Literally Speaking - An Evening With the Short Story

"Ressurecting the Pope"
by George Guida
read by Brian Massman

George Guida has published three books: a collection of poems, Low Italian (Bordighera, 2006); a chapbook of comic fiction, The Pope Stories (The Sutton Press, 2005)--including "Resurrecting the Pope" and a volume of critical essays, The Peasant and the Pen (Lang, 2003). He has also published numerous individual essays, stories and poems in a variety of journals and collections. He is currently working on an expanded collection of Pope stories and a novel partially set in Upstate New York. In his spare time, George holds down a job as associate professor of English at the City University of New York, where he teaches literature and writing. He also teaches ethnic studies at Stony Brook University. In addition he is an officer of the Italian American Writers Association and the co-founder and co-host of the Intercollegiate poetry Slam at the Bowery Poetry Club.

Since moving to the Capital area last year Brian Massman has done two readings with Theatre Voices: The Retreat From Moscow and The Duchess. Brian teaches acting and film studies at Siena College, where his wife Denise teaches Set, Costume and Lighting design. Their work can be seen in Siena’s currently running production of Beauty and the Beast, for which Denise designed sets and lights and Brian designed media projections. Prior to moving here Brian toured and performed in residencies for many years with several companies based in his home state of Montana, including a national tour of The Diary of Anne Frank with the Montana Repertory Theatre and eight years of touring the Northwest and Canada with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and the Vigilante Theatre Company. He has played characters ranging from a blues-singing dinosaur to Count Dracula in every kind of venue imaginable, from cattle auction barns to 19th Century Show Palaces from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

"Flowers and Cigarettes"
by Dallas K. Trombley
read by John Nickles

Dallas Trombley is a student at the University at Albany where he is in his final semester as an English major. He is considering several MFA programs but wants to spend as much time as possible writing before entering another degree program. He currently has his stories under consideration at OneStory Magazine and Glimmertrain Press. In addition to fiction, Dallas writes poetry and personal essays. He is currently collaborating on an independent film project with students from the College of Saint Rose and the State University of New York at New Paltz. Dallas lives in Albany, New York.

John A. Nickles directed Seascape and Talley's Folly for Theater Voices. His favorite roles include Julian Christoforu in The Public Eye, Dr. Hardwood in Dr. Hardwood and the Riddle of the Sphinx and Polidori in Bloody Poetry. He also assistant-directed A Child's Christmas in Wales for The Classic Theater Guild in December of 2005. He has won awards from TANYS for Sound Design two years in a row. He works at Poestenkill Public Library.

Directed by
Grayce Burian