Annual Conversation Series Brings New Yorker Journalist, “Stranger Things” Actor to UAlbany

The Creative Life series this semester will bring to campus an acclaimed writer and a TV personality as well known for his sense of humor as his acting chops.

Susan Orlean, a staff writer for The New Yorker and an award-winning author, will speak at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center (PAC) on Friday, March 1.

The journalist has written for The New Yorker since 1992 and has been a contributing writer for Vogue, Rolling Stone and Esquire, among other outlets. Orlean is best known for writing The Orchid Thief. The 1998 book was adapted into the movie “Adaptation,” featuring actress Meryl Streep, four years later.

Her most recent publication, The Library Book, delves into the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, which devastated the Los Angeles Public Library in the 1980s.

The March event will take place at 8p.m. on the University’s uptown campus.

Also joining the conversation series in April is Paul Reiser, a comedian, actor and writer. The Stranger Things star will visit Page Hall on the Downtown Campus on Thursday, April 4 at 8p.m.

Reiser has spent the past 30 years acting in and producing Oscar and Emmy award-winning movies and TV shows, including Red Oaks, The Romanoffs, Mad About You and the upcoming Fosse/Verdon. Comedy Central named Reiser one of the “Top 100 Comedians of All Time” in 2013.

Joe Donahue, senior director of news and programming at WAMC Northeast Public Radio, will moderate both events, which are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact PAC at (518) 442-3997 or [email protected].

The University Art Museum, the New York State Writers Institute and PAC collaborated with the NPR-syndicated station to launched the The Creative Life in the fall of 2016, according to Kim Engel, associate director of PAC.

“The Creative Life celebrates the depth and range of artistic practice and calls attention to the dynamic arts and cultural programming at the University at Albany,” Engel said. “While discussion topics vary per guest, conversations examine the unique contribution of each artist to their field, the creative process in general and the demands of sustaining an artistic practice over time.”

Major support for The Creative Life is provided by The University at Albany Foundation and The John D. Picotte Family Foundation. Additional support is provided from the UAlbany Alumni Association, College of Arts and Sciences, Office of the Provost and University Auxiliary Services.