The Short Story Project

Our Backstory

Working together on Donald Barthelme Humors You (which I developed at Mercury Store and then produced in early 2025) taught Zack Desmond and me two important lessons: first, that we work well together, and second, that adapting short stories for the stage is fun, and audiences love seeing them. So, we decided to keep it going—thus, the Short Story Project was born!

Our Mission

Led by Zachary Desmond and Olivia Facini and supported by Undiscovered Works, the Short Story Project creates low-tech, high-creativity theatrical stagings of short stories. Our performances provide a fun, free way for audiences to encounter a new author and to experience in a new way the work of a writer they might know already. We host our events at independent bookstores around New York City to bring communities together in familiar, welcoming surroundings and to encourage further exchange between theater and literature, between avid theatergoers and devoted book lovers.

We're currently accepting submissions for our next event, so if you have a story that you'd like us to consider, please submit it here!

Our Partnerships

So far, we've partnered with Dear Friend Books in Bed-Stuy and P&T Knitwear on the Lower East Side. We’re in discussions about hosting future events with Greenlight Bookstore, Unnameable Books, and others. We produce our events on a quarterly basis—so, follow me to stay in the loop about our next event!

Our Past Performances

If you missed our past performances, you can watch them here: 

• "Taos" by Sally Helm, directed by Olivia Facini (January 15, 2026 at Dear Friend Books in Bed-Stuy) 
• "Stylites Anonymous" by Maureen McGranaghan, directed by Olivia Facini (April 24, 2026 at P&T Knitwear on the LES)