Some time in the middle of her 20+ years as Morning Edition host on NPR affiliates, Donna Apidone grasped the true Purpose of her job: Connect with people. Talk to one person at a time. Create an environment that combines information and encouragement. She currently writes for two national projects —“America’s Heartland” (produced by PBS KVIE) and NextAvenue.org (produced by Twin Cities PBS). Donna speaks to community groups and congregations, and she teaches classes on finding Purpose. Her first book, Trans-For-Mission, is rooted in persuasion theory, a process she has taught nationwide. She was ordained in New York in 2009.
Donna Apidone’s “Drive Time Meditations” will be read jointly by Janis Stevens and Jim Lane.
Janis Stevens received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Professional Actor Training Program of Ohio University. She spent her early career working in Vienna, Austria, at Vienna’s English Theatre and the International Theatre Company. Her regional and local credits here in the States include acting and directing at Theater at Monmouth, Maine, the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, and Sierra Repertory Theatre in Sonora and, in Sacramento, B Street Theatre, Capital Stage, California Stage and Sacramento Theatre Company. Janis is a 2006 Drama Desk Award Nominee for “Outstanding Solo Performance” for her portrayal of Vivien Leigh in Rick Foster’s “Vivien” at the American Theatre of Actors off-off-Broadway. She received Elly Awards from the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance for Best Dramatic Actress in 2006 for her performance as the architect Julia Morgan in “Becoming Julia Morgan” and in 2019 for her portrayal of Dorothea Puente in “Dorothea Puente Tells All” as well as the Elly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. Proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Jim Lane received his BA in Theatre from CSU Sacramento in 1977. He has been acting and directing for over 60 years in Sacramento theaters – and in Southern California, where he earned an MA (also in Theatre) from CSU Long Beach. Jim has worked at Sacramento Theatre Company, Capital Stage, and at Sacramento’s Music Circus, among many others. Favorite roles include Harold Hill in The Music Man, Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Philip Marlowe in The Little Sister, the Stage Manager in Our Town, Erronius in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Henry in Luigi Pirandello’s Enrico IV and Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey. Jim’s screen appearances include Clint Eastwood’s Bird, Melvin Purvis G-Man, and Wisdom with Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore. Jim was a film critic for the Sacramento News & Review for 30 years, and has taught Film and Media Studies as an adjunct instructor for Los Rios Community College District. Jim also blogs on Classic Hollywood at Jim Lane’s Cinedrome (www.jimlanescinedrome.com).
Daniel Tam-Claiborne is a multiracial essayist, multimedia producer, and nonprofit director. His writing has appeared in Catapult, Literary Hub, Off Assignment, The Rumpus, The Huffington Post, and elsewhere. A 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, he has also received support from the U.S. Fulbright Program, Kundiman, the New York State Summer Writers Institute, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Writing By Writers, the Jack Straw Cultural Center, the Yiddish Book Center, and others. He holds degrees from Oberlin College, Yale University, and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, and his debut novel-in-progress, Transplants, was a finalist for the 2023 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.
Daniel Tam-Claiborne’s “Grip Strength” will be read by Braeden Harris. Braeden (he/him) is primarily a stage actor in Sacramento and is ecstatic to be a part of Stories on Stage! Credits include: Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas At Pemberley (Capital Stage), For the Love of Dog (The Stage At Burke), The Mousetrap, Lost Girl, Animal Crackers (American River College), The Killing (Actors Ensemble of Berkeley). He received his Associates Degree in Theatre Arts from American River College and is a two-time KCACTF Irene Ryan Nominee. For more @braedenharris.