November 10, 2016: Literary Sala Readings

An Actor and an Agitator tell Tales In and Out of School

By Carole Schor

On November 10, join us for a different kind of Literary Sala adventure. We’ll hear stories performed and also hear a fictional tale about an historic San Franciso Bay Area event. We will also launch this year’s San Miguel Big Read at this event.

Mick Diener

We are excited to present one of San Miguel’s most beloved actors, Mick Diener, who will be performing stories by some of the world’s greatest authors. Coming on the heels of our famous Storytelling Festival, Mick will present several short stories that are certain to entertain. Who can forget these famous words, which we probably all heard at the kitchen table, huddled around a radio where we, as a family, gathered together to hear stories of suspense, thrills and love:

“Out of the clear blue of the western sky, comes Sky King.”
“Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. With a cloud of dust and a hearty hi-ho Silver. It’s the Lone Ranger.”
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!”

These famous lines opened some of the most well known and most loved radio dramas. Mick Diener got his start on radio back in his college days, and he’s never lost his love for the art of the spoken story, which thrilled us long before TV and the Internet.

Mick is a well-known member of the San Miguel acting community. After a long hiatus from acting and a move to San Miguel, three years ago he stumbled into an opportunity to star in a Playreaders event. He’s since appeared in many Playreaders plays, and has also played a variety of roles at the Players Workshop, including the upcoming Driving Miss Daisy. Mick is an ad man who came to it naturally as the son of a Don Draper-type advertising executive. He has been, and still is, in the business of infomercials starring the likes of Victoria Principal and Cindy Crawford.

Henry Hitz

Henry Hitz, hails from the San Francisco Bay Area and has written his own story of a fabled time in the City by the Bay: White Knight: or How One Man Came To Believe That He Was The One Who Caused The San Francisco City Hall Killings And The Jonestown Massacre. A bit of autobiography, a bit of made up fiction, Henry’s story chronicles the time when Dan White, then City Councilman, was enlisted to help save a childcare center in one of the most troubled inner city projects in SF. Henry, who actually lived in the housing project and directed the child care center there, weaves together the political power plays happening in the school and housing projects with the story of Jim Jones and the People’s Temple, one maniacal man’s answer to the scourge of poverty and crime in the ghetto. Fires and drugs and political shenanigans all combined to foment a revolution in the projects, a revolution that sent some to jail, some to sex and orgies, and some to suicide in Guyana. It was a revolution that ended with the deranged “Twinkie-provoked” assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978, just days after over 900 people literally “drank the Kool-Aid” and killed themselves.

Henry spent 15 years organizing parents in the Oakland Public Schools, attempting to foster human connections between them, knitting the fabric of the new society. He’s written five novels, a memoir, a screenplay, and many stories based on the fact and fiction of his own experience.

Big Read Launch Event

At the November 10 Literary Sala event, we will also initiate the 2016-17 San Miguel Big Read. The book featured for the Big Read this year is On Trails by Robert Moor. “An incredibly engaging page-turner of a book,” says one reviewer. At this meeting, the book will be available for purchase, and it will be possible to register for a Big Read Book Discussion group. If you would like to join a Big Read discussion group and are not able to attend this Sala event, you may e-mail Jo Curtis at bigread@sanmiguelwritersconference.org.

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Join us for what is certain to be an interesting evening of tales on November 10 at 5 PM at the Hotel La Aldea on the Ancha. Admission is 50 pesos for members of the Literary Sala and 100 pesos for non-members, including a wine and snack reception. Membership in the Literary Sala supports ­not only the literary life of San Miguel including scholarships for teens and reading projects for children in the campo, it also offers attractive benefits like reading groups, discounts at the monthly author readings, as well as discounts and priority seating at the Annual Writers’ Conference. A Membership Table will be available at the Sala event.