Two Superstar Comedy Writers Lead New Zoom Program From The Braid/Jewish Women's Theatre

Who writes the words that make the whole world laugh? The answer is the two accomplished and hilarious guests who will take the virtual stage at The Braid/Jewish Women's Theatre's next uplifting Zoom event, The Comedy of Coping, on Sunday, September 6.

Emmy and Golden Globe-winning writer/producer Cindy Chupack and her good friend actress and New York Times bestselling author Annabelle Gurwitch will discuss how they mine humor from heartbreak and humiliation in The Comedy of Coping, the latest Jewish Women's Theatre (JWT) Zoom program, and whether it's possible to find humor in the time of COVID. Chupack and Gurwitch will also share stories of their friendship, their ever-changing lives, and successful but challenging careers, from single women to married and then divorced single mothers. They will also reveal how they discovered their comedic voices and the challenges they faced on the road to success during the popular Sunday Morning at the Braid series, now Zooming every other Sunday morning.

JWT's Sunday Morning at the Braid event is free to attend, but JWT hopes viewers will consider choosing a virtual ticket from its website. For the link to register and more information on how to use Zoom, visit: www.jewishwomenstheatre.org/zoom.

"We are so excited for our viewers to hear best friends Cindy and Annabelle talk about life, love, careers and friendship," says Arlene Sarner, award-winning screenwriter and JWT board member who will interview them together. "Just when the pandemic is proving how much we need some comedic relief, Cindy and Annabelle are graciously willing to share hilarious stories about their lives and careers with our viewers. What a great way to spend a Sunday."

Best known for writing and producing Sex and the City and Modern Family, Chupack says, "It was fun to write for those shows because I got to detail my experiences as a young single woman, then as a married and divorced single mother." She thinks these shows are popular because the issues of romance and family are "universal and perennial."

Chupack has won two Emmys and three Golden Globes as a TV writer/producer whose credits include Sex and the City, Better Things, Divorce, Modern Family, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Showtime's darkly comic I'm Dying Up Here. In 2018 she directed her first episode of television for I'm Dying Up Here, and her first feature film, Otherhood, which she co-wrote and directed, and which is now available on Netflix. She's currently working on the next film she will write and direct for Netflix, as well as recently announcing a deal to co-write and showrun a new CBS single-camera comedy inspired by TikTok star Sarah Cooper's book, How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men's Feelings.

Actress, activist, and New York Times bestselling author of I See You Made an Effort (also a Thurber Prize finalist for American Humor Writing), Annabelle Gurwitch will also discuss her accomplished career, and, equally noteworthy, her friendship with Chupack. With wit and a healthy dose of self-deprecation Gurwitch asks, "Who and what makes a family in our modern society? Our blood relatives, the people we work with? Our pets?"

Gurwitch is also the author of Wherever You Go, There They Are; You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up; and Fired! She's written for The New York Times, WSJ, The New Yorker, LA Times, Hadassah, and Los Angeles Magazine. Her work has been featured in Time Magazine's annual "Ten Ideas That Are Changing the World" issue; her recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times is a finalist for an LA Press Club Excellence in Journalism award. She is the longtime co-host of Dinner & a Movie on TBS, and an NPR contributor. Her next book, You're Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility comes out in spring of 2021.

Chupack and Gurwitch are the latest in a series of noteworthy and significant speakers who have shared their knowledge with JWT 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, Jacqueline Saper; politicians Jackie Goldberg, Joy Picus, Alicia Weintraub, and Laura Friedman; as well as costumer Debra McGuire and numerous other artists, attorneys, composers, musicians, philanthropists, and movie and TV executives.

Jewish Women's Theatre, voted one of the "Best Live Theatres on the Westside" three years in a row by The Argonaut, and recently voted one of Santa Monica's "Most Loved" performance venues, presents American Jewish stories, art, and other programming that highlights Jewish contributions to contemporary life. Now in its 13th (bat mitzvah) season, JWT'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. Learn more about JWT at: www.jewishwomenstheatre.org.

For virtual tickets to the Comedy of Coping, featuring Cindy Chupack and Annabelle Gurwitch, visit: www.jewishwomenstheatre.org/zoom.

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