WORDTheatre: Short Story Specialists

In Margaret McMullan’s brilliant holiday story The Swing, we see how Christmas can bring people together. How the importance and magic of the holidays doesn’t go away as we get older, only changes into something more real, bittersweet, and stronger. The Swing is the story of a community as well, and how a person fits into it. Brought to life by the talented Gregg Henry, step into The Swing by Margaret McMullan on this week’s episode of the WordTheatre Podcast.

In this installment of WordTheatre’s Flash Friday series, experience Tobias Wolff’s masterpiece Bullet in the Brain. A short yet sweeping story, Wolff uses a violent bank robbery to capture an entire life, and the surprisingly beautiful moments we remember. David Soul’s animated performance brings to life every comic and moving moment this wonderful story has to offer.

Ominous and surprisingly heartwarming, Joyce Carol Oates’ Thanksgiving is the perfect story for this time of year. Though it borders on the grotesque, in the end Oates’ shows us the beautiful dedication of families, and the moments we begin to grow out of them. Given life by the wonderful Julianna Margulies, step into Thanksgiving with WORDTheatre.

––– written by Blake Hammond

To honor the 30th Anniversary of Jane Smiley’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel A Thousand Acres, WORDTheatre presents Smiley’s brilliant but little known story "The Life of the Body" performed by Amy Brenneman. Profluent and gripping, Smiley explores the effects of loss and lies on a life and marriage, and the ways we try to move forward. Dark and moving, Smiley’s story fills with hope by the end. Step into "The Life of the Body", with WORDTheatre. Then, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Jane's novel, "A Thousand Acres". Please support us by signing up on our website at WORDTheatre.org, by writing us a review, and by sharing this link with friends! Our Live Author/Actor Events are available free to Contributing WORDTheatre Members every month!

––– written by Blake Hammond

How to Tell a True War Story is so much more than a war story. It is so much more than a story,

it feels like an epiphany. Tim O’Brien explores the thin line between fact and fiction, and on that line

uncovers the truth of how people deal with their past. How they share it with other people, and how by

sharing it, it can change and ring true on new levels. Masterfully performed by Jon Huertas of This is Us,

step into Tim O’Brien’s How to Tell a True War Story with WORDTheatre.

In Instructions for a Funeral, David Means cleverly writes about a life in organized crime. Amidst failed

real estate ventures and murders, is a father’s attempt to connect with his son and his own insecurities.

At the root of it all is a comic paranoia and genuine humanity. Effortlessly creative in it’s sweep and

character, step into Instructions for a Funeral with WORDTheatre.

This episode features Juliet Stevenson performing "The Family Whistle" by Gerard Woodward, recorded live in London. This story, which is set in Germany just after WW II, was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Short Story Award, the richest prize in the world for a single short story. Please share this link with friends and become a contributing Member for free access to our Live Author/Actor Streamed Events every month!

When a hydrologist is sent to Southern Utah to test the natural water sources, he needs to pass through a woman’s land. Experiencing prejudice and violence, he seeks the help of the local police. Percival Everett's 'Alluvial Deposits' delves into the entrenched racism of modern America, from the seemingly harmless to the outright malicious. Sterling K. Brown of This is Us inhabits this beautifully. You are invited to step into Alluvial Deposits with WORDTheatre.

In this week’s episode of the WORDTheatre Short Story Podcast, stories by Simon Van Booy are performed by Ian Hart and Jon Tenney. In both stories, Van Booy digs into the history of families, into their breaking and rebuilding. His stories 'Distant Ships' and 'Save as Many as You Ruin', showcase the power of these sweeping histories, captured in the smallest details.