Word for Word's Off the Page Staged Reading Series to Present Two Murakami Stories in October

Word for Word's Off the Page Staged Reading Series 2022 continues on October 3 with two stories by Haruki Murakami, The Second Bakery Attack and Bakery Attack. Stories that Word for Word theatrically presents are selected from Off the Page staged readings. This series is the public's first look at pieces Word for Word is being considered for upcoming productions.

Directed by Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, the two related stories by Haruki Murakami focus on a newly married couple that realizes they have a lot to learn about each another after they are both seized by an insatiable hunger in the middle of the night. Stirred by her husband's revelation about an impulsive event from his youth, the wife takes control and leads them into the night to satiate their bottomless hunger. In Bakery Attack we learn the origin story of the husband's impulsive act. The Murakami cast features actors Will Dao, Kina Kantor, Anne Yumi Kobori, Ogie Zuleta and Jed Parsario.

Haruki Murakami (author) is a Japanese writer whose novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan as well as internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and have sold millions of copies outside Japan. His first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, won the Gunzou Literature Prize for budding writers in 1979. He followed this success with two sequels, Pinball, 1973 and A Wild Sheep Chase, which all together form "The Trilogy of the Rat." Murakami is also the author of the novels Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World; Norwegian Wood; Dance Dance Dance; South of the Border, West of the Sun; The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; Sputnik Sweetheart; Kafka on the Shore; After Dark and Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. He has written three short story collections: The Elephant Vanishes; After the Quake; and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman; and an illustrated novella, The Strange Library.

Keiko Shimosato Carreiro (director) has been a performer, designer and director for the Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe from 1987 to the present. As their resident designer, she has designed and realized critically acclaimed costumes, sets, props and puppets for over twenty shows which have toured nationally and internationally. Nominated for the Bay Area Critics' Circle Award: Kokoro at Theater of Yugen, and the Theater Bay Area Award for Best Costumes: The Braggart Soldier at Custom Made Theater. Her costumes have been seen at Berkeley Rep between 1995-2000 in the following productions: Yo Frankie, Alicia in Wonder Terror, and Queen of the Sea. Keiko was featured as an innovative designer in American Theater Magazine for 410 [GONE] at Crowded Fire. She continues to design for companies around the SF Bay, including: the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Crowded Fire, SF Shakespeare Festival, African American Shakespeare, Custom Made Theatre Company, and Ferocious Lotus Theatre Project. She shares her knowledge of Theater and design as a resident artist through the San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco Opera guild.

This public staged reading of Murakami's short stories invites audiences to see the steps of the process of bringing a work "from the page to the stage" in Word for Word's unique style. After the reading, the audience is encouraged to engage in a conversation with the company, giving valuable feedback as they decide on the next steps of a work's development. Readings are at 7 pm. For more info visit zspace.org/offthepage

Word for Word Performing Arts Company, a program of Z Space, is an ensemble whose mission is to tell great stories with elegant theatricality, staging performances of classic and contemporary fiction. Founded in 1993 by Susan Harloe and JoAnne Winter, Word for Word believes in the power of the short story to provide solace, compassion, and insight into our daily lives.

Word for Word's Off the Page Staged Reading Series 2022 Continues

NEW DATE: 1/23/2023: Raymond's Run and Blues Ain't No Mockin Bird,

by Toni Cade Bambara,

Directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe

Two stories from Bambara's beloved 1972 collection, Gorilla My Love, feature the sassy and tough young Hazel - known to family and friends as Squeaky - as she defends her title as the fastest runner in her Harlem neighborhood, takes care of her big brother Raymond, and rails against the injustices of childhood.

COVID Safety Protocol

For the health, safety and well-being of everyone in our space, Z Space's current COVID-19 policy requires all patrons and staff to be fully vaccinated and to wear masks while in the building. You will be asked to show proof of vaccination with ID before entering. Click here for more details on Z Space COVID policies.

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