Terry Gross

Actor and playwright Rebecca Wells is touring the country with her new one-woman show, about the life of a beautician.

Coleman was a child piano prodigy who has written for Broadway, television and pop artists. Despite his popular success, he says that, in order to keep working, he still has to audition for directors and producers.

Photographer Ted Spagna. His most recent project has been photographing people and animals while asleep. It's attracted the interest of sleep researchers who see links that were not previously apparent.

Rhythm guitarist Marty Grosz will play two tunes, including the Franny Brice hit from the 20s, ``The Rose of Washington Square.''

Comedian Bob Goldthwait, who has appeared in the "Police Academy" movies and the Whoppi Goldberg film "Burglar." Goldthwait recently completed an HBO special and frequently appears on MTV.

Stephen Schiff says that the recent Japanese movie Tampopo pays homage to the Seventh Samurai and countless other films. The food-obsessed plot is both absurd and telling: the movie satisfies and leaves you hungry for more.

The actress, daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, is best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars. Her new autobiographical novel deals with drug abuse and depression.

Matt Neuman writes for the HBO show Not Necessarily the News, which lampoons political figures and current events. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his brand of edgy of humor.

Bill Raymond has long worked with the collaborative theater troupe Mabou Mines. Their recent production, Cold Harbor, in which Raymond stars, is about Ulysses S. Grant.

Broadway actress Sophie Hayden worked in New York as an accomplished baton twirler before making it onto the stage. She put her skills to use in a recent production of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors--where she twirled a machete.