Stories on Stage Davis will present the works of authors Valerie Fioravanti and Michelle Woods at its inaugural performance on Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Pence Gallery, 212 D St. in downtown Davis. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. The suggested donation is $5.

A melding of contemporary fiction and theater, Stories on Stage Davis takes literature off of the page and electronic tablet and brings it into a live venue where it is interpreted by seasoned actors.

“Hearing a short story being read out loud is magical,” says Jeri Howitt, one of the organizers of Stories on Stage Davis. “There’s an electric current in the air that draws everyone together.”

Saturday’s featured reading, “Garbage Night at the Opera” by Valerie Fioravanti, is part of a linked collection of short stories of the same title that follow generations of an Italian-American family through the loss of factory jobs and the gentrification of their Brooklyn neighborhood.

“Garbage Night at the Opera” won the 2011 G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction, and excerpts from the collection have appeared in North American Review and other distinguished literary journals. Fioravanti is also the creative force behind the award-winning Sacramento Stories on Stage series, now in its fourth season.

“Collard Greens & Baklava,” by emerging author Michelle Woods, explores questions of identity and social boundaries. Woods’ fiction has been published in the Sacramento News and Review and the Blue Moon Literary & Art Review.

“Garbage Night at the Opera” will be read by Jim Lane. Pam Metzger will read “Collard Greens and Baklava.”

Howitt hopes that Stories on Stage Davis will showcase and nurture literary talent in Davis and surrounding areas.

“There are many excellent local writers that no one knows about,” she says. “Stories on Stage creates a space where writers, performers, artists and the community can inspire each other and collaborate.”

Stories on Stage Davis is accepting submissions from writers and written résumés or video links from actors who are interested in reading and interpreting fictional works.

For more information, visit www.storiesonstagedavis.com.

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