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Selected Shorts is a live theatrical experience featuring guest actors reading stories selected specifically for each memorable event. The three to four stories are mostly fiction, sometimes classic, sometimes new, and are always read by great actors from stage, screen, and television. Selected Shorts began in 1985 and has enjoyed sold-out performances throughout its history. Produced by Symphony Space in New York City, the stories presented live at Selected Shorts are often featured on the hit public radio show and podcast, which reaches hundreds of thousands of listeners on over 130 stations and streaming services each week.
Jessica Hecht is known for her acclaimed work in television, film, and theater. Recent credits include recurring roles on Tokyo Vice, Super Pumped, and Succession, as well as the Netflix series Special, for which she received an Emmy nomination. She is also beloved for her memorable television roles on Friends and Breaking Bad, and her film work includes appearances in The Single Man, Dan in Real Life, and The Forgotten. On stage, she has earned acclaim for Broadway productions such as A View from the Bridge (Tony Award nomination), Fiddler on the Roof, The Price, and The Assembled Parties. A versatile and deeply empathetic performer, Jessica has built a career marked by both range and depth. Beyond her artistic achievements, she is the founder of The Campfire Project, an initiative that brings arts-based wellness programs to refugee communities around the world.
Santino Fontana received the Tony Award, two Drama Desks, an Outer Critics Circle, a Lortel, an Obie, and the Clarence Derwent Award for his work in both plays and musicals. He was most recently seen on Broadway in his virtuosic Tony-winning turn as Michael Dorsey in Tootsie. The New York Times wrote, “Santino Fontana [is] one of the most promising actors to emerge in the New York theater.” New York Magazine heralded him as an “indispensable stage star.” He’s been in 10 Broadway shows. Additionally, he is widely known for lending his voice to the villainous Prince Hans in Disney’s Academy Award–winning animated feature Frozen. On television, Fontana was recently seen on Ryan Murphy’s Grotesquerie, and the Emmy-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He starred on CW’s comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as fan favorite Greg and NBC’s drama Shades of Blue, opposite Jennifer Lopez, simultaneously.
Cindy Cheung most recently appeared onstage as the diner owner Grace in William Inge’s Bus Stop at Classic Stage Company with Transport Group and NAATCO. Her additional theater credits include The Antiquities and Catch As Catch Can at Playwrights Horizons, Coach Coach with Clubbed Thumb, Merry Me at the New York Theatre Workshop, and Golden Shield with the Manhattan Theater Club. Cheung’s screen credits include the forthcoming American Classic, Dying for Sex, The Sinner, The Flight Attendant, Billions, Thirteen Reasons Why, High Maintenance, Mistress America, Obvious Child, and Lady in the Water. Cheung was a 14-year steering committee member of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC), which received a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre and an Obie Award Special Citation for Advocacy in the Field of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. She has an MFA from A.C.T. and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from UCLA. Next up is Alex Lin’s LAOWANG at Primary Stages, directed by Joshua Brody.
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