Event
Information
Selected Shorts returns to the Stissing Center for an afternoon of funny and poignant tales about the people who live just beyond the next door. Acclaimed actors including Jane Curtin (Saturday Night Live, 3rd Rock From the Sun) and Michael Ian Black (Wet Hot American Summer, Have I Got News for You), who will also serve as host, bring to life short fiction that celebrates the unexpected bonds, everyday tensions, and quiet acts of connection that shape our communities.
Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy.
Bios
Michael Ian Black is known for such seminal television programs as The State, Stella, and Michael and Michael Have Issues, all of which he co-created, wrote, and starred in. In addition to performing stand-up across the country, Black has appeared in many films and television shows, including Superman, Ed, Wet Hot American Summer, Burning Love, They Came Together, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Inside Amy Schumer, VH1’s I Love the '80s,The Good Fight, Another Period, Insatiable, Reno 911!, and Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later. Black currently hosts the podcast Obscure. He has written best-selling books for both children and adults, including A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son, published in 2020. He can currently be seen on the satirical news quiz show Have I Got News for You on CNN.
Jane Curtin has appeared on Broadway in Noises Off, Candida, and Our Town. Her off-Broadway work includes Love Letters and the musical revue Pretzels, which she co-wrote. She starred in the television series 3rd Rock from the Sun and won back-to-back Emmy Awards for her role on Kate & Allie. She is an original cast member of Saturday Night Live and also starred in the television film series The Librarian and its spin-off, The Librarians. Her film credits include Coneheads; Antz; I Love You, Man; I Don’t Know How She Does It; The Heat; The Spy Who Dumped Me; Can You Ever Forgive Me?; Ode to Joy; Godmothered; Queen Bees; and Jules, opposite Sir Ben Kingsley. She starred on the television series Unforgettable and has had guest appearances on The Good Wife, 48 Hours ’til Monday, The Good Fight, Broad City, United We Fall, and Bupkis. Curtin can currently be seen on the Netflix mini-series The Residence.
Over thirty-five years ago, Selected Shorts was born on the stage at Symphony Space and quickly became one of the best known shows of its kind spawning a popular public radio show, podcast, audio collections, and national tours. The series was conceived with a simple premise: take great stories by well-known and emerging writers and have them brought to life by terrific actors of stage and screen. Whether featuring stories around a lively theme, the favorite works of a guest author, or a special collaboration, each Selected Shorts event is a unique night of literature in performance.
The public radio show and popular podcast is recorded live from performances at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space in New York, as well as around the US on tours. Selected Shorts began in 1985 and still enjoys sell-out audiences today during its season on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. As one of the premiere reading series in New York City, the show attracts some of the biggest names in entertainment.
In Banning Hall
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