My Favorite Weekend

Charlayne Woodard’s acclaimed one-woman show, “Neat,” runs through Monday at the Mark Taper Forum in downtown Los Angeles.

New York Stories. On Friday nights, I like to get together with my friends. We’re all ex-New Yorkers and we put on tunes from the 1960s and dance around. Storytelling is always a part of getting together, too. We’re all big talkers.

Errands. Saturday afternoons are my get-things-together time. I’m an order freak, so I have to water all my plants and groom my dog. His name is Maxwell-on-the-Hudson. Then I go to the mall, usually the Beverly Center, stop by the MAC cosmetics store and get another tube of lipstick, which always makes me feel good. I call the Beverly Center “my club.”

Literary Tastes. Brentano’s is also a regular stop in the Beverly Center. I love fiction, especially short stories. My favorite authors are Eudora Welty, Truman Capote, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison and Gloria Naylor. I love great writing. But I’m also queen of the self-help sections!

Neighborhood Eats. We probably eat out at least four times a week. Usually I stick to neighborhood places like Kate Mantilini, Mishima and the kosher Fish Grill. It’s got sawdust on the floor and paper plates, so there’s no ambience of any kind, but the fish is very fresh and the prices are reasonable.

Sunday Ritual. After church at the West Los Angeles Church of God and Christ, I go hiking at Paseo Miramar with my husband, Alan Harris. It’s three miles up and down and very aerobic.