Dustbowl Drama Premieres DECADE AT A GLANCE 2/11 At Stella Adler

Inspired by the 1930's Dustbowl photographs of Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, the Harold Clurman Center for New Works in Movement and Dance Theatre (MAD) at Stella Adler Studio will present the World Premiere of DECADE AT A GLANCE. Written and directed by Joan Evans with a cast of 15, this blend of theatrical documentary and folk musical begins February 11 at Stella Adler Studio. In March 2010, the production will travel to New Orleans for its Louisiana Premiere at Michalopoulos Studio, produced by Artist Inc.

DECADE AT A GLANCE is an epic story of a few families in the Dustbowl, circa 1936, who are uprooted from their farmland by drought, dust storms and mortgage foreclosure. Making the treacherous journey out west as migrant workers, these ordinary hard working people -- some
with hopes dashed, and dreams deferred or dissolved -- ultimately join the union marches. Unfolding like a series of living photographs, the story, told from the point of view of a Dustbowl survivor, is related through songs, movement, and interviews preserved from the 1930's.

The similarities and differences between the Great Depression, and our own times, are self evident when we listen to simple people tell their stories. The gestural and expressive movement evokes images of the time. The actors sing and play the violin, flute, guitar, and ukulele. The music combines Depression-era songs, union march songs from the 1930's, and original vocal harmonies.

Joan Evans has been creating and performing original physical theatre work since 1975. She won a Fringe First Award at the 1996 Edinburgh Fringe Festival for creating, directing, and choreographing the ensemble piece Where Ravens Rule, a theatrical response to the war in Bosnia. She has toured her solo work in Austria, Brazil, and Germany. She has performed her work at such theatres as the Performing Garage and Manhattan Class Company in NYC, and the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center In Connecticut. She has been the recipient of four National Endowment for the Arts Theatre Grants. She was awarded a 1993, Citation of Excellence from the Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA) for her work combining dance, acting, and puppetry in Rico and Dolores. She has taught and directed at Stella Adler for two decades.

DECADE AT A GLANCE runs February 11 - 19, Wednesday - Saturday at 7:30pm. Running time is 65 minutes. Stella Adler Studio is located at 31 West 27th Street, between Broadway and 6th Avenue -- accessible from the N/R train at 28th Street or the F train at 23rd Street. Tickets are $18, available at www.TheaterMania.com or 212-352-3101

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