It's always so interesting to hear a wonderful actor, and in particular you read aloud because if I were reading aloud, it wouldn't sound good.

And I just love what you do. And I'm always struck as a writer by choices that writers make. And of course, actors make choices too. Can you talk about that with regard to these stories?

First of all, I'll say that reading aloud to an audience is different

than reading aloud to a microphone. And the weird thing about reading aloud on a microphone

knowing you're being taped with a live audience is that you have two constituencies. And for me,

as a live performer, a theater performer, I tend to privilege the live constituency over the

microphone constituency.

This is all about the microphone. And I can hear my voice in my head, so I'm very aware of

shaping sound in a very different way for this microphone. That makes a huge difference.

In a symphony space, the audiences move and shift and groan and laugh and sigh. It's a process. We take in what they do.

And you then maybe change the way you're going to read like the next line? Yeah, they help you

understand. Are you ever surprised by something an audience laughs at or doesn't? Yeah, totally

surprised. And again, it can feed you. Or their absolute silence inspires you because you can feel the weight of the story hitting them.

Audiences can change from night to night too, right?

If you talk to comedians, why aren't you laughing at that?

Last night they loved it.

And also, you know, the thing about the written word is that you sometimes can't get something across that's on the page, the way the line breaks are. You know, the way the story is very small sentences in paragraphs that have breaks. How do you value that for the audience's ear? And is there a way to do that? And the answer maybe no. And it's maybe yes. And nothing's in quotes here. So the dialogue's not in quotes. You were actually honoring the transitions. And I think a person like myself, who's not an actor, wouldn't know to do that. We're always kind of like rushing to get it over with. I always feel sort of like superhero going through this guy. Got to save those kids. Got to get out of the story. And you as an an actor, are just staying in the story because that's where you want to be. And that's where we want to be. Yeah. I also was struck by the changes in the voice. And can you talk about that modulation in the Ben Lurie's story? I read it several times. You read it to yourself at first and see what happens. And then you have to read it out loud. The idea in your head is going to be different that moment comes out of your mouth. So I tried on different voices for death and for the lady. You know, you can do without voices. You can kind of go, you know, a lady goes to church someone on Sunday morning and notices death sitting beside her in a pew. Oh, death, she says, very much surprised. Why, hello, I didn't see you.

Hello, do you too, miss, death says with a smile. And what are we praying for today? Oh, says the lady, long life and happiness. Ah, says death, sounds nice. That's legitimate. Totally. And that's the way it's written. It's not written with any quotation marks. So you try it that way and you kind of go, oh, we're missing something.

I want to hear her.

So you suddenly go, oh, death, she says. You put it a little higher, very much surprised. Why, hello, I didn't see you. Hello to you too, miss. Death says with a smile, and what are we praying for today? Or, you know, you can make him Vincent Price. You can go, Hello to you, too, miss. And what are we praying for today? Or, you know, you could make him Vincent Price. You can go, hello to you, Thomas, and what are we praying for today? You know, that'd be a different way to go. You could do that. You could make her start. She could. Oh, death, she says. Well, hello to you, too. You know, so many ways you can go. but for me it was about keeping it just a little above my narrative voice and a little below my narrative voice.

They're almost... many ways you can go. But for me, it was about keeping it just a little above my narrative voice

and a little below my narrative voice. They're almost literary, but they're pushed toward characters.

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