WordTheatre

WordTheatre was founded in 2003 by Artistic Director Cedering Fox—director, producer and voiceover artist heard from 2013-2015 as "the voice of the Oscars."[1] Fox has also been the on-air announcer for The People's Choice Awards, The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and The Democratic National Convention. She is the daughter of the Swedish-American, award-winning poet, writer and artist Siv Cedering and mathematician and businessman David Fox.

In 1989, Fox was asked to partner with Darrell Larson on "The Great Writers Series: Literary Evenings at The Met" in Los Angeles. The series, which ran for three years and was broadcast weekly on NPR’s KCRW, featured authors such as Sam Shepard, Peter Matthiessen and James Ellroy and actors such as Ed Harris, Holly Hunter and Bill Pullman. Following the series, KCRW hired Fox to direct 7 1/2 hours of Isak Dinesen stories, performed by an all-star cast and scored by composer Jonathan Sacks.

Realizing her passion for the form after partnering on several other literary salons, Fox launched WordTheatre in 2003 at the Canal Club in Venice, California.[2] Later that year, WordTheatre debuted in London[3] under producer Kirsty Peart, herself a writer of animation for film and television.[4] In 2006, WordTheatre expanded to New York.

In the U.K., WordTheatre cast and directed the actors reading the six shortlisted stories for the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, also known as "the world’s richest short story prize."[5][6][7][8][9] WordTheatre also headlined the Literary Arena at the Latitude Festival for seven consecutive years[10][11] and, in 2013, debuted "In the Cosmos" at the Wilderness Festival,[12] featuring a 44-piece orchestra and the "Most Dynamic And Extravagant Act"[12] according to MTV. In 2017, WordTheatre restaged "In the Cosmos" at the Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.[13]

WordTheatre has worked with authors such as Joyce Carol Oates, Brian Doyle, TC Boyle, Richard Bausch, John Edgar Wideman, Pamela Painter, Percival Everett and Anthony Doerr. A full list of participating authors is below.

WordTheatre performances have featured actors such as Amanda Seyfried, Carla Gugino, James Franco, Gemma Chan, Dennis Haysbert and Sarah Paulson. A full list of participating actors is below.

WordTheatre has performed in venues across the globe, including the Royal Festival Hall[14] and Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre, the St James Theatre,[15][16] The Arts Club[17][18][19] in London and Chatsworth House[20] in Derbyshire; Soho House West Hollywood,[21] The Geffen Playhouse,[22] The Broad,[23] the Grammy Museum,[24] the Microsoft Lounge[25] and the Ford Amphitheatre [26][27] in Los Angeles; and Soho House New York,[3] the East Hamptons Guild Hall[28] and NeueHouse[29] in New York.

Each year, WordTheatre hosts a Writers' Workshop & Retreat in Edale, England.[25][30] Morning workshops and evening salons are led by authors spanning several genres—short story, travel writing, children's books and novelists—as well as agents, publishers, journalists and more. Previous workshop leaders include:

• Ron Carlson (2011)
• Dan Chaon (2012)
• David Means (2013)
• Andre Dubus III[31] (2014)
• Richard Bausch (2015)
• Pamela Painter (2016, 2017)
• Margaret McMullan (2018)
• Peter Orner (2019)

WordTheatre began its own outreach program, WordTheatre in the Schools (WITS), in 2011.[32][33] WITS serves Los Angeles Title 1 Schools, where English is commonly the second language and 40-90% of students live at or below the poverty line.[34] Many of the same actors and authors who perform at WordTheatre’s main events volunteer their time to participate in WITS as well.[35][36] By connecting under-resourced youth with curriculum-relevant literature, WITS educates and connects communities in and out of the classroom.

"WordTheatre brings contemporary literature to a market that would have never found it otherwise. These kids are not given gift subscriptions to The New Yorker at their quinceaneras. This helps to supplement their education.”[35] —Actor Bruce Vilanch

In 2015, WordTheatre expanded WITS internationally to include under-resourced schools in the U.K.[37]

In addition to WITS, WordTheatre is known for its benefit work with charities such as Autism Speaks,[38] NARSAD,[39] the One Billion Rising movement dedicated to ending rape and violence against women,[40] Anaphylaxis[41] and The Parkinsons Appeal[42] in the UK.[43] WordTheatre also stages annual benefits for the Pushcart Prize, honoring today's literary excellence.[44][28]

• WordTheatre
• Interview with Broadway World Los Angeles
• LA Times: "Stars reading about our stars: Sterling K. Brown, Darren Chris and others to perform 'In the Cosmos'"
• LA Times: "Cedering Fox's WordTheatre gives voice to authors' works"
• LA Times: "Cedering Fox knows the power of speaking the written word"
• New York Times: "All Around Town, Stories Well Told"