Guest host Jane Kaczmarek presents two stories about characters who are a little larger than life. First, the story that inspired the Hollywood classic All About Eve. Mary Orr’s “The Wisdom of Eve” was first published in Cosmopolitan in 1946. It depicts the rise to stardom of an ambitious ingénue and her effect on the lives of the people who surround her. Writer and actor Sarah Thyre picked this story for a SELECTED SHORTS evening at The Getty Center in Los Angeles, and praises its finely drawn characters. The story is performed by Stana Katic.
Our second story, “The Leap,” by American master Louise Erdrich, is a mother-daughter tale with an unusual premise: the mother is former trapeze artist whose career was cut short by tragedy. When another disaster looms, she quite literally rises to the occasion. This story, also read at The Getty Center, is introduced by novelist Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. It’s performed by Elizabeth Reaser.
Artists and Writers:
Louise Erdrich is the author of a memoir, three books of poetry, and more than a dozen works of fiction, including the short story collection The Red Convertible and the award-winning novels Love Medicine, The Plague of Doves, The Round House, LaRose, and most recently, Future Home of the Living God.
Jane Kaczmarek is best known for her role as Lois on Malcolm in the Middle, for which she received 7 consecutive Emmy nominations. A graduate of U. Wisconsin and Yale School of Drama, she debuted in The Paper Chase and Hill Street Blues. Recent television credits include This Is Us and in Netflix's 6 Balloons. Recent theater credits include Long Day's Journey Into Night, Our Town with Deaf West Theatre, and Tell Me I’m Not Crazy at the Williamstown Theatre Festival 2019.
Stana Katic stars in the new TV series Absentia, produced by Sony Pictures Television and available on Amazon Prime. For 8 seasons, she starred as Kate Beckett on ABC’s hit series Castle. Her feature film work includes: CBGB, about the Punk Rock club in NYC, Big Sur based on the Jack Kerouac novel, Frank Miller's film The Spirit, Robert Benton's Feast of Love, The Double with Richard Gere, and Bond installment Quantum of Solace with Daniel Craig. She made her off-Broadway debut in 2016 in White Rabbit Red Rabbit.
Mary Orr (1910 - 2006) was an actress and author, best known for her short story “The Wisdom of Eve,” which was adapted into the Academy Award-winning film All About Eve. She frequently collaborated with her husband, Reginald Denham, and wrote five books and forty television scripts. She and Denham also collaborated on the plays Wallflower, Round Trip, Dark Hammock, and Be Your Age.
Elizabeth Reaser’s film and television credits include Sweet Land, Grey’s Anatomy, The Twilight Saga, The Ex List, The Good Wife, Bonnie & Clyde, Mad Men, Manhunt: Unabomber, Law & Order True Crime, The Haunting of Hill House, and most recently Embattled. She has also been featured off-Broadway, most recently in The Babylon Line at the Lincoln Center Theater. She will appear in the upcoming season of The Handmaid’s Tale.
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Nest, which is currently being adapted for film. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times, Electric Literature, The Millions, and Martha Stewart Living.
Sarah Thyre is an actor who has appeared on Strangers with Candy and All Hail King Julien. She is the author of Dark at the Roots: A Memoir, as well as creator and host of the Crybabies podcast. She is a reproductive rights activist who lives in Los Angeles with her two children, Will and Mercy.
