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Stories read in Connecticut, Chicago, Montana and New York take us worlds away. First, Oscar nominee David Strathairn ("Good Night, and Good Luck") reads Andrew Lam’s “The Palmist”, in which an elderly palm reader offers a glimpse a magical future to a young man, while recalling his own haunted past. Andrew Lam was born in South Vietnam and attended U.C. Berkeley. In addition to his short fiction, he is an NPR commentator and the editor of the Pacific News Service. His book "Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora" was published in 2005.

A SHORTS performance at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago included “Football,” by Elizabeth Crane, a tender, funny celebration of one ordinary life. The reader is Steppenwolf Artistic Director Martha Lavey.

It is hard not to credit the charm of Jeanne Dixon’s “Blue Waltz with Coyotes,” which describes just that, to her picturesque childhood, which she describes as an “idyllic” blend of “saddlehorses, dogs, rivers, mountains, and forests” in the wilds of Montana. Reader Mia Dillon has just the right delicate touch to draw us into this sister and brother adventure tale. Her stage credits include "Our Town," "Crimes of the Heart" (Tony nomination; Clarance Derwent Award) and "Agnes of God," and her film and television work includes appearances on "Law & Order" and a role in "Gods and Generals."

Four quarrelsome sisters are held spellbound as their Chinese grandmother spins a tale of enchanted love in ancient times in Lan Samantha Chang’s “Water Names.” Actress and performance artist Dawn Akemi Saito, the reader here, has performed her own work, including "Knock on the Sky" and "Blood Cherries" in theaters around the country and in Austria. She has also appeared in "My House is Collapsing Toward One Side" and "Hiroshima Maiden."

“The Palmist” by Andrew Lam, read by David Strathairn
“Football” by Elizabeth Crane, read by Martha Lavey
“Blue Waltz with Coyotes” by Jeanne Dixon, read by Mia Dillon
“Water Names” by Lan Samantha Chang, read by Dawn Akemi Saito

For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space