ACTORS & ARTISTS
Ryan Boudinot is the author of the novels Misconception, which was shortlisted for the PEN USA Literary Award, Blueprints of the Afterlife, which was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, and Murders and Hallucinations; the short story collections The Littlest Hitler and The Octopus Rises; the essay collection The Shape of Reality to Come; and the memoir Some Dude’s Life. Boudinot is the editor of the essay anthology Seattle, City of Literature.
Tony Hale is a two-time Emmy winner for his work on Veep. He is also known for his roles on Arrested Development, Chuck, Ctrl, Drunk History, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Archibald’s Next Big Thing. Additional film credits include Happythankyoumoreplease; The Heat; American Ultra; Love, Simon; To the Stars; Toy Story 4; and Nine Days. He will appear in the forthcoming films What Josiah Saw, Eat Wheaties, and Blind Psychosis.
Miranda July is the author of the short story collection No One Belongs Here More Than You, winner of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, the nonfiction collection It Chooses You, and the novel The First Bad Man. Her fiction has appeared in The Paris Review, Harper’s, and The New Yorker. July directed and starred in the films The Future and Me and You and Everyone We Know, which won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Her next film, Kajillionaire, is forthcoming. July’s videos, performances, web-based projects, and sculptures have been presented at MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Whitney Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
Jane Kaczmarek is best known for her role as Lois on Malcolm in the Middle, for which she received 7 consecutive Emmy nominations as well as nominations for the Golden Globe and SAG Awards. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Yale School of Drama, Kaczmarek made her television debut on The Paper Chase and Hill Street Blues and most recently can be seen on The Big Bang Theory, This Is Us, Carol's Second Act, and Mixed-ish. In New York, Kaczmarek has appeared on Broadway and off at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage, the Public Theatre, New York Theater Workshop, and 6 seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her recent theater credits include in Long Day's Journey Into Night, Our Town with Deaf West Theatre, and The Year to Come at La Jolla Playhouse. Kaczmarek’s favorite job is raising her three kids and reading/hosting Selected Shorts across America.
Justin Kirk is best known for his recurring roles on the television shows Weeds and Jack & Jill and the miniseries Angels in America. Additional film and television credits include Modern Family, The Blacklist, Wayward Pines, You’re the Worst, APB, Molly’s Game, Vice, and Kidding. He has appeared on Broadway in Any Given Day, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Other Desert Cities, and at the Geffen Playhouse in Old Wicked Songs. Kirk will appear in the forthcoming films Hollywood Fringe and Under the Bridge and the forthcoming television series Perry Mason.
Parker Posey has appeared in many independent films, including Broken English, Price Check, Party Girl, The House of Yes, Fay Grimm, Clockwatchers, and Columbus. Most people know her from Christopher Guest movies such as Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. She’s done a few Hollywood movies like Superman Returns, Blade: Trinity, and Josie and the Pussycats. Her first book, You’re on an Airplane, became a national bestseller. Currently, you can see her in the reboot of Lost in Space on Netflix and hear her in Dick Wolf’s podcast Hunted. Posey is very excited to appear in the forthcoming The Matrix 4.
Susan Sontag (1933 - 2004) was an American literary theorist, political activist, filmmaker, philosopher, and professor. She authored the novels The Benefactor, Death Kit, The Volcano Lover, and In America. Her short story “The Way We Live Now” remains a definitive text on the AIDS epidemic. Known for her experimental narrative and groundbreaking perspectives, Sontag’s essays on the intersections of high and low art, specifically “On Photography” and “Notes on Camp,” continue to inspire new approaches to modern American society. She is the subject of the 2014 documentary Regarding Susan Sontag, which received the Special Jury Mention for Best Documentary Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival.
