand at 504.666.1220 or Lemoine at 504.301.8770.
<mailto:rosesand at bellsouth.net>