Word For Word Performing Arts Company

Went to see Word For Word’s production of two Alice Munro short stories at Z Space in San Francisco.

I can’t stop thinking about the insightful stories, the recognizable characters, the great actors and production. Word for Word Performing Arts Company has been in existence for 22 years. They stage short stories — word for word, even with the «he said» left intact. But the staging adds so much. In «The Office,» a woman who writes entreats her mild husband that she needs an office where she will go to write. For the first part of the story, the protagonist carries around an iron, an indication of why she needs to separate domestic life from creative life. She gets that office and that’s just the beginning of the story of her wanting to be left alone, not even to have to take care of a plant, in spite of the solicitous landlord, who just wants to make her comfortable. Alice Munro’s stories inspire awe for the every day. If you are in the Bay area, don’t miss this production. The second story «Dolly» shows how improbable events happen in every day life, causing meaningful drama and actions that light up the psyche.

My wife runs a children’s theater in SF so we see over 50 plays every year. We have greatly enjoyed every production we have seen by Word for Word ovre the last 18 years! The current production of Zona Gale’s «Friendship» is a lovely play about smalltown life in the Midwest, about relationships and loneliness, and most of all about kindness and what is imortant in life. The acting is high quality and you leave the theater inspired to reach out and touch others.

Word for Word has another sparkling excellent show on Stage. Sorry Fugu (by TC Boyle) and «Enough» (by Alice McDermott) are both short stories showcasing some of the pleasures of food. As expected of Word for Word the acting is lively with wonderful chemistry and synergy among the ensemble. This is a great show and a great theatre company, a perfect night out! See this show! Tell your friends– everyone will enjoy these two short well crafted excellently staged works.

Just came from W4W’s newest production — Food Stories. 2 hours of amazing! This is our favorite theater company anywhere — eat your heart out Broadway!

With so much to offer, we want to be able to call Word for Word. The phone number of this listing (364 – 16 161). Belongs to some doctor! What is the correct number?

I saw «The Necklace» and «A Jury of Her Peers.» I’d seen The Necklace before, and also read it in 9^th grade. It wasn’t that thrilling (more heartbreaking, than anything else), but Word For Word made it come alive!
Word for Word is the most entertaining kind of play; you hear all the lines, as well as the stage directions and the descriptions of the actors’ emotions, (such as, «He moved to the left; he wore an expression of wistfulness with a touch of frustration» — and then the actor expresses the described action).
The actors are incredibly skilled and talented, and, having someone narrate, makes it feel as if you’re reading the play, as well as viewing it at the same time, and adds a bit of humor to otherwise serious plays.
Word for Word Performing Arts Company is in a class of its own. Truly an incredible experience. They’re often shown in Z Space in SF, which is an intimate theatre (read: great!), or in Europe. You don’t have to enjoy plays to enjoy Word for Word!

Their latest Tobias Wolf series is wonderful and if I’m not mistaken I think it’s running through October 12. I really recommend it — it’s funny, poetic, and beautifully staged. See a matinée and you can enjoy Fort Mason and the marina during this lovely time of year.

Word for Word is the grown-​up version of the bedtime story. Cleverly interpreted, perfectly timed and, often, outrageously funny, Word is what makes SF theater so admirable. They usually do 2 – 3 productions a year; and while I’d love to see more, it’s clear that efffort and great care are put into the works they take on. Their innovative performances are at once forward thinking and back-​to-​basics.
I love a good dichotamy.

I love the Readers’ Theatre aspect of Word for Word – it takes a little getting used to the «he said“s and «she said“s of the short story that are actually performed aloud, but the ingenuity of it and the quick pace infuse the performance with sizzling energy. I just attended the Cornell Woolrich «Angel Face» perf at ZSpace, and once again just had to shake my head at how utterly cool were the noirish silhouettes and shadows, the lingo. W4W actors pour so much enthusiasm and skill into their performances that it just seems to spill over to the audience. And how cool is it that Marcus Shelby is doing the music for the upcoming W4W performance Sonny’s Blues?
Julie Orringer’s «Note to Sixth Grade Self,» performed at Stanford in 2006, was my first Word for Word experience and totally has made me a fan. I don’t see theater that often, but I’ll make time for this theater company.

I’ve seen several of their performances over the last couple years and they’re always creative and well acted. The spaces also tend to be sized so there isn’t a bad seat. Also, the cost is very reasonable.
If you’re looking for a large scale production this isn’t going to be your thing. But if you’re open to a unique and innovative theater experience and have a love for literature then I highly recommend it.

Support your local theater… and especially this one. Always fabulous and always entertaining.
Just saw Lorrie Moore’s piece performed last month… excellent. I’ve been going to Word for Word performances for almost 10 years now and I’ve never been disappointed. Alice Munro, Tobias Wolff, Amy Tan, Sandra Cisneros… they choose fabulous writers and works to perform — word for word, always amazing.

Wow! Saw Lorrie Moore’s «Which Is More Than I Can Say About Some People» performed last night at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason and was really blown away. It was like magic how they made the story come to life, even though it was «word for word». Creative, unexpected, brilliant production followed by an interview with the author (by SF native, writer Daniel Handler). Moore said that after seeing the production, she’d like to go back and tweak the short story to get it to comply with the production — how’s that for a compliment? This was my first Word For Word play and I look forward to seeing future productions.

When I was a child, I loved it when someone would read aloud to me, taking on the voices of the characters, and narrating the story with the appropriate emotion and meaningful pauses.
Word For Word takes this concept one step further. They choose a story and act out the entire thing, without omitting any bit of writing or changing it to suit their interpretation. So every «he said, with a look of disdain» is spoken, usually by the character.
I have such a love and respect for writers and great writing, and I find this genre of theater a very nice tribute to an author. It’s fun to see how this theater company finds ways to interpret the prose, having to entertain an audience while staying true to the written word
Last week I went to see «Strangers We Know» at the Magic Theater in Fort Mason. This was a performance of 2 short stories: «Mlle. Dias de Corta by Mavis Gallant, and «Which is More Than I Can Say About Some People» by Lorrie Moore. While I didn’t care for the Gallant piece, it was due to my not liking the writing rather than the performance. The Lorrie Moore piece was very good — the acting and choreography were well-​done, and I enjoyed it very much.
Last year, Kirsten F and I went to see the Daniel Handler stories «4 Adverbs» which was very lively and entertaining. I would think it would be such a treat for a living author to see his or her work performed in this way.
Word For Word has been in around since 1993, and selects works that range from classic to contemporary. Some of the featured writers have been Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allen Poe, Eudora Welty, Dorothy Parker, John Stinebeck, and Michael Chabon. They have been around since 1993 and seem to have a small but dedicated following. If you want to see an original concept that marries literature and theater, performed in an intimate setting by a very dedicated company, check out Word For Word.
They are part of Z-​Space Studio, which you can read about on the website