An exploration of class and social divisions in our home towns, this MCLA Presents! performance is based on dozens of interviews and story circles held with people throughout New England, including residents of North Adams.
Galjour said her findings mirror a national class divide.
“People are very reluctant to talk about class. This experience has forever changed the way I write and teach,” she said.
Galjour’s play is a component of the Hopkins Center’s “Class Divide” project at Dartmouth College. The initiative is focused issues of socio-economic class through the eyes of artists.
“This play depicts a group of familiar characters, people struggling with rent, mortgages, and keeping up appearances amidst bewildering changes in their community,” said Margaret Lawrence, Hopkins Center programming director. “Rather than caricaturing them, Galjour reveals deep emotional centers and human complexities of their situations. With her extraordinary play that resonates like true literature, Galjour captures the essence of divisions in a rural setting. Remarkably, she engages us in a compassionate understanding of class through the art of theater.”
Galjour last entertained audiences in New England and across the country with her solo show, “Hurricane,” which she performed in MCLA’s Church Street Center.
“We’re excited to present this performance in the intimate and informal setting of MCLA Gallery 51. There will be no bad seats, but seating is limited, so we strongly urge people to reserve tickets ahead of time,” said Jonathan Secor, director of special programs at MCLA.
According to the New York Times, “Ms. Galjour’s text has a sweep that is both novelistic and cinematic. She is an actress who slips in and out of character with seamless ease.”
Galjour’s playwriting credits include OKRA, which premiered at Brava Theater Center in San Francisco in 2004, then moved to True Brew Theatre, where it continued to play to sold-out houses in New Orleans up until the night before Hurricane Katrina hit. Her children’s play, “The Queen of the Sea,” was commissioned at produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre, also Bird in the Hand was commissioned by Z Space Studio. She was commissioned by Dartmouth College and wrote a new play titled, “New England Class
Divide: You Can’t Get There from Here.” She teaches playwriting in the Creative Writing Department at San Francisco State University.
Tickets for general admission are $12, $5 for MCLA faculty and staff and members. MCLA students are free. To reserve tickets, call (413) 662-5204. For more information, go to www.mcla.edu/presents
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