“Cut the lies and count the dead,” read the sticker on the voodoo altar, which sat in front of a screen showing familiar scenes from Hurricane Katrina, as a semi-circle of candles lured in a curious audience to the Reilly Theatre. The University’s theatre department hosted “A Cone of Uncertainty: New Orleans After Katrina,” an expression on the personal and political tragedies of the storm according to solo performance artist Jose Torres Tama on Thursday and Friday nights. Tama has toured across the nation, delivering his disturbing presentation to colleges from Ohio to Texas. With an American flag to his right and a Confederate flag to his left, Tama stepped out the audience’s comfort zone, using his bold perspective of the government’s reaction to Katrina. “It’s a piece that deals with the lies,” he said. Tama, who started performing on the streets of New Orleans, said he is emotionally connected to Baton Rouge because it is where he and his wife escaped the hurricane through an unforgettable experience on a stolen school bus. Here he began writing online essays on the media’s misleading coverage of the disaster. “The news concentrated on the negative, but we were surrounded with positive efforts,” he said. He said he later formed the essays into “The Cone of Uncertainty.” “It was a challenge because essay and performance are two different writing forms,” he said. Using quick alterations in costumes, accents and gestures, Tama transformed himself into five different characters ranging from a Latino comedian to a mask-wearing, sarcastic news announcer. While mixing Spanish and English dialects, some characters narrated their stories to the rhythm of shaker instruments while pretending to cast a voodoo spell on stage. Tama calls his performance “a mythical realist Latino voodoo aesthetic,” an art form he uses to engage the audience. Anna Hirsch, University alumna, said Tama’s use of New Orleans masquerade was very effective. From a purple top hat to a black veil, Tama transitioned from liveliness to raw emotion. “I broke down in tears three times a day [after the storm],” he said. During one scene, Tama tattooed himself with phrases such as “save us.” “This symbolizes the scarring,” he said. “It’s what people wrote on rooftops.” A flashlight illuminated Tama’s concerned expressions during one narration as he dramatized the lack of electricity. With a shift of lights, he transitioned again to a comical character. Tama said he likes to incorporate satire throughout the piece. “I love humor because it allows us to move through some of the pain,” he said. The audience responded with random chuckles, especially during politically challenging remarks, as Tama playfully interacted with some of the viewers. Sarah Jane Johnson, stage manager and University alumna, said the piece has grown throughout the tour. “It’s a culminating performance,” she said. Tama said he molds the piece after each show. He also said he wanted to portray the truth about the underlying diversity of the city as well as the government’s neglect of humanity in its most desperate time of need. The Latino immigrant said New Orleans has always been a city of exiles in a geographic and political sense. “I like to call it a blue city in a red state,” he said. Lights faded from blue to red as Tama vocalized his beliefs. Hirsch said she agreed with his views. “I think he’s spot-on in his politics,” she said. Tama closed his piece with a heartfelt thesis, which led to applause and cheering. “If you fail to speak against the lies, you will be, in effect, an accomplice,” he said.
—-Contact Lindsay Gallmann at [email protected]