Christian Scheider Reads “A Christmas Memory” at the Amagansett Free Library

The Amagansett Free Library presents actor and filmmaker Christian Scheider in an annual reading of Truman Capote’s beloved holiday short story “A Christmas Memory” in their community room on Sunday, December 18, at 1:30 pm.  The presentation is free and open to the public. Children, parents, and grandparents – indeed, all – are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

“A Christmas Memory” was originally published in Mademoiselle magazine in December 1956 and was reprinted in The Selected Writings of Truman Capote in 1963. It was issued in a stand-alone hardcover edition by Random House in 1966, and it has been published in many editions and anthologies since.

The largely autobiographical story, which takes place in the 1930s, describes a period in the lives of the 7-year-old narrator and an elderly woman who is his distant cousin and best friend. The evocative narrative focuses on country life, friendship, and the joy of giving during the Christmas season, and it also poignantly touches on loneliness and loss. Now a holiday classic, “A Christmas Memory” has been broadcast, recorded, filmed, and staged multiple times, in award-winning productions.

Christian Scheider is a filmmaker and actor living between Los Angeles and the east end of Long Island. Scheider graduated from Bard College with a degree in philosophy, working as a writing tutor with the Bard Prison Initiative – the pioneering program that offers B.A. degrees to inmates serving terms in maximum security prisons.

As a theater maker, Scheider co-adapted, produced, and directed Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Murderer” and Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Galápagos into fully staged productions. For film, Scheider co-directed the documentary Milarch, about self-identified climate prophet David Milarch, and is finishing a sketch comedy series about a troop of erstwhile performance artists reenacting their glory days amidst a mysterious menagerie of flora.

Currently, Scheider is co-writing, directing, and producing with frequent collaborator Tucker Marder and the BBC’s Dale Templar (Human Planet, Bear Grylls) the feature comedy film Animal Party about human-animal rituals all over the world. In November, Animal Party was selected by the Redford Center as part of their 2016 grants program.

For information about Christian Scheider’s reading of “A Christmas Memory,” call the Amagansett Free Library at 631.267.3810 or visit amaglibrary.org.