- This event has passed.
Word for Word Presents: “EXACTLY!” THEY SAID… A Festival of Short Stories by California Writers Brought Straight to the Stage
November 1, 2019 @ 7:00 pm - November 7, 2019 @ 9:00 pm PDT
Word for Word Presents:
“EXACTLY!” THEY SAID…
A Festival of Short Stories by California Writers Brought Straight to the Stage
SUBMISSIONS NOW CLOSED
November 1-7
Having transformed short stories verbatim to the stage for the past 25 years, Word for Word now wants to extend this singular experience to writers throughout California. The selected short stories reflect many points of view, from a rich diversity of California’s writers. Festival activities will include a writers salon featuring Greg Sarris (Grand Avenue, Watermelon Nights, How A Mountain was Made) and Amy Tan (“The Bonesetter’s Daughter”, “The Joy Luck Club”) and other activities. The festival will culminate in staged readings of five jury selected short stories by adults and six jury selected stories by teens, performed in Word for Word’s signature Off the Page style.
Click Here to see a full list of winners, including picture and bios.
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Launch of the Festival Of Short Stories
with Greg Sarris and Amy Tan
Friday November 1, 7 PM
Jewish Community High School of the Bay, 1835 Ellis St., San Francisco 94115
Kick of the festival with a writer’s Salon with two of Word for Word’s favorite authors, Greg Sarris and Amy Tan! These two luminaries will speak about the nature of the short story and their experiences with having Word for Word bring their works to the stage.
Word for Word will revisit snippets the companies past productions of “Citizen” (Sarris) and “Immortal Heart” (Tan).
“I am so in love with Word for Word and what they do. I come from a community who generally does not read. After my American Indian community had seen Slaughterhouse, they were inspired to read.”
–Greg Sarris
Greg Sarris is a Native American author whose books include Grand Avenue and Watermelon Nights.
“Word for Word is a marvel. While respecting the author’s every word, the company also manages to create something completely new, going well beyond the page into an art that has no words. I was completely bowled over by the acting, the stage, the costumes, the choreography—the sheer power of the experience of watching words come to life.”
–Amy Tan
Amy Tan is the celebrated author of The Joy Luck Club, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning, and other novels.
Adult Winners – Program #1
Featuring “Arithmetic” by Michael Alenyikov, “The 14 Mission” by Anita Cabrera”, “The Ruins” by Lindsey Crittenden
Saturday, November 2, 8 PM – Z Below, 470 Florida St, San Francisco 94110
This program features staged readings of our jury selected winners.
Adult Winners – Program #2
Featuring “Blue Ruin” by Katherine Lieban, “Cancer Poems” by Kim Addonizio
Sunday, November 3, 5 PM – Z Below, 470 Florida St, San Francisco 94110
This program features staged readings of our jury selected winners.
Teen Winners
Featuring”Middle School Advice” by Kenzo Fukuda, “Atop the Saltback Mountain” by Tess Horton, “Here’s a Theory Darling” by Sofi Orkin, “The Magnolia Man” by Stella Pfahler, “Matter of the Heart and Mind” by Charlotte Pocock and “Cancer” by Maya Reihanian
Thursday, November 7, 7:30 PM – Children’s Creativity Museum at Yerba Buena Gardens
This program features staged readings from our teen category. Come out and revel at our next generation of writers!
Stand with the bear! Be a literary champion and support California writers by sponsoring or partnering with “Exactly!” They Said…
Sponsorship / Partner benefits available.
Contact Vanessa Flores at vflores@zspace.org or at 415. 659.8134 to learn more.