Staged Reading of Anton Chekhov's Suspense Stories Presented 3/4 at the cell

WHAT: I Was Drunk That Day is an exploratory (staged) reading of several early crime and suspense stories by Anton Chekhov including "Conversation of a Drunken Man with a Sober Devil", "Evildoer", and "The Wallet". Assembled, adapted and directed by Darrell Larson, most of the featured stories translated into English for the first time - just last year.

WHO: Darrell Larson (Director) has had a lifelong involvement with the exploration of language and performance. He founded, produced and directed The Act of the Poet series for the Poetry Society of America, at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, featuring inspired pairings such as Tim Curry and James Merrill; Dana Delany and Galway Kinnell; Andrea Marcovicci and James Tate. In the early 90's, partnered with Cedering Fox, he created the Great Writers' Series at the MET Theatre in Hollywood. Over a span of five years, this extraordinary series provided a unique arena for experiencing literature, read by such writers as William Styron, Peter Mattheissen, Budd Schulberg, Denis Johnson, James Ellroy and actors from Dustin Hoffman to Raquel Welch to Holly Hunter and Paul Winfield. The Great Writers' Series, also know as Literary Evenings At The Met, was broadcast weekly on Santa Monica's NPR station KCRW. Reborn in 2004, The Great Writers Series Rides Again, a thorough survey of the Western genre, was chosen "Best of LA" by LA Weekly.

Other events Larson has produced include Surely You Jest, a celebration of humor in poetry, for the Poetry Society of America, at the Orensanz Center in New York City, and a reading of banned books for the American Booksellers Association convention in Anaheim, hosted by Garrison Keillor. As a theater director, Darrell has staged over 30 plays, including many by Sam Shepard. Most recently, he directed Faster by Adam Rapp at Rattlestick in NYC; Karla by Steve Earle in Nashville; and Psychos Never Dream by Denis Johnson at Campo Santo in San Francisco. He produced and directed his own adaptation of Bob Dylan's Tarantula at the Powerhouse in Santa Monica, California. As an actor, he has most recently appeared in Jonathan Demme's The Manchurian Candidate, Adam Rapp's Winter Passing and Jim Ponsoldt's Off The Black.

Anton Chekhov (Short-story writer) (29 January 1860 - 15 July 1904) was a Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician, considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov practiced as a doctor throughout most of his literary career.

WHEN: Friday, March 4
8:00 PM
$10 General Admission, tickets available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/155525 by calling 1.800.838.3006 or at the door

WHERE: the cell: A Twenty First Century Salon^TM
338 West 23rd Street
(Between 8th and 9th Aves)
New York, NY
646.861.2253
http://www.thecelltheatre.org/survartschek2011/