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Each week, WORDTheatre shares a brilliant short story performed live in LA, NY or London by a great actor. Like what you hear? Visit WORDTheatre.org/Membership/ to enjoy live events and recordings by becoming a Patron or Enthusiast Member! WORDTheatre® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the US and a Dual Charitable Trust in the UK. We are on a mission to make a better world one story at a time.
CEDERING FOX
Hello and welcome to WORDTheatre Weekly! I’m your host, Cedering Fox, WORDTheatre's Founder & Artistic Director.
It's summer and we’re changing things up for the next seven weeks with our new series of Staff picks. Each week you'll meet a member of the team, hear one of their favorite stories and then their interview with the story's author. For the record, WORDTheatre holds the copyright to these recordings so no portion of anything you hear may be reproduced without permission. Also, these stories cannot be transcribed as there are underlying rights issues and that would be in violation of copyright law. In advance, I would like to say thank you to Philanthropist and Benefactor, Ola Strøm and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture for their ongoing support of this podcast, to Jonathan Sacks for composing our theme music, to all our interns and to you our listeners. Now, take it away team!
Olivia Greene
Hey! I’m Olivia Greene, WORDTheatre’s current Professional Development Intern and a recent graduate of Occidental College here in Los Angeles. I’m super excited to be joined by Marisa Silver in a few moments, to discuss her story “Tiny, Meaningless Things.” This story is a peek into the mind of a woman named Evelyn, who contemplates the death of her husband and her complicated relationship with her two adult daughters, and the impact one person can have on another as she tries to go about her daily household tasks. Marisa’s story is a masterclass in structure and chronology, as she intricately weaves a lifetime of memories into a narrative which, on its surface, seems to follow a simple days-of-the-week order. What I love most about it is Marisa’s characterization of an older woman and her innermost thoughts. Each day of the week is defined by a specific household chore, emphasizing how the unpaid and underappreciated labor expected of women practically dictates Evelyn’s life. Additionally, Evelyn frequently contemplates who or what she exists “for,” and I found this to beckon the very haunting question of a woman’s role beyond being a wife or mother. I just really love all stories about women, as broad as it may sound, and I think Marisa created such a heartbreaking and relatable internal monologue. This work is really inspiring to me as a writer and to the stories I want to tell and the women characters I want to create. Listen to it performed by the amazing Amy Aquino, who really captures the essence of the character in her pacing and her subtle expressions. Here is Amy Aquino reading "Tiny, Meaningless Things" by Marissa Silver
Interview
Cedering Fox
Special thanks to Ola Strom for his support, to the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture for their continuing support, to Jonathan Sacks for composing our theme music, to all our summer interns, to Jason Lee, our podcast editor, and to you, our listeners. We hope you will tell your friends about WORDTheatre Weekly.
This is Cedering Fox in Los Angeles. Until next week, signing off.