Nia Vardalos, Kathleen Chalfant, Sam Underwood, and Valorie Curry perform in Selected Shorts event at the Summer Nostos Festival

NEW YORK, June 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, June 27, the actors will read short works of fiction exploring the complex relationships between humans and their creations as part of the free online festival organized by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)

Four esteemed actors will read entrancing short stories full of humor and pathos at this year's online Summer Nostos Festival: RetroFuture Edition. The stories selected deal with the ramifications of artificial intelligence and imagine unprecedented times eerily reminiscent of our own.

On Saturday, June 27 ( 3-4 p.m. EDT), Nia Vardalos will perform "Cat Pictures Please" by Naomi Kritzer, Kathleen Chalfant will perform "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury, Sam Underwood will perform "The Eyes of the Soul" by Michel Faber, and Valorie Curry will host and perform "Sci-Fi" by Tracy K. Smith. Streamed live at SNFestival.org.

The event is a collaboration between the Summer Nostos Festival, organized by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and Selected Shorts, the popular series produced by New York's Symphony Space. Broadcast by more than 150 stations, the series is among the most popular podcasts on iTunes.

The annual Summer Nostos Festival is a free week of bold ideas and big fun, held at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens. This year, the SNFestival moved online and featured a studio tour with William Kentridge, discussions with leading AI thinkers like Stuart Russell at the SNF Conference, Oedipus the King from Theater of War Productions with Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, David Strathairn, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, chess legends Garry Kasparov and Judit Polgár, and much more.

Select actors are available for media interviews.

About the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is one of the world's leading private, international philanthropic organizations, making grants to nonprofit organizations in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and sports and social welfare. SNF funds organizations and projects worldwide that aim to achieve a broad, lasting, and positive impact for society at large and exhibit strong leadership and sound management. The Foundation also supports projects that facilitate the formation of public-private partnerships as an effective means for serving public welfare.

Since 1996, the Foundation has committed more than $3 billion through more than 4,600 grants to nonprofit organizations in 126 nations around the world.

See more at SNF.org.

Media Contact: Maggie.fiertz@finnpartners.com

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SOURCE Stavros Niarchos Foundation