In this bonus conversation, host Meg Wolitzer talks to comedian and writer Michael Ian Black about what he’s been reading and the tricky business of being funny. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage

Host Meg Wolitzer Talks to  Comedian Michael Ian Black

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. New episodes every Thursday, from Symphony Space.

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Fiction

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works featuring birds, curated by writer and bird aficionado Amy Tan.  Ben Loory’s “The Frog and the Bird,” is a twist the traditional fable genre; it’s performed by Mike Doyle.  Teenagers are transformed in “Town of Birds,” by Heather Monley, performed by Yetide Badaki; and an avian love song goes viral in Mikkel Rosengaard’s “The Mating Call,” performed by BD Wong.  Tan comments on the program’s theme and the stories and the actors provide backstage commentary.

Taking Flight with Amy Tan

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works about losing something, but finding something revealing to take its place.  In “Light,” by Lesley Nkeka Arimah, parents differ about how to raise a strong-willed daughter.  The reader is Crystal Dickinson.  And in Taryn Bowe’s “Camp Emeline,” performed by Edie Falco, a family struggles after a loss, but grief leads to self-discovery for the determined narrator. This lovely work also introduces Selected Shorts' first-ever on-air book club.  Wolitzer joins a lively mother/daughter group to talk about Bowe’s work and how they related to it.

Lost and Found

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works that contemplate a way out—of our lives, and even of this world.  In Joe Meno’s “Books You Read,” performed by Joan Allen, a young boy helps his jaded teacher to love reading again.  J. Robert Lennon takes us into deep space and a conversation between a computer and a survivor in “Escape Pod W41,” performed by Stephen Lang.  A composition created by Lakecia Benjamin in response to the story, and performed by Junie Mojica, is also featured.  And marriage, and a friendship, are tested in Jac Jemc’s “Infidelity,” performed by Kathleen Chalfont.  All three stories were commissioned for SELECTED SHORTS’ anthology Small Odysseys.

Great Escapes

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works from an evening with author and New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast, inspired by Chast’s new book I Must be Dreaming. “The Wife on Ambien,” by Ed Park, is a sort of late-night fever dream. It’s read by John Fugelsang. In Tessa Hadley’s “Bad Dreams,” images that begin in books envelop a family in real life. The reader is Rita Wolf. Tom Barbash’s “Stay Up With Me” charts the rocky path of an old love affair. It’s read by Jason Ralph. And throughout the episode, Chast describes her cartoons based on her own weird and hilarious dreams.

Roz Chast: While you were Sleeping

Showing a lot of affection for the movies that are its source material, actor Ryan O'Connell performs Tim Jones-Yelvington's satirical story, "This Is a Dance Movie."

Host Meg Wolitzer Talks to Comedian Michael Ian Black

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