A Place Where Words Come to Life

Megan Mullally is a TV star--the sassy secretary Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom “Will & Grace.” Jim Krusoe is a writer of short stories, the author of the collection “Blood Lake: And Other Stories.” On a Monday evening in June, Mullally took to a podium on the second floor of Le Colonial restaurant in West Hollywood to read Krusoe’s short story “The Little Family,” in which a woman buys a family of damaged dolls, at a reduced price, only to discover that forging emotional attachments to plastic people is just as fraught with trouble and heartache as with real people.

The intersection of Mullally’s comedic and acting talents and Krusoe’s expertise in the short story form is part of what drives Spoken Interludes, literary evenings held monthly at Le Colonial restaurant. For five years now, the series has showcased both local writers reading their own work (short stories, novels-in-progress) and actors reading the work of others--all in a casual “salon” setting upstairs at Le Colonial, over food and wine and evolved cultural sensibilities.

The shows are open to the public, but now Spoken Interludes gets a bump up in exposure via public radio’s KCRW-FM (89.9), which on Sunday evening begins airing selections from the series, recorded live at Le Colonial. The series will run the last Sunday of each month as part of KCRW’s block of spoken word programming called “Playhouse,” and includes everything from BBC dramas and Ross Macdonald novels to L.A. Theatre Works productions.

“It has an edge to it,” says Jacqueline DesLauriers, executive producer of Spoken Interludes for KCRW. DesLauriers credits Cedering Fox, who several years ago co-directed “Literary Evenings at the Met” for KCRW and is also co-directing Spoken Interludes, with bringing the salon-style show to the station’s attention.

DesLauriers said KCRW will broadcast 13 installments of Spoken Interludes over the next year-plus.

For Spoken Interludes founder DeLaune Michel, the association with KCRW is further confirmation of an idea she dreamed up while standing in line at the post office. An actress and writer herself, Michel says she initially wanted to create a kind of casual dinner party atmosphere with the readings as backdrop, drawing on a writing community always in need ofa proper showcase.

“It is important that it keeps reaching more people, in terms of audience and talent,” Michel says of the series. “It is a place where writers who, maybe they don’t have a novel published and they’ve written a good short story, can have it put up.”

Participants have included writer-performers Harry Shearer, Julia Sweeney, Carolyn See and Nora Dunn, and actors Peter Riegert, JoBeth Williams and Chloe Webb reading the stories of others.

Sunday’s debut show features actress, writer and regular Spoken Interludes participant Dinah Manoff reading her coming-of-age story, “The Summer of ‘73”; Jerry Stahl, the author of the memoir “Permanent Midnight,” reading an excerpt from his upcoming novel, “Plainclothes Naked”; Krusoe reading a story titled “Smoke”; and Michel reading a work called “Relative Gravity.” Mullally’s reading will be featured Aug. 27.

Michel says that since starting the program she’s been able to assemble a cadre of local performing talent dabbling in the short story form but lacking an abundance of outlets for their work.

“So many people in this town are incredibly talented, [but] we have to organize our talents into mediums that have guaranteed checks next to them,” Michel says.

To be sure, few can write short stories for a living, and even the genre’s contemporary stars (Lorrie Moore, David Sedaris, T.C. Boyle) aren’t half as well known to the general public as an actress like Mullally.

For Krusoe, who teaches creative writing at Santa Monica College and is the former editor of the Santa Monica Review, Spoken Interludes serves as a place to come in out of the writing cold. Not only does he get a chance to rehearse his work to a director beforehand, but then he gets instant audience feedback from the podium.

“In between getting published, it’s nice to have some reaction to your work,” he says.

This Monday’s show, recorded for broadcast on KCRW Sept. 24, will include actor-comedian Taylor Negron, writer Bernard Cooper and actress Webb. The readings are open to the public.

Tickets are $25, which includes buffet supper.

Information: (323) 957-4688.

* Spoken Interludes can be heard this Sunday, and the last Sunday of each month, from 7-9 p.m. on KCRW-FM (89.9).