The Backyard Ballroom was built from a corrugated metal roof shack in the Ninth Ward. Local artists came together to create a new venue for theatrical performances in the neighborhood. They also wrote an entirely original play with a live local band playing an original score.

The new show, "The Palanquin Diaries, Confessions of a Mardi Gras Queen," will open next week. This is the story of how the Backyard Ballroom came to be in the midst of the rebuilding of the Ninth Ward.