Actress and Storyteller Annie Korzen Will Share Stories of Life Before and After TikTok with The Braid

TikTok, the popular social media platform that usually showcases "young girls shaking their booties" and trendy makeup tips, has a new and very unlikely superstar: 82-year-old Seinfeld actress Annie Korzen. And on Sunday, November 14, she's coming to The Braid to share the unique voice and quirky observations that have made her an intergenerational online sensation.

It was a fortuitous chance meeting with 30-year-old Mackenzie Morrison that convinced the octogenarian to give TikTok a try. Morrison, who became Korzen's producer, editor, and music supervisor, will join her for a live-on-Zoom conversation at Sunday with The Braid, a monthly event that showcases personalities and topics of interest to audiences around the globe.

The interview will happen on Sunday, November 14, at 11am PT/2pm ET. Featuring plenty of TikTok samples, this one-time event is free to attend, but The Braid hopes viewers will consider purchasing a virtual ticket to help them ensure future programming like this one. Professor Maureen Rubin will moderate what promises to be a juicy and lively conversation. For more information, visit the-braid.org/sunday.

Korzen and Morrison's friendship and collaboration has led to more than 5 million "likes" on Tik Tok - although Korzen told the Times she really doesn't understand why she shines in a medium full of dancing babies, cuddly cats, and fashion tutorials. Others attribute that popularity to her ability to take any subject and cut through all the B.S. to snare the truth. Korzen's short videos dissect subjects that range from relationships to thrifting to Beyoncé. She also offers advice to parents, fashionistas, and shoppers at the 99-Cent Store.

Says Morrison: "Spending the last year becoming best friends with Annie Korzen has been a whirlwind. Her humor, wit, creativity, wisdom, and pure confidence has not only been a spark of joy for her newly found global fanbase, but she has also reminded us all that being anything other than your most sincere, authentic self is ... so boring."

By her own admission, Korzen is not very tech savvy. She admits that she can barely send a text or take a selfie. She first learned about TikTok from her 7-year-old grandson, but it was Morrison who convinced Korzen to try that platform instead of Instagram. Their TikTok videos have produced comments from global fans of all ages and ethnicities, such as "I just fell in love with you," and "You are my spirit animal."

Ronda Spinak, The Braid's artistic director and co-founder, raves: "We love Annie! She really embodies an outspokenness that's very fearless and funny and very Jewish. It's that special voice that she utilized in writing and performing one of our most successful one-woman shows, Annie Korzen, Famous Actress. It ran for five months! Annie also teaches storytelling for us and has been a featured writer/performer in many of our Salon shows and other creative projects.

"I'm so excited to have the opportunity to interview Annie and Mackenzie," says journalism professor Maureen Rubin, who will moderate the conversation. "One unique aspect of their show will be a 'How-To" segment where Mackenzie will explain TikTok to our audience, who, like me, might have heard about it, but never really knew how to find it and use it."

A graduate of Bard College, Korzen has written humorous essays for NPR's Morning Edition, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and many more. Annie has performed her solo shows on three continents. She is a Moth Mainstage storyteller and can be heard on www.TheMoth.org. Annie is the author of Bargain Junkie: Living the Good Life on the Cheap, and she has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and Tavis Smiley. www.AnnieKorzen.com

To read more about Korzen and her new TikTok career, visit: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-08-09/tiktok-viral-annie-korzen.

Annie Korzen and Mackenzie Morrison are the latest in a series of noteworthy and significant speakers who have shared their knowledge with The Braid's audiences. Previous guests include rabbis Naomi Levy, Toba August, and Laura Geller; LA Superior Court judges Renee Korn and Angela J. Davis; writers Rob Eshman, Angella Nazarian, Judy Zeidler, Amelia Saltsman, Maggie Anton, Gina Nahai, Esther Amini, and Jacqueline Saper; politicians Jackie Goldberg, Joy Picus, Alicia Weintraub, and Laura Friedman; as well as costumer Debra McGuire, actor Melanie Chartoff, and numerous other artists, attorneys, composers, musicians, philanthropists, and movie and tv executives.

For five years in a row, The Braid has been voted one of the Best Live Theatres of the Westside in The Argonaut's annual awards contest and won The Santa Monica Daily Press award for "Most Loved" in the live-theatre category. It presents inspiring Jewish stories, art, and other programming that highlights Jewish contributions to contemporary life. Now beginning its 14th season, The Braid's Salon theatre of original dramatic shows, each written to a specific theme, displays the diverse and eclectic community of writers, artists, and creators who celebrate Jewish life, one story at a time.

For virtual tickets to Sunday with The Braid, featuring Annie Korzen and Mackenzie Morrison, visit the-braid.org/sunday.

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