The Festival In Da Back
Play Developed through the National Black Theatre's I Am SOUL Playwright Residency
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PUBLIC PRESENTATION
April 8-12 2026
The Flea Theater
New York, New York
The Synopsis
In Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, the crawfish capital of the world, they say there’s two festivals: the one out front, and the one in da back. But it’s what happens on the front lawn of 318 Dorset Street that cracks open a family legacy. Ghosts hum through the zydeco, dreams rattle in the cooler, and everyone’s waiting for someone who might never come home. The Festival in da Back is a richly textured, fiercely funny play about who we crown, what we bury, and whether the music that once moved us can still bring us home.
ORAL RESEARCH EVENT
Held October 13, 2024 in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana at Bethlehem Baptist Church
& produced by The National Black Theatre
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The oral research event consisted of an exhibition of photos, artifacts, and information about the creole crawfish festival, a table read of the play, and a community conversation about memories of the festival in da back.

The Table Read Cast
Ronald Thompson (Fuzzy)
Tina Burkhalter (Joie)
Brian Egland (Ozwa)
Reece Taylor (Ola)
Cheryl Shelton-Sam (Della)
Duane Terry (T-Cho)
Jerry Thibodeaux Jr. (Pheno)
Highlight From The Research Event
Creole Crawfish Queen featured in JET Magazine, Barbra Ann Thibodeaux speaking at the oral history event on
the Creole Crawfish Festival
1st Draft Reading
The 1st Draft reading of The Festival in da Back was held virtually on February 25, 2024



