WordTheatre with TC Boyle at the Edye presented by PEN USA

February 21, 2010 @ The Edye

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

Videography by Bakers Man Productions bakersman.com

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Hot Flicks: Love Scenes from the Silver Screen

February 14, 2010 @ M Bar

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 Rodreiguez at the Edye presented by PEN USA

January 17, 2010 @ The Edye

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

Video recording by Bakers Man Productions http://bakersman.com/

... read more

Mysteries of the Mind at the Sunshine from Darkness Gala

January 10, 2010 @ Ritz Carlton

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

... read more

Aaaah, Xmas...

December 6, 2009 @ M Bar

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 the Holidays" by Jeffrey Shaffer
• 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

November 29, 2009 @ Shoreditch House

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

October 25, 2009 @ Restaurant3

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

October 6, 2009 @ V Lounge

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

October 3, 2009 @ Eli and Edythe Broad Stage

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

August 16, 2009 @ M Bar

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

July 19, 2009 @ The Lyric Hyperion Theatre Cafe

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 "Big Foot" 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

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Pushcart Prize Benefit

June 27, 2009 @ Guild Hall

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 Variations; American 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

• 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

June 7, 2009 @ Soho House

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

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Mother's Day: Family Album

May 10, 2009 @ Warszawa

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

May 3, 2009 @ Soho House

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

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Motherhood: An Evening of Stories benefiting Maternal Fetal Care International

April 26, 2009 @ Cafe des Artistes

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

March 15, 2009 @ M Bar

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

March 1, 2009 @ Soho House

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 a new story by Jim Shepard
  
• Julianna Margulies (Snakes on a Plane, Ghost Ship) reading a story by Amy Hempel
• Lynn Whitfield (Stepmom, Head of State) reading a story 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

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Novel and Memoir Beginnings

January 11, 2009 @ M Bar

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

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A Smörgåsbord of Holiday Stories

December 11, 2008 @ M Bar

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 from Santa Claus recorded 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

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Acts of Love: Miracle Workers

November 10, 2008 @ The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood Village, CA

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

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A Different Kind of Love Story

September 28, 2008 @ 647 N. San Vicente Blvd.

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

August 23, 2008 @ M Bar

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

July 17, 2008 to July 20, 2008 @ England

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

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

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

May 28, 2008 @ M Bar

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

April 26, 2008 @ M Bar

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

March 30, 2008 @ Canal Club

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

February 14, 2008 @ Social Hollywood 6525 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood 90068

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

January 11, 2008 @ M Bar

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

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

December 9, 2007 @ MBar

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

December 3, 2007 @ Beverly Hilton Hotel

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

October 22, 2007 @ Cafe des Paris

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

October 15, 2007 @ Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, California

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

September 30, 2007 @ MBar

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

August 12, 2007 @ Aphrodisiac Restaurant

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

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

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!

June 17, 2007 to @ MBar

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

May 20, 2007 to @ Aphrodisiac

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

May 13, 2007 @ Aphrodisiac Restaurant

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

Program:

• 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

April 29, 2007 @ Canal Club

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

April 1, 2007 @ The Egyptian Arena Theatre

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

March 12, 2007 @ Cafe de Paris

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

February 14, 2007 @ MBar

**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

January 21, 2007 @ Aphrodesiac

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

Dreams

November 18, 2006 @ M Bar

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

November 12, 2006 @ Aphrodesiac

• 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

September 18, 2006 @ The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood Village, CA

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

August 19, 2006 @ M Bar

• 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

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox ... read more

The Rambler: The Principal Part of Dr. Johnson

July 30, 2006 @ Guild Hall

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

July 29, 2006 @ Guild Hall

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

July 28, 2006 @ Guild Hall

Staged reading performed by Xander Berkeley.

Adapted and directed by Darrell Larson

Produced by Cedering Fox ... read more

Novel Beginnings II

June 17, 2006 @ M Bar

• 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
• Jeura 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

June 11, 2006 @ Aphrodesiac

• 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

May 14, 2006 @ M Bar

• 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

May 7, 2006 @ M Bar

• 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 Catubig read from Myra Olga’s novel
• Josephine Hagerty read from Linzi Glass’s novel
• Mitchell Fink read from Philip Pfeifer’s novel
• Mila Pesko read from Kira 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

April 23, 2006 @ The Cutting Room

• 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

March 26, 2006 @ Aphrodesiac

• 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

March 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

February 12, 2006 @ MBar

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

January 29, 2006 @ MBar

• 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

Brunch with James Salter and his Stories

December 4, 2005 @ The Cutting Room

• 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

November 13, 2005 @ M Bar

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

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

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

May 21, 2005 @ M Bar

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

May 18, 2005 to @ M Bar

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

April 21, 2005 to @ M Bar

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

April 3, 2005 to @ M Bar

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

February 14, 2005 to @ M Bar

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

January 16, 2005 to @ MBar

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
  
• Shabaka Henley read Oh America by Ron Carlson

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox

... read more

December 4, 2004 @ M Bar

...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

November 14, 2004 @ Lunaria

Short story readings performed by the author and actors:

• Bill Pullman,
  
• John Heard,
  
• Rae Allen,
  
• Nina Siemaszko.

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox ... read more

Brunch with Ha Jin @ Lunaria

October 10, 2004 @ Lunaria

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

October 1, 2004 @ The Coronet Theatre

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

September 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

June 30, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

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

June 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)

June 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

June 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

June 15, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

• 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

June 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

June 9, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

• 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

June 8, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

• 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
... read more

The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Storyteller

June 2, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

• 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
... read more

The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Lost Classic

June 1, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

• 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

... read more

The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Originator

May 26, 2004 to @ The MET Theatre

• 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

... read more

The Great Writer's Series Rides Again: The Precursors

May 25, 2004 @ The MET Theatre

• 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
... read more

May 9, 2004 @ Lunaria

• 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

April 15, 2004 to @ M Bar

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

... read more

Peace, Love and Intercourse!

March 30, 2004 to @ The Rex

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.

... read more

Hearts Aflame: An Evening of Love and Hate Letters

February 14, 2004 to @ M Bar

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

... read more

Love Hurts Brunch with the Writers

January 11, 2004 to @ The Canal Club

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

... read more

A Christmas Show

December 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

November 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 ... read more

Brunch with Ron Carlson

October 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

September 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

September 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 ... read more

Brunch with Writers Aimee Bender, Aram Saroyan & Thomas Steinbeck

June 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 ... read more

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

May 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 ... read more

Brunch and Book Signings with Writers Joseph Olshan & Luis Rodriguez

April 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

March 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

February 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

Literary Stages

December 8, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

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

November 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

October 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

September 8, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

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

June 9, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

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

May 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 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

April 14, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

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 by Thomas McGuane, 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

March 10, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

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

February 17, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

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

January 27, 2002 @ Café des Artistes

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

Program:

• Christina Pickles read Three Healthy 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 ... read more