Word For Word Opens Corona Radio Theater

NPR Affiliate KALW-FM 91.7 FM launches Corona Radio Theater on its Open Air Program with Theater Company Word for Word's Reading - on Zoom - of Tobias Wolff's Story "Firelight" airing Thursday April 30 1 PM.

Open Air is KALW's live radio magazine for the Bay Area Performing Arts in Times of Corona hosted by actor/musician David Latulippe. Word for Word is renowned for bringing short stories from the page to the stage, fully theatricalized; Word for Word premiered Firelight in 2008 with several of the original cast members part of this Corona Radio Theater production. This week's performers are Molly Benson, Paul Finocchiaro, Stephanie Hunt, Anthony Nemirovsky, and JoAnne Winter. Director is Joel Mullennix. Live at 91.7FM  and https://www.kalw.org

Tobias Wolff is one of Word for Word's favorite writers: the company performed his short stories as early as 2002; and most recently in 2018 at the company's 25th Anniversary show. Set in the Pacific Northwest, where Wolff grew up, Firelight is about a young boy and his single mother who are spending the afternoon viewing apartments on a chilly day in Seattle, Washington.

Tobias Wolff is by many considered a master of the short story. In his writing he shows a sharp-edged sense of humor and a moral awareness that illustrate the foibles of humanity. His work, both autobiographical and fictional, deals with moral dilemmas. Word for Word shares with Wolff a belief in "the exuberant unencumbered power of short stories to clarify our sense of reality."

Also on Open Air this week regular contributor and critic at large Peter Robinson explores how My Fair Lady turned Shaw's Pygmalion into a fine musical. Hear some great tunes and sing along to Wouldn't It Be Loverly. Open Air's Corona Radio Theater continues with SF Playhouse on May 7 and The Marsh Presents on May 14.

Tobias Wolff is an American short story writer, memoirist, and novelist. He received BA in English Language and Literature at Oxford University, an MA at Oxon, and an MA at Stanford University. He is known for his short stories and his memoirs , particularly This Boy's Life: A Memoir (1989, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award) and In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War (1994). Other works include The Barracks Thief (PEN/Faulkner Award), Back in the World, In the Garden of the North American Martyrs, The Night In Question, Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories (The Story Prize), and Old School. His work has been anthologized in many, many collections, and published in The New Yorker, among other magazines. Other awards include the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction, the Stone Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement, The Whiting Award for Fiction and Nonfiction, the Rea Award for Excellence in the Short Story. In 2015, Tobias Wolff received a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama.

WORD FOR WORD Performing Arts Company, a program of Z SPACE, is an ensemble whose mission is to tell great stories with elegant theatricality, staging performances of classic and contemporary fiction. Founded in 1993 by Susan Harloe and JoAnne Winter, Word for Word believes in the power of the short story to provide solace, compassion, and insight into our daily lives.

In order to support Word for Word and their actors, please visit Word for Word's website www.zspace.org, and look for the donate button. Word for Word is a program of Z Space.

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