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Event Program
WED, APR 17
Hosted by Jane Kaczmarek and Sarah Thyre
Relationship Advice from Your Aunt Who Has Been Divorced Six Times by Meghana Indurti and Tyler Fowler
Performed by Jane Kaczmarek
The Space by Christopher Boucher
Performed by Rob Yang
“Don’t You Want Me” by The Human League
Performed by The DeLorean Sisters
How to Know You’re Married to a Serial Killer by Helen Ellis
Performed by Shannon Woodward
Helen on Eighty-Sixth Street by Wendi Kaufman
Performed by Donna Lynne Champlin
“Bloody Knuckles” by The DeLorean Sisters
Performed by The DeLorean Sisters
Last Look by Sharon Olds
Performed by Jane Kaczmarek
The Ballad of Bagel Rat by Jen Spyra
Performed by Busy Philipps
At this performance of Selected Shorts, real-time captioning (CART) will be available in our theater for patrons with hearing loss, deafness, and/or different language and learning needs. CART can be accessed through individual smartphones and tablets at bit.ly/SymphonySpace_Captions.
The DeLorean Sisters is a Brooklyn-based Americana band that writes songs about love, heartbreak, and terrible life decisions made after that last Bulleit Rye you probably shouldn’t have had. They’re also known for taking 1980s synth-pop hits and transforming them into banjo-inflected bluegrassy tunes; at 1.5 million plays, their gender-flipped version of the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” is a regular hit on country Spotify playlists. With sweet three-part harmonies and a rockabilly edge, they’ve been bringing crowds to their feet at festivals and bars across the country.
The Delorean Sisters are:
Diane Wohland: vocals, acoustic guitar
Betty Wiles: vocals, ukulele
Gary Lowery: vocals, percussion, hoots & hollers
Clive Thompson: electric/acoustic guitar, harmonica, boot stomping
Danny Reisbick: upright/electric bass
Banjo Steve Pauley: banjo/electric guitar
The DeLorean Sisters is a Brooklyn-based Americana band that writes songs about love, heartbreak, and terrible life decisions made after that last Bulleit Rye you probably shouldn’t have had. They’re also known for taking 1980s synth-pop hits and transforming them into banjo-inflected bluegrassy tunes; at 1.5 million plays, their gender-flipped version of the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” is a regular hit on country Spotify playlists. With sweet three-part harmonies and a rockabilly edge, they’ve been bringing crowds to their feet at festivals and bars across the country.
The Delorean Sisters are:
Diane Wohland: vocals, acoustic guitar
Betty Wiles: vocals, ukulele
Gary Lowery: vocals, percussion, hoots & hollers
Clive Thompson: electric/acoustic guitar, harmonica, boot stomping
Danny Reisbick: upright/electric bass
Banjo Steve Pauley: banjo/electric guitar
Donna Lynne Champlin is an OBIE, Drama Desk, Princess Grace and Gracie Award–winning actress best known as Paula Proctor on The CW’s Emmy award–winning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and as Barb in Netflix’s Feel The Beat. Her Broadway credits include James Joyce’s The Dead, By Jeeves, Hollywood Arms, Sweeney Todd, and Billy Elliot. Off-Broadway, she has been featured in First Lady Suite, Almost Maine, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Working, The Qualms, and As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew in Shakespeare in the Park. On screen she has been seen in The First Lady; The Good Doctor; Blacklist; Another Period; The Good Wife; The Good Fight; Birdman; Downsizing; and Yes, God, Yes. Champlain was trained at Carnegie Mellon and Oxford Universities. Her forthcoming projects include The Perfect Couple on Netflix in July.
Donna Lynne Champlin is an OBIE, Drama Desk, Princess Grace and Gracie Award–winning actress best known as Paula Proctor on The CW’s Emmy award–winning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and as Barb in Netflix’s Feel The Beat. Her Broadway credits include James Joyce’s The Dead, By Jeeves, Hollywood Arms, Sweeney Todd, and Billy Elliot. Off-Broadway, she has been featured in First Lady Suite, Almost Maine, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Working, The Qualms, and As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew in Shakespeare in the Park. On screen she has been seen in The First Lady; The Good Doctor; Blacklist; Another Period; The Good Wife; The Good Fight; Birdman; Downsizing; and Yes, God, Yes. Champlain was trained at Carnegie Mellon and Oxford Universities. Her forthcoming projects include The Perfect Couple on Netflix in July.
Jane Kaczmarek is best known for her role as Lois on Malcolm in the Middle, for which she received 7 consecutive Emmy nominations as well as nominations for the Golden Globe and SAG awards. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Yale School of Drama, Kaczmarek made her television debut on The Paper Chase and Hill Street Blues. On stage, she has appeared on Broadway and off, and for 6 seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her recent theater credits include Long Day's Journey Into Night with Alfred Molina and in a co-production of Our Town with Deaf West Theatre and the 2023 Tony Award–winning Pasadena Playhouse. Kaczmarek can currently be seen in The Changeling on AppleTV+, starring LaKeith Stanfield, and the short film Now I Lay Me Down, which was screened at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February. Her favorite job is raising her three kids and reading/hosting Selected Shorts across America.
Jane Kaczmarek is best known for her role as Lois on Malcolm in the Middle, for which she received 7 consecutive Emmy nominations as well as nominations for the Golden Globe and SAG awards. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Yale School of Drama, Kaczmarek made her television debut on The Paper Chase and Hill Street Blues. On stage, she has appeared on Broadway and off, and for 6 seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her recent theater credits include Long Day's Journey Into Night with Alfred Molina and in a co-production of Our Town with Deaf West Theatre and the 2023 Tony Award–winning Pasadena Playhouse. Kaczmarek can currently be seen in The Changeling on AppleTV+, starring LaKeith Stanfield, and the short film Now I Lay Me Down, which was screened at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February. Her favorite job is raising her three kids and reading/hosting Selected Shorts across America.
Busy Philipps is a New York Times bestselling author, actor, activist, writer, and host of the new QVC series Busy This Week. She can currently be seen starring in the critically acclaimed Netflix comedy series Girls5Eva. She is best known for her roles on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson’s Creek, ER, and Cougar Town, for which she won a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. In 2018, Philipps released the collection of humorous autobiographical essays This Will Only Hurt A Little, which was a New York Times best-seller, and in 2020, she launched the podcast Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best. On the big screen, Philipps was most recently seen in Mean Girls: The Musical, in the iconic role of Mrs. George. Additional film credits include I Feel Pretty, opposite Amy Schumer and Michelle Williams, The Gift, alongside Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall, and A Case of You, I Don’t Know How She Does It, He’s Just Not That Into You, Made of Honor, and the cult classic White Chicks. In January 2024, Philipps was announced as the newest Artist Ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union to advocate for reproductive freedom.
Busy Philipps is a New York Times bestselling author, actor, activist, writer, and host of the new QVC series Busy This Week. She can currently be seen starring in the critically acclaimed Netflix comedy series Girls5Eva. She is best known for her roles on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson’s Creek, ER, and Cougar Town, for which she won a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. In 2018, Philipps released the collection of humorous autobiographical essays This Will Only Hurt A Little, which was a New York Times best-seller, and in 2020, she launched the podcast Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best. On the big screen, Philipps was most recently seen in Mean Girls: The Musical, in the iconic role of Mrs. George. Additional film credits include I Feel Pretty, opposite Amy Schumer and Michelle Williams, The Gift, alongside Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall, and A Case of You, I Don’t Know How She Does It, He’s Just Not That Into You, Made of Honor, and the cult classic White Chicks. In January 2024, Philipps was announced as the newest Artist Ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union to advocate for reproductive freedom.
Sarah Thyre is best known for her portrayal of Coach Cherri Wolf on Strangers with Candy and her appearances on Conan. She has performed with David and Amy Sedaris at La Mama E.T.C. and Lincoln Center, and her own work at Upright Citizens Brigade, WNYC, and Public Radio International. Thyre’s memoir, Dark at the Roots, was published in 2008. Her writing has appeared in Tales from the Bathroom Line, Cosmopolitan, SisterWriterEaters, Big Gay Ice Cream Cookbook, and Huffington Post, among others. She is a prolific commercial and cartoon voice-over artist, most recently voicing Marcel's mother Catherine in the Oscar-nominated film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. She created the Crybabies podcast, co-hosting with writer Susan Orlean. A longtime reproductive rights activist, Thyre fundraises for Emily's List, Abortion Access Front, Planned Parenthood, and various abortion funds.
Sarah Thyre is best known for her portrayal of Coach Cherri Wolf on Strangers with Candy and her appearances on Conan. She has performed with David and Amy Sedaris at La Mama E.T.C. and Lincoln Center, and her own work at Upright Citizens Brigade, WNYC, and Public Radio International. Thyre’s memoir, Dark at the Roots, was published in 2008. Her writing has appeared in Tales from the Bathroom Line, Cosmopolitan, SisterWriterEaters, Big Gay Ice Cream Cookbook, and Huffington Post, among others. She is a prolific commercial and cartoon voice-over artist, most recently voicing Marcel's mother Catherine in the Oscar-nominated film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. She created the Crybabies podcast, co-hosting with writer Susan Orlean. A longtime reproductive rights activist, Thyre fundraises for Emily's List, Abortion Access Front, Planned Parenthood, and various abortion funds.
Shannon Woodward is best known for her roles as Sabrina Collins on the FOX sitcom Raising Hope, Elsie Hughes on the HBO science-fiction thriller series Westworld, and as the voice of Dina in the video game The Last of Us Part II, for which she received a BAFTA honor for at the British Academy Games Awards. Additionally, her extensive onscreen credits include The Morning Show, Jagged Mind, Super Pumped, Dear White People, Mr. Corman, Drunk History, and Portlandia. Woodward can currently be heard on the podcast Hot White Heist 2.
Shannon Woodward is best known for her roles as Sabrina Collins on the FOX sitcom Raising Hope, Elsie Hughes on the HBO science-fiction thriller series Westworld, and as the voice of Dina in the video game The Last of Us Part II, for which she received a BAFTA honor for at the British Academy Games Awards. Additionally, her extensive onscreen credits include The Morning Show, Jagged Mind, Super Pumped, Dear White People, Mr. Corman, Drunk History, and Portlandia. Woodward can currently be heard on the podcast Hot White Heist 2.
Rob Yang recently wrapped shooting a major role for Nick Rowland’s feature film She Rides Shotgun, in which he stars alongside Taron Egerton. He will next be seen in Season 2 of American Rust coming out on Prime Video, where he stars opposite Jeff Daniels. Yang can also be seen on the Paramount+ series Rabbit Hole opposite Kiefer Sutherland. He stars in the Searchlight feature The Menu, opposite Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, and Nicholas Hoult, reuniting him with the Succession team of director Mark Mylod and producer Adam McKay. Other credits include the nine-time Emmy Award–winning series Succession as the role of Lawrence Yee for HBO. He has also appeared in numerous other hit shows including Living with Yourself for Netflix, The Resident for Fox, and The Americans for FX. On stage, Yang most recently starred in Catch as Catch Can at Playwrights Horizons.
Rob Yang recently wrapped shooting a major role for Nick Rowland’s feature film She Rides Shotgun, in which he stars alongside Taron Egerton. He will next be seen in Season 2 of American Rust coming out on Prime Video, where he stars opposite Jeff Daniels. Yang can also be seen on the Paramount+ series Rabbit Hole opposite Kiefer Sutherland. He stars in the Searchlight feature The Menu, opposite Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, and Nicholas Hoult, reuniting him with the Succession team of director Mark Mylod and producer Adam McKay. Other credits include the nine-time Emmy Award–winning series Succession as the role of Lawrence Yee for HBO. He has also appeared in numerous other hit shows including Living with Yourself for Netflix, The Resident for Fox, and The Americans for FX. On stage, Yang most recently starred in Catch as Catch Can at Playwrights Horizons.
Christopher Boucher is the author of the widely praised novels Golden Delicious, How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, and Big Giant Floating Head. He teaches literature and writing at Boston College and is editor of the literary journal Post Road.
Christopher Boucher is the author of the widely praised novels Golden Delicious, How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, and Big Giant Floating Head. He teaches literature and writing at Boston College and is editor of the literary journal Post Road.
Helen Ellis is the author of the national bestselling short story collection American Housewife. Additional works include Southern Lady Code, Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light, and Eating the Cheshire Cat. Her latest, Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge: Intimate Confessions from a Happy Marriage, was published in 2023.
Helen Ellis is the author of the national bestselling short story collection American Housewife. Additional works include Southern Lady Code, Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light, and Eating the Cheshire Cat. Her latest, Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge: Intimate Confessions from a Happy Marriage, was published in 2023.
Tyler Fowler is a nationally touring comedian who expertly weaves relatable anecdotes about marriages, kids and jobs––none of which he has––to create a show you won't want to miss. His debut album, Friends With 401(k) Benefits, premiered at #1 on iTunes and Top 10 on the Billboard Comedy Charts, and was followed by a 30-minute special with Drybar Comedy titled Little Spoon.
Tyler Fowler is a nationally touring comedian who expertly weaves relatable anecdotes about marriages, kids and jobs––none of which he has––to create a show you won't want to miss. His debut album, Friends With 401(k) Benefits, premiered at #1 on iTunes and Top 10 on the Billboard Comedy Charts, and was followed by a 30-minute special with Drybar Comedy titled Little Spoon.
The Human League is a British pop music band currently consisting of Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall, and Susan Ann Sulley. The band started in 1977 and had their greatest success during the 1980s. They continue to make new music today. Some of The Human League's hit songs are "Don't You Want Me," "Keep Feeling Fascination," "The Lebanon," and "Human."
The Human League is a British pop music band currently consisting of Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall, and Susan Ann Sulley. The band started in 1977 and had their greatest success during the 1980s. They continue to make new music today. Some of The Human League's hit songs are "Don't You Want Me," "Keep Feeling Fascination," "The Lebanon," and "Human."
Meghana Indurti is a first-generation South Asian stand-up comedian and writer who got her start in Chicago and is currently based in LA. She is a humor writer for The New Yorker and Reductress and a headline contributor for The Onion. She was named Chicago Reader’s People to Know in 2016, selected as a StandUp NBC Semi-Finalist in 2017 and as a semi-finalist in the Boston Comedy Festival in 2016, and featured in the NBC Breakout Comedy Festival in 2019. Indurti is a regular at Laugh Factory Chicago and Zanies. She co-produces and hosts The Big One, recently ranked as one of the best stand-up shows by The LA Times. She is currently writing a collection of autobiographical humor essays for the Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agency.
Meghana Indurti is a first-generation South Asian stand-up comedian and writer who got her start in Chicago and is currently based in LA. She is a humor writer for The New Yorker and Reductress and a headline contributor for The Onion. She was named Chicago Reader’s People to Know in 2016, selected as a StandUp NBC Semi-Finalist in 2017 and as a semi-finalist in the Boston Comedy Festival in 2016, and featured in the NBC Breakout Comedy Festival in 2019. Indurti is a regular at Laugh Factory Chicago and Zanies. She co-produces and hosts The Big One, recently ranked as one of the best stand-up shows by The LA Times. She is currently writing a collection of autobiographical humor essays for the Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agency.
Wendi Kaufman (1964 – 2014) was a writer whose fiction appeared in The New Yorker, Fiction, and Other Voices, and her stories have been anthologized in Scribner's Best of the Fiction Workshops, Elements of Literature, and Faultlines: Stories of Divorce. She received a literary fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, was the winner of a Mary Roberts Rhinehart award for short fiction, and a Breadloaf Scholar in Fiction. From 2005–2009, Kaufman curated "The Happy Booker," a prominent Washington, DC–based book blog, and was a frequent contributor to The Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine. Helen On 86th Street and Other Stories was her first full-length collection.
Wendi Kaufman (1964 – 2014) was a writer whose fiction appeared in The New Yorker, Fiction, and Other Voices, and her stories have been anthologized in Scribner's Best of the Fiction Workshops, Elements of Literature, and Faultlines: Stories of Divorce. She received a literary fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, was the winner of a Mary Roberts Rhinehart award for short fiction, and a Breadloaf Scholar in Fiction. From 2005–2009, Kaufman curated "The Happy Booker," a prominent Washington, DC–based book blog, and was a frequent contributor to The Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine. Helen On 86th Street and Other Stories was her first full-length collection.
Sharon Olds was born in San Francisco and educated at Stanford University and Columbia University. The winner of The Frost Medal, as well as both the Pulitzer Prize and England’s T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry for her 2012 collection, Stag’s Leap, she is the author of twelve previous books of poetry and the winner of many other awards and honors, including the inaugural San Francisco Poetry Center Award for her first book, Satan Says, and the National Book Critics Circle Award for her second, The Dead and the Living, which was also the Lamont Poetry Selection for 1983. Olds teaches in the graduate Creative Writing Program at New York University and helped to found the NYU outreach programs, among them the writing workshop for residents of Isidor Goldwater Hospital on Roosevelt Island, and for the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Her latest collection, Balladz, was published in 2022.
Sharon Olds was born in San Francisco and educated at Stanford University and Columbia University. The winner of The Frost Medal, as well as both the Pulitzer Prize and England’s T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry for her 2012 collection, Stag’s Leap, she is the author of twelve previous books of poetry and the winner of many other awards and honors, including the inaugural San Francisco Poetry Center Award for her first book, Satan Says, and the National Book Critics Circle Award for her second, The Dead and the Living, which was also the Lamont Poetry Selection for 1983. Olds teaches in the graduate Creative Writing Program at New York University and helped to found the NYU outreach programs, among them the writing workshop for residents of Isidor Goldwater Hospital on Roosevelt Island, and for the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Her latest collection, Balladz, was published in 2022.
Jen Spyra is a former staff writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Onion. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, AirMail, McSweeney's, and elsewhere. Spyra’s debut short story collection Big Time was published in 2021, and she is adapting the title story for the big screen for Warner Bros. Most recently, she wrote for HBO's The Regime. Her forthcoming debut novel will be published by Random House in 2025.
Jen Spyra is a former staff writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Onion. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, AirMail, McSweeney's, and elsewhere. Spyra’s debut short story collection Big Time was published in 2021, and she is adapting the title story for the big screen for Warner Bros. Most recently, she wrote for HBO's The Regime. Her forthcoming debut novel will be published by Random House in 2025.
“Relationship Advice from Your Aunt Who Has Been Divorced Six Times,” by Meghana Indurti and Tyler Fowler, from The New Yorker (March 3, 2022). Copyright © 2022 by Meghana Indurti and Tyler Fowler. Used by permission of the authors.
“The Space,” by Christopher Boucher, from Electric Literature (January 3, 2024). Copyright © 2024 by Christopher Boucher. Used by permission of the author.
“How to Know You’re Married to a Serial Killer,” by Helen Ellis. Commissioned by Symphony Space. Copyright © 2023 by Helen Ellis and Symphony Space.
“Helen on Eighty-Sixth Street,” by Wendi Kaufman, from Helen on 86th Street and Other Stories (Stillhouse Press, 2014). Copyright © 2014 by Wendi Kaufman. Used by permission of David Kaufman.
“Last Look,” by Sharon Olds, from Stag’s Leap (Knopf, 2012). First appeared in The American Poetry Review (November 1, 2011). Copyright © 2011 by Sharon Olds. Used by permission of Aragi, Inc.
“The Ballad of Bagel Rat,” by Jen Spyra. Commissioned by Symphony Space. Copyright © 2023 by Jen Spyra and Symphony Space.
Selected Shorts is supported by the Dungannon Foundation, creator of The Rea Award for the Short Story.
Symphony Space’s season of programming is also made possible by the generous support of Susan Bay Nimoy, Estate of Douglas M. Matheson, Seedlings Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, MacMillan Family Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Charina Endowment Fund, Henry Nias Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, PECO Foundation, Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina, Mustang Foundation, Michael Tuch Foundation, Axe-Houghton Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold and the Arnhold Foundation, The Grodzins Fund, The Isambard Kingdom Brunel Society of North America, and Theatre Development Fund.
Programming is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
Symphony Space thanks our generous supporters, including our Board of Directors, Producers Circle, and members, who make our programs possible with their annual support.
Floral Design by PlantShed
Kathy Landau Executive Director
Peg Wreen Managing Director
Isaiah Sheffer*
Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director (1978-1988)
Artistic Director (1988-2010)
Founding Artistic Director (2010-2012)
Allan Miller
Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director (1978-1988)
Jennifer Brennan Director of Literary Programs
Drew Richardson Lead Producer of Literary Programs
Vivienne Woodward Producer of Literary Programs
Mary Shimkin Director of Broadcast & Literary Initiatives
Sarah Montague Selected Shorts Radio Producer
Jenny Falcon Selected Shorts Radio Producer
Miles B. Smith Selected Shorts Recording Engineer
Matthew Love Consultant for Literary Programs
Magdalene Wrobleski Literary Assistant
Sophia Raimondi Literary Intern
Lulu Chatterjee Literary Intern
*in memoriam