In ‘Shorts,’ the Story’s the Star as Actors Play All the Characters

It was a scene rare enough in Hollywood that it demanded a witness. A recent Sunday evening, in the greenroom of the Getty Museum’s Williams Auditorium, a writer was left nearly speechless after seeing his work presented on stage for the first time.

That in itself would not be atypical, but the writer, Bill Roorbach, was plainly ecstatic. Maybe it had to do with the director, Isaiah Sheffer, reinserting a portion of Roorbach’s story that had been edited out of its first publication.

Perhaps it was based on the performance of a two-time Academy Award nominee, James Cromwell (of “Babe” and “L.A. Confidential” fame). It was, as virgin experiences go, flawlessly smooth.

The readings are put on by New York-based Symphony Space, which bills itself as America’s only community-based arts organization with a nationwide audience. The taped readings then constitute the radio series “Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story,” which can be heard Wednesday beginning at 9 a.m. on KPCC-FM.

Roorbach, who flew in from Maine for the performance, is well aware that writers rarely feel so satisfied after Hollywood gets its hands on their material. “I thought I would sit there cringing, but as I got into it I found myself elbowing my sister, telling her, ‘Can you believe I wrote this?’ ” he said of his short story, “Big Bend,” which will be featured as part of a collection of shorts (“Big Bend: Stories”), scheduled for release this fall from the University of Georgia Press.

“After I finished this three years ago I had to deal with a lot of rejection, but now I can say that all this has come together in a very sweet way.”

The two main characters are, respectively, middle-aged and well past it. The setting: an ornithology camp near the Mexican border.

Cromwell, of course, was that farmer in “Babe.” He has age issues, having yet to “get the girl” in any of his more recent work. “Not ever does the old guy get the girl, I mean ever,” Cromwell said. “I was eager to try this storytelling format, and it came as a pleasant surprise that the story was so moving, funny and different.”

Though these days the format is generally confined to museums and public radio, the simplicity of an actor reading a story to an audience (no cast, no set, no music, etc.) has a tradition on its side that renders it no less effective in the 21st century. The Getty Auditorium was filled to near capacity all weekend as actors ranging from Jane Curtin to Leonard Nimoy took turns in the subtle spotlight.

“The first thing I usually hear from the actors, which makes it much easier for me to recruit other actors, is the receptiveness of the audience,” said New York-based Sheffer, who worked with each of the actors briefly before their performances. “Once we get someone, we usually don’t have much trouble getting them again.”

Such was the case with Nimoy, who preceded Cromwell on stage with his reading of “The Cooking Poet,” part of Nepalese author Samrat Upadhay’s first collection, “Arresting God in Kathmandu.” It was the “Star Trek” vet’s fourth appearance in the “Selected Shorts” series, which just completed its 10th year in Los Angeles.

“You combine great literature, a good audience and a lot of personal satisfaction with no studio politics,” said Nimoy, a rather inspired choice to present “The Cooking Poet,” a story about a mentor’s relationship with a young talent that surpasses his own. Nimoy has been the pupil (hard as that is for Trekkers to believe) and, more often these days, the mentor (as director of such films as “Three Men and a Baby”).

“There were a lot of themes in this story I related to, the passion of writers, the loss of passion, the politics of writing,” said Nimoy, who lists his reading of humorist James Thurber’s “The Catbird Seat” as a challenge he’s unlikely to face again, at least in this medium. “I had to do a woman’s voice, which I did as falsetto as I could. All these stories have strong writing in common, and actors are drawn to good literature.”

Upadhay, who had never seen Nimoy’s performance of Spock on “Star Trek” while growing up in Nepal, was still familiar with the actor’s iconic presence, one he said did not interfere with his presentation of “The Cooking Poet.”

“He really captured the essence of the story and ended up giving it more energy than even I thought it possessed,” said Upadhay, who met Nimoy for the first time before the reading. “I’ve read this story before audiences many times but I fear in the future I’ll be somewhat self-conscious because I know I’m not capable of presenting it in the way it was done tonight.”

Sheffer said the process of choosing stories and then matching them with actors is never-ending. “Finding actors is hard enough, but then fitting this into their schedule is a challenge in itself,” he said. “Fortunately, the word has gotten out so my job gets a little easier each year.”

Cromwell, in his first appearance with Symphony Space, said he’d definitely like to do it again. “I’d like to do it until I learn to do it well,” he said. “It was a very unique experience, and I’m learning that there’s a technique to it. The nice thing is getting to inhabit the lives of these incredible characters.”

The “Selected Shorts” radio series, which moves to KPCC from KCRW-FM this year, is featured on more than 130 National Public Radio stations.

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“Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story” can be heard Wednesday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and 6-10 p.m. on KPCC-FM (89.3). The station will repeat the program on Saturday, 9-10 p.m.