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Past Events

WordTheatre's Spring Renewal Party & Fundraiser

WordTheatre LAMay 16, 2013 @ Home of WordTheatre Artistic Director Cedering Fox

Julian Sands
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WordTheatre with Joyce Carol Oates

WordTheatre LAMay 5, 2013 @ A Private Club in West Hollywood at 5PM

Bill Pullman
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WordTheatre with Tobias Wolff

WordTheatre LAApril 7, 2013 @ A Private Club in West Hollywood

Max Adler

 

The second evening in WordTheatre's 2013 Actor/Author series featured Tobias Wolff, who joined us from Stanford University to enjoy performances of his stories from:
 
Max Adler (Glee)
Sarah Clarke (Twilight)
Xander Berkeley (Nikita)
Graham Hamilton (Hamlet at The Folger)
 
Produced & Directed by Cedering Fox
 
Books sold at the event by Small World Books of Venice
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WordTheatre presents The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award

WordTheatre UKMarch 20, 2013 to March 21, 2013 @ The Gallery at Foyles

Helen McCrory

A star-studded cast of WordTheatre talents brought the six stories shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Award to life, with the authors present, at two very special evenings in at Foyles in London. The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award is the largest prize in the world for a single short story at £30,000. 

7 PM on Wednesday, March 20:

  • Helen McCrory (Skyfall, Hugo) performing "The Beholder" by Ali Smith
  • Thomas Howes (Anna Karenina, Downton Abbey) performing "The Gun" by Mark Haddon
  • Scott Handy (Match Point, A Knight's Tale) performing "Evie" by Sarah Hall

7 PM on Thursday, March 21:

  • Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense, An Education) performing "Call It 'The Bug' Because I Have No Time to Think of a Better Title" by Toby Litt
  • Gary Carr (Death in Paradise, Silent Witness) performing "Miss Lora" by Junot Díaz
  • Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean, Brazil) performing "The Dig" by Cynan Jones

On Friday, March 22nd the prize was awarded to Junot Diaz at The Oxford Literary Festival with a special WordTheatre performance from:

  • David Soul (Starsky & Hutch)

 

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WordTheatre with Richard Bausch & Stephen Tobolowsky

WordTheatre LAMarch 10, 2013 @ A Private Club in West Hollywood

Richard Bausch

 

WordTheatre kicked off 2013 with a spring series in West Hollywood featuring renowned authors attending performances of their own work. Our March 10th event featured writers:
 
Richard Bausch & Stephen Tobolowsky
 
with performances from
JK Simmons (Juno, Spider Man)
Jackson Rathbone (Twilight, The Last Airbender)
Annette O'Toole (Smallville, 48 Hours)
 
 
 
Produced & Directed by Cedering Fox
 
Books sold at the event by Small World Books of Venice

 

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2012 Events

WordTheatre presents Storytales at The Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles

WordTheatre LAOctober 6, 2012 @ The Ford Amphitheatre at 8 PM

Mark Christopher Lawrence

 

What happens when you mix a world class author's literary exploration of his African-American heritage with explosions of rap music and hip hop dance? In the rhythmic, spellbinding vernacular of the streets, John Edgar Wideman's characters articulate the human impact of race, politics, violence, sex, love and loss. Brilliant film, television and Broadway actors brought Wideman's words to life and Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids produced his original tracks live with with special guest, djembe drummer Aboubacar Kouyate, and dancers from Culture Shock LA populating this dynamic cityscape. All the artists donated their work for this one-night-only benefit performance. Featuring:

  • Sterling K Brown (Army Wives, Righteous Kill)
  • Bill Cobbs (Go On, Night at the Museum)
  • Keith David (Crash, The Princess and the Frog, Coraline)
  • Omar Dorsey (Django Unchained, The Blind Side)
  • Gary Dourdan (CSI, Alien: Resurrection)
  • Edi Gathegi (X-Men, Gone Baby Gone, Twilight)
  • Jason George (Grey's Anatomy, Barbershop)
  • Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons, 227)
  • Roger Guenveur Smith (American Gangster, Final Destination)
  • Dennis Haysbert (The Unit, 24)
  • Barry Shabaka Henley (The Big Year, FlashForward)
  • Michael Jace (The Shield, Forrest Gump)
  • Brent Jennings (Moneyball, Witness)
  • Kasha Kropinski (Hell on Wheels, Almost Kings)
  • Mark Christopher Lawrence (Chuck, The Pursuit of Happyness)
  • Joseph Marcell (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Coriolanus at The Globe in London)
  • Nicki Micheaux (Lincoln Heights, Their Eyes Were Watching God)
  • Ryan Michelle Bathe (Army Wives, One for the Money)
  • Dorian Missick (Southland, Lucky Number Sleven)
  • Geno Monteiro (Hot Spur in H4)
  • Dohn Norwood (Hell on Wheels)
  • Nyambi Nyambi (Mike & Molly, Day Night Day Night)
  • Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games, The Spectacular Now)
  • James Pickens Jr. (Grey's Anatomy, The X-Files)
  • Chip tha Ripper (whose most recent album is Charles Worth)
  • Ron Simons (Night Catches Us, Law and Order)
  • Sterling Sulieman (Pretty Little Liars, In Time))
  • Tracie Thoms (The Devil Wears Prada, Rent)
  • Lorraine Toussaint (Saving Grace, The Soloist)
  • Narration by Dave Fennoy, the voice of Hulu
Produced and directed by Cedering Fox.

Storytales contained mature content.

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WordTheatre presents Denis Johnson's STARLIGHT ON IDAHO in Brooklyn

WordTheatre NYSeptember 22, 2012 @ St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church at 8 PM

Darrell Larson
 

Trust Denis Johnson to come up with Starlight on Idaho, a truly unique piece of dramatic literature. A stellar cast gave voice to protagonist Mark Cassandra's letters from rehab to a colorful clan of family and friends in Johnson's brilliant epistolary tale originally published in Playboy. Followed by Q & A with director and cast. Featuring performances by:

  • Emily Bergl (Desperate Housewives, Southland)
  • Kevin Corrigan (The Departed)
  • Darrell Larson (Rachel Getting Married)
  • Jennifer Skura (Sweet Citrus at the 92nd Street Y)
  • Chris Stack (One Life to Live)
  • Joel Van Liew (Boardwalk Empire)

Adapted, directed by Darrell Larson. Produced by Cedering Fox

Denis Johnson is a National Book Award Winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist for his novel Tree of Smoke and author of the short story collection Jesus' Son. A Guggenheim Fellow, he has received many awards including a Whiting Writer's Award and the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction from the Paris Review for his novel Train Dreams. Johnson was born in Munich, West Germany in 1949 and was raised in Tokyo, Manila and Washington.

 

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A Tribute to Siv Cedering at Poet's House in Manhattan

WordTheatre NYSeptember 20, 2012 @ Poet's House at 6 PM

Harris Yulin

WordTheatre Artistic Director Cedering Fox cast and directed her mother's short stories at a celebration of the work of the life of Siv Cedering (1939-2007), the Swedish-born American poet and novelist. Siv is author of four books of translation and 18 books of poetry and prose, including her collection, Cup of Cold Water, in which she paired her poems with her photographs, and The Blue Horse and Other Night Poems.

6:00PM: Dedication of Siv Cedering's “Blueprint for an Ascension” by her husband Hans van de Bovenkamp
7:00PM: Readings of her poetry by poets Philip ApplemanJanice BishopFran CastanLucas Hunt,  and Daniel Thomas Moran. Readings of her stories by Samantha Mathis, Harris Yulin and Cedering Fox.

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WordTheatre West Hollywood

WordTheatre LAAugust 26, 2012 @ West Hollywood Location @ 5 PM

Robert Forster

 

WordTheatre returned to West Hollywood this summer with an exciting line up of actors and writers! Featuring:

  • Robert Forster (The Descendents, Jackie Brown)
  • Marcia Gay Harden (Detachment, Pollock)
  • Jason Ritter (Parenthood, The Event)
  • Mae Whitman (Parenthood, Arrested Development)

And stories by:

  • Ron Carlson  is the author of eleven books of fiction, most recently Room Service. His short stories have appeared in Esquire, Harper's, The New Yorker, Gentlemen's Quarterly, and other journals, as well as The Best American Short Stories, The O'Henry Prize Series, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, The Norton Anthology of Short Fictionand dozens of other anthologies. He is Director of the Creative Writing Program at UC Irvine. Among his awards are a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, the Cohen Prize at Ploughshares, and a National Society of Arts and Letters Literature Award.
  • Meg Howrey is most recently author of The Crane's Dance (Vintage, May 2012), featured in Vogue. Her debut novel was Blind Sight, which James Lapine called  “Smart, witty, and wise... a beautiful story that in its subtlety speaks to the fundamental questions of identity and love.” She is also a classically trained dancer and earned an Ovation Award for her performance in Contact in 2001.
  • Ben Loory's book Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day is now in its fourth printing. It was chosen as a selection of the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program and the Starbucks Coffee Bookish Reading Club. His stories have been featured in The New Yorker and on NPR's This American Life and he was recently a finalist in the Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers Contest. He is an accomplished screenwriter and graduate of Harvard College. http://www.benloory.com/
  • Charles Yu's newest short story collection Sorry Please Thank You is forthcoming from Pantheon on July 24, 2012. The New York Times said of his first novel, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, “Like Douglas Adams, Yu is very funny, usually proportional to the wildness of his inventions.” Yu is also the author of a story collection, Third Class Superhero, and one of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” fiction writers to watch. His stories have been published in Oxford American, The Gettysburg Review, Harvard Review, Mid-American Review, Mississippi Review, and Alaska Quarterly Review, among others. twitter.com/charles_yu
     

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

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WordTheatre at The Latitude Festival in Suffolk,England

WordTheatre UKJuly 12, 2012 to July 15, 2012 @ Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk

Lucy Cohu

WordTheatre® captivated audiences in the Literary Arena for the fifth year with an international cast giving voice to great writing in three scintillating programs: ‘Obsession’, ‘Intruders in the Night’ and ‘Girls. Boys. Beer.’

Thursday, July 12th: Obsession

  • Alastair Mackenzie (Monarch of the Glen) read "Dinner of the Dead Alumni" by Adam Marek
  • Gethin Anthony (Game of Thrones) and Diana Vickers (The Rise and Fall of Little Voice on the West End) read "Underneath" by Erinna Mettler
  • Lucy Cohu (The Awakening) read "Quiet Please" by Aimee Bender
  • John Schwab (The Leisure Society at Trafalgar Studios) read Miss Biggy Itty-Bit by Jan Munroe

Friday, July 13th: Intruders of Sleepless Nights

  • Damien Molony (Being Human) read "First Person Shooter" by Charles Yu
  • Jane Zingale (Tell Me at the Tate Modern) read "My Burglar" by Carys Bray
  • Gethin Anthony, Alastair Mackenzie, and Lucy Cohu read "Intruders of Sleepless Nights" by Pamela Painter
  • Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr. Eko on Lost) read "Blood" by Roddy Doyle

Saturday, July 14th: Girls. Boys. Beer

  • Naomi Sheldon read "Breakage" by Dylan Landis
  • Alastair Mackenzie read "Crazy Glue" by Etgar Keret
  • Tom Greaves, Okezie Morro, Amanda Maple-Brown (Nowhere to Land), Gethin Anthony, Damien Molony, Ben Forster (Miranda), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Alastair Mackenzie read "Beer Trip to Llandudno" by Kevin Barry
  • WordTheatre Artistic Director, Cedering Fox, read "The Book" by Ben Loory

Produced & Directed by Cedering Fox. Performances took place in the Literary Arena on July 12 (23:15-0:45), July 13 (20:00-21:00) and July 14 (11:00-12:00). The Latitude Festival takes place at Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk. 

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WordTheatre at Chatsworth House in England

WordTheatre UKJuly 11, 2012 @ The private theatre of the 12th Duke of Devonshire

Rebecca Hobbs

Returning to Chatsworth for the second year, WordTheatre presented great actors performing world class stories in the private theatre of the 12th Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth, one of England’s most impressive country homes. 

  • Rebecca Hobbs (The Ugly, Siam Sunset) read "The Book" by Ben Loory
  • Alastair Mackenzie (Monarch of the Glen) read "Crazy Glue" by Etgar Keret
  • Harriet Walter (Babel) read "Comma" by Hillary Mantel
  • Guy Paul (Mary Stuart, Broadway) read “The Tablecloth of Turin” by Ron Carlson
  • Damien Molony (Being Human) read  “St. Dismas” by Dan Chaon
  • David Soul (The original Starsky and Hutch) read “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff
  • “My Insignificant Year” written and read by Stephen Tobolowsky 
 
 
Produced by Cedering Fox and Kirsty Peart; Directed by Cedering Fox. 
 

 

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WordTheatre at Adam Street in London benefiting the Anaphylaxis Campaign

WordTheatre UKJuly 4, 2012 @ Adam Street, UK

Alastair Mackenzie

WordTheatre took over Adam Street, a private club hidden under The Strand in London, for an evening of brilliant actors performing contemporary short stories. Proceeds benefit the Anaphylaxis Campaign, the only UK wide charity dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe allergies. 

  • Alastair Mackenzie (Monarch of the Glen) read “Crazy Glue” by Etgar Keret
  • Damien Molony (Hal on Being Human) read “First Person Shooter” by Charles Yu
  • David Soul (the original Starsky and Hutch) read “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff
  • Diana Vickers (The Rise and Fall of Little Voice on the West End) and Gethin Anthony (Renly Baratheon on Game of Thrones) read “Underneath” by Erinna Mettler
Hosted by John Schwab & Kirsty Peart, Produced & Directed by Cedering Fox. 
 
Anaphylaxis Campaign is the only UK wide charity to meet the needs of people at risk from severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) by providing information and support. Their ultimate aim is to create a safe environment for all people with allergies through education, focusing on medical facts, food labelling, risk reduction and allergen management. www.anaphylaxis.org.uk

 

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WordTheatre Voices Anthony Doerr & Pamela Painter in association with NYU Tisch School of the Arts in Manhattan

WordTheatre NYJune 3, 2012 @ Soho House NY - 5 PM

Anthony Doerr

We wrapped up our 2012 spring series at Soho House New York with a bang! Film, television and stage actors brought great short fiction to life with the authors present for a post performance Q & A. Featuring:

  • Emily Meade (Trespass, Young Adult) reads "The River Nemunas" by Anthony Doerr - Doerr is author of The Shell CollectorAbout GraceFour Seasons in Rome, and Memory Wall. His short fiction has won four O. Henry Prizes and has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories, and The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Fiction. He has won a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA Fellowship, the National Magazine Award for Fiction, two Pushcart Prizes, the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award and the 2010 Story Prize. His books have twice been a New York Times Notable Book.
  • Connor Paolo (Revenge, Gossip Girl) reads "Breathe" by Pamela Painter is author of two story collections, GETTING TO KNOW THE WEATHER, which won the GLCA Award for First Fiction, and THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT. Her stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Harper’s, Kenyon Review, Mid-American Review, Ploughshares, and Quick Fiction, among others and in numerous anthologies, such as Sudden Fiction, Flash Fiction, Flash Fiction Forward and MicroFiction. She has won three Pushcart Prizes and Agni Review’s The John Cheever Award for Fiction.
  • Michael Zegen (Adventureland, Boardwalk Empire) reads "Grief" by Pamela Painter

All performances Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox.

 

 

 

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Beer & Burning Love at M Bar in Los Angeles

WordTheatre LAMay 31, 2012 @ M Bar - 6:30 PM

Johnnie Lyne-Pirkis

Guests joined WordTheatre for an evening of laugh out loud stories about drinking and falling in love from some of the best contemporary short fiction writers.

Winner of the largest prize in the world for a single short story, The 2012 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, “Beer Trip to Llandudno” by Irish writer Kevin Barry performed by:
  • Alex Hyde-White (Catch Me If You Can)
  • Ian Hart (Luck)
  • Johnnie Lyne-Pirkis (The Young Victoria)
  • Kevin Kearns (Frost/Nixon)
  • Ron Bottitta (The Adventures of Tin Tin)
“Billboard” an unusual love story by master of Southern fiction Richard Bausch performed by:
  • Nicholas Brendon (Criminal Minds)
  • Kirsten Vangsness (Criminal Minds)
Produced & Directed by Cedering Fox. 
 
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WordTheatre Voices Richard Bausch and Melissa Pritchard in association with NYU Tisch School of the Arts

WordTheatre NYMay 6, 2012 @ Soho House NY - 5 PM

Mary Beth Hurt

Advanced ticket sales have closed for this evening's WordTheatre performance. Tickets will be available at the door.

WordTheatre gives voice to great writing at Soho House New York with a brilliant cast of actors and authors! Relax in the gorgeous fifth floor library and listen to your favorite film, television and stage actors bringing great short fiction to life with the authors present for a post performance Q & A. Featuring:

  • Dallas Roberts (The Grey, The Good Wife) reads Richard Bausch - Past Chancellor of The Fellowship of Southern Writers, Richard Bausch currently serves as The Moss Chair of Excellence in the Writing Program at The University of Memphis. A Georgia native, he is the author of eleven novels and eight collections of stories, including the novels Rebel Powers, Hello to the Cannibals, and Peace; and the story collections Someone To Watch Over Me, and most recently Something is Out There. His novel, The Last Good Time, was made into a feature-length motion picture. An acknowledged master of the short story form, Bausch's work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, The New Yorker, The Southern Review, The Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize Stories, and The Pushcart Prize Stories. He has won two National Magazine Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the 2004 PEN/Malamud Award.
  • Mary Beth Hurt (Three-time Tony Nominee, The World According to Garp) reads Melissa Pritchard - Author of eight books, including The Odditorium, Late Bloomer, Selene of the Spirits and The Instinct for Bliss, Pritchard has received numerous awards for her fiction, including a Flannery O'Connor Award. Her stories have been anthologized and cited in The Pushcart Prize, O. Henry Prize Stories and Best American Short Stories, and her collection, Disappearing Ingenue appeared on NPR's Annual Summer Reading List. Her fiction has appeared in The Paris Review, A Public Space, Ecotone, Conjunctions, Agni, The Southern Review and Image, among others, and her non-fiction in The Oprah Magazine, The Nation, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Conjunctions and The Gettysburg Review. Pritchard has received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, among others, and teaches at Arizona State University.

All performances Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. Associate Produced by Darrell Larson. Special thanks to Jason Nower for videography.

Doors open at 5 PM for drinks and performances begin at 5:30 PM. Books will be sold at the event; signings of purchased books only. Appearances subject to change without notice.

 

 

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WordTheatre at Soho House West Hollywood

WordTheatre LAApril 29, 2012 @ Soho House West Hollywood

Hal Ackerman, Author

WordTheatre gave voice to great writing at the exclusive Soho House West Hollywood. A selection of well known actors and authors joined us for readings of lauded contemporary stories followed by a Q & A with the artists. 

  • Adrian Pasdar (The Lying Game, Heroes) reads Hal Ackerman - Ackerman is the author of two novels, most recently Stein, Stoned; and the co-area head of UCLA’s screenwriting program. His stories have been widely published in literary journals and he is a Warren Adler Award winner, author of one of Southeast Review’s World’s Best Short Shorts, and a Pushcart Prize nominee.
  • Ian Hart (Luck, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) reads Evgenia Citkowitz - “How coolly poised, Evgenia Citkowitz’s prose! And how elegantly and richly detailed her fictional worlds!...Sharply observed, resolutely unsentimental, and wholly engaging." - Joyce Carol Oates, The new York Review of Books
  • Julian Sands (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 24) reads Ben Okri (not appearing) - Winner of the Booker Prize winn for his novel The Famished Road, Okri is a Nigerian born author and poet. “Okri's magical realism is distinctive; his prose is charged with passion and energy, electrifying in its imagery ... a powerful, compassionate vision of modern Africa and the magical heritage of its myths.” - Publisher’s Weekly

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. 

Books sold at the event by Small World Books.

 

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WordTheatre Voices Dylan Landis, David Prete and Jess Row in association with NYU Tisch School of the Arts

WordTheatre NYApril 1, 2012 @ Soho House NY

Vincent Piazza

 

Guests joined us in the fifth floor library of Soho House NY to begin the spring with favorite film, television and stage actors bringing great short fiction to life with the authors present for a post performance Q & A. The evening featured:

  • Vincent Piazza (Boardwalk Empire, Rescue Me) performing a story by David Prete - Prete is a writer and actor living in Chicago. He is author of the novels Say That to My Face and most recently August and Then Some, forthcoming from W.W. Norton in April 2012. He graduated from the New Actors Workshop, has appeared in theatre productions ranging from Shakespeare to adaptations of Leo Tolstoy and commedia dell’arte versions of Clifford Odets. “Prete's complicated affection for neighborhood life-and his ability to produce vivid thumbnail sketches of the kind of men who feel at home in dingy pool halls-gives his debut authority andindividuality.” Publishers Weekly
  • Marin Ireland (Revolutionary Road, Mildred Pierce) performing a story by Dylan Landis - Landis has published fiction in Bomb, Tin House, Best American Nonrequired Reading and elsewhere, and has won a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and other awards. "Landis's characters and the rich, rough worlds they inhabit are rendered withbracing precision and devastating grace." - Time Out New York
  • Chris Sarandon (The Princess Bride, Dog Day Afternoon) performing a story by Jess Row - Row's first book, The Train to Lo Wu, was a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist. His stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Tin House, Ploughshares, American Short Fiction, Threepenny Review, Harvard Review, and elsewhere; have been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and won two Pushcart Prizes and a PEN/O.Henry Award. “Jess Row has a remarkable ability to evoke empathy in the reader for his characters, to spark vivid connection between ourselves and these raw, whole, complicated lives on the page. You can expect that his stories will challenge you, move you, and stay with you long after you have turned the final page.” - Sycamore Review

All performances are Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. Books sold at the event by Mobile Libris.

 

 

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Waterstones presents The Shortlist: The Sunday Times EFG Bank Short Story Award 2012

WordTheatre UKMarch 27, 2012 to March 30, 2012 @ Waterstones Piccadilly Store

Kevin Barry

 

 

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the last week of March, Waterstone's Piccadilly store will host WordTheatre performances of the six stories shortlisted for the 2012 Sunday Times EFG Bank Short Story Award, a £30,000 prize, the largest in the world for a single short story. This three evening series leads up to the announcement of the award on Friday, March 30th at the Oxford Literary Festival. Guests will be greeted with a glass of wine and a copy of the anthology containing the shortlisted stories. A Q & A and book signings will follow the performances.

Please join us for all three events. Each evening will feature two actors reading two of the shortlisted stories. Sit back and enjoy listening to the following actors bring these powerful short stories to life:
 
Tuesday, March 27: 
Jamie Blackley (Snow White and the Huntsman, 300: Battle of Artemisa) reading "The Hunt" by Emma Donoghue

Julian Sands (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Ocean's 13) reading "The Current" by Tom Lee
 
Wednesday, March 28: 
Imogen Poots (28 Days Later) reading "Nickel Mines Hardware" by Linda Oatman High
 
Riz Ahmed (Four Lions) reading "El Aziz: Some Pages from His Notebooks" by Robert Minhinnick
 
Thursday, March 29: 
Daphne Cheung (Ali G Indahouse) reading "Where The Gods Fly" by Jean Kwok
 
Ian Hart (Luck) and David Morrissey (Blitz) reading "Beer Trip to Llandudno" by Kevin Barry
 
Friday, March 30:
The Awards Dinner at Corpus Christie College and the announcement of The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, the richest prize in the world for a single short story!
Produced by Cedering Fox and Kirsty Peart, Directed by Cedering Fox 
 
To purchase tickets please visit the Waterstone's website http://bit.ly/pGcIaz or call 020 7851 2419.

For full details on The Oxford Literary Festival, please visit www.oxfordliteraryfestival.com
 
The six shortlisted writers and the titles of their short stories are:
Kevin Barry – Beer Trip to Llandudno
Emma Donoghue – The Hunt
Jean Kwok – Where the Gods Fly
Tom Lee – The Current
Robert Minhinnick – El Aziz: Some Pages From His Notebooks
Linda Oatman High – Nickel Mines Hardware
 
Irish author Kevin Barry has gone one stage further than last year when he was longlisted for the Award. His story follows a tight-knit group of ale-obsessed men travelling from Liverpool to Llandudno for their latest bittersweet tasting trip.
 
Emma Donoghue is also Irish and has now settled in Ontario, Canada. The Hunt is a disturbing tale told through the eyes of one young soldier. It is based on a historically documented mass rape that took place in 1776.
 
Jean Kwok emigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn when she was a child. Her story explores the hardships and choices that migrant families must face as they look to make a new life.
 
Tom Lee is currently completing a PhD at Goldsmiths College. The Current examines the altered and sometimes strained relationship between father and son after the father has had treatment for a mysterious illness.
 
Welsh novelist and poet Robert Minhinnick’s story charts the chequered progress of an Iraqi man who makes his way across Europe to the UK where he becomes a care-worker. Robert is also an active environmentalist, having co-founded Friends of the Earth Cymru in 1984 and Sustainable Wales in 1997.
 
Pennsylvania author Linda Oatman High is best-known for her prize-winning books for children and teens. Nickel Mines Hardware, considers the devastating effects of a high-school shooting on a traditional Amish community.
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Facing Autism presents Acts of Love: Parenthood benefiting Autism Speaks in Atherton, California

WordTheatre LAMarch 24, 2012 @ Atherton, CA

Justin Chambers

 

WordTheatre's 'Acts of Love: Parenthood' benefiting Autism Speaks returns this year, to Atherton, California. Our original theatrical collage of quotes, jokes, articles, monologues and music about parenthood enjoyed a triumphant debut in Los Angeles at CAA in the fall of 2010 and this year Facing Autism brings it to the San Francisco Bay Area. Featuring:

  • Alfred Molina (Chocolat, Spider-Man 2
  • Amber Tamblyn (127 Hours, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
  • Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy, Private Practice)
  • Brenda Strong (Desperate Housewives, Starship Troopers)
  • Gil Bellows (Executive Producer of Temple GrandinAlly McBeal)
  • Howard Hesseman (About Schmidt, WKRP in Cincinatti)
  • Ian Hart (Luck, Dirt)
  • Jessalyn Gilsig (Glee, Nip/Tuck)
  • Justin Chambers (Grey's Anatomy, The Wedding Planner)
  • Lorraine Toussaint (Saving Grace, The Soloist)
  • Mae Whitman (Parenthood, Arrested Development)
  • Marcia Gay Harden (Into the Wild, Damages)
  • Mary McDonnell (The Closer, Battlestar Galactica)
  • Sam Jaeger (Parenthood, Eli Stone)
  • Tim Daly (Private Practice, Wings)
  • Hosted by Bruce Vilanch, Emmy Award-winning writer for the Academy Awards
  • Narrated by Dave Fennoy the voice of Hulu
  • Musical performances from John Doe
Acts of Love Parenthood is created, produced and directed by Cedering Fox. Cast is subject to change without notice. To purchase tickets please call 310 915 5150 or email melissa@wordtheatre.com.
 
Tickets: $1,000 per person
Sponsors: $2,500 per ticket (sit with a celebrity)
Patrons: $5,000 per ticket (sit with a celebrity and join the VIP reception)
Table for Ten: $25,000 (sit with a celebrity and two guests join the VIP reception)
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WordTheatre Voices Manuel Muñoz and Alethea Black in association with NYU Tisch School of the Arts

WordTheatre NYMarch 4, 2012 @ Soho House NY

Robin de Jesus

 

WordTheatre's series at Soho House New York continues with an intriguing mix of writers and actors! Join your favorite film, television and stage actors in the fifth floor library as they bring great short fiction to life with the authors present for a post performance Q & A.


Featuring:

  • Robin de Jesus  fresh from his Broadway role in the smash hit musical In the Heights, the two-time Tony nominee will be performing a story by...
  • Manuel Muñoz, author of two short story collections: The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue and Zigza!er. His first novel, What You See in the Dark, was published in spring 2011 of which Publishers Weekly said "[A] stellar first novel . . . with a subtlety worthy of Hitchcock himself." Muñoz is the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award and was a finalist for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize. He's received a National Endowment for the Arts literature fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and a 2009 O.Henry Prize for a short story. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Rush Hour, Swink, Epoch, Glimmer Train, and Boston Review. A native of Dinuba, California, he is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Arizona at Tucson.
  • Maggie Siff, a series regular on Sons of Anarchy  and formerly of Mad Men, she is in rehearsal for the leading role in Taming of the Shrew and we are so lucky she is avaialable to read a story by...
  • Alethea Black whose debut collection of short stories, I Knew You'd Be Lovely (Broadway Books/Random House), was chosen as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick and was an Oprah.com Book of the Week. “This debut reads like a dream, with nary a false note…a well-balanced collection filled with low-key charm and notable talent.” – Kirkus Reviews. Her work has won the Arts & Letters Prize and has appeared in The Kenyon ReviewThe Antioch Review and Narrative, among others. 

Doors open at 5 PM for drinks and performances begin at 5:30 PM. Books by both authors will be sold at the event; signings of purchased books only. Appearances subject to change without notice. 

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Associate Produced by Darrell Larson

Special thanks to Jason Nower for videography.

 

Invite your friends on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/298526993542410/

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WordTheatre Voices Dan Chaon, Bernice L. McFadden and Deb Olin Unferth in association with NYU Tisch School of the Arts

WordTheatre NYFebruary 5, 2012 @ Soho House NY

Dan Chaon

WordTheatre kicked off our fourth season of world class actors giving voice to great writing at Soho House New York with a thrilling line up! Audiences settled in with a glass of wine to hear film, television and stage actors bring great short fiction to life with the authors present for a post performance Q & A with the audience. Featuring:

  • Raviv Ullman (Rita Rocks, Russian Transport off-Broadway) performing Dan Chaon - Chaon’s newest collection of short stories, Stay Awake is due out February 7, 2012. He is author of the national bestseller Await Your Reply, which was named one of the ten best books of the year by Publisher's Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and salon.com, as well as being named among the year's best fiction by the American Library Association and others. He is also the author of the short story collections Fitting Ends and Among the Missing, which was a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award. Chaon is the Delaney Associate Professor at Oberlin.
  • Malinda WIlliams (Soul Food, 2 Days in New York City) performing Bernice Mcfadden - Bernice L. McFadden is the author of seven critically acclaimed, award-winning bestselling novels; including the classics Sugar and The Warmest December which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and was lauded as "Searing and expertly imagined" by Nobel Laureate, Toni Morrison.
  • Jodie Markell (Big Love, Snakebit at the Century Theatre) performing Deb Olin Unferth - She is the author of the collection of stories Minor Robberies, the novel Vacation and the memoir, Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War. Her work has appeared in Harper's, McSweeney's, The Believer, The Boston Review, Esquire, and other magazines. She has received multiple Pushcart Prizes and was chosen by Harper's Baazar as an "Editors' Choice: Names to Know in 2011". Unferth teaches creative writing at Wesleyan University.

All performances Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. Associate Produced by Darrell Larson. Special thanks to Jason Nower for videography.

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2011 Events

Ten Years: A Celebration & Benefit for WordTheatre in the Schools

WordTheatre LANovember 3, 2011 @ A Private Home in Santa Monica

Chris Bauer

We kicked off our tenth year with the Authors & Actors of WordTheatre®: Giving Voice to Great Writing in the US & the UK. Contributors are helping us bring WordTheatre to ten Title 1 schools! You can find out more about the program here http://bit.ly/qLmVMC 

Benefit Committee members April Webster, Deborah Del Prete, Les Werlin & Paula Silver; WordTheatre’s entire Board of Directors and WordTheatre Artistic Director Cedering Fox, invited guests to join the festivities on this very special evening!
 
7PM Wine & Food with Music by:
  • Amy Keyes
  • Gary Dourdan and his Band
  • Andrew Banks on piano
  • Jim Wilson on piano
  • Rachel Applebaum on piano
8PM WordTheatre Performances by:
  • Chris Bauer, True Blood
  • Christopher Gorham, Covert Affairs
  • Edi Gathegi, Twilight 
  • Graham Hamilton, Hamlet at the Folger
  • Ian Hart, Dirt, Luck, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
  • Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
  • Philip Baker Hall, Hard Eight
  • CCH Pounder, Avatar
  • Stephen Tobolowsky, Glee
  • Vincent Piazza, Boardwalk Empire 
Fabulous prizes donated by the actors and authors of WordTheatre! Prizes included:
  • Tea with TC Boyle and a tour of his Frank Lloyd Wright Home
  • Two tickets to Kidding on the Square starring Emily Bergl (check out one of the best reviews ever in the NY Times at http://nyti.ms/r4Gbep), coming to Los Angeles this January, dates to be announced.
  • Two tickets for the 2012 Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach
  • Dinner for four at Akasha, one of the best restaurants in Culver City
  • Set visit to BODY OF PROOF
  • Set visit to CASTLE
  • Tower of assorted chocolates from John Kelly Chocolates 
  • Gorgeous Gold plated Christmas ornament  and a $150 gift certificate from Georg Jensen of Beverly Hills
  • Basket of adorable dolls (plus accessories) from Best Pals
  • Cooking class and T-shirt from Cast Iron Gourmet
  • Cashmere scarf and fingerless long gloves set from 360 Sweater
  • Two tickets to The Wine House Bourbon Fest on 11/15 and a bottle of Bourbon
  • Basket of lotions and spritzes from Light of Beauty
  • A three CD set from our esteemed pianist Jim Wilson
  • Signed copies of books from James Franco, Michelle Latiolais, Michelle Bitting, Mary Otis, Alethea Black and more!

All performances were produced and directed by Cedering Fox. 

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Speaking in Tongues: A Benefit for the Pushcart Prize

WordTheatre NYJuly 23, 2011 @ Guild Hall

CCH Pounder

Diane Ackerman, Steve Almond, Charles Baxter, Ron Carlson, Andre Dubus III, Carol Muske Dukes, Mary Gaitskill, AM Homes, Michelle Latiolais, David Means, James Salter, Philip Schultz, Harvey Shapiro and Simon Van Booy invited you to Guild Hall to celebrate The Pushcart Prize, considered "one of the most important publishing projects in American history" (Publishers Weekly), with a benefit at Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York.

2011 marked the 35th anniversary of the Pushcart Prize. Their "yearly volumes of stories, poems and essays feature much of the best writing available in this country." (New York Times Book Review

The celebration featured performances by:

  • Amy Irving (Carrie, Alias)
  • CCH Pounder (Avatar, The Shield)
  • Chris Bauer (True Blood, The Wire
  • Colman Domingo (Scottsboro Boys Tony Award Nominee)
  • Harris Yulin (Death of a Salesman)
  • Kathryn Erbe (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Oz)
  • Kevin Corrigan (The Departed, Pineapple Express
  • Vincent Piazza (Lucky Luciano on Boardwalk Empire)

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

We wish to thank our sponsors, Avi Oster Media & The Oster Family Foundation, for their generous support.

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Latitude Festival

WordTheatre UKJuly 14, 2011 to July 17, 2011 @ Henham Park

Emma Hamilton

WordTheatre gave voice to great writing in our three part series Forbidden Fruit: Erotica; Here Hear; Little Monsters; and Sunday Best: Short Stories from The Sunday Times Magazine. Contemporary Short Fiction was brought to life by an international cast* that included Julian Sands (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Ian Hart (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), David Morrissey (Red Riding Trilogy), Harriet Walter (Babel), Tom Riley (Bouquet of Barbed Wire), Helen Atkinson Wood (Black Adder), Emma Hamilton (The Tudors), John Schwab (The Complete Works of William Shakespeare), Matt Barber (Being Human), Juliet Stevenson (Truly Madly Deeply), Amanda Maple-Brown (Home & Away), Okezie Morro (George Lucas' upcoming Red Tales) and Guy Paul (Mary Stuart, Broadway). 

Produced by Cedering Fox, Kirsty Peart and John Schwab and directed by Cedering Fox.

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WordTheatre at Chatsworth

WordTheatre UKJuly 3, 2011 @ Chatsworth

Julian Sands

We gathered in the private theatre of the 12th Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth for an evening of great writing brought to life by well known actors. All writers were present for a Q & A following the performances. Featuring:

  • Julian Sands (24) performing a story by Ben Okri, Booker Prize winning author of The Famished Road
  • Ian Hart (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) performing a story by Will Cohu, who was on the 2010 and 2011 shortlist for The Sunday Times Magazine EFG Private Bank Short Story Award - the biggest prize for a single short story in the world 
  • Caroline Goodall (Schindler's List) performing a story by Ron Carlson, author of The Signal
  • Jean Marsh (Upstairs Downstairs) performing a story by Evgenia Citkowitz, author of Ether - recently released to rave reviews from The New Yorker and The New York Times
  • John Schwab performing a story by Ron Carlson, prolific American author of five novels and five short story collections, Carlson is the director of UC Irvine's MFA writing program - considered by many one of the best writing programs in America
Produced by Cedering Fox & Kirsty Peart and Directed by Cedering Fox. 
 
The evening began with drinks in the sculpture gallery at 6:30 PM and performances began at 7:30. 
 
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WordTheatre Lit by Lulu presents Jane Smiley, Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum and Simon Van Booy

WordTheatre LAJune 19, 2011 @ Soho House West Hollywood

Amy Brenneman

This tour de force ending to WordTheatre Lit by Lulu in Los Angeles featured an intriguing mix of writers from far and near. Well known actors will brought contemporary short stories to life with the authors present for a Q & A and signings of purchased books. Featuring:

  • Maggie Siff (Sons of Anarchy, Mad Men) performing a story by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, one of The New Yorker's 20 Under 40
  • Amy Brenneman (Private Practice, Judging Amy) performing a story by Jane Smiley, member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and recipient of the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. 
  • Jon Tenney (The Closer, Green Lantern) performing a story by Simon Van Booy, recipient of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. His new novel "Everything Beautiful Began After" will be released on July 5th.

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. 

WordTheatre Lit by Lulu is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

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WordTheatre Lit by Lulu presented in association with NYU Tisch School of the Arts Part IV

WordTheatre NYJune 5, 2011 @ Soho House NY

Halley Feiffer

We wrapped up WordTheatre Lit by Lulu New York in the swanky 5th floor library at Manhattan's private Soho House in this final Sunday evening of phenomenal performance and discussion. Authors were present for a Q & A and signings of purchased books. Featuring:

  • Halley Feiffer (Mildred Pierce, The Squid and the Whale) performing a story by Julie Orringer, National Endowment of the Arts grantee for her debut novel The Invisible Bridge
  • Emily Bergl (Desperate Housewives, SouthLAnd) performing a story by Michelle Latiolais, whose new collection Widow was featured on the cover of the New York Times Book Review  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/books/review/Cohen-t.html
  • Julian Sands (Leaving Las Vegas, 24) performing a story by Simon Van Booy, recipient of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. His new novel "Everything Beautiful Began After" will be released on July 5th.

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. 

WordTheatre Lit by Lulu is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

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WordTheatre Lit by Lulu presents Charles Baxter

WordTheatre LAMay 22, 2011 @ Soho House West Hollywood

Justin Chambers

WordTheatre Lit by Lulu presented Charles Baxter and his collection GryphonThe LA Times says: 

"Baxter knows how to play with a reader's emotions; he knows when to flatten the curve, when to turn up the volume. He knows exactly what you will feel if the thing you fear is about to happen doesn't happen. Because he is so good, his writing so seemingly effortless, his landscapes and portraits so precisely detailed, the effect is hard to shake." http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/23/entertainment/la-ca-charles-baxter-20110123

The evening featured performances from:

  • Brendan Sexton III (The Killing, Boys Don't Cry)
  • Justin Chambers (Grey's Anatomy, The Wedding Planner)
  • Edith Fields (The Last Godfather, Next)

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox.

WordTheatre Lit by Lulu is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

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WordTheatre Lit by Lulu presented in association with NYU Tisch School of the Arts Part III

WordTheatre NYMay 1, 2011 @ Soho House NY

Vanessa Aspillaga

We continued our WordTheatre Lit by Lulu New York series with a third evening in the gorgeous 5th floor library of Manhattan's private Soho House featuring world class storytelling and discussion. In this four part WordTheatre Lit by Lulu series, actors brought contemporary short stories to life with the authors present for a Q & A and signings of purchased books. Featuring:

  • Vanessa Aspillaga (Morning Glory, Love and Other Drugs) will be performing "Lucho" by Patricia Engel, whose novel Vida was an NPR Best Debut of 2010
  • Roger Guenveur Smith (American Gangster) will be performing "Precious Love" a brand new story by John Edgar Wideman, a Macarthur Genius Grant recipient and author of Briefs and Hoop Roots
  • Zach Grenier (33 Variations, Fight Club) will be performing "Water Dog God" by Brad Watson, a National Book Award Finalist and author of Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives and 2011 PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. 

WordTheatre Lit by Lulu is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

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WordTheatre Lit by Lulu presents The Women

WordTheatre LAApril 14, 2011 @ M Bar

Hina Abdullah

This annual evening of the most talented women from Los Angeles and beyond came to M Bar as part of WordTheatre Lit by Lulu. Top actors brought the words of the best female writers to life:

  • Hallee Hirsh (ER, JAG) performing a story by Ramona Ausubel - Author of the novel "No One is Here Except All of Us", due from Riverhead Books in 2012, with the collection of stories "A Guide to Being Born" to follow.  Her work has appeared in The New YorkerOne Story, The Best American Fantasy and elsewhere.
  • Cassidy Freeman (Smallville) performing a story by Alethea Black - Black's debut collection, I Knew You'd Be Lovely, is forthcoming from Broadway Books on June 7. Her work has won the Arts & Letters Prize, has been cited as distinguished in The Best American Short Stories, and has appeared in The Kenyon ReviewThe Antioch Review and Narrative, among others.
  • Hina Abdullah (Margaret) performing a story by K. Kvashay-Boyle - A recent graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Kvashay-Boyle has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and published in Best of McSweeney'sBest American Non-Required Reading and Politically Inspired Fiction. Her story "Saint Chola" is currently in development as a feature film
  • Kirsten Vangsness (Criminal Minds) performing a story by Tara Ison - Ison is the recipient of a 2008 NEA Creative Writing Fellowship and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times' "Best First Fiction" Award for her first novel, A Child out of Alcatraz. Her words have appeared in Tin House, The Kenyon Review, Nerve.com, Black Clock, Publisher's Weekly, LA WeeklyLos Angeles Times and numerous anthologies.

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. 


WordTheatre Lit by Lulu is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

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WordTheatre and The Sunday Times Magazine present Sunday Best

WordTheatre UKApril 5, 2011 to April 7, 2011 @ Corpus Christi College at Oxford

Bhasker Patel

The six shortlisted stories for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award, the largest Award for a single short story in the world, were brought to life on April 5, 6 and 7 at the Oxford Literary Festival. The winner was announced on Friday April 8, 2011.

Tuesday, April 5:
  • Bhasker Patel (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) performing "The Fluorescent Jacket" by Roshi Fernando
  • Juliet Stevenson (Truly Madly Deeply) performing "The Family Whistle" by Gerard Woodward

Wednesday, April 6:
  • Lucy Sheen (Secrets & Lies) performing "The Science of Flight" by Yiyun Li
  • Ben Miller (Primeval) performing "East Coast - West Coast" by Will Cohu

Thursday, April 7:
  • Damian Lewis (Life) performing "The Deep" by Anthony Doerr
  • Harriet Walter (Babel) performing "Comma" by Hilary Mantel

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox.

This series of evenings was presented in association with The Sunday Times Magazine. Sponsored by EFG Private Bank. For full details on The Oxford Literary Festival, please visit www.oxfordliteraryfestival.com
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WordTheatre Lit by Lulu presented in association with NYU Tisch School of the Arts Part II

WordTheatre NYApril 3, 2011 @ Soho House NY

Cindy Cheung

The luxurious 5th floor library at Manhattan's private Soho House hosted the second installment of WordTheatre 'Lit by Lulu' New York featuring a Sunday evening of riveting storytelling and discussion. In this four part WordTheatre 'Lit by Lulu' series, actors bring contemporary short stories to life with the authors present for a Q & A and signings of purchased books. Featuring:

  • Cindy Cheung (Lady in the Water, One Life to Live) performing a story by Yiyun Li (one of six writers shortlisted for the biggest short story prize in the world, she is a Macarthur fellow and one of the New Yorker's '20 Under 40')
  • Amy Irving (Carrie, Alias) performing a story by Edith Pearlman (author of Binocular Vision, which received rave reviews in both The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times earlier this year, she has published more than 250 works of short fiction and short non-fiction)
  • Tracee Chimo (recently featured in The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/theater/14chimo.html) performing a story by Mona Simpson (author of My Hollywood, her first novel, Anywhere But Here was made into a feature film)

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. Doors open at 5 PM for drinks and performances and discussions are from 5:30-7:30 PM. Mobile Libris sold books throughout.

WordTheatre 'Lit by Lulu' is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

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WordTheatre Lit by Lulu presents Love Breaks

WordTheatre LAMarch 19, 2011 @ M Bar

Jessalyn Gilsig

The Los Angeles arm of our series kicked off at M Bar with a Saturday night of enticing tales. In this four part WordTheatre Lit by Lulu series, actors brought contemporary short stories to life with the authors present for a Q & A and signings of purchased books. Featuring:

  • Jeff Goldblum (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Jurassic Park)
  • Sharon Lawrence (Curb Your EnthusiasmOne Tree Hill
  • Jessalyn Gilsig (Glee, Nip/Tuck
  • Emily Bergl (Desperate Housewives, Southland
  • Rock star writer T.C. Boyle, "a writer who chooses a large canvas and fills it to the edges." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/books/review/Kingsolver-t.html
  • Stories from Michelle Latiolais' new collection Widow, which the New York Times calls "bracing, exposed, ruthlessly mercurial and, for all its spiked bales of barbed wire, laden with extreme beauty." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/books/review/Cohen-t.html

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox.

WordTheatre Lit by Lulu is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

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WordTheatre Lit by Lulu presented in association with NYU Tisch School of the Arts Part I

WordTheatre NYMarch 6, 2011 @ Soho House NY

Jennifer Mudge

We kicked off of WordTheatre Lit by Lulu New York in the exclusive 5th floor library at Manhattan's private Soho House. Actors brought contemporary short stories to life with the authors present for a Q & A and signings of purchased books. Featuring:

  • Jason Butler Harner (Next, Changeling) and Jennifer Mudge (The Good Wife, The Philanthropist on Broadway) performing a story by David Means
  • Paul Guilfoyle (CSI, The Local Stigmatic) performing a story from Charles Baxter's recently published collection Gryphon
  • Owiso Odera (3 Rivers, Romeo and Juliet at NYSF) performing a story from Tiphanie Yanique's collection How to Escape from a Leper Colony

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox. Books sold by Mobile Libris.

WordTheatre 'Lit by Lulu' is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

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Hearts Aflame

WordTheatre LAFebruary 14, 2011 @ M Bar

Sean Young

WordTheatre Lit by Lulu proudly presented a very special event for your entertainment and profound delight. Hearts Aflame, an evening of passionate, sweet, uproarious, scathing and devastating love and break up letters spanning the centuries, from the 11th to the 21st, left you weeping with laughter and despair at the follies of the human heart. Featured:

  • Christina Pickles (Romeo + Juliet, St. Elsewhere)
  • Edi Gathegi (Twilight, New Moon)
  • Graham Hamilton (Hamlet at the Folger, Romeo and Juliet at the Old Globe)
  • Hong Lei (The Young and the Restless, Graduate of USC's MFA Acting Program)
  • Ian Hart (Finding Neverland, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
  • Jackson Rathbone (Twilight, The Last Airbender)
  • Julia Davis (Timon of Athens, Graduate of USC's MFA Acting Program)
  • Mozhan Marno (Traitor, The Stoning of Soraya M.)
  • Sean Maguire  (Meet the Spartans)
  • Sean Young (Blade Runner, The Young and the Restless)
  • Tava Smiley (General Hospital, Good Luck Chuck)
  • Narrated by James Shippy

Created, Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Doors opened at 6:30 PM for dinner and the performance began at 8 PM. M Bar required a $10 food minimum. Hearts Aflame sold out.

'WordTheatre Lit by Lulu' is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

Special thanks to:

Eric Raptosh Photography www.raptosh.com

Koko Candles by Paoling Che www.kokocandles.com

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Fathers & Sons

WordTheatre LAJanuary 14, 2011 @ M Bar

Samantha Mathis
WordTheatre Lit by Lulu  presents 'Fathers and Sons'

  • Bruce Vilanch (Hairspray on Broadway, Academy Awards Writer) performing "Ladybirds for Lunch" by Hanif Kureishi author of 'My Beautiful Laundrette'
  • Gary Dourdan (CSI, Alien: Resurrection) performing "Bug Juice" by Christine Lincoln, author of 'Sap Rising'
  • Ian Hart (Dirt, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) performing "Distant Ships" by Simon Van Booy author of 'Love Begins in Winter'
  • Samantha Mathis (American Psycho, 33 Variations) performing "Between Here and Here" by Amy Bloom author of 'Where the God of Love Hangs Out'

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

M Bar requires a $10 food minimum, so please come early for dinner! Doors open at 6:00 PM  for dinner and performances begin at 7:30 PM.

A limited amount of tickets are still available at the door for $20.

'WordTheatre Lit by Lulu' is a series of events in New York and Los Angeles made possible by Lulu.com. Lulu is creating a new model in publishing — open publishing — that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before. Through its Internet-based creation tools, retail site and global distribution system, Lulu helps creators make and monetize content in a variety of physical and electronic formats connects them to buyers on Lulu.com and in third-party channels, including Amazon.com and the iBookstore, all around the world. Authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of their revenue when their works sell. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com

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2010 Events

Home benefiting Friendship Shelter

WordTheatre LANovember 14, 2010 @ Laguna Beach, Ca

Richard Burgi

We heard stories that talked about home and what it really means at this benefit for Friendship Shelter in Laguna Beach. Featuring:

  • Rachel Boston (500 Days of Summer, American Dreams)
  • Richard Burgi (Desperate Housewives, Nip/Tuck) 
  • Justin Chambers (Grey's Anatomy, The Wedding Planner)
  • Gary Dourdan (CSI)
  • Tess Harper (Tender Mercies, No Country for Old Men)
  • John Heard (Home Alone, Big)
  • Baadja-Lyne Odums (Ladykillers, CSI)
  • Brian J. White (Men of a Certain Age, Stomp the Yard)

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Show began at 3pm

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Acts of Love: Parenthood

WordTheatre LANovember 4, 2010 @ CAA

Lorraine Toussaint

'Acts of Love: Parenthood' was WordTheatre’s original, one night only theatrical
collage of stories by writers of fiction, memoir, humor and fact, brought to life by an extraordinary cast, with music performed by John Doe. This benefit performance was preceded by the presentation of  Autism Speaks’ Media Awareness Award to Jason Katims, creator and producer of ‘Parenthood,’ as well as a silent auction including artworks curated by Bruce Helander.  Featuring:

  • Brian J. White (Men of a Certain Age, Brick)
  • Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs, Ugly Betty)
  • Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights, Spin City)
  • Craig T. Nelson (Parenthood, Coach)
  • Donal Logue (Terriers, Blade)
  • Ian Hart (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Finding Neverland)
  • Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls, Parenthood)
  • Lorraine Toussaint (The Soloist, Saving Grace)
  • Maggie Siff (Sons of Anarchy, Mad Men)
  • Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica, Donnie Darko)
  • Max Burkholder (Parenthood, Friends With Money)
  • Peter Krause (Parenthood, The Truman Show)
  • Phil Abrams (Parenthood, The Island)
  • Stephen Tobolowsky (Glee, Heroes)

Created, Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Narrated by Dave Fennoy

Autism, a life-long neurological disorder, has reached epidemic proportions over the last decade. Today 1 in 151 children and 1 in 70 boys - one percent of the American population - is now on the spectrum of Autism. This crisis demands our attention. Since merging with Cure Autism Now, Autism Speaks has become the nation's largest autism advocacy organization. Last year, Autism Speaks raised over $38 million to support groundbreaking genetic research; community, national and global autism awareness efforts; and programs to support those with autism and their families. For more information visit www.AutismSpeaks.org


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Noir

WordTheatre LAOctober 24, 2010 @ M Bar

Rachel Boston

WordTheatre's Noir featured stories from Southern California's dark underbelly. Featuring:

  • Rachel Boston (500 Days of Summer, American Dreams) performing "The Method" by Janet Fitch
  • George DelHoyo (Beverly Hills 90210, St. Elsewhere) performing "Bee Canyon" by Susan Straight
  • Seamus Dever (Castle, General Hospital) performing "The Toll" by Dan Duling

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox.

All authors were present. Doors opened at 5:30 PM with dinner and performances beginning at 7 PM. M Bar requires a $10 food minimum. Books were sold at the event by Small World Books, a Book Sense Book Store in Venice.

This show is dedicated to WordTheatre's great friend and supporter Richard.

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The Road Ahead

WordTheatre LASeptember 25, 2010 @ El Camino College

Erika Christensen
WordTheatre's benefit performance "The Road Ahead" celebrated the power of education to create new paths for people from all walks of life. It will be featured in an evening supporting El Camino College Foundation's drive to raise funds for the Osher Initiative. This initiative will provide $100 million for The California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment to support scholarship programs dedicated to California's Community College students. Featuring:
  • Justin Chambers (Grey's Anatomy, The Wedding Planner)
  • Erika Christensen (The Upside Down of Anger, Parenthood)
  • Seamus Dever (Castle, Hollywoodland)
  • Dorian Missick (Six Degrees, The Manchurian Candidate)
  • Tess Harper (Tender Mercies, No Country For Old Men)
  • John Heard (Home Alone, Big)
  • Jon Huertas (Castle, Generation Kill)
  • Larisa Oleynik (10 Things I Hate About You, The Secret World of Alex Mack)
  • Adrian Pasdar (Heroes, Top Gun)
  • CCH Pounder (Avatar, Warehouse 13)
  • Miguel Sandoval (Medium, Jurassic Park)
  • Joe Spano (NCIS, Apollo 13)
  • Johnny Simmons (Jennifer's Body, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
  • Natalija Nogulich (Days of Our Lives, The West Wing)

Produced, Directed and Created by Cedering Fox

Hosted by Bruce Vilanch and Narrated by Dave Fennoy

Tickets are available at http://www.elcaminocollegefoundation.org/roadahead/index.html. The event begins at 7:30 PM.


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The Women

WordTheatre LAAugust 27, 2010 @ M Bar

Natalija Nogulich

WordTheatre's third annual 'The Women', featuring stories penned by LA's best female writers, is coming to M Bar! Authors will be present for readings. Featuring:

  • Catherine Dent (The Shield, 21 Grams) performing "Crazy" by Michelle Latiolais
  • Marc Menchaca (Generation Kill, Flash Forward) performing "John Wayne Loves Grandma Dot" by Victoria Patterson
  • Jodi Long (Eli Stone, Robocop 3) performing "Charlie and Me" by Nina Revoyr
  • CJ Thomason (General Hospital, Harper's Island) performing "Three Legged Dog" by Diana Wagman
  • Natalija Nogulich (Days of Our Lives, The West Wing) performing "Ithaca" by L. Annette Binder
  • Kate Levering (Drop Dead Diva, Cashmere Mafia) performing "Ask Us Anything" by Anne-Marie Kinney

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

M Bar requires a $10 food minimum, so please come early for dinner! Doors open at 6:30 PM and performances begin at 8 PM.

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Latitude Festival

WordTheatre UKJuly 15, 2010 to July 17, 2010 @ Henham Park

Amber Tamblyn

WordTheatre returned to the Latitude Festival with three days of dynamite performances in the Literary Arena and two incredible presentations in the Poetry Arena. Performances featured:

  • Amber Tamblyn (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
  • Belinda Stewart-Wilson (The Inbetweeners, Primeval)
  • Ben Miller (Armstrong and Miller)
  • Brian Cox (The Bourne Identity)
  • David Morrissey (The Other Boleyn Girl)
  • David Soul (the original Starsky and Hutch)
  • Graham Hamilton (Hamlet at the Folger in Washington, DC)
  • John Schwab (The Complete Works of William Shakespeare)
  • Nicole Ansari (Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll)
Produced by Cedering Fox and Kirsty Peart, Directed by Cedering Fox
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WordTheatre in association with The Sunday Times Magazine Short Story presents Passages benefiting Macmillan Cancer Support

WordTheatre UKJuly 14, 2010 @ The Tabernacle

Nicole Ansari
WordTheatre was proud to be working with The Sunday Times Short Story to bring great literature to life at the Tabernacle in Notting Hill as a benefit for Macmillan Cancer Support. Featuring:
  • Amber Tamblyn (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
  • Belinda Stewart-Wilson (The Inbetweeners, Primeval)Nicole Ansari (Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll on Broadway)
  • Brian Cox (The Escapist, The Bourne Identity)
  • David Cross (Arrested Development, Year One)
  • Graham Hamilton (Hamlet at the Folger in Washington, DC)
  • Gemma Jones (Bridget Jones's Diary)
  • John Schwab (The Complete Works of William Shakespeare)
  • Nicole Ansari (Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll on Broadway)
  • Prunella Scales (Fawlty Towers)

Produced by Cedering Fox and Kirsty Peart. Directed by Cedering Fox.

Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care. Their primary goal is to reach and improve the lives of everyone living with cancer. Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017). www.macmillan.org.uk

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Shattered

WordTheatre NYJune 28, 2010 @ Soho House NY

Vincent Piazza

WordTheatre brought two top tier writers to Soho House for performances of their own work. Featuring:

  • Rick Moody (author of The Ice Storm)'s "Modern Lovers" performed by Jason Butler Harner (Changeling, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) and Sarah Paulson (Broadway's Collected Stories, Serenity)
  • Michael Cunningham (writer of The Hours)'s "White Angel" performed by Vincent Piazza (Scorsese's Upcoming Series Boardwalk Empire, Rescue Me)
  • Both authors will be present for a Q and A following the performances

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox.

There were signings of purchased books beforehand and during intermission. Doors opened at 6:30 PM and performances began at 7 PM. Books were available at the show from Mobile Libris.

Sound production donated by Viper Studio www.viperstudio.com

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Screwed

WordTheatre LAJune 6, 2010 @ M Bar

Gary Cole

WordTheatre brought three phenomenal actors to M Bar on Sunday, June 6th to perform three powerful stories. It featured:
 

  • Carla Gugino (American Gangster, Night at the Museum) performing "Such Fun" by James Salter
  • Gary Cole (Pineapple Express, Entourage) performing "Walls" by Tod Goldberg
  • Adrian Pasdar (Heroes, Top Gun) and Carla Gugino (American Gangster, Night at the Museum) performing "Three Quarters of the Way to Hell" by T.C. Boyle

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox
 

M Bar requires a $10 food minimum. Doors open at 5:30 PM and performances begin at 7 PM. Books sold by Small World Books. 

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WordTheatre with Mary Gaitskill, Marisa Silver, and Amy Bloom at Soho House NY

WordTheatre NYMay 17, 2010 @ Soho House New York

Samantha Mathis

 

WordTheatre brought literary and acting talents to Soho House New York for performances and author Q & A. The show is from 7 to 9 PM. Featuring:

  • Mary Gaitskill, widely lauded for her personal and poignant story collections, performed by Carolyn Mc Cormick  (Law & Order, Equus on Broadway)
  • Marisa Silver, a New Yorker favorite based in Los Angeles, performed by Larisa Oleynik (10 Things I Hate About You, The Secret Life of Alex Mack)
  • Samantha Mathis (American Psycho, Order of Chaos) performing "Between Here and Here" by Amy Bloom, nominee for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox.

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Mysteries of the Mind at the Minding Your Mind Forum

WordTheatre NYMay 10, 2010 @ Temple Beth Hillel

John Heard

WordTheatre's original performance piece Mysteries of the Mind is coming to Minding Your Mind's 5th annual Mental Health Forum in Philadelphia.

Featuring:

  • Nicole Ansari (Tom Stoppard's Rock n' Roll on Broadway and The West End, Deadwood)
  • Linda Cardellini (E.R., Brokeback Mountain)
  • Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, X-Men)
  • Edi Gathegi (Twilight, New Moon, House)
  • John Heard (Home Alone, Big)
  • Carolyn Mc Cormick (Law & Order, Equus  on Broadway)
  • Keith Randolph Smith (Law and Order, Malcolm X)
  • Linus Roache (Law & Order, Wings of the Dove)

Created, Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

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WordTheatre with Aimee Bender, Brad Watson and Ron Carlson presented by PEN USA

WordTheatre LAMay 2, 2010 @ Canal Club

Nicki Micheaux

 WordTheatre brought incredible literary and acting talents to Venice for performances and a Q & A with the writers. Doors opened at 2 for cash bar and appetizers available to order.  Actors performed stories beginning at 3.

Featuring:

  • Cassidy Freeman (Smallville) performing "Tiger Mending" by Aimee Bender
  • Nicki Micheaux (Lincoln Heights) performing "Vacuum" from Brad Watson's new collection
  • Philip Baker Hall (Boogie Nights, Zodiac) performing "One Quarrel" by Ron Carlson

All authors were in attendance. Books sold by Small World Books.

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

 

... read more
LA Times Festival of Books

WordTheatre LAApril 24, 2010 @ LA Times Festival of Books

Tess Harper

WordTheatre is bringing some of our favorite short short stories to the LA Times Festival of Books! Featuring:

  • Tess Harper (No Country for Old Men, Tender Mercies) performing a story by Martha Ronk
  • Omar Dorsey (The Blind Side, Starsky and Hutch) performing a story by John Edgar Wideman
  • John Heard (Home Alone, Prison Break) performing a story by Ian Frazier
  • Nicki Micheaux (Lincoln Heights, The Sheild) performing a story by Kate Milliken
  • Andrew Borba (Modern Family, The Shield) performing a story by David Galef

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

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WordTheatre with Ian Frazier, Mary Gordon and Don Lee at Soho House New York

WordTheatre NYApril 18, 2010 @ Soho House New York

Mary Stuart Masterson

 

 

Online ticket sales have ended for this event, but tickets are still available at the door.

WordTheatre brings literary and acting talents to Soho House New York for performances and author Q & A.  Featuring:

  • Kathryn Erbe (Law and Order: Criminal Intent) performing "Out of the Fray" by Mary Gordon, official writer of the State of New York
  • Mary Stuart Masterson (Benny and Joon, Fried Green Tomatoes) performing "A Preference for Native Tongue" by Don Lee, professor at Temple University and former editor of Ploughshares
  • Jeremy Davidson (Army Wives, Windtalkers) performing "Bad Advice" by Ian Frazier, The New Yorker's favorite humorist and author of Great Plains

This event is second in a three part WordTheatre series at Soho House.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox.

The doors, book sales (courtesy of Mobile Libris) and bar open at 5 PM. The performances begin at 5:30 PM at Soho House New York (29 9th Ave, New York, NY 10014) in the 5th floor library. Though Soho House New York is a private club, non-member ticket holders will gain admittance on the day of the event and be able to make reservations for a late lunch.

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WordTheatre presents Briefs by John Edgar Wideman

WordTheatre LAApril 11, 2010 @ M Bar

Theron Cook

WordTheatre brings selections from John Edgar Wideman's new collection of microstories, Briefs, to life at M Bar in Hollywood.

Featuring performances from:

  • Barry Shabaka Henley (Collateral, FlashForward)
  • Edi Gathegi (Twilight, New Moon, House)
  • Howard Hesseman (About Schmidt, All About Steve)
  • James Pickens Jr. (Grey's Anatomy, The X-Files)
  • Keith David (Platoon, Crash)
  • Nina Siemaszko (West Wing, The Haunting of Molly Hartley)
  • Omar Dorsey (The Blind Side, Starsky and Hutch)
  • Paula Newsome (Little Miss Sunshine, Reign Over Me)
  • Theron Cook (Daydream)
  • Narrated by Dave Fennoy (announcer for the NAACP Awards)

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Doors open at 6 PM for dinner and performance begins at 7 PM. Please note that M Bar requires a $10 food minimum.

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WordTheatre with John Edgar Wideman presented by PEN USA

WordTheatre LAMarch 21, 2010 @ Santa Monica Bay Woman's Club

Dorian Missick

In the third installment of this four part series, John Edgar Wideman came to Santa Monica from New York to debut his forthcoming literary masterpiece, Briefs, a collection of stories that range in length from one to three pages.  WordTheatre cast remarkable actors to perform selections heard for the first time.

Actors included:

  • Amy Sloan (The Heartbreak Kid, Heroes)
  • Barry Shabaka Henley (Collateral, FlashForward)
  • Dorian Missick (The Bounty Hunter. Six Degrees)
  • Edi Gathegi (Twilight, New Moon, House)
  • Gary Dourdan (CSI, Alien: Resurrection)
  • Keith David (Platoon, Crash)
  • Howard Hesseman (About Schmidt, All About Steve)
  • Lorraine Toussaint (Dangerous Minds, Saving Grace)
  • Robert Wisdom (Face/Off, The Wire)
  • Roger Guenveur Smith (American Gangster, Do the Right Thing)
  • Theron Cook (can be found performing http://www.lulu.com/john_edgar_wideman)
  • Narrated by Dave Fennoy

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Briefs available exclusively at www.Lulu.com/JohnEdgarWideman 

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WordTheatre with John Edgar Wideman at Soho House NY

WordTheatre NYMarch 14, 2010 @ Soho House New York

Stephen McKinley Henderson

John Edgar Wideman, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and two time winner of the International PEN/ Faulkner Award, came to WordTheatre at Soho House for a world premiere of his new collection of microfiction Briefs.

  • Len Cariou (About Schmidt, Damages)
  • Jessica Collins (The Nine, The Good Wife)
  • Colman Domingo (The Scottsboro Boys currently at the Vineyard)
  • Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences with Denzel Washington opening April 26)
  • Dorian Missick (The Bounty Hunter. Six Degrees)
  • Ron Simons (Night Catches Us, Law and Order)
  • Keith Randolph Smith (Malcolm X, Broadway's Come Back, Little Sheba)
  • Lynn Whitfield (Eve's Bayou, The Josephine Baker Story)
  • Victor Williams (Cop Land, King of Queens)

  • Narrated by Rodd Houston

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Briefs is available exclusively from Lulu.com. For more information, visit www.Lulu.com/JohnEdgarWideman

The event took place at Soho House New York (29 9th Ave, New York, NY 10014) in the 5th floor library.

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WordTheatre with TC Boyle at the Edye presented by PEN USA

WordTheatre LAFebruary 21, 2010 @ The Edye

T. Coraghessan Boyle

In the second installment of this four part series, WordTheatre brought incredible literary and acting talents to Santa Monica for performances and an author Q & A from 3 - 5 PM. Featuring:

  • Miguel Sandoval (Medium, Bottle Shock)  performing "Sin Dolor"
  • Jere Burns (Surviving Suburbia, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles) performing "La Conchita"
  • T.C. Boyle performing his story "The Lie"

T.C. Boyle signed purchases. Books sold by Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood.

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Programs donated by Daniel Lam

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Hot Flicks: Love Scenes from the Silver Screen

WordTheatre LAFebruary 14, 2010 @ M Bar

Amy Pietz

Slink into M Bar this Valentine's Day with someone special and enjoy a delicious meal while your ears devour all of your favorite movie love scenes from Gone with the Wind to 500 Days of Summer performed by a cast of WordTheatre favorites. Featuring:

  • Edi Gathegi (Twilight, New Moon)
  • Christopher Gorham (Harper's Island, Ugly Betty)
  • Bruce Davison (X Men, X-2, Knight Rider)
  • Roma Maffia (Nip/Tuck, Disclosure)
  • Anson Mount (In Her Shoes, Crossroads)
  • Larisa Oleynik (10 Things I Hate About You, Alex Mack)
  • Christina Pickles (Friends, Romeo + Juliet)
  • Amy Pietz (Aliens in America, Caroline in the City)
  • Meredith Scott Lynn (Legally Blonde, CSI)
  • Toni Trucks (Barbershop, All of Us)
  • Ricky Ullman (Rita Rocks, Phil of the Future)
  • Kevin Weisman (Alias, Flipped)

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Doors open at 6 PM and performances begin at 7:30 PM. M Bar requires a $10 food minimum, so please come early for dinner.

WordTheatre would like to thank Bee MD (www.BeeMD.com), Hello Mellow (www.HelloMellow.com) and Julia's Kitchen (juliaskitchenonline.com) for their support!

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WordTheatre with Marisa Silver, Maile Melloy and Luis Rodriguez at the Edye presented by PEN USA

WordTheatre LAJanuary 17, 2010 @ The Edye

Jon Huertas

In the first installment of this four part series, WordTheatre brought incredible literary and acting talents to Santa Monica from 3 to 5 PM for performances and an author Q & A. Featuring:

  • Sarah Clarke (Twilight, 24) performing "Two-Step" by Maile Meloy
  • Jon Huertas (Castle, Generation Kill) performing "My Ride My Revolution" by Luis Rodriguez
  • Larisa Oleynik (10 Things I Hate About You, 3rd Rock from the Sun) performing "Temporary" by Marisa Silver

All authors were in attendance. Books sold by Small World Books of Venice.

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Programs donated by Daniel Lam

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Mysteries of the Mind at the Sunshine from Darkness Gala

WordTheatre NYJanuary 10, 2010 @ Ritz Carlton

Gary Dourdan

Sunny Florida welcomes WordTheatre actors:

  • Nicole Ansari-Cox (As Good as Dead, Deadwood)
  • Linda Cardellini (ER, Grandma's Boy)
  • Brian Cox (Bourne Identity, LIE)
  • Catherine Dent (The Shield, 21 Grams)
  • Gary Dourdan (CSI, Perfect Stranger)
  • Tess Harper (No Country for Old Men, Tender Mercies)
  • John Heard (Prison Break, Home Alone)
  • Anson Mount  (Conviction, In Her Shoes)

performing Mysteries of the Mind at the Sunshine from Darkness Gala in Sarasota, Florida.

Mysteries of the Mind is an original WordTheatre production featuring the words and stories of visionary artists, inventors, scientists and scholars who have wrestled with mental illness, woven together with music and performed by world class actors.

Sunshine from Darkness, has raised more than $200,000 in 2009. Every penny of which goes to research because their expenses are underwritten by corporate and private sponsors and donors. Through symposiums and other events, their goal is to provide funding and resources for research and awareness efforts supporting mental health and brain disorders.

The Gala takes place on Sunday, January 10, 2010, at 6:30 pm at The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida. The evening begins with cocktails and a gourmet dinner Followed by the presentation of the 2009 Luminary Award to Gary Foster, producer of the feature film “The Soloist” starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Mysteries of the Mind will then take the stage to wrap up the evening.

For more information about the event, please visit
http://www.sunshinefromdarkness.org/events-gala

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2009 Events

Aaaah, Xmas...

WordTheatre LADecember 6, 2009 @ M Bar

Gregg Henry

WordTheatre will celebrate with all the family drama that we love.

Featuring:

  • Stephen Tobolowsky (Glee, Heroes) performing his original story "The Alchemist"
  • Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty, Harper's Island) performing "Home for Christmas" by Jeffrey Schaffer
  • Sally Brooks (The Bernie Mac Show, State of Mind) performing "O Holy Night or The Year I Ruined Christmas" by Laurie Notaro
  • Gregg Henry (Payback, Slither) performing "The Swing" by Margaret McMullan
  • Kali Rocha (Sherri, Grey's Anatomy) performing "Chop Suey Xmas" by Lorrie Moore

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Doors at 6 PM, show at 7 PM. M Bar requires a $10 food minimum.

TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLY AT THE DOOR. There are still some seats up for grabs, so please drop by for some early December holiday cheer!

 

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UPHEAVAL

WordTheatre UKNovember 29, 2009 @ Shoreditch House

Alexis Zegerman

WordTheatre: A World Class Literary Salon, presents UPHEAVAL:

  • Lucy Brown (Primeval, Sharpe's Challenge) performing "Up at a Villa" by Helen Simpson
  • Alastair Mackenzie (Monarch of the Glen) performing "Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
  • Ian Hart (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) performing "Man in the Water" by Rose Tremain
  • Alexis Zegerman (Happy-Go-Lucky, Two Thousand Years) performing "The Wave" by Julie Myerson
  • Alfred Molina (An Education, Spiderman) performing "Nipple Jesus" by Nick Hornby
  • John Schwab (The Complete Works of William Shakespeare) performing "Stories" by John Edgar Wideman

Author Julie Myerson will be in attendance.

A portion of the proceeds to support Fairbridge, a national charity supporting young people aged 13-25 to develop the confidence, motivation and skills they need to turn their lives around.

Doors open 5 PM. Performances 6 - 8 PM. This event is sold out. To be placed on a waiting list, please call 07837 849 787.
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Tongues on Fire: An Afternoon with California's Finest Inferno of Poets

WordTheatre LAOctober 25, 2009 @ Restaurant3

Amber Tamblyn

WordTheatre invites you to join actress and author:

  • Amber Tamblyn (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) celebrating her new book of poetry and prose, Bang Ditto, with performances of her own writing.
She'll be accompanied by poets:
  • Brendan Constantine
  • Sarah Maclay
  • Mariano Zaro

Performing their raucous, wild, delirious, dreamlike, and lumious new works.

Show is from 4 PM to 6 PM. There will be a valet. Produced by Cedering Fox.

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Dan Chaon at V Lounge

WordTheatre LAOctober 6, 2009 @ V Lounge

Marin Hinkle

We honored Dan Chaon's brand new novel 'Await Your Reply' with an evening of his stories old and new along with a little taste of 'Await Your Reply' from the man himself.

Featuring:

  • Marin Hinkle (Two and a Half Men) performing "Prosthesis"
  • Mark Moses (Mad Men, Desperate Housewives) performing "The Hobblers"
  • Dorian Missick (The Manchurian Candidate) performing "Never Ending Math Equation"
  • Dean Chekvala (Harper's Island) performing "To Psychic Underworld"
  • Graham Hamilton performing "Sure I Will"
  • Dan Chaon performing a selection from 'Await Your Reply'

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Dan Chaon's collections and his new novel were available for purchase at the event from Small World Books.

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Acts of Love: Pioneers

WordTheatre LAOctober 3, 2009 @ Eli and Edythe Broad Stage

Adam Arkin

WordTheatre's seventh annual Acts of Love in support of Autism Speaks celebrated the Pioneers of our age, of bygone eras and of unknown futures; people who strike out into the unknown to make a better future.

This year's show featured:

  • Adam Arkin (Hitch, Chicago Hope)
  • Austin Butler (Aliens in the Attic, Ruby & The Rockits)
  • Michael Chiklis (Fantastic Four, The Shield)
  • Michaela Conlin (Bones, Enchanted)
  • Carla Gugino (Watchmen, American Gangster)
  • John Heard (Home Alone, Prison Break)
  • Jon Huertas (Castle, Generation Kill)
  • Dorian Missick (Six Degrees, Lucky Number Slevin)
  • CCH Pounder (The Shield, Orphan)
  • Zachary Quinto (Star Trek, Heroes)
  • Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia, Jennifer's Body)
  • Amber Tamblyn (Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants)
  • Keith David (Crash, The Princess and the Frog) will narrate
  • Musical performances featuring vocalist Niki Haris with Tim McAfee-Lewis & New Thought and The Agape House Band

Acts of Love 2009 also featured an awards reception to celebrate those who have made a difference in the Autism Community. Awards will be given to remarkable champions in the following categories:

Awareness/Media:Shawn Ryan ("The Shield")

Science/Research:
Bob & Lynn Koegel (UCSB)

Advocacy:
Soryl Markowitz
(Autism Specialist at Westside Regional Center)

Family Services:

Jay Nolan Family Services

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls.

Since its inception, Autism Speaks has committed an unprecedented $128 million in new research funding to uncover the cause(s), prevention, treatments and cure for autism, making it the nation's top private funder of autism research. They are not only dedicated to funding global biomedical research, but also to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder.

Acts of Love: Pioneers is created, produced and directed by WordTheatre's Artistic Director, Cedering Fox.

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Thrill or Peril: Tales of Adventure

WordTheatre LAAugust 16, 2009 @ M Bar

George Newbern

Guests experienced the excitement of high seas, raging rivers and exotic cultures at WordTheatre's Thrill or Peril: Tales of Adventure, featuring short stories of daring exploration recanted lovingly amid the twinklings of M Bar's chandeliers.

Featuring:

  • Adrian Pasdar (Heroes, Judging Amy) reading his story "The Oddest Sea"
  • Xander Berkeley (Taken, Year One) reading "Hunters" by Eugene Cross
  • Sarah Clarke (Twilight, Trust Me) reading "Under Water" by Anne Fadiman
  • Andrew Borba (The Shield, Nine Lives) reading "My Date With Neanderthal Woman" by David Galef
  • Toni Trucks (Barbershop) "Disco Papa" by Karen Russell
  • Nina Siemaszko (The Haunting of Molly Hartley) reading "The World" by Susan Orlean
  • Keith David (Platoon, The Princess and the Frog) reading "Rope Burn" by Henry Louis Gates
  • Bill Ratner (Moth WInner) performing his short story, "Gold".
  • Josh Cereghino (Moth Winner) performing his short story, "Love Letter from Ventura County Jail".
  • George Newbern (Father of the Bride) reading "True Story" by Paul Rudnick

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

M Bar requires a $10 food minimum. Doors opened at 6 and the show began at 7 PM.

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UPHEAVAL

WordTheatre LAJuly 19, 2009 @ The Lyric Hyperion Theatre Cafe

Graham Hamilton

Guests joined us for an hour and twenty minutes of revolution, followed by cupcakes and lattes (available for purchase) at the Lyric Hyperion Theatre Cafe nestled in the heart of Silverlake.

  • Theron Cook reading "Stories" by John Edgar Wideman
  • Reynaldo Pacheco reading "I Am Bigfoot" by Ron Carlson
  • Graham Hamilton reading "Crazy Glue" by Etgar Keret
  • R. Ernie Silva reading "The Voices in My Head" by Jack Handey
  • Brian Howe (Gran Torino) reading "Essence and Attribute" by Fernando Sorrentino
  • Ravi Kapoor (Crossing Jordan) reading "japanese children with digital cameras in a field" by Tao Lin and Ellen Kennedy
  • Valarie Rae Miller (Crank, All About the Benjamins) reading "Tag" by Lisa Glatt
  • Michaela Conlin (Bones) reading "The Swim Team" by Miranda July
  • Mayim Bialik (Blossom) reading "The Harvest" by Amy Hempel

Doors open at 6:30 PM and the show starts at 7 PM.

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Associate Producers: Melissa Loftus, Rachael Altman, Heather Fishel, Daphne Ho and Caroline Werlin

... read more
Pushcart Prize Benefit

WordTheatre NYJune 27, 2009 @ Guild Hall

Lynn Whitfield

James Franco (Board Member)
Amanda Seyfried (Honorary Board Member)
Jane Oster (Board Member)   
Kieran Beer & Melissa Benson
Michelle Murphy & Robert Strada
Heidi Banks                        
and Bill Henderson (Editor of the Pushcart Prize)

Invited you to Guild Hall as WordTheatre once again honored the Pushcart Prize, considered "one of the most important publishing projects in American history" (Publishers Weekly), with a benefit at the newly renovated Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York.

This year marked the 33rd anniversary of the Pushcart Prize, and WordTheatre's fifth year working with them. Their "yearly volumes of stories, poems and essays feature much of the best writing available in this country." (New York Times Book Review). 

This year's celebration featured performances of Pushcart Prize winning stories by:

Act I

  • Darrell Larson (The Manchurian Candidate, Rachel Getting Married) read "The Face" by David St. John
  • Lynn Whitfield (The Josephine Baker Story, Head of State) read "By Love Possessed" by Lorna Goodison
  • Linus Roache (Law and Order, The Wings of the Dove) read "Joyas Voladores" by Brian Doyle
  • Samantha Mathis (Broadway's 33 VariationsAmerican Psycho) read "Sundays" by Ellen Wilbur
  • Nicole Ansari (Rock n' Roll on Broadway, As Good as Dead) read "One Moment on Top of the Earth" by Naomi Shihab Nye
  • Edi Gathegi (Twilight; The Twilight Saga: New Moon; Gone, Baby, Gone) read "Bons" by Beth Tashery Shannon
  • Amy Irving (Carrie, Hide and Seek) read "The Dead Boy at Your Window" by Bruce Holland Rogers
Act II
  • Janel Moloney (The West Wing, Desperate Measures) read "Recorded Message" by Philip Dacey
  • John Heard (Home Alone, The Sopranos) read "Tomorrow's Bird" by Ian Frazier
  • Sean Young (Bladerunner) read "Not the Plaster Casters" by Janice Eidus
  • Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy, The Escapist) read "The Human Table" by Marvin Cohen
  • Amber Tamblyn (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Joan of Arcadia) read "The Kiss" by Pamela Painter
  • Jackson Rathbone (Twilight; The Twilight Saga: New Moon) read "The Bank Robbery" by Steve Schutzman
With After Party musical performances by Jackson Rathbone and Ben Graupner 100 Monkeys

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Technical Director Todd J. Goldblatt

Sound Design Craig Ryan Freeman

Lighting Design Sebastian Paczynski

Special thanks to Jane Oster, WordTheatre Board Member, for her enormous contribution to making the event such a success, and to Darrell Larson for his continual support. 

Special Thanks to our friends at East Hampton Wines and Liquors and Park Place Wines and Liquors for donating to the after party.


... read more
9 Read 9

WordTheatre NYJune 7, 2009 @ Soho House

A.M. Homes

WordTheatre brought its favorite east coast authors and actors to Soho House in New York with a series of three events in the luxurious fifth floor library. We talked to the authors (all of whom were present), sold books and enjoyed the silky syllables of great short stories on Sunday afternoons from 3 - 5 PM. The final installment to the series was on June 7th. It featured:

  • Carla Gugino (Broadway: Desire Under the Elms, Watchmen) hosting and reading "Such Fun" by James Salter
  • Sarah Paulson (The Spirit, Down with Love, Serenity)
    Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, X-Men: The Last Stand)
    reading "Modern Lovers" by Rick Moody
  • Michael T. Weiss (Broadway's Impressionism, The Pretender)
    reading "Brother on Sunday" by A.M. Homes

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Mother's Day: Family Album

WordTheatre LAMay 10, 2009 @ Warszawa

Beata Pozniak

This Mother's Day, WordTheatre joined its audience at an inviting little Polish restaurant in the heart of Santa Monica called Warszawa.

We enjoyed a gourmet Polish brunch of dried plums wrapped in bacon, potato pancakes, crepes with sweet cream, polish sausage, scrambled eggs, fruit salad and coffee all inside the warm interior of a building reminiscent of grandma's little cottage with white lace curtains, hardwood floors and flowery lamps.

Then, we moved out onto a cozy secret patio and heard the kind of stories that arise when the dust is blowing off our family albums and we are strolling down the photo-lined walls of our mother's house and our grandmother's. 

The show featured:

  • Stephen Collins (7th Heaven, Blood Diamond) reading his story "Ace's Big Entrance"
  • Tess Harper (No Country for Old Men, Tender Mercies) reading "My Son and the Bicycle Wheel" by Martha Ronk
  • Lynn Ferguson (Chicken Run) reading her story "Schopenhauer"
  • Beata Pozniak (JFK) reading "Family Album" by Siv Cedering
  • Anne De Salvo (Arthur, My Favorite Year) reading "Saying Yes to Ryan" by Shelley Burtt
  • John Heard (Home Alone, The Sopranos) reading "His Mother Inside Him" by John Updike

  • Di Quon (Maid in Manhattan, Boston Public) reading "Water Names" by Lan Samantha Chang
  • Gary Dourdan (CSI, Perfect Stranger) reading "The Parents" by Kelly Cherry


Directed and Produced by Cedering Fox

Research by Melissa Loftus and Geoffrey Bridgman

... read more
9 Read 9

WordTheatre NYMay 3, 2009 @ Soho House

Brian Cox

WordTheatre brought our favorite east coast authors and actors to Soho House in New York with a series of three events in the luxurious fifth floor library. We sold books, talked to the authors (all of whom were present) and enjoyed the silky syllables of great short stories on Sunday afternoons from 3 - 5 PM.

The second installment was for Sunday May 3rd, 2009 and featured:
  • Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy, The Escapist) hosting and reading "The Problem of Human Consumption" by Steve Almond
  • Kevin Corrigan (Pineapple Express, The Departed) reading "Shepherdess" by Dan Chaon
  • Nicole Ansari (Rock n' Roll on Broadway, As Good as Dead) reading "The Shooting Party" by Susan Orlean

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Tickets allowed access to this private club for Lunch or Dinner on the day of the event.

For an idea of what the March 1st event was like, visit http://www.flypmedia.com/issues/25/#8/1

... read more
Motherhood: An Evening of Stories benefiting Maternal Fetal Care International

WordTheatre LAApril 26, 2009 @ Cafe des Artistes

Roma Maffia

Megan and Craig Ferguson (host of CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) hosted this event alongside Dr. Lisa Masterson in support Maternal Fetal Care International.

Dr. Lisa Masterson of the daytime medical series, The Doctors, founded MFCI in 2005 to help mothers and children survive and enjoy better health in the poorest regions of the world. MFCI brings volunteer physicians to treat needy women and children. MFCI also provides training to local healthcare personnel to elevate the standard of available medical care and decrease mother-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Every minute a woman in the developing world dies from pregnancy-related causes that are mostly preventable or treatable. Every 30 seconds a child dies as a result of its mother's death.

WordTheatre compiled a program of original monologues and celebrated short stories about mothers and their children to benefit this charity.

Performers Included:

  • Maria Bello (The Private Lives of Pippa LeeKathy Baker (Last Chance Harvey) reading "Level" by Keith Scribner
  • Lynn Ferguson (Chicken Run) reading her story "Schopenhauer"
  • Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace) reading her story "The Titty Monster"
  • Amy Brenneman (Private Practice) reading "Where the World Is" by Karen Kasaba
  • Roma Maffia (Nip/Tuck) reading "Zoe" by Diane Ackerman
  • Peri Gilpin (Frasier) reading "Saying Yes to Ryan" by Shelley Burtt
  • Kathy Baker (Last Chance Harvey) reading "My Son and the Bicycle Wheel" by Martha Ronk
  • Lisa Gay Hamilton (The Soloist) reading "The Stones" by Richard Shelton
  • Amy Brenneman (Private Practice), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace), Roma Maffia (Nip/Tuck), Meri Danquah (Editor of Shake the Tree) reading "The Message" by Ama Ata Aidoo
  • Angela Bassett (Akeelah and the Bee) reading "Gifts From My Mother" by Dr. Lisa Masterson
For more information about MFCI, visit: http://www.mfci.net/home.html ... read more
The Women

WordTheatre LAMarch 15, 2009 @ M Bar

Kate Burton

WordTheatre was proud to present our second installment of The Women.

It featured:

  • Christina Pickles (Friends, Romeo + Juliet) reading "I Love Saks" by Amy Ephron
  • Hallee Hirsh (ER) reading "Three Girls" by Marisa Silver
  • Sean Young (Blade Runner) reading "Creep" by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
  • Nicki Micheaux (Lincoln Heights) reading "Man Down Below" by Kate Milliken
  • Kate Burton (Max Payne) reading "Pretend We're French" by Judith Freeman

Doors opened at 5:30 PM for dinner, and the show started at 6:30 PM.

This evening was sponsored by California State University Fullerton, whose goals in bringing literature to Title 1 schools match those of WordTheatre's Los Angeles education program. You can find out more about CSUF at http://www.fullerton.edu/ 

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
9 Read 9

WordTheatre NYMarch 1, 2009 @ Soho House

Lynn Whitfield

WordTheatre brought our favorite east coast authors and actors to Soho House in New York with the first in a series of three events in the luxurious fifth floor library. We sold books, talked to the authors (all of whom were present) and enjoyed the silky syllables of great short stories on Sunday afternoon from 3 - 5 PM.

The first installment featured:

  • James Franco (Milk, Pineapple Express) hosting and reading "Minotaur" by Jim Shepard
  • Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife, ER) reading "Jesus is Waiting" by Amy Hempel
  • Lynn Whitfield (Stepmom, Head of State) reading "Lamentations" by John Edgar Wideman

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Tickets allowed access to this private club for Lunch or Dinner on the day of the event

THIS EVENT SOLD OUT

... read more
Novel and Memoir Beginnings

WordTheatre LAJanuary 11, 2009 @ M Bar

Corena Chase

WordTheatre's fifth annual Novel and Memoir Beginnings featured

  • Amy Sloan (Big Shots, Gilmore Girls) reading Terri Cheney's new memoir Crayons and Suicide
  • Xander Berkeley (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Gattaca) reading Ron Carlson's new novel The Signal
  • Daniel Hepner reading David Francis' new novel Stray Dog Winter
  • Nichelle Hines (Ocean's Twelve, The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman) reading Pami Osaki's new novel Drowning
  • Corena Chase (Scrubs) reading Deirdre Shaw's new novel Love or Something Like It
  • Brian Howe (Gran Torino, The Pursuit of Happiness) reading William Petrick's new novel The Five Lost Days
  • Kevin Weisman (Alias, Illusion) reading Richard Lange's new novel This Wicked World
  • Sarah Clarke (Thirteen, 24) reading Samantha Dunn's Trailer Trash

Doors at 6:30 PM, Curtain at 7:30 PM

Directed by Cedering Fox

Produced by Cedering Fox and Lisa Doctor

... read more

2008 Events

A Smörgåsbord of Holiday Stories

WordTheatre LADecember 11, 2008 @ M Bar

Kristy Wu

WordTheatre invited audience members to indulge in tasty stories from around the world celebrating food, family and the holiday spirit.

  • Matt Dallas (Kyle XY, The Indian) read "The Centerpiece" by Peter Matthiessen
  • Richard Cox (Cruising, Salomaybe?) read a letter by Mark Twain
  • Nelsan Ellis (True Blood, The Soloist) read "How Come Christmas" by Roark Bradford
  • Mozhan Marno (The Stoning of Soraya M., Traitor) read "Malke's Secret Recipe" by David Adler
  • Kristy Wu (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) read "Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan
  • Cedering Fox read "The World in a Bowl of Soup" by Annie Dillard

  • Sean Maguire (Eve, Meet the Spartans) read "Reginald's Christmas Revel" by Saki (H.H. Munro)
  • John Heard (Home Alone, The Sopranos) read A Chaparral Christmas Gift by O'Henry

Doors were at 6:30 PM and the show started at 7:30 PM

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Acts of Love: Miracle Workers

WordTheatre LANovember 10, 2008 @ The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood Village, CA

Brenda Strong

WordTheatre enjoyed its sixth annual Acts of Love to benefit Autism Speaks which took place at The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood on November 10, 2008. Acts of Love: Miracle Workers was a literary and musical celebration of the people who work to make seemingly impossible things happen.

Nelson Kole led a jazz combo with Nita Whitaker, Amy Keys and Valerie Pinkston performing musical numbers woven throughout the stories. Several members from the cast of the 2008 Emmy Winning Documentary "Autism: The Musical" performed songs from the film.

Woven between the thoughts and stories was live music featuring the voices of Nita Whitaker, Amy Keys and Valerie Pinkston. The spoken performances featured *

  • Cast members from 2008 Emmy winner, Autism: The Musical
  • Shohreh Agdashloo (House of Sand and Fog, X-Men:The Last Stand)
  • Linda Cardellini ( ER, The Scooby-Do Movies, Freaks and Geeks)
  • Peri Gilpin (Frasier)
  • Adrian Pasdar (Heroes, Near Dark, Top Gun)
  • Tess Harper (No Country for Old Men, Tender Mercies)
  • Marc Blucas ( I Capture the Castle, We Were Soldiers, They)
  • Gil Birmingham (Ten Canoes, Twilight)
  • Matt Dallas (Kyle XY, The Indian)
  • Julia Sweeney (Pulp Fiction, Saturday Night Live)
  • Keith David (Crash, Mr. and Mrs. Smith)
  • Gil Bellows (The Shawshank Redemption, The Weather Man)
  • Sung Kang (Better Luck Tomorrow, The Fast and the Furious)
  • Brenda Strong (Desperate Housewives, Starship Troopers)
  • John Glover (Smallville, Robocop 2)
  • John McCook (The Bold and the Beautiful)
  • Jack McGee (Crash, 21, Basic Instinct)
  • Nicki Micheaux (God's Waiting List, Lincoln Heights)
  • Kristy Wu (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cry_Wolf)
  • Robert Wisdom (The Wire)

    *cast subject to change without notice

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of one of the most wonderful men I have ever known, Don La Fontaine. This great man, the Voice of God, has lent his enormous talents to Acts of Love by acting as the Narrator for the past several years. He generously infused his spirit, his heart and his intelligence into his every word and action. Don was a Miracle Worker and this year's show is dedicated to him.
                                               ---Cedering Fox, Artistic Director

... read more
A Different Kind of Love Story

WordTheatre LASeptember 28, 2008 @ 647 N. San Vicente Blvd.

Edi Gathegi

WordTheatre presented A Different Kind of Love Story at the West Hollywood Book Fair. We explored the many kinds of love that develop when an unlikely romance is sparked!

  • Edi Gathegi (Twilight, Gone Baby Gone, House, M.D.) read an excerpt from Ruby by Cynthia Bond
  • Mayda Del Valle (Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry) read "Mighty Mighty" by Marytza Rubio
  • Nick Mennell (Halloween, Friday the 13th) read "The Meeting" by Aimee Bender
... read more
PEN Emerging Voices

WordTheatre LAAugust 23, 2008 @ M Bar

Edi Gathegi
WordTheatre brought to life unique stories written by graduates from the past few years of PEN USA's Emerging Voices program. These talents honed their words while preparing themselves for publication, and the night was dramatic as fresh viewpoints took the stage to call attention to their experiences and emotions!

  • Geno Montiero (Heroes, Jericho, The Unit) will read "Dos Ojos" by Sergio Reyes
  • Joshua Harto (The Dark Knight, Iron Man) will read "Dolores" by Davin Malasarn
  • Edi Gathegi (Twilight, Gone Baby Gone, House, M.D.) will read a story by Cynthia Bond
  • Jann Karam (Seinfeld, Letterman) will read "The Night Counter" by Alia Yunis
  • Amy Aquino (E.R., Crossing Jordan) will read a story by Libby Flores
  • Mayda Del Valle (Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry) will read "Mighty Mighty" by Marytza Rubio
  • Gregg Henry (The Riches, Gilmore Girls, Payback) will read "The Last Time" by Melinda Palacio
  • Lori Alan (Family Guy, Spongebob Squarepants) will read "Viva Las Vegas" by Shanna Mahin
  • Tia Texada (Third Watch, Nurse Betty) will read "White Spaces" by Sonia M. Quinones
  • Maurice Compte (All the Real Girls, Big Top) will read "Diego in Sound" by Avi Lall

Now in its twelfth year, Emerging Voices serves up-and-coming writers from minority and underserved communities by providing them with an eight-month mentorship with a successful author. Previous mentors have included such literary luminaries as Janet Fitch, Carolyn See, Yusef Komenyaaka, and Sherman Alexie. In addition to the mentor component, the Emerging Voices Fellows take classes generously donated by the UCLA Writers' Extension program and participate in an intensive Master class with a renowned local writer.

Emerging Voices is the only program of its type in the country—focusing not just on creative development, but on professional guidance, with the ultimate goal of creating a generation of voices too powerful to be ignored. By giving these writers the tools to plug in to the publishing industry, and by pushing ceaselessly for their projects to be completed, Emerging Voices empowers these young authors with the freedom to write.

To date approximately 100 fellows have completed the Emerging Voices program and have gone on to write best-selling novels, win prestigious awards and residencies, and publish in renowned literary journals and anthologies. Emerging Voices alumni include published and award-winning writers Nora Pierce, Eduardo Santiago, Jenoyne Adams, Noel Alumit, and Reyna Grande.

To read more about the Emerging Voices program, you can visit:

http://penusa.org/go/voices/section/emerging-voices/

Directed by Cedering Fox

Produced by Cedering Fox and Lisa Doctor

... read more
The Latitude Festival

WordTheatre UKJuly 17, 2008 to July 20, 2008 @ England

John Schwab

For the second consecutive year, WordTheatre took part in the Latitude Festival on the Suffolk Coast!

WordTheatre performed in the Literature Arena with the talented voices of Ben Chaplin, Ray Panthaki, Henry Naylor, Dallas Campbell, Beatie Edney, Jonny Phillips, Alice Coulthard, Rae Hendrie, Gary Dourdan, Juliet Stevenson, David Soul, John Schwab, Richard Ayoade, Harry Treadaway, Maureen Lipman, Sally Hawkins and Megan Dodds reading hypnotizing stories from Aimee Bender, Tobias Wolff, John Cheever, Pamela Painter, and more to rapt festival crowds. We presented 5 1/2 hours of programming to hungry ears this year.

For more information about the Latitude Festival, visit: http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/home/

... read more
Celebration of the Arts for NARSAD

WordTheatre NYJune 28, 2008 @ 93 Merchant’s Path (corner of Ranch Court)

Gary Dourdan

WordTheatre presented Mysteries of the Mind, an original concert of spoken monologues woven together from fiction and memoir, accented with live musical performances and created exclusively for NARSAD. The event will took place at Twin Oaks Farm in Sagapnoack, NY.

7:30 arrival and 8:00 PM Show Time.

Cocktails, dinner and dancing followed.

... read more
Novel and Memoir Beginnings

WordTheatre LAMay 28, 2008 @ M Bar

Kyle Chandler

WordTheatre partnered with American Bookseller's Association to present our annual Novel and Memoir Beginnings! The first few juicy pages of ten new and upcoming novels and memoirs were performed on stage among the lush velvet tapestries and glittering chandeliers of M Bar in Hollywood on Wednesday, May 28th. Doors opened at  7 PM and perfomances began at 8 PM. Book signings followed.

Program:

  • T.C. Boyle's The Women, was performed by Parry Shen (Better Luck Tomorrow)
  • Carolyn See's There Will Never Be Another You, was performed by Natalija Nogulich (Steal Big, Steal Little)
  • Dinah Lenney's Bigger Than Life, actor/author, (ER) performed her own work
  • Scott Phillips's Frogs in the Snow, was performed by Mozhan Marno (Charlie Wilson's War)
  • Rachel Resnick's The Blue Flame, was performed by Nancy Bell (Little Man)
  • Kerry Madden's Gentle's Holler, was performed by Autumn Chiklis (The Shield)
  • Ronald Alexander's The War On Dogs, was performed by Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)
  • Diana Wagman's Cookies, was performed by Catherine Dent (The Shield)
  • Evan Handler's It's Only Temporary:The Good News And The Bad News Of Being Alive, actor/author, (Californication) performed his own work
  • Joseph Olshan's The Conversion, was performed by Joel David Moore (Dodgeball)
... read more
Readings from Tobias Wolff's New Book: Our Story Begins

WordTheatre LAApril 26, 2008 @ M Bar

Tobias Wolff

Tobias Wolff joined WordTheatre on April 26th to celebrate the release of Our Story Begins with selected readings from his new book!

  • David Clennon (Miles on Thirty Something) read "That Room"
  • Wendy Makkena (State of Play, Listen Up, Oliver Beene) read "The White Bible"
  • Robert Forster (Jackie Brown, Mullholland Falls, Karen Sisco) read "Down to Bone"
  • Tobias Wolff read "Her Dog"

The L.A. Times called Our Story Begins "a volume that belongs on everybody's shelf along with Hemingway's 'In Our Time,' Salinger's 'Nine Stories' and the collected works of Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver, Gabriel Garcia Maquez, William Trevor and Alice Munro. [Wolff's] stories ... build in your mind like summer storms."


To read the LA Times' review of Our Story Begins, visit:

http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-bk-wiggins23mar23,0,2228386.story

... read more
National Small Press Month March 2008: Tales of Sex and Death

WordTheatre LAMarch 30, 2008 @ Canal Club

Sarah Maclay

WordTheatre celebrates Small Press Month, a Nationwide Promotion highlighting the valuable literary works published and distributed by the Independents (as differentiated from the Conglomerates), at 11 AM Sunday, March 30th at Canal Club at the end of Venice Boulevard in Venice, California.

Program:

  • Tess Harper (No Country for Old Men, Academy Award for Tender Mercies)  read "A Walk in the Park" by Hal Ackerman (Words and Pictures Magazine)
  • Rae Dawn Chong (Wild Card, Mysterious Ways) read "Such Fun" by James Salter (Tin House Books)
  • Gary Dourdan (C.S.I.) read "Hang the Moon" by Jim Lewis (Tin House Books)
  • Sarah Maclay read from her own book of poetry Whore (University of Tampa Press)
  • Nina Revoyr read from her upcoming memoir The Age of Dreaming (Akashic Books)
  • Graham Hamilton (How I Got Lost) read "The Two Reasons" by Ron Carlson
... read more
Hot Flicks: Love Scenes from the Silver Screen

WordTheatre LAFebruary 14, 2008 @ Social Hollywood 6525 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood 90068

Jack Conley

WordTheatre celebrated Valentine's Day in old Hollywood style in the ballroom at Social on Thursday, February 14, 2008 from 7 PM to 10 PM.  Guests feasted on scrumptious appetizers from the new kitchen of Citrus at Social and then took a trip down memory lane as stars of today performed classic and contemporary love scenes from the best movies of all time in Hot Flicks: Love Scenes from the Silver Screen...

Narrated by Blair Bess

Program:

  • Jack Conley (Over Her Dead Body, LA Confidential, Payback)
  • Illeana Douglas (Six Feet Under, Goodfellas, Ghost World)
  • Robert Forster (Jackie Brown, Mullholland Falls, Karen Sisco)
  • Chris Gorham (Ugly Betty, Out of Practice, Jake 2.0)
  • Kali Rocha (Grey's Anatomy, Over Her Dead Body, Meet the Fockers)
  • Christina Pickles (Friends, The Wedding Singer, St. Elsewhere)
  • Michael Rodgers (Auto Focus, The Patriot, The Triangle)
  • Amanda Seyfried (starring in this summer's Mamma Mia!, Big Love, Mean Girls)
  • Toni Trucks (Will Smith's All of Us, Barbershop)
  • Raviv Ullman (series lead in Phil of the Future, Cold Case, Big Love)
  • Kevin Weisman (Alias)

7:00 P.M.              Doors Open, Cash Bar, Valet Parking is available
7:15 - 8:15 P.M.     Passed Hors D'Oeuvres
8:30 - 10:00 P.M.   Hot Flicks: Love Scenes from the Silver Screen

We recommended guests make a night of it by booking dinner reservations at Citrus at Social. http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/social/main.cfm

... read more
The Women

WordTheatre LAJanuary 11, 2008 @ M Bar

Nina Siemasko

Stories by some of Los Angeles' finest authors were performed by some of Los Angeles' finest actors...
 

  • Aimee Bender was performed by Roma Maffia (Nip/Tuck)
  • Dylan Landis was performed by Amanda Seyfried (Big Love, Mean Girls)
  • Mary Otis was performed by Dinah Lenney (Internal Affairs, ER)
  • Holiday Reinhorn was performed by Meredith Scott Lynn (Hollywood Homicide, Legally Blonde)
  • Ellen Slezak was performed by Rusty Schwimmer (State of Grace, North Country )
  • Diana Wagman was performed by Lindsey Shaw  (Aliens in America, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide)
  • Deborah Vankin was performed by Nina Siemaszko (The American President, Private Practice)
... read more

2007 Events

I'm Dreaming of a Writer's Christmas... Hanukkah.. etc...

WordTheatre LADecember 9, 2007 @ MBar

Craig Bierko

Celebrate the Holidays in true WordTheatre style!
WordTheatre CDs make great stocking stuffers. And the 2007 Pushcart Prize is the perfect book for anybody who loves great writing. Feast and drink for an hour and then sit back and listen as...

Doors opened for dinner at 6:30pm. Performances began at 7:30pm.

  • Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man) read "The Birds for Christmas" by Mark Richard
  • Donal Logue (The Tao of Steve) read "The H Street Sledding Record" by Ron Carlson
  • Stephen Tobolowsky (Heroes) read "A Christmas Memory" his original story
  • Spencer Garrett (Law & Order) read "Dancing Dan's Christmas" by Damon Runyon
  • Julie Warner (Nip/Tuck) read "The Loudest Voice" by Grace Paley

Writers Mark Richard and Ron Carlson were in attendance.

... read more
Mysteries of the Mind

WordTheatre LADecember 3, 2007 @ Beverly Hilton Hotel

John Heard
An original WordTheatre event with music to benefit NARSAD, The Mental Health Research Association.

Performances by:

  • Gary Dourdan
  • John Heard
  • Tess Harper
  • Richard Schiff
  • Catherine Dent
  • Jon Tenney
  • Lisa Gay Hamilton
  • Blair Bess as the Narrator
... read more
Kissing With Tongues: Tales of Love and Death

WordTheatre UKOctober 22, 2007 @ Cafe des Paris

Ben Miller
an evening of short story readings to benefit The TreeHouse Appeal "Ambitious about Autism"
  • Mark Addy (The Full Monty) read an introduction by Nick Hornby
  • Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, Mamma Mia!) read "The Kiss" by Pamela Painter
  • Alastair Mackenzie (Monarch of the Glen) read "A Happy Dream" by Steve Almond;
  • Lindsay Duncan (Under the Tuscan Sun, Rome) read "Extra Geography" by Rose Tremain;
  • Niall Buggy (Translations on Broadway, Casanova) read "Tomorrow's Bird" by Ian Frazier;
  • Ben Miller (Johnny English, Primeval) and Marcia Firesten (CSI-NY, Laughter on the 23rd Floor on the West End) read "The Woman at the Window" by James Lasdun together;
  • John Schwab (The Complete Works of William Shakespeare) will read "Stay" by David Schuman;
  • David Soul (Starsky and Hutch) read "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff;
  • David Ashton (The Last King of Scotland) read his original story, "Crack".
... read more
Acts of Love: Children

WordTheatre LAOctober 15, 2007 @ Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, California

Barry Shabaka Henley
to Benefit Cure Autism Now/Autism Speaks
A Literary and Musical Celebration of Children in the Words of Those Who Love Them.


The fifth-annual Acts of Love took place on Monday October 15, 2007 at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, California.

Proceeds from this event benefited Cure Autism Now & Autism Speaks. The previous Acts of Love events have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for autism research.

Readings by:
  • James Franco (Spiderman 1, 2 & 3; In the Valley of Elah)
  • Lorraine Toussaint (Ugly Betty, Saving Grace)
  • Dermot Mulroney (Zodiac, My Best Friend's Wedding)
  • Ian Hart (Dirt, Finding Neverland)
  • Stephen Tobolowsky (Heroes, Deadwood)
  • Barry Shabaka Henley (Heroes, Miami Vice)
  • Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me, Frasier)
  • Ming Wen (Vanished, George Lopez)
  • Annette O'Toole (Smallville, Nash Bridges)
  • Michael McKean (For Your Consideration, Best in Show)
  • Gil Birmingham (Veronica Mars, Into the West)
Singers:
  • Nita Whitaker, Julie Delgado and Valerie Pinkston

Narrated by:
Don LaFontaine
... read more
Novel Beginnings III

WordTheatre LASeptember 30, 2007 @ MBar

Rachel Miner

 

 

 

The opening pages of new novels by new and established writers!

Program:

 

 

 

 

  • My Waters by Mary Yukari Waters performed byJeanne Sakata
  • Snake Oil by Helena Kriel performed by Miguel Sandoval
  • L'Ange du Diable by Michael Peterson performed by Jeff Elam
  • A Day of New Beginnings by Lisa Rosenbaum performed by Natalia Nogulich
  • Act Busy by Anna Lefler performed by Anna Lefler
  • Walking on Crooked Highways by Robert Rotstein performed by Joel Polis
  • Away by Amy Bloom performed by Rachel Miner
  • Five Skies by Ron Carlson performed by James Franco

 

 

 

... read more
Brunch with Amy Bloom and her Stories

WordTheatre LAAugust 12, 2007 @ Aphrodisiac Restaurant

Annette O'Toole

Program:

  • Lili Taylor (The Haunting, Six Feet Under) read "The Story" from A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You (First Vintage Contemporaries)
  • Michael O'Keefe (The Hot Chick, Vanished) read "Faultlines" from Come to Me (HarperCollins)
  • Annette O'Toole (Smallville, The Huntress) read "Silver Water" from Come to Me (HarperCollins)
  • Amy Bloom read from her novel, Away (Random House)
... read more
The Latitude Festival

WordTheatre UKJuly 14, 2007 to July 15, 2007 @ Henham Park

Ian Hart
WordTheatre UK took part in The Latitude Festival at Henham Park, in Southwold, Suffolk, England with 3 1/2 hours of programming including celebrities such as James Franco, Lucy Brown, Ian Hart, and more. ... read more
First Annual Father’s Day Dinner and Stories about – you guessed it! – DAD!

WordTheatre LAJune 17, 2007 to @ MBar

Edi Gathegi

Program:

  • Robert David Hall (CSI, The Practice) read "The Frank Orison", a 2007 Pushcart Prize winning story by Scott Geiger.
  • Sharon Lawrence (Hidden Palms, NYPD Blue) read "The Labrador Fiasco" by Margaret Atwood.
  • Nick Mennell (My Little Eye, Halloween) read "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom", a 2000 Pushcart Prize winning story by Dan Chaon.
  • Edi Gathegi (Lincoln Heights, Gone, Baby, Gone) read "Shades" from William Henry Lewis' new story collection I Got Somebody in Stanton.
... read more
Readings from Banned Books

WordTheatre LAMay 20, 2007 to @ Aphrodisiac

Shohreh Aghdashloo
The non-profit literary organization PEN USA and WordTheatre presented a benefit brunch for Pen USA featuring performances of excerpts from Banned Works of Literature on Sunday, May 20, 2007 at Aphrodisiac Restaurant in Los Angeles at 11:30 am. The event, which benefited PEN USA’s Freedom to Write programs, honored legendary actor, humanitarian and author Kirk Douglas for defending the freedom of expression. Douglas broke the notorious Hollywood blacklist in 1958, when the star/producer allowed blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo to be credited under his real name for the screenplay to Spartacus. Douglas has written nine books including the recently published Let’s Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning. ... read more
Fourth Annual Mother’s Day Brunch and Not All Warm and Fuzzy Stories

WordTheatre LAMay 13, 2007 @ Aphrodisiac Restaurant

Kurtwood Smith

WordTheatre presented Our Fourth Annual Mother's Day Brunch and Not All Warm and Fuzzy Stories.

Program:

  • The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neil
    Read by Lucy Brown
  • Letter to the Lady of the House, by Richard Bausch
    Read by Kurtwood Smith
  • Love, Your Only Mother, by David Michael Kaplan
    Read by Amy Pietz
  • The Odds It Would Be You, by Alice Mattison
    Read by James Franco
  • Thank You, Ma'am, by Langston Hughes
    Read by Lorraine Toussaint

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox.

... read more
Brunch Benefit for The Pushcart Prize

WordTheatre LAApril 29, 2007 @ Canal Club

Gil Bellows

WordTheatre presented a Benefit Brunch for the Pushcart Prize at Canal Club, Venice. Prize winning stories from the last 31 years of the Pushcart Prize.

Program:
 

  • The Kiss by Pamela Painter was performed by Josephin Hagerty
  • Oblivion, Nebraska by Peter Moor Smith was Performed by Gil Bellows
  • Young Man on 6th Avenue by Mark Halliday was performed by Phillip Baker Hall
  • Tomorrow's Bird by Ian Frazier was performed by John Heard
  • Self Knowledge by Richard Bausch was performed by Wendy Mackena
  • By Love Possessed by Lorna Goodison was performed by CCH Pounder
  • Stay by David Schuman was performed by Nicholas Brendon

 

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Taylor Negron Remade as Fiction

WordTheatre LAApril 1, 2007 @ The Egyptian Arena Theatre

Taylor Negron

A unique fusion of stories and soul-stirring music. Taylor’s presented his spin on Karen Carpenter, Charles Manson, and the storm surge of Katrina accompanied by Lili Haydn (called “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by George Clinton), Ben Hong on cello (principle cellist with the LA Philharmonic) and Adam MacDougall on piano.

... read more
Love, Hate, & Race in the UK

WordTheatre UKMarch 12, 2007 @ Cafe de Paris

Richard Schiff

Program:

  • Ian Hart (Finding Neverland; Harry Potter) read Testicular Cancer vs The Behemoth by Adam Marek
  • Lucy Brown (Primeval, Sharpe) read 21st Century Juliet by Rose Tremain
  • Ray Panthaki (East Enders, 28 Days Later) read Paki by Gautam Malkani
  • Richard Schiff (The West Wing) read Vanilla Bright by Michel Faber
... read more
Love & Eros: An Evening of Fairy Tales, Saucy Stories and Poetry

WordTheatre LAFebruary 14, 2007 @ MBar

Marcia Firesten

**Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Anais Nin, D.H.Lawrence, Sappho, E.E. Cummings, Hillary Rollins & more...***
 

Performed by:

  • Andrew Borba
  • Jessica Collins
  • Catherine Dent
  • Marcia Firesten
  • Edi Gathegi
  • Anson Mount
  • Christina Pickles
  • Michael E. Rodgers

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Brunch with Rick Moody and his Stories

WordTheatre LAJanuary 21, 2007 @ Aphrodesiac

Rick Moody

Program:

  • Ashton Holmes read Twister, The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven
  • Ian Hart read Drawer, Demonology
  • Dana Delany read On The Carousel, Demonology
  • James Franco read Lamoine, a story hot-off-the-press.
  • Rick Moody read a selection from his upcoming collection.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more

2006 Events

Dreams

WordTheatre LANovember 18, 2006 @ M Bar

Graham Hamilton

From Lord Byron to Harriet Tubman to Paul McCartney, a compilation of quotations from literature and life.

Performed by:

  • Ike Amadi
  • Nick Mennell
  • Mila Pesko
  • Rosemary Maciel
  • Sean Davis
  • Tony Mouleart
  • Loreni Delgado
  • Linda Tan
  • Josephine Hagerty
  • Graham Hamilton
  • Ellen Lawson
  • Toni Trucks
  • Geno Monteiro

Originally performed September 18th, 2006 at the Geffen Playhouse as a benefit for Cure Autism Now

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Brunch with Tobias Wolff and his Stories

WordTheatre LANovember 12, 2006 @ Aphrodesiac

Tobias Wolff
  • Chris Gorham read The Poor Are Always With Us, Back in the World (Random House 1996)
  • John Heard read Bullet In The Brain, The Night in Question (Random House 1997)
  • Camryn Manheim read The Night in Question, The Night in Question (Random House 1997)
  • Johnny Simmons read Powder, The Night in Question (Random House 1997)
  • Tobias Wolff read Her Dog from his upcoming collection.


Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox ... read more
Acts of Love: Dreams to benefit Cure Autism Now

WordTheatre LASeptember 18, 2006 @ The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood Village, CA

Keith David

Acts of Love: Dreams
A very special, one-night only celebration of dreams and dreamers performed by some of today’s finest actors, singers and musicians

Performed by:

  • Keith David
  • Richard Schiff
  • Amanda Seyfried
  • Nita Whitaker
  • Gary Cole
  • Christopher Gorham
  • Samantha Mathis
  • Elizabeth Perkins
  • Talia Shire
  • Gary Dourdan
  • James Denton


Narrated by:

  • Don La Fontaine

Band:

  • Gary Dourdan and His All-Star Friends
  • Ryan Cross,
  • Dorian Cheah,
  • Frank Fontaine,
  • Michael Raye

Singing Trio:

  • Ryan Bathe,
  • Anita Dashiell-Sparks,
  • Dionne Williams

Soloist:

  • Nita Whitaker

Created, produced and directed by Cedering Fox
Associate Producer and Dramaturge: Mila Pesko

... read more
Erotica

WordTheatre LAAugust 19, 2006 @ M Bar

Jodi Long
  • Robert Forster read The Human Table by Marvin Cohen
  • Loreni Delgado read Aching for Mr. Dovebar by Rose Solomon
  • Anna Nicholas read her piece Quinn
  • Rosemary Maciel read Homunculus, Homuncula by Elvira Pearson
  • Jodi Long read Happiness: A Manifesto by Marilyn Chin

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
The Rambler: The Principal Part of Dr. Johnson

WordTheatre NYJuly 30, 2006 @ Guild Hall

John Heard
Written by Kay Eldredge
Staged Reading performed by John Heard

Produced by Cedering Fox
Directed by Darrell Larson ... read more
A Celebration of 30 Years of Pushcart Prize-Winning Stories

WordTheatre NYJuly 29, 2006 @ Guild Hall

Carla Gugino
An Evening of Short-Short Stories Benefiting the Pushcart Prize Fellowships

  • Samantha Mathis read Jinx by Aimee Bender
  • Carla Gugino read Gina’s Death by Charles Baxter
  • Anson Mount read Red Beans and Ricely by Sydney Lea
  • Bob Balaban read Tomorrow’s Bird by Ian Frazier
  • Chris McDonald read Today Will Be A Quiet Day by Amy Hempel
  • Wendi Makkena read Self-Knowledge by Richard Bausch
  • Siv Cedering read her poem The Juggler
  • Dana Delany read The Party by Joyce Carol Oates

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox ... read more
Gonzo: The Life and Times of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson As Only He Could Tell It

WordTheatre NYJuly 28, 2006 @ Guild Hall

Xander Berkeley

Staged reading performed by Xander Berkeley.

 

Adapted and directed by Darrell Larson


Produced by Cedering Fox

... read more
Novel Beginnings II

WordTheatre LAJune 17, 2006 @ M Bar

Deborah Puette
  • Andrew Borba read from Chuck Freadhoff’s novel
  • Brooke Bastenelli read from Lauren Schwartzback’s novel
  • Michelle Joyner read from Jo-e Sutton’s novel
  • Jill Andre read from Lois Hamlish’s novel
  • Esperanza Catubig read from Nina Wong’s novel
  • Anna Nicholas read from Bridget Sampson’s novel
  • Deborah Puette read from Linzi Glass’s novel
  • Jessica Collins read from Fran Johnson’s novel
  • Laura Leigh Hughes read from Terri Cheney’s novel
  • Linda Tan read from Kelly Sullivan Walden’s novel
  • Nick Mennell read from Mark Venaglia’s novel
  • Amy Sloan read from Keri La Salle’s novel
  • Graham Hamilton read from David Seligman’s novel

Produced by Cedering Fox and Lisa Doctor
Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Brunch with Mona Simpson

WordTheatre LAJune 11, 2006 @ Aphrodesiac

Dermot Mulroney
  • Nina Siemaszko & Chris Payne Gilbert read Victory Mills
  • Dermot Mulroney read Night Nurse
  • Becca Godinez read Coins

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Celebration of Mother's Day

WordTheatre LAMay 14, 2006 @ M Bar

Roma Maffia
  • John Shea read Love by Todd James Pierce from The Australia Story
  • Jorja Fox read Backyards by Catherine Austin Alexander
  • Roma Maffia read Working The Room by Deborah Vankin
  • Judd Nelson read She Forgot by Rick Moody

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Novel Beginnings I

WordTheatre LAMay 7, 2006 @ M Bar

Josephine Hagerty
  • Graham Hamilton read from Jon Del Barrio’s novel
  • Rae Allen read from Charlene Kodimer’s novel
  • Kristina Lear read from Terry Hoffman’s novel
  • Geno Monteiro read from Kevin Brewerton’s novel
  • Deborah Puette read from Terri Cheney’s novel
  • Esperanza Cutabig read from Myra Oiga’s novel
  • Josephine Hagerty read from Linzi Glass’s novel
  • Mitchell Fink read from Philip Pfeifer’s novel
  • Maureen DaRosa read from Kara Rosella’s novel
  • Caroline Hall read from Iris Chayet’s novel
  • Lori Alan read from Lisa Doctor’s novel

Produced by Cedering Fox and Lisa Doctor
Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Rick Moody at The Cutting Room

WordTheatre NYApril 23, 2006 @ The Cutting Room

Chris Noth
  • Jodi Long read Boys from Demonology
  • Chris Noth read Drawer from Demonology
  • Anson Mount read The Grid from The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven
  • Rick Moody read Grocery List from his new upcoming collection.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox and Darrell Larson ... read more
Brunch with Aimee Bender and Her Stories

WordTheatre LAMarch 26, 2006 @ Aphrodesiac

Jon Tenney
  • Jessica Capshaw read What You Left in The Ditch, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt (Anchor Books 1998)
  • David Krumholtz read Loser, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt (Anchor Books 1998)
  • Mark Moses read The Meeting, Willful Creatures (Doubleday 2005)
  • Jon Tenney read Motherfucker, Willful Creatures (Doubleday 2005)
  • Aimee Bender read Hymn, Willful Creatures (Doubleday 2005)

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox ... read more
Taylor Negron Remade as Fiction

WordTheatre LAMarch 11, 2006 @ M Bar

The stories were:

  • Dick Lit
  • I Have the Perfect Life
  • Where a Lawn Ought to Have Been
  • My Mother
  • I Am Moving to Seattle

Intermission

  • California Gothic
  • Tuesdays with Lucy

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Hearts Aflame II

WordTheatre LAFebruary 12, 2006 @ MBar

Julie Warner

An Evening of all new Love and Hate Letters, 18th Century Missives to 21st Century Emails.

Performed by:

  • Jordan Baker,
  • Xander Berkeley,
  • Bill Brochtrup,
  • Sarah Clarke,
  • Edi Gathegi,
  • Kevin Kilner,
  • Amanda Seyfried,
  • Julie Warner.
... read more
Dinner with Melissa Pritchard and Her Stories

WordTheatre LAJanuary 29, 2006 @ MBar

Victor Williams
  • Mary Kay Place read Funktionslust, Disappearing Ingenue (Anchor Books 2002).
  • Victor Williams read Sweet Feed, The Instinct for Bliss (Zoland Books 1995).
  • Marin Hinkle read Hallie: How Love is Found When the Heart is Lost, The Instinct for Bliss. (Zoland Books 1995)
  • Melissa Pritchard read her unpublished essay Notes from Kalighat, January 2006.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more

2005 Events

Brunch with James Salter and his Stories

WordTheatre NYDecember 4, 2005 @ The Cutting Room

Arliss Howard
  • Jamey Sheridan read Arlington
  • Arliss Howard read Cinema from Dusk and Other Stories
  • Debra Winger read Last Night
  • James Salter read Comet

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson and Cedering Fox

... read more
Dinner with T. Coraghessan Boyle

WordTheatre LANovember 13, 2005 @ M Bar

Martin Jarvis
Program:
  • Xander Berkeley read Rastrow’s Island (first published in Harper’s)
  • Martin Jarvis read Swept Away (first published in The New Yorker)
  • Elizabeth Perkins read Hands On (a hot-off-the-press story)
  • TC Boyle read CHICXULUB (first published in The New Yorker)

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Bill Henderson

WordTheatre NYJune 25, 2005 to @ Guild Hall's John Drew Theatre

Peter Boyle

An Evening of Unusual Love Stories Benefiting The Pushcart Prize Fellowships

Program:

  • Bob Balaban (Ghost World, Gosford Park) read Tomorrow’s Bird by Ian Frazier, Pushcart 2002
  • Samantha Mathis (American Psycho, Pump Up the Volume) read Three Girls by Joyce Carol Oates, Pushcart 2004
  • Peter Boyle (Everybody Loves Raymond, Monster’s Ball) read Young Man On Sixth Avenue by Mark Halliday, Pushcart 1997
  • Andrew McCarthy (ABC's Kingdom Hospital, Neil La Bute’s FAT PIG) read What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver, Pushcart 1981-1982
  • David Strathairn (Dolores Claiborne, Passion Fish) read The Moor by Russell Banks, Pushcart 2002
  • Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River, Pollock) read Reading In His Wake by Pamela Painter, Pushcart 2005 Pushcart Founder

Editor Bill Henderson was on hand to sign The 2005 Pushcart Prize Best of The Small Presses

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Swink Magazine

WordTheatre LAMay 21, 2005 @ M Bar

Amanda Seyfried

Story readings from Issues 1 and 2. All of the writers (except Etgar Keret who lives in Israel) in attendance and available to sign copies of their stories.

Program:

  • Julie Warner ("Nip/Tuck, "Mr. Saturday Night") read Breakage by Dylan Landis
  • Howard Hesseman ("About Schmidt", "Head of the Class") read Pride and Joy by Etgar Keret
  • Amanda Seyfried ("Big Love", "Mean Girls") read Fatso by Leelila Strogov
  • Edi Gathegi (Gone, Baby, Gone; Twilight) read Waltraud by Ben Ehrenreich
  • Wilson Cruz ("My So Called Life", "Party Monster") read The Comeuppance of Lupe Rivera by Manuel Muñoz

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Mother's Day

WordTheatre LAMay 18, 2005 to @ M Bar

Ellen Slezak

WordTheatre’s Second Annual Brunch followed by Short Story Readings about - you guessed it - Mothers! Writers Ron Carlson, Ellen Slezak and Janet Grillo in attendance. 

Program:

  • Michael O'Keefe reads Richard Mc Cann's Crepe de Chine, Mother of Sorrows (Pantheon 2005)
  • Eliza Pryor Nagel reads Ellen Slezak's The Russian Children Aren't Happy (The Sun, April 2003)
  • Lolita Davidovich reads Ron Carlson's On the U.S.S. Fortitude, A Kind of Flying (W.W.Norton and Co. 2003)
  • Dana Delany reads Janet Grillo's Sea World 
  • Philip Baker Hall reads Kevin Brockmeier's Small Degrees, Things that Fall from the Sky (Vintage 2002)

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Steve Almond and his Stories

WordTheatre LAApril 21, 2005 to @ M Bar

Robert Hall

Program:

  • Chris Gorham ("Medical Investigation"; "Jake 2.0" ) read A Happy Dream
  • Wendy Mackena ("Listen Up";"Sindeman" on Broadway) read Wired for Life
  • Enrico Colantoni ("Veronica Mars";"Just Shoot Me") read Summer, As in Love
  • Robert David Hall "(C.S.I.:Crime Scene Investigation") read The Pass The first three stories are in Evil
  • B.B. Chow (Algonquin, 2005). The Pass won the 2003 Pushcart Prize.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Fusion

WordTheatre LAApril 3, 2005 to @ M Bar

Brian Cox

An evening of 2005 Pushcart Prize Winning Stories and others by Umberto Eco, Nelson Eubanks & Rachel Seiffert 

Program:

  • Anson Mount read Wonder: Red Beans and Ricely by Sydney Lea, The 2005 Pushcart Prize XXIX Best of the Small Presses
  • Jason George read Ninth Grade by Nelson Eubanks, The First Thing Smoking (Ballantine Books 2003)
  • Nicole Ansari read The Crossing by Rachel Seiffert, Field Study (Pantheon Books 2004)
  • Brenda Strong read Reading in His Wake by Pamela Painter, The 2005 Pushcart Prize XXIX Best of the Small Presses
  • Brian Cox reads Granita by Umberto Eco, Misreadings (Harcourt Brace, translation 1993)

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Hearts Aflame

WordTheatre LAFebruary 14, 2005 to @ M Bar

Kevin Kilner

An Evening of Love and Hate Letters From 18th Century Missives to 21st Century E-Mails

Performed by:

  • Caroline Aaron,
  • Bill Brochtrup,
  • Rocky Carroll,
  • Kevin Kilner,
  • Dani Klein,
  • Joey Slotnick,
  • Amanda Seyfried,
  • Julie Warner

"Hearts Aflame" was created from the following anthologies:

  • Hell Hath No Fury Edited by Anna Holmes Carroll & Graf Publishers ©2002
  • The Fifty Greatest Love Letters Of All Time Edited by David Lowenherz Crown Publishers ©2002
  • A Love No Less Edited by Pamela Newkirk Doubleday ©2003

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Fusion

WordTheatre LAJanuary 16, 2005 to @ MBar

Barry Shabaka Henley

Program:

  • Andrew Borba read Email Offer by Ron Carlson
  • Jeremy Davidson read Introduction to Speech by Ron Carlson
  • Samantha Mathis read Rana Fegrina by Dylan Landis
  • Eric Balfour read Eastwood by Jim Ruland
  • Kevin Kilner read Olympus Hills by Ron Carlson
  • Taylor Negron read his new story Tuesdays with Lucy Barry
  • Barry Shabaka Henley read Oh America by Ron Carlson

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more

2004 Events

WordTheatre LADecember 4, 2004 @ M Bar

Enrico Colantoni
...Musings on Parenthood
  • Enrico Colantoni,
  • Gary Dourdan,
  • Patricia Heaton,
  • David Hunt,
  • Lucinda Jenney,
  • Dani Klein,
  • Craig Shoemaker,
  • Margaret Smith
Created, produced and directed by Dani Klein and Cedering Fox ... read more
Brunch with T.C. Boyle @ Lunaria

WordTheatre LANovember 14, 2004 @ Lunaria

Nina Siemasko
Short story readings performed by the author and actors: 
  • Bill Pullman performs "Hopes Rise"
  • John Heard performs "Greasy Lake"
  • Rae Allen & Nina Siemaszko perform "The Sinking House"
  • T.C. Boyle performs "Modern Love"
Produced and directed by Cedering Fox ... read more
Brunch with Ha Jin @ Lunaria

WordTheatre LAOctober 10, 2004 @ Lunaria

Tzi Ma

Program:

  • Ming Na read The Flame.
  • Tzi Ma read The Bridegroom.
  • Sung Kang read The Report.
  • Michael Paul Chan read A Contract.
  • Ha Jin read from his new novel, War Trash (Pantheon, October 2004).

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Cure Autism Now Benefit @ The Coronet Theatre

WordTheatre LAOctober 1, 2004 @ The Coronet Theatre

Nina Siemasko
Acts of Love: Hearts Aflame: An Evening of Love and Hate Letters: 18th Century Missives to 21st Century E-Mails

Performed by the cast members, past and present, of "THE WEST WING":
  • Lily Tomlin,
  • Brad Whitford,
  • Janel Moloney,
  • Nicole Robinson,
  • John Spencer,
  • Gary Cole,
  • Nina Siemasko,
  • John Amos,
  • Marlee Matlin,
  • Rocky Carroll,
  • Jesse Bradford,
  • John P. Connolly,
  • Bill O'Brien.

"Hearts Aflame" was created from the following anthologies:
  • Hell Hath No Fury Edited by Anna Holmes Carroll & Graf Publishers ©2002

  • The Fifty Greatest Love Letters Of All Time Edited by David Lowenherz Crown Publishers ©2002

  • A Love No Less Edited by Pamela Newkirk Doubleday ©2003.

A WordTheatre Production
Created, produced and directed by Cedering Fox and Dani Klein ... read more
Life After Birth

WordTheatre LASeptember 18, 2004 @ M Bar

Presented in Association with Dani Klein

A Program of Original Stories Performed by their Authors

  • Stephen Collins read Ace's Big Entrance
  • Steven Cragg read The Burden
  • Gary Dourdan read Rockstar
  • Michael Kearns read Blood
  • Dani Klein read Le Cinema Avec Mon Amour
  • Margaret Smith read Mr. Right, an excerpt from her novel
  • Stephen Tobolowsky read The Call
  • Steve White read Untitled
Produced and directed by Dani Klein and Cedering Fox ... read more
The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: Way Out West

WordTheatre LAJune 30, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

David Clennon

Program:

  • Chris Gilbert read Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje
  • Jesse Shepard read Thirty Head of Killers by Jesse Shepard
  • Percival Everett read God’s Country by Percival Everett
  • David Clennon read Ghost Town by Robert Coover
  • Darrell Larson read The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Ron Hansen

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox

... read more
The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Modern Classics

WordTheatre LAJune 29, 2004

Program:

  • Rob Morrow read Welcome to Hard Times by E. L. Doctorow
  • John Heard read Blood Meridian by Cormac MacCarthy
  • Chris Sarandon read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
  • Lucinda Jenny read True Grit by Charles Portis

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox

... read more
The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Round-Up (2)

WordTheatre LAJune 23, 2004 @ The Autrey

Program:
  • Richard Schiff read A Piano at Dead Man’s Crossing by Johnny D. Boggs
  • Bruce Boxleiter read The Attack on the Mountain by Glendon Swarthout
  • Samantha Mathis read Reunion by Lenore Carroll
  • James Cromwell read Indian Fighter by Brian Garfield
Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox ... read more
The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Round-Up

WordTheatre LAJune 22, 2004 @ The Autrey

Program:

  • Tess Harper read Charity by Sandy Whiting
  • Mike Blakely read Laureano’s Wall by Mike Blakely
  • Wendie Malick read River Watch by Lori Van Pelt
  • DB Sweeney read The Burial of Letty Strayhorn by Elmer Kelton 

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox


... read more
The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Master

WordTheatre LAJune 15, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

Lou Diamond Phillips
  • Lou Diamond Phillips read The Tonto Woman by Elmore Leonard
  • William Schallert read The Kid by Elmore Leonard
  • Jason George read Hurrah for Captain Early by Elmore Leonard
  • Troy Garity read Saint with a Six-Gun by Elmore Leonard

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox

... read more
The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Womenfolk

WordTheatre LAJune 14, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

Program:

  • Lee Purcell read Sweet Cactus Wine by Marcia Muller
  • Sheila Kelley read Journey to the Fort by Dorothy M. Johnson
  • Scott Terra read A Time of Greatness by Dorothy M. Johnson
  • Kathy Baker read Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
  • Brooke Adams read Cabin Fever by Dorothy Scarborough
Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox ... read more
The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Professionals

WordTheatre LAJune 9, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

Miguel Sandoval
  • Miguel Sandoval read The Vengeance of Padre Arroyo by Gertrude Atherton
  • Gary Dourdan Naked Gun by John Jakes
  • Kane Richotte read I Never Saw a Buffalo by Frank Roderus
  • Will Scott, Paul Koslo, Allison Gammon, Kamala Lopez, Deborah Puette. Miguel Sandoval, Martin Kove, Cedering Fox and Christian Davis read The Death(s) of Billy the Kid by Arthur Winfield Knight

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox

... read more
The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Popularizer and the Preacher

WordTheatre LAJune 8, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

Rex Linn
  • Ed Harris read Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
  • Bobby Knott read The Last of the Plainsmen by Zane Grey
  • Rex Linn The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox
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The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Storyteller

WordTheatre LAJune 2, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

Scott Paulin
  • Xander Berkeley read Let the Cards Decide by Louis L’Amour
  • Gregg Henry read To Make a Stand by Louis L’Amour
  • Scott Paulin read One Night Stand by Louis L’Amour
  • W. Earl Brown read Top Hand by Luke Short

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox
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The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Lost Classic

WordTheatre LAJune 1, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

Richard Cox
  • Robert Forster read The Young Rush In by Alan LeMay
  • Richard Cox read Useless Cowboy by Alan LeMay
  • Tom Bower read The Searchers by Alan LeMay
  • Chris Mulkey read The Sergeant Hour by Jack Schaefer

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox

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The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Originator

WordTheatre LAMay 26, 2004 to @ The MET Theatre

Dermot Mulroney
  • Bill Pullman read The Virginian by Owen Wister
  • Michael O’Neill read Timberline by Owen Wister
  • Dermot Mulroney read The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane

Produced and directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox

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The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Precursors

WordTheatre LAMay 25, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

Cain Devore
  • Cain Devore read Frank James on the Trail
  • James Gammon read Holding Up a Train by O. Henry
  • Harris Yulin read At the Rainbows End by Jack London
  • Amy Madigan read Deadwood Dick by Edward Wheeler
  • Jan Munroe read The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid by Pat F. Garrett
Produced and Directed by Darrell Larson & Cedering Fox
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A Mother's Work

WordTheatre LAMay 9, 2004 @ Lunaria

Taylor Negron
  • Billy Campbell read Firelight by Tobias Wolff.
  • Judy Geeson read Nobody Say a Word by Mark Van Doren.
  • Julianna Margulies read Admissions by Mona Simpson.
  • Taylor Negron read an original story, My Mother.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox ... read more
Life After Birth

WordTheatre LAApril 15, 2004 to @ M Bar

Stephen Tobolowsky

Presented in Association with Dani Klein A Program of Original Stories Performed by their Authors

Program:

  • Stephen Tobolowsky read The Call
  • Caroline Aaron read Weighing In
  • Stephen Collins read Ace's Big Entrance
  • Carol Schlanger read Redemption Song
  • Dani Klein Modisett read Baby Aneurysm
  • Joanna Gleason read They Caroline Goodall read Frequent Fliers
  • Peter Horton read A Neighborly Day for a Beauty.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox and Dani Klein

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Peace, Love and Intercourse!

WordTheatre UKMarch 30, 2004 to @ The Rex

Ian Hart

A literary salon to benefit Cure Autism Now 

Program:

  • Ian Hart read a monologue written for Cure Autism Now by Nick Hornby.
  • Gina Mc Kee read Mrs. Thing by Donald Hall.
  • Kate Miles read Jinx, a Pushcart Prize winning story by Aimee Bender.
  • Bill Nighy read The Gold Lunch by Ron Carlson.
  • James Thorne read Blue by Rachel Seiffert.

Produced by Cedering Fox and Kirsty Peart. Directed by Christian Banfield.

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Hearts Aflame: An Evening of Love and Hate Letters

WordTheatre LAFebruary 14, 2004 to @ M Bar

Bill Brochtrup

From 18th Century Missives to 21st Century E-Mails

Performed by:

  • Amy Aquino,
  • Xander Berkeley,
  • Bill Brochtrup,
  • Sarah Clarke,
  • Jason George,
  • Kevin Kilner,
  • Shawnee Smith

"Hearts Aflame" was created from the following anthologies:

  • Hell Hath No Fury Edited by Anna Holmes Carroll & Graf Publishers ©2002
  • The Fifty Greatest Love Letters Of All Time Edited by David Lowenherz Crown Publishers ©2002
  • A Love No Less Edited by Pamela Newkirk Doubleday ©2003.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox & Dani Klein Production Associate/Dramaturge: John Jenkins

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Love Hurts Brunch with the Writers

WordTheatre LAJanuary 11, 2004 to @ The Canal Club

Anson Mount

Program:

  • Elisabeth Moss read Julie Orringer's Note to Sixth Grade Self from How to Breath Underwater, Knopf 2003.
  • Jesse Bradford read Ryan Harty's story September, from Bring Me Your Saddest Arizona, University of Iowa Press 2003.
  • Anson Mount read Mark Richard's Her Favorite Story from Charity: Stories, Doubleday 1998.
  • David Prete, read Not Because I'm Thirsty from his debut collection Say That to My Face, W.W. Norton 2003

Produced by Cedering Fox Production Associate: John Jenkins

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2003 Events

A Christmas Show

WordTheatre UKDecember 11, 2003 @ The Rex - London

Program:

  • Brian Cox read an excerpt from his published memoir: Salem to Moscow: An Actor's Odyssey.
  • Richard Hawley read Nipple Jesus by Nick Hornby.
  • Fenella Woolgar read The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde.
  • Elizabeth McGovern read Keith by Ron Carlson.
  • Alan Cox read The Birds for Christmas by Mark Richard

Produced by Kirsty Peart and Cedering Fox
Directed by Christian Banfield

... read more
Brunch With Russell Banks

WordTheatre LANovember 9, 2003 @ Canal Club

Actors read stories from Russell Banks' most recent collection, The Angel on the Roof:

Program:

  • Lolita Davidovich read The Child Screams and Looks Back at You.
  • Todd Field read The Mistake.
  • Robert Forster read The Visit.
  • Russell Banks read X-mas.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

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Brunch with Ron Carlson

WordTheatre LAOctober 12, 2003 @ Canal Club

Program:

  • Glenne Headly read On the U.S.S. Fortitude, first published in The New Yorker, and featured in A Kind of Flying (W.W.Norton 2003).
  • Mimi Rogers read Kieth, recently reprinted in A Kind of Flying (W.W. Norton 2003).
  • Saul Rubinek read the 2001 Pushcart Prize winning story The Ordinary Son, from Ron's collection At the Jim Bridger (Picador 2003).
  • Ron Carlson read Disclaimer from At the Jim Bridger (Picador 2003).
Produced and directed by Cedering Fox ... read more
Life After Birth

WordTheatre LASeptember 28, 2003 @ Café des Artistes - Hollywood

Musings on Parenthood, a Program of Original Stories Read by their Writers

Program:

  • Stephen Tobolowsky read The Call.
  • Caroline Aaron read Weighing In.
  • Stephen Collins read Ace’s Big Entrance.
  • Carol Schlanger read Redemption Song.
  • Dani Klein Modisett read Baby Aneurysm.
  • Joanna Gleason read They.
  • Caroline Goodall read Frequent Fliers.
  • Peter Horton read A Neighborly Day for a Beauty.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox and Dani Klein

... read more
Brunch With Charles Baxter

WordTheatre LASeptember 14, 2003 @ Canal Club

Presented in association with Jan Eliasberg

Program:

  • Caroline Goodall read Silent Movie from A Relative Stranger (W.W. Norton 1990).
  • William Schallert read The Cliff from Harmony of the World (Vintage 1997).
  • Adam Arkin read Gryphon from Through the Safety Net (Penguin Viking 1985).
  • Catherine Dent read Chapter 18 from Feast of Love (Pantheon 2000).
  • Charles Baxter read an excerpt from his new book Saul and Patsy (Pantheon 2003).

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

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Brunch with Writers Aimee Bender, Aram Saroyan & Thomas Steinbeck

WordTheatre LAJune 1, 2003 @ Canal Club

Program:

  • Sarah Clarke read Jinx by Aimee Bender, winner of the 2003 Pushcart Prize, edited by Bill Henderson.
  • Joanna Gleason read Cordials by David Kranes, winner of the 1976 Pushcart Prize and published in The Pushcart Prize of Short Stories: The Best From a Quarter Century of Winning Stories (Pushcart Press 2002).
  • Howard Hesseman read Bicoastal by Aram Saroyan from his collection Artists in Trouble: New Stories (Black Sparrow Press 2001).
  • Noah Watts read Pretend Dinners by W.P. Kinsella, winner of the 1980 Pushcart Prize and published in The Pushcart Prize of Short Stories: The Best From a Quarter Century of Winning Stories (Pushcart Press 2002).
  • Xander Berkeley read The Night Guide by Thomas Steinbeck from his collection of stories Down to a Soundless Sea (Ballantine 2002).

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

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Brunch and Book Signings with Writers ZZ Packer & Mary Yukari Waters

WordTheatre LAMay 4, 2003 @ Canal Club

Program:

  • Ming-Na read The Way Love Works by Mary Yukari Waters from Mary's debut collection The Laws of Evening (Scribner, May 2003).
  • Jeff Goldblum read Bulldog by Arthur Miller, previously published in The New Yorker and reprinted in The Best American Short Stories of 2002 (Houghton Mifflin).
  • Alfre Woodard read ZZ Packer's Brownies from ZZ's debut collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (Riverhead/Penguin Putnam 2003).

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

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Brunch and Book Signings with Writers Joseph Olshan & Luis Rodriguez

WordTheatre LAApril 13, 2003 @ Canal Club

Program:

  • Kellie Waymire read Passenger by Marian Thurm from What's Come Over You (Delphinium/Harper Collins 2001).
  • Lorraine Toussaint read the opening chapter from In Clara's Hands by Joseph Olshan (Bloomsbury 2003).
  • Miguel Sandoval read Finger Dance from Luis J. Rodriguez's new collection The Republic of East LA (Rayo/Harper Collins 2002).
  • In tribute to Lynne Thigpen, Roma Maffia read Bruce Holland Rogers' short story, The Dead Boy at Your Window (2000 Pushcart Prize collection, edited by Bill Henderson; originally printed in The North American Review).

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Pushcart Prize Winning Stories @ Canal Club

WordTheatre LAMarch 9, 2003 @ Canal Club

Program:

  • Elizabeth Peña read an excerpt from Borrowed Finery: A Memoir by Paula Fox (Henry Holt 2001; winner of the 2002 Pushcart Prize, edited by Bill Henderson; originally printed in The Threepenny Review).
  • Gil Bellows read Oblivion, Nebraska by Peter Moore Smith (winner of the 2002 Pushcart Prize, edited by Bill Henderson; originally printed in The Massachussetts Review).
  • Stephen Collins read the The Moor by Russell Banks (winner of the 2002 Pushcart Prize, edited by Bill Henderson; originally printed in Conjunctions).

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Brunch With Donald Hall @ Canal Club

WordTheatre LAFebruary 9, 2003 @ Canal Club

Program:

  • Nancy Travis read Mrs. Thing from The Ideal Bakery (North Point Press 1987).
  • Tony Shaloub read The Accident from Willow Temple: New and Selected Stories (Houghton Mifflin 2003; story originally printed in The Ohio Review).
  • Richard Schiff read The Ideal Bakery from Willow Temple: New and Selected Stories (Houghton Mifflin 2003; story first appeared in The Ohio Review; story reprinted in The Ideal Bakery, North Point Press 1987).
  • Donald Hall read his narrative poem The Night of the Day from The Old Life (Houghton Mifflin 1996).

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more

2002 Events

Literary Stages

WordTheatre LADecember 8, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

Siv Cedering

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note
Program:

  • Siv Cedering read The Christmas Present from her memoir
  • Brian Howe read Champagne by Tobias Wolff, This Boy's Life (Harper Perrenial 1990)
  • Catherine Dent read The Doll by Edna O'Brien, The Fanatic Heart (©1985)
  • Kevin Kilner read The H Street Sledding Record by Ron Carlson, The News of the World: Stories (©1984).

Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Literary Stages

WordTheatre LANovember 17, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note
Program:

  • Don Cheadle read Bug Juice by Christine Lincoln, Sap Rising (Vintage Books 2002)
  • Ellen Crawford read Self-Knowledge by Richard Bausch (Pushcart Prize 2000)
  • Julianna Margulies read Thanksgiving by Joyce Carol Oates, Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque (Plume/Penguin 1995)

Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Literary Stages

WordTheatre LAOctober 14, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note
Program:

  • Amy Ephron read from her book White Rose
  • Donal Logue read his original story Bricklayer
  • Elizabeth Mitchell read The Legal Case by Michelle Latiolais
  • Bruno Kirby read The Night of the Day by Donald Hall

Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Literary Stages

WordTheatre LASeptember 8, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

Andrew Mccarthy

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note
Program:

  • Andrew McCarthy read Simplify by Tod Goldberg
  • Minnie Driver read The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
  • Alan Mandell read Stirrings Still by Samuel Beckett

Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Literary Stages

WordTheatre LAJune 9, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

Elizabeth Perkins

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note
Program:

  • Amy Dawes read from her book Sunset Boulevard, Cruising the Heart of Los Angeles (LA Times Books 2002)
  • David Henry Sterry read from his book Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Young Man for Rent (Regan Books/Harper Collins 2002)
  • Elizabeth Perkins read her story With a Bang and a Whistle
  • James Cromwell read Revivals by Donald Hall

Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Literary Stages

WordTheatre LAMay 13, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note
Program:

  • Brendan Fraser read Big Ball of String by Wayne Reynolds
  • Kasi Lemmons read Dorothy Stallworth's Frauenhofer’s manuscript Castles of Deferred Dreams
  • Dustin Nguyen read Chapter Three from The Unwanted by Kien Nguyen (Little, Brown 2002)
  • Janel Moloney read Five Dreams of Falling from What About the Love Part, a collection of stories by Stephanie Rosenfeld (Ballantine 2002)

Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Literary Stages

WordTheatre LAApril 14, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

David Clennon

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note

Program:

Wendie Malick read The Day My Towers Fell by Joan Caspi

  • David Clennon read Sportsmen from Thomas McGuane's To Skin a Cat (Vintage 1986)
  • Barbara Tarbuck read Wants by Grace Paley, Enormous Changes at the Last Minute
  • David Masiel read an excerpt from his new novel 2182kHz (Random House 2002)
  • Gavin Scott read his short story Indian Rope Trick

Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Literary Stages

WordTheatre LAMarch 10, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

Robert Forster

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note
Program:

  • Tracee Ellis Ross read an excerpt from her memoir For Curly Girls Who Have Considered Straightening When the Products Weren't Enough and Then They Discover Their Truth
  • Steven Elliott read Near the Bone from The Anchor Book of New Irish Writing (Anchor 2000)
  • Julia Sweeney read her story It Could Happen ANY MINUTE!
  • Robert Forster read Sweet Day by Hal Ackerman
  • Enrico Colantoni read The Balloon by Donald Barthelme from his collection Sixty Stories

Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Literary Stages

WordTheatre LAFebruary 17, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

Brian Cox

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note

Program:

  • Brian Cox read from his 1991 memoir Salem to Moscow: An Actor's Odyssey
  • Peri Gilpin read Prosthesis by Dan Chaon, Among the Missing (Ballantine 2001)
  • Grace Zabriskie read A Love Song by Andre Dubus, Dancing After Hours (Vintage 1996)
  • Forest Whitaker read an excerpt from Outfield, Outside, an unpublished memoir by Curt Flood, (adapted by Arye Gross)

Directed by Cedering Fox

... read more
Literary Stages

WordTheatre LAJanuary 27, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

Dana Delany

An Evening of Gastronomic Delights and Literary Delectables Offered by Authors and Actors of Note

Program:

  • Christina Pickles read Three Good Months by Ronald Alexander
  • Michael Schiffer read an excerpt from his book Lessons of the Road: An Overland Journey to the East (Kenan Press/Simon & Schuster 1980)
  • Dana Delany read The Boy From Montana by Susan O'Neill, Don't Mean Nothing: Short Stories of Vietnam (2002)
  • Elliot Gould read a story from Adam Gopnik's From Paris to the Moon (Random House 2000)

Directed by Cedering Fox

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2001 Events

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2000 Events

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1999 Events

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1998 Events

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1997 Events

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1996 Events

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1995 Events

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1994 Events

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