Hello and welcome to WORDTheatre Weekly: The Short Story Podcast where great authors and actors meet! I’m your host, Cedering Fox, WORDTheatre's Founder & Artistic Director.

Before we get to today’s offering, “Salud La Luz” by Dashiel Carrera,, I want to let you know about upcoming events in Los Angeles, New York and London!

On Thursday, April 24th in Santa Monica, California, come meet Pushcart Prize winning author Ben Shattuck and hear two of his gorgeous short stories. We have paired Michael Provost from The Holdovers with the one and only JoBeth Williams to open the event. Then Cheyenne Jackson & Jason Butler Harner who have actually played a married couple on more than one occasion will bring to life the lovers in Ben’s Pushcart Prize winning and most romantic “The History of Sound,” which has been adapted into a film premiering in competition at Cannes 2025 starring Josh O’Connor, Paul Mescal and WORDTheatre's own Chris Cooper.

Then we are off to Manhattan where we will honor John Edgar Wideman in an evening of stories & music on Wednesday, May 7th. This event is sponsored by Phiphen Studios | Post NJ and complimentary cocktails and appetizers are included in the ticket price! Come experience actors Carmen Ejogo, Richard Schiff, Gary Dourdan, Chike Okondo and more as they step into Wideman’s brilliant stories. Author David Means will lead a brief post performance conversation with the author. For more information, on these two events, visit WORDTheatre.org.

Then we will be at The Crazy Coqs in London for WORDS & Wickets: A Literary & Musical Celebration of Cricket on May 19th! For more information visit WORDTheatreUK.org! And if you are not yet on the mailing list, people who live in Britain, please sign up!

Now it is time for the story but first: Please note that WORDTheatre holds the copyright to these recordings and no portion of anything you hear on WORDTheatre Weekly, our short story podcast may be reproduced without permission.

I found this gorgeous piece in the LA Review of Books and absolutely fell in love with it. Luckily, with a little investigative work, I was able to track down the author and encourage him to join us from Toronto where he was studying and working. Dashiell Carrera was at The Players NYC to hear his story performed and it gives me great pleasure to now welcome him to introduce his story “Salud La Luz”.

DASHIEL INTRODUCES THE STORY.

LOU DIAMON PHILLIPS PERFORMS THE STORY.

We hope you’ve enjoyed “Salud La Luz,” written by Dashiel Carrera and performed by Lou Diamond Phillips. If you'd like to pick up books by the authors that you hear on the podcast, please visit our Bookshop.org affiliate page, and you will be helping two non-profits!

WORDTheatre has a full calendar of in-person events in 2025 - there's something for every literary lover to enjoy LIVE. If you sign up to become a Patron or Enthusiast Member, you will be able to watch recordings of all our LIVE events from the comfort of home. Supporting our podcast, our live events, and our live and digital programming for students with WORDTheatre Campus has never been more imperative. Please become a member or make a donation today!

On behalf of Kirsty Peart, my UK producing partner, and myself, we'd like to thank the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, Randy & Jane Sinisi and their Phiphen Studios | Post NJ, our podcast editor, Maya Johnson, and our entire hard working staff at WORDTheatre which includes Scout Riley and Jason Goodman!. Thank you for listening. Until next week, this is Cedering Fox signing off!