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WORDTheatre is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 that champions literature by staging live readings of contemporary short stories and curating original themed productions. Based primarily in Los Angeles, New York, and London, these performances, both live and recorded, notably feature well-known authors, actors, and musicians.
History
WORDTheatre was founded in 2003 by
Cedering Fox, producer, theatre director, and voiceover artist who still serves as the organization's Artistic Director. Fox is the daughter of the Swedish-American award-winning poet, writer, and artist
Siv Cedering
Siv Cedering (February 5, 1939 – November 17, 2007) was a Swedish-American poet, writer, and artist. She occasionally published as Siv Cedering Fox.
Early life
Siv Cedering was born 30 kilometers south of the arctic circle in rural Överkali ...
. In 1989, Fox was asked to partner with
Darrell Larson
Darrell Ray Larson (born December 13, 1950) is an American film and television actor who appeared in the 1990 action/comedy film ''Men at Work''.
Larson's work includes roles in ''The Student Nurses'' (1970), ''Kotch'' (1971), '' The Magnifice ...
, on The Great Writers Series: Literary Evenings at The Met in Los Angeles. The series featured authors
Sam Shepard,
Peter Matthiessen,
James Ellroy and actors
Ed Harris,
Holly Hunter and
Bill Pullman, among others, and ran for three years. It was broadcasting weekly on
NPR’s
KCRW
KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...
. The station then hired Fox to direct seven and a half hours of
Isak Dinesen stories performed by an all-star cast and scored by composer
Jonathan Sacks. Realizing her passion for the form, Fox launched WORDTheatre in 2003 at the Canal Club in Venice, California. Later that year, WORDTheatre debuted in London
under producer Kirsty Peart, herself a writer of animation for film and television. Their ongoing collaboration has resulted in hundreds of bespoke productions in the US and the UK.
From 2010 to 2016 WORDTheatre was associated with the UK’s
Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, “the world’s richest short story prize,” with performers reading the six shortlisted stories to live audiences annually in London, England. WORDTheatre also headlined the Literary Arena at the Latitude Festival for seven consecutive years. In 2013, WORDTheatre debuted its original space exploration-themed production, "In the Cosmos", with a 44-piece orchestra at Wilderness Festival,
UK, which was labeled by MTV as the “Most Dynamic And Extravagant Act.”
"In the Cosmos" was restaged to acclaim at the Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on August 26, 2017.
Collaborations with MacArthur 'Genius' grant recipient John Edgar Wideman have resulted in several notable productions including 2012's 'Storytales' at the John Anson Ford Theater featuring such notable actors as
Sterling K. Brown
Sterling Kelby Brown (born April 5, 1976) is an American actor. He has portrayed Christopher Darden in the FX limited series '' The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story'' (2016) and stars as Randall Pearson in the NBC drama series '' ...
,
Lorraine Toussaint,
Keith David,
Marla Gibbs,
Brent Jennings,
Omar Dorsey, and
Nicki Micheaux
Nicole "Nicki" Micheaux (born 1971) is an American actress, known for her role as Jennifer 'Jenn' Sutton in the ABC Family drama series '' Lincoln Heights'' (2007–2009), for which she received two NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a ...
, to name a few; and the John Edgar Wideman Experience which was staged in two different incarnations at Pittsburgh's August Wilson Theater in 2017 and the Hall of Liberty in Los Angeles in 2018. In 2022, Alison Emilio came on board as WORDTheatre's Executive Director.
Authors
Since 2003, WORDTheatre has showcased the works of contemporary short story authors. It brings to life the works of authors such as
Charles Baxter,
Brian Doyle,
TC Boyle
Thomas Coraghessan Boyle, also known as T. C. Boyle and T. Coraghessan Boyle (born December 2, 1948), is an American novelist and short story writer. Since the mid-1970s, he has published sixteen novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the ...
,
Richard Bausch
Richard Bausch (born April 18, 1945) is an American novelist and short story writer, and Professor in the Writing Program at Chapman University in Orange, California. He has published twelve novels, eight short story collections, and one volume of ...
,
John Edgar Wideman, Pamela Painter,
Percival Everett,
Anthony Doerr to mainstream live audiences.
Venues
WORDTheatre has performed in venues including the
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
and
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten.
The ...
on South Bank, the
St James Theatre,
The Arts Club in London and
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family sin ...
in Derbyshire;
Soho House West Hollywood,
The Geffen Playhouse,
The Broad, the
Grammy Museum The Grammy Museum is any of a group of museums containing exhibits relating to winners of the Grammy Award for achievement in recording.
The museums in this group include:
*The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, which opened in 2008 in Los Angeles, Califo ...
, the Microsoft Lounge
and the
Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles; and
Soho House New York,
the East Hamptons
Guild Hall
A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...
and
NeueHouse
NeueHouse is a company that provides collaborative workspace, private offices, event and meeting space and a social scene for culture in New York and Los Angeles.
History
NeueHouse was founded in 2011 in New York by Joshua Abram, Alan Murray an ...
in New York.
Writer’s retreat
Annually WORDTheatre hosts a writers' retreat in Edale, England (United Kingdom).
Previous leaders of the workshops were:
*2011
Ron Carlson
*2012
Dan Chaon
Dan Chaon (born June 11, 1964) is an American writer. Formerly a creative writing professor, he is the author of three short story collections and four novels.
Early life and education
Chaon was born June 11, 1964 in either Sidney, Nebraska or ...
*2013
David Means
David Means (born October 17, 1961) is an American short story writer and novelist based in Nyack, New York. His stories have appeared in many publications, including '' Esquire'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Harper's''. They are frequently set i ...
*2014
Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III (born September 11, 1959) is an American novelist and short story writer. He is a member of the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Early life and education
Born in Oceanside, California, to Patricia (née Lowe) an ...
*2015
Richard Bausch
Richard Bausch (born April 18, 1945) is an American novelist and short story writer, and Professor in the Writing Program at Chapman University in Orange, California. He has published twelve novels, eight short story collections, and one volume of ...
*2016/2017 Pamela Painter
*2018 Margaret McMullan
*2019
Peter Orner
Peter Orner is an American writer. He is the author of two novels, two story collections and a book of essays. Orner holds the Professorship of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and was formerly a professor of creative writing at ...
*2021
Ron Carlson
*2022
Dan Chaon
Dan Chaon (born June 11, 1964) is an American writer. Formerly a creative writing professor, he is the author of three short story collections and four novels.
Early life and education
Chaon was born June 11, 1964 in either Sidney, Nebraska or ...
Talent
WORDTheatre is known for performances by well-known stage, film, and television actors, including
Alfred Molina,
Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...
,
Amanda Seyfried,
Bellamy Young,
Ben Miller,
Bill Pullman,
CCH Pounder,
Chris Cooper
Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), ''October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), ''Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' Cap ...
,
Craig T. Nelson,
Damian Lewis,
Damien Molony
Damien Molony (born 21 February 1984) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his television roles as Hal Yorke in BBC Three's '' Being Human'', DC Albert Flight in the BBC's ''Ripper Street'', DS Jack Weston in Channel 5's '' Suspects'', Jon i ...
,
Darren Criss,
David Soul,
Ed Harris,
Elisabeth Moss,
Elizabeth McGovern,
Emily Watson
Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar War ...
,
Gary Dourdan
Gary Dourdan (born Gary Robert Durdin: December 11, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Warrick Brown on the television series ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,'' Shazza Zulu on the television series ''A Different World'' and ...
,
Gemma Chan
Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982) is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Chan attended the Newstead Wood School for Girls and studied law at Worcester College, Oxford before choosing to pursue a career in acting instead, enrolling at t ...
,
Harriet Walter,
Ian Hart,
James Franco,
Jason George,
Jeff Goldblum,
Jessica Capshaw,
JK Simmons
Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...
,
Julianna Margulies,
Juliet Stevenson,
Kevin McKidd,
Linda Cardellini
Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her leading roles in the teen drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), the medical drama '' ER'' (2003–09), the drama thriller ''Bloodline'' (2 ...
,
Mark Ruffalo,
Mayim Bialik,
Minnie Driver,
Rhashan Stone
Rhashan Stone is an American actor and comedian based in the UK. He is best known for appearing in many comedy shows such as ''Desmond's'' and ''Mutual Friends''. Stone is also a stage actor who has performed in numerous productions for The Ro ...
,
Robert Pine,
Sarah Paulson, and
Tony Shalhoub.
Charitable works
WORDTheatre is a non-profit organization. In addition to championing contemporary literature through live and recorded performances, it has its own education outreach program WORDTheatre in the Schools (WITS). Since its inception in 2011 the WITS program has served many Los Angeles Title 1 Schools.
Many of the same actors and authors who perform at WordTheatre’s main events volunteer their time to participate in the WTIS program, including
JK Simmons
Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...
,
Bellamy Young,
Toni Trucks,
Jason Isaacs,
Sterling K Brown, and
Ryan Michelle Bathe
Ryan Michelle Bathé (born July 27, 1976) is an American actress.
Early life
Bathe's mother is Clare Bathé, an actress and singer who was a member of the late 1970s funk/disco/rock group Machine. She grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. She gra ...
.
In 2015 WordTheatre expanded the WTIS program internationally to also include under-resourced schools in the United Kingdom.
WORDTheatre is also known for their benefit work, curating and performing original themed productions for charities such as
Autism Speaks,
NARSAD
The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that funds mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It like ...
, the
One Billion Rising
One Billion Rising is a global campaign, founded by Eve Ensler, to end rape and sexual violence against women. It was started in 2012 as part of the V-Day movement. The "billion" refers to the UN statistic that one in three women will be raped ...
movement dedicated to ending rape and violence against women, Anaphylaxis and The Parkinsons Appeal for Parkinsons disease in the UK.
WORDTheatre began staging bi-annual benefits for the
Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...
, honoring literary excellence, in East Hampton, New York, in 2006.
References
{{Reflist
External links
WordTheatre®
2003 establishments in California
Non-profit organizations based in Los Angeles
Performing groups established in 2003
Theatre companies in Los Angeles