The Short Story Project
Created by Zachary Desmond & Olivia Facini
Directed by Olivia Facini
Our Backstory
Working together on Donald Barthelme Humors You (which I developed at Mercury Store last winter and then produced in April 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 in late April, so if you have a story that you'd like us to consider, please submit it here!
Our Partnerships
For our first performance, we partnered with Dear Friend Books in Bed-Stuy, and we’re in discussions about hosting future events with Greenlight Bookstore, P&T Knitwear, Unnameable Books, and others. The Short Short Project is aiming to produce our events on a quarterly basis—so, follow me to stay in the loop about our next event in late April!
for our inaugural event on on January 15, 2026 at Dear Friend Books in Bed-Stuy