Season four, episode two, of the podcast features the short work “Lady Grief” as read by the author, Melanie Chartoff. “Lady Grief” was published in the fall 2021 journal, Tamed, and it was so fun to hear the work read aloud.
If you’re interested in learning more about the author and her diverse work in writing and acting, here is a bit more about Melanie, including where you can find her online:
Melanie Chartoff’s lust for acting began on the stages of Yale University and Long Wharf Theatre in her hometown New Haven. Working on and off Broadway while studying craft with Stella Adler, singing, dancing, and improv in many schools of thought, she moonlighted as a singing stand-up at the Improv Club. While guest-starring on television in Los Angeles, she continued honing her comedy chops at the Hollywood Improv and joined the cast of Fridays, ABC’s answer to Saturday Night Live, along with Larry David and Michael Richards. She’s best known for characters she created there and on Seinfeld, Newhart, Weird Science, Wiseguy, and Rugrats, also familiar from the notorious Andy Kaufman incident, for testifying against George Costanza in the Final Seinfeld, and for playing Grandma Minka in the first animated Chanukah Special for Rugrats and Nickelodeon.
Recently, she’s been published in McSweeney’s, Medium, Entropy, The Jewish Journal, Funny Times, Five on the Fifth, Glint, Entropy, Bluestem, Goats Milk Magazine, Evening Street Press, The Literate Ape, Mused, Jewlarious, Defenestration, Better after 50, Living the Second Act, and five editions of Chicken Soup for the Soul (Simon and Schuster). Odd Woman Out: Essays and Stories, her first book, is rated 5 stars on Barnes & Noble and Amazon. It intimately exposes the nature of identity in the life of a performing artist, snapshotting the search for a self Chartoff could love, and someone else’s self to love, too, She found and married him seven years ago and became a happy step-mother to his fabulous prefab kids.
She has been teaching “Charismatizing Improvising and Acting” in private classes and online coaching for years. For info and testimonials, go to Charismatizing.com. Her performing website is MelanieChartoff.com.
You can find her on Facebook here for Charistmatizing and Melanie Chartoff, or @melaniechartoff & #melaniechartoff elsewhere.
Now, imagine we are preparing for Thanksgiving (can you believe it’s the day after tomorrow?) when the conversation turns to this week’s episode of the podcast. We would love to hear your thoughts–leave a comment below!
