Gretchen Rubin with Annabelle Gurwitch

Wednesday, March 20, 2019
8pm


Gretchen Rubin
in conversation with Annabelle Gurwitch

discussing her book,
Outer Order, Inner Calm:
Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
3131 Olympic Blvd.,
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS
$40.00
 Reserved Section + Book 
$30.00 General Admission section + Book
$20.00 General Admission section 

Gretchen Rubin writes on the linked subjects of habits, happiness, and human nature. She’s the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, and The Happiness Project. A member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100, Rubin’s books have sold more than three million copies worldwide, in more than 35 languages, and on her  daily blog, she reports on her adventures in pursuit of habits and happiness. She also has a podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin. Rubin started her career in law, and was clerking for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she wanted to be a writer.  She appeared at Live Talks Los Angeles for her two recent books — in conversation with Daniel Siegel for The Four Tendencies. (video), and with Lisa Napoli for Better Than Before (video).

Annabelle Gurwitch is a New York Times bestselling author, actress, and activist. Her most recent book is Wherever You Go, There They Are, Stories About My Family You Might Relate To. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times. She was the co-host of the popular series, Dinner and a Movie, and a regular NPR commentator for numerous years.  She appeared at Live Talks Los Angeles when her book, I See You Made an Effort: Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50, was published.

“Once you’ve read Gretchen Rubin’s tale of a year spent searching for satisfaction, you’ll want to start your own happiness project and get your friends and family to join you. This is the rare book that will make you both smile and think—often on the same page.” —Daniel H. Pink, Drive

Her new book is, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness. For most of us, outer order contributes to inner calm. And for most of us, a rigid, one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t work. 

The fact is, when we tailor our approach to suit our own particular challenges and habits, we’re then able to create the order that will make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. 

Gretchen Rubin has found that getting control of our stuff makes us feel more in control of our lives. By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, we free our minds (and our shelves) for what we truly value. 

With a sense of fun, and a clear idea of what’s realistic for most people, Gretchen Rubin suggests dozens of manageable steps for creating a more serene, orderly environment—one that helps us to create the lives we want.

Alan Cumming with Annabelle Gurwitch

Monday, September 19, 2016
8pm 
 
Alan Cumming
in conversation with Annabelle Gurwitch
 

discussing his upcoming book,
You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams:
My Life in Stories and Pictures

Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School

Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS
$20 General Admission Section Seat 
$45 General Admission Section seat + Cumming’s book
$50 Reserved Section Seat + book
$95 Reception (6:30-7:30pm) + Reserved Section Seat + book

Alan Cumming is an award-winning actor, artist, writer, activist, photographer, and raconteur. He has won an Olivier award for his work on the London stage, and a Tony for his work on Broadway; he appeared in all seven seasons of The Good Wife on CBS for which he received multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. He is currently touring a cabaret show Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs and recently released an album of the same name. He is the author of novel Tommy’s Tale and the  New York Times best-selling memoir Not My Father’s Son. He last appeared at Live Talks Los Angeles to mark the publication Not My Father’s Son.

“One of the most fun people in show business.”  -Time Magazine
Put David Sedaris and Glenn O’Brien in a blender and add a dash of New York and Hollywood gossip, and you wind up with Alan Cumming. In You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams: And Other Stories, Alan Cumming takes the reader on a wild journey of pithy and cheeky fun, presenting his real-life stories of debauchery during late night Hollywood parties, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and hilarious yet poignant memories of his life, family, and friends. In this new book, he recounts hysterical and sometimes embarrassing encounters, from awkwardly entertaining Elizabeth Taylor at Carrie Fisher’s birthday party to being on a movie set with Helen Mirren and being mocked for wearing Croc sandals to making a friend’s day by chasing down Oprah at a glitzy gala for a prized photograph with her. These forty-five stories are humorous novellas, each featuring memorable photographs—many simply snapshots taken by Cumming—that document or illustrate the tale told.

Annabelle Gurwitch
is the author of The New York Times Bestseller I See You Made an Effort a finalist for The Thurber Prize for American Humor Writing 2015. Other books: You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up and Fired! The former co-host of Dinner and a Movie on TBS, her acting credits include television shows like Boston Legal, Dexter, Medium and Seinfeld and critically acclaimed appearances on stage Off-Broadway and in regional theaters. Her writing appears in The New Yorker, The New York Times, O Magazine, More, The Los Angeles Times and NPR. Her theatrical adaptation of I See You Made an Efforthits the road for a national tour in late 2016. She is currently at work on a new memoir Where Ever You Go, There They Are, to be released in 2017.

Faith Salie with Annabelle Gurwitch

Tuesday, April 26, 2016
8:00pm 
 
Faith Salie
in conversation with Annabelle Gurwitch
 
discussing her collection of essays,
Approval Junkie: 
Adventures in Caring Too Much

William Turner Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90404 

PURCHASE TICKETS 
$43 Reserved Section seating + Book
$20 General Admission

Faith Salie is an Emmy-winning contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning and a panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! She also hosts the PBS show, Science Goes To The Movies. As a commentator on politics and pop culture, she’s been interviewed by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Bill O’Reilly, and Anderson Cooper. As a television and public radio host, she herself has interviewed newsmakers from Lorne Michaels to President Carter to Robert Redford, who invited her to call him “Bob.” Faith attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship, and while her fellow scholars went on to become governors and mayors, she landed on a Star Trek collectible trading card worth hundreds of cents.  

Faith Salie has done it all in the name of validation. Whether it’s trying to impress her parents with a perfect GPA, undergoing an exorsism in the hopes of saving her toxic marriage, or maintaining the BMI of “a flapper with a touch of dysentery,” Salie is the ultimate approval seeker—an “approval junkie,” if you will.

In “Miss Aphrodite,” she recounts her strategy for winning the high school beauty pageant. (“Not to brag or anything, but no one stood a chance against my emaciated, spastic resolve.”) “What I Wore to My Divorce” describes Salie’s struggle to pick the perfect outfit to wear to the courthouse to divorce her “wasband.” (“I envisioned a look that said, ‘Yo, THIS is what you’ll be missing…even though you’ve introduced your new girlfriend to our mutual friends, and she’s a decade younger than I am and is also a fit model.”) In “Ovary Achiever,” she shares tips on how to ace your egg retrieval. (“Thank your fertility doctor when she announces you have ‘amazing ovaries.’ Try to be humble about it [‘Oh,these old things?’].”) And in “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me About Batman’s Nipples” she reveals the secrets behind Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! (“I study for this show like Tracy Flick on Adderall”).

Salie reflects on why she tries so hard to please others, and herself, highlighting a phenomenon that many people—especially women—experience at home and in the workplace. Equal parts laugh-out loud funny and poignant, Approval Junkie is one woman’s journey to realizing that seeking approval from others is more than just getting them to like you—it’s challenging yourself to achieve, and survive, more than you ever thought you could.

Annabelle Gurwitch is the author of The New York Times Bestseller I See You Made an Effort a finalist for The Thurber Prize for American Humor Writing 2015. Other books: You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up and Fired! The former co-host of Dinner and a Movie on TBS, her acting credits include television shows like Boston Legal, Dexter, Medium and Seinfeld and critically acclaimed appearances on stage Off-Broadway and in regional theaters. Her writing appears in The New Yorker, The New York Times, O Magazine, More, The Los Angeles Times and NPR. Her theatrical adaptation of I See You Made an Effort hits the road for a national tour in late 2016. She is currently at work on a new memoir Where Ever You Go, There They Are, to be released in 2017.

 

Jon Cryer

Tuesday, April 21, 2015
8:00pm (Reception 6:30-7:30pm)

Jon Cryer
in conversation with Annabelle Gurwitch

discussing his memoir 
So That Happened

William Turner Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS 
$20 General Admission
$30 Reserved Seats
$46 Includes Cryer’s memoir + Seat in reserved section
$95 Pre-event reception, Cryer’s book, seat in reserved section

Jon Cryer is an Emmy-winning actor, screenwriter, director, and producer, best known for his work in John Hughes’s Pretty in Pink and as Alan Harper on CBS’s Two and a Half Men.

If it can happen in show business, it’s happened to Jon Cryer. In his memoir, he shares his behind-the-scenes stories in a warmly endearing, sharply observed, and frankly funny look at life in Hollywood.

In 1986, Jon Cryer won over America as Molly Ringwald’s loyal and lovable best friend, Duckie, in the cult classic Pretty in Pink in a role that set the tone for his three-decade-long career in Hollywood. He went on to establish himself as one of the most talented comedic actors in the business, ultimately culminating in his current turn as Alan Harper on the massively popular sitcom Two and a Half Men.

Cryer has worked with some of the biggest and most provocative names in the business. In his memoir, he details his experiences with Charlie Sheen, John Hughes, Robert Altman, Molly Ringwald, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, and Christopher Reeve, among many others. He shares the intimate details of his friendships and relationships, pays tribute to his mentors, and explores the peculiar combination of heart, talent, and wisdom it takes to survive not just the bad times in a notoriously fickle industry but even the good times.

Annabelle Gurwitch is actress, activist, and the bestselling author of I See You Made an Effort, now out in paperback. Gurwitch is also the author, along with her husband, comedy writer, Jeff Kahn, of You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up, which is now a play in it’s fourth year of touring the country, and Fired!, which was also a Showtime Comedy Special.   Annabelle spent numerous years co-hosting Dinner and a Movie on TBS. She is a frequent guest contributor to The Today Show, CBS Early Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, and MSNBC. She has been a regular commentator on NPR and contributor to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Harpers Bazaar, The Nation, More, Jewish Journal. Her acting credits include Seinfeld, Boston Legal, Dexter, and hosting programs on The Planet Green Network and HBO. She is currently adapting, I See You Made an Effort, for the F/X network.