Z Space

March 13 - When Women Speak: An Inspiration of Voices from Herstory

Directed by Delia MacDougall
Word for Word's Off the Page presents an inspiration of well loved speeches by women past and present interpreted by Bay Area actors, including Margaret Sanger, Bella Abzug, Barbara Jordan, and others, interpreted by Bay Area actors.

March 20 - “Here it is Saturday” and “Emergency Room Notebook, 1977” by Lucia Berlin

Directed by Nancy Shelby (Here It Is Saturday) and JoAnne Winter (Emergency Room Notebook, 1977)
We continue our exploration of this fascinating writer's work with two stories - one that takes place in a prison writing class, the other in an emergency room - and both are filled with Berlin's usual style, wit and compassion.

June 19 - "The Girls” and “The Lover” - by Joy Williams

Produced by Word for Word's Associate Artist Group
Directed by Becca Wolff 
In this installment we are featuring two stories by Joy Williams: "The Girls" (from Best American Short Stories 2005), "a story in which evil reigns, front and center", plus "The Lover." "Williams is...the heir to Flannery O'Connor"—Atlantic Monthly

August 14 - “The Night in Question” and “Deep Kiss” by Tobias Wolff

Directed by Joel Mullennix 
In preparation for our 25th Anniversary in 2018 we're bringing back one of our favorite writers!

July 31 - “Back of Beyond” by Ron Rash

Directed by Joel Mullennix
From the Southern Appalachian short story collection Burning Bright, this story is a portrait of rural desperation, a place beyond traditional America, and a window on a world which has shaped our present. Post-show discussion with Dr. Phillip Coffin of the SF Department of Human Services on substance abuse. 

October 9 & 10 - “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” by Joan Didion

Directed by Delia MacDougall
A collaboration with Litquake, San Francisco Arts Commission and MUNI
This is a 50th anniversary celebration of Joan Didion's seminal essay on the Summer of Love. In addition to our reading, Deborah Aschheim, Kate Haug and Sarah Hotchkiss, commissioned Artists for the San Francisco Arts Commission’s 2017 Art on Market Street Kiosk Poster Series, present their work on the Summer of Love's history and cultural zeitgeist. 

November 2 - “Home” and “Victory Lap” by George Saunders

Directed by Sheila Balter (Home) and Delia MacDougall (Victory Lap)
“The best short-story writer in English – not ‘one of,’ not ‘arguably,’ but the best.”
—Time Magazine (writer Mary Karr)
George Saunders is Winner of the 2017 Man Booker Prize.

April 13 - “The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson” by Alan Bennett

Directed by Amy Kossow

May 16 - “The Gay Old Dog” by Edna Ferber

Directed by Molly Benson, member Associate Artists Group
Anthologized in 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories, Edna Ferber is a Pulitzer Prize winner, an Algonquin Round Table member, a playwright and a screenwriter.

June 13th - "Your Friend Always" by Joyce Maynard

Directed by Jill MacLean, member Associate Artist Group
Performed at Chapel of the Chimes
Sponsored by Oakland Public Library and Friends of the Piedmont and Rockridge branches

Published in Vogue Magazine, February 2007

June 22 - “Unmanageable” “Step” & “502” by Lucia Berlin

Directed by JoAnne Winter (Unmanageable and Step) and Nancy Shelby (502)
From A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories.

July 25 - Stories from I Want to Show You More by Jamie Quatro

Directed by Amy Kossow
Including the stories “Caught Up”, “What Friends Talk About”, “Imperfections”, “You Look Like Jesus”, and “Relatives of God.”  “There’s so much in these stories that’s shocking, yet there’s so much solace.”—NY Times.

August 22 - “Hat Trick” by Edith Pearlman

Directed by Susan Harloe 
"Honeydew should cement [Pearlman’s] reputation as one of the most essential short story visionaries of our time”—New York Times

September 13 - "The Revolutionaries Try Again" by Mauro Javier Cardenas

Directed by Word for Word Associate Artist Gendell Hernandez
The Book Launch of The Revolutionaries Try Again by Mauro Javier Cardenas during Green Apple on the Park. “...an unhinged novel about three childhood friends contemplating a presidential run against the crooked Ecuadorian president Abdalá "El Loco" Bucaram. This is double-black-diamond high modernism, so do some warm-up stretches before you crack this baby.” —Shelf Awareness

September 19 - “Hard Times” and “Burning Bright” by Ron Rash

Directed by Amy Kossow
This installment is from the author’s collection Burning Bright. Winner of the 2010 Frank O’Connor award—-”the world’s richest prize for the short story form.”

October 10 - Selections from The Woman Warrior and China Men by Maxine Hong Kingston

Directed by Eugenie Chan
Part of the 2016 Litquake Festival
Word for Word stages excerpts from Litquake Barbary Coast Award honoree Maxine Hong Kingston's books The Woman Warrior and China Men. Audience conversation with director Eugenie Chan following performance.

December 16 - SCOTUS Theater Live - "You Should Have the Body"

Directed by Becca Wolff
Reading of arguments in the case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. SCOTUS Theater is a Bay Area based organization that brings together communities of artists, activists and concerned individuals to hear and consider Supreme Court cases for ourselves, with Co-Artistic Directors Lisa Stern and Becca Wolff.