Selected Shorts: a National Public Radio storytelling show, will bring its live tour to Stissing Center on Sunday, April 12.
The weekly show is produced by Symphony Space In New York City, where performers read works from classic and contemporary literature. Actress and comedian Jane Curtin, an original cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” has been performing with Selected Shorts for many years. “There’s this wonderful thing that happens when you read a story to someone who wants to be read to,” she said “It is a connection that you have.”
Actress and director Joanna Gleason, who will also be performing this Sunday, said, “The fact that an audience will come just to be read to is so thrilling and touching to me.”
Gleason, who has been performing with Selected Shorts for around 40 years, said she is excited to come to Pine Plains, “Everybody wants culture, the arts, something great to listen to. I think everybody can relate on some level to every one of these stories.”
The cast also includes actress Deborah S. Craig, who created the first Korean-American character on Broadway, and Michael Emerson, who won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in “Lost.”
The theme is community, according to Patrick Trettenero, executive director of the Stissing Center. The cast will be performing short fiction pieces that celebrate the unexpected bonds, everyday tensions, and quiet acts of connection that shape our communities.
“Storytelling is especially important right now,” said Trettenero. “Ideally, people will walk out of the show feeling a sense of community.”
Limited tickets for the 3 p.m. live show are available for purchase at Stissing Center. Pine Plains and surrounding listeners can tune in to hear “Selected Shorts” on WAMC at 11 a.m. every Sunday.