Devised Documentary Play

Text: Displeyst came directly from the diary of Margaret Welisch and the oral histories of her two daughters Susan Ettinger, Brigitta Wachs and grandson Stephen Ettinger.  

Summary: Displeyst tells the true story of a well-to-do Jewish family, headed by matriarch Margaret Welisch. Fleeing Nazi persecution, Margaret took her family from Austria to the Philippines, only to have their life ripped apart again by the invasion of Japan. Using Margaret's 1981 diary and oral histories from her daughters, Adelman has created a script showing that power and corruption can break apart an entire community, but love, family, and tradition can build a home anywhere.

Concept: The family owned a haberdashery store in Austria and those were the few  items they brought with them in their travels. Using fabric, four pieces of wooden luggage, choreography, gesture and shadow work, we created devised moments that illustrated the action described in the oral and written histories. 

Selected Productions/Workshops: 

• Workshop production at Under St. Marks, NYC. May 2019.

• Film/Zoom re-imagined production for the East Meadow Library. December 2020.