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Sassy Southern Stories 2026
an evening of American music and storytelling in the Southern tradition
Wendy Hammers and Suzanne Weerts brought an evening of SASS back to the Ebell of Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 6th with the return of Sassy Southern Stories. Guests enjoyed music & mingling on the porch while sipping mint juleps in their fabulous fascinators and were treated to
six delightful southern stories during a most memorable evening!
Meet The Cast
Lori Alan
may be best known for her award-winning Voice- Over work. She has played a long-running role as Pearl Krabs on the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. She also voiced Diane Simmons on Family Guy, the Invisible Woman on Fantastic Four, and The Boss in the Metal Gear video game series. She's proud to be a part of the Pixar Family. She voices Bonnie’s mom in Toy Story 3, 4 and soon to be in theaters, Toy Story 5, and Mabel‘s Mom in the new blockbuster, Hoppers. Also voicing characters in Wall-e, Monster's University, Mom’s Sadness in Inside Out 1 & 2. Lori’s recurring TV roles include Will & Grace, Ray Donovan, Shameless, Loot with Maya Rudolph, Nobody Wants This and as Young Larry’s Mom on Curb Your Enthusiasm Other stage credits include The Pee-wee Herman Show at Club Nokia, and her solo show Lori Alan: The Musical. All things Lori, including her pilot, Do The Voice.
Knekoh Frugé
Fruge' loves to wear hats.
She has worn many throughout her life; a country girl come city slicker, a souffle’ chef, a dancer, an actress, a political activist and prop master, a poet and writer, and a yogi. She was born in Southwest Louisiana; Cajun Country. An area atypical of the South, but just Southern enough to be called a Belle
She has worn many throughout her life; a country girl come city slicker, a souffle’ chef, a dancer, an actress, a political activist and prop master, a poet and writer, and a yogi. She was born in Southwest Louisiana; Cajun Country. An area atypical of the South, but just Southern enough to be called a Belle
Clarinda Ross
is a Los Angeles-based actress and writer. She is a member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and the Dramatists Guild. She was named a Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers Conference and received her MFA in Creative Writing for Performance at UC-Riverside/Palm Desert. Her play ``SPIT LIKE A BIG GIRL” was published by Applause Theatre Books. Her plays have been produced at Equity Theatres across the US. She is married to the actor Googy Gress; they have three children: Clara, Frank, and Gus. They divide their time between Los Angeles and the mountains of North Carolina.
Licia Shearer
is an actress/singer, writer and producer whose raw, "straight-no chaser" style of spoken word poetry and storytelling, unveils an interesting, fun, slice of life point-of-view, that allows her to take you on a journey, so you can look closer, go deeper and laugh harder at the "little things" that make life, LIFE!
In addition to being a TV (Bloodline, Up All Night, Dexter, Cold Case, etc.), film (How To Be A Player, Radio Free Albemuth, Gank of Roses, The Spider and the Fly, etc.) and stage actress (Gee's Bend, Ain't Misbehavin', Little Shop of Horrors, etc.), Licia performs her written work at venues and speaking engagements across the country, has published articles, written countless short stories and poems and has a book that will be released later this year, along with an upcoming solo show and a television pilot that is in development.
In addition to being a TV (Bloodline, Up All Night, Dexter, Cold Case, etc.), film (How To Be A Player, Radio Free Albemuth, Gank of Roses, The Spider and the Fly, etc.) and stage actress (Gee's Bend, Ain't Misbehavin', Little Shop of Horrors, etc.), Licia performs her written work at venues and speaking engagements across the country, has published articles, written countless short stories and poems and has a book that will be released later this year, along with an upcoming solo show and a television pilot that is in development.
Suzanne Weerts
Writing teacher, producer and future best-selling author Suzanne Weerts just got home from touring champagne bars in the California wine country with her new memoir Champagne Girl in a Budweiser Family. When not dancing with words, she can be found on Griffith Park trails with her anti-social dog or on the couch watching Breaking Bad with her semi-social husband.
Suzanne's creative nonfiction essays can be found in The Sun and Good Old Days magazines, in the recent anthologies The Pandemic Midlife Crisis: GenX Women on the Brink and Rings of Kindness. Suzanne produces storytelling shows through her company JAM Creative to support local non-profits and has raised over $60,000 demonstrating the POWER of stories to impact lives.
After Sassy Southern Stories, her next story JAM is MOMNIPRESENT at the Colony Theatre in Burbank on May 31.
Suzanne's creative nonfiction essays can be found in The Sun and Good Old Days magazines, in the recent anthologies The Pandemic Midlife Crisis: GenX Women on the Brink and Rings of Kindness. Suzanne produces storytelling shows through her company JAM Creative to support local non-profits and has raised over $60,000 demonstrating the POWER of stories to impact lives.
After Sassy Southern Stories, her next story JAM is MOMNIPRESENT at the Colony Theatre in Burbank on May 31.
Pat Willson
was Born in Greenville, South Carolina, acquiring a B.A from Furman University and an M.A. from Chapel Hill, North Carolina altogether makes her a true southerner to her very core. While attending Circle in the Square acting school on scholarship, she bartended in lower Manhattan. From NYC she moved to L.A. where she acted and directed resulting in several awards. These days are spent storytelling, something that pays nothing monetarily but millions in satisfaction. She owes a great deal to Story Salon and to the support of her actor husband Paul Willson.
Your Hostess Wendy Hammers
has been at the helm of Tasty Words Productions since 2001, a live storytelling salon that serves up hilarious and horrifying real life stories, told by the people who wrote and lived them. She facilities weekly writing classes and leads deep dive retreats in Malibu and Mexico. She is delighted to be hosting the second SASSY SOUTHERN STORIES evening at the beautiful Ebell of Los Angeles.
Musical Guests: Jamie & the Silver Dollars
a four-piece Americana band with roots from the Deep South will be warming up the courtyard with honky-tonk heart and Southern sass. Their music is full of heartbreak, defiance, and hard-won joy, told through the music of Lucinda Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny and June, and the contemporary artists they inspired.
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