Comedian Paula Poundstone at Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts November 20 | Press Releases

Image: Paula Poundstone Armed only with a stool, a can of Diet Pepsi and a razor-sharp wit, Emmy Award-winning comedian Paula Poundstone takes the stage at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Friday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. The event is part of Fairfield's annual season of Arts & Minds events. Tickets are $45, $40 and $35.

The Boston Globe said, "Poundstone improvises with a crowd like a jazz musician ... swinging in unexpected directions without a plan, without a net." Known for her spontaneity and interaction with her audience, she is so quick and unassuming that audience members at her live shows often leave complaining that their cheeks hurt from laughter and debating whether the random people she talked to were "plants."

As a regular on the popular NPR show, Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me , Poundstone is no stranger to that network. In anticipation of her appearance at the Quick Center for the Arts, she will spend some time with Conn.'s Faith Middleton on WNPR's The Faith Middleton Show , Friday, Nov. 13. Friday is Middleton's Book Show day and it is likely that the host will draw Poundstone out on her memoir/monologue, "There's Nothing In This Book That I Meant To Say," (Harmony Books, a division of Random House). Publishers Weekly said of her book, "Poundstone makes self-involvement entertaining ... an excuse for a hilarious, stream-of-consciousness confessional."

Poundstone was tapped in 2008 as national spokesperson for Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA), a national organization that provides resources, services, and networking opportunities for Friends, Trustees, and library Foundations across the country to increase and enhance their efforts on behalf of libraries of all types. She considers libraries "raucous clubhouses for free speech, controversy and community."

A single mom, Poundstone has three children, eleven cats, one dog, a bearded dragon lizard and a full schedule that keeps her travelling and never short of material.

Tickets are available online at fairfield.edu/quick or by calling the Box Office at (203) 254-4010. The toll free number is 877-ARTS-396. Special offers and discounts are available through the Quick Center's e-mail list. Join, by contacting boxoffice@quickcenter.com . And become a fan of the Quick Center for the Arts on Facebook! Keep up-to-date with the latest performance news, plus special offers and discounts! Find the Quick Center at www.facebook.com/FairfieldQuickCenter.