Results tagged “malloryjensen”

THEATER: Less than a week post-Fringe, another festival is upon us: the Brick's new Clown Theater Festival, which starts tonight with a subway parade and "free-for-all pie-fight." Some of the participating local and international performers wear big red noses but these aren't the sort of clowns that kids get scared of at birthday parties, but rather the promoters of and participants in a vibrant physical format that's re-energizing theater; there are performances like Chiche Capon's Cabaret out of France and Fools Mass by NYC's own Theatre Group Dzieci, plus workshops for aspiring clowns. Even if the Fringe has you tuckered out, these will be different and delightful enough to get you going again. - Mallory Jensen

The VMA's are in town, but there's more to do beyond screaming outside of Radio City or attempting to hit up one of the red carpet parties...

THEATER: Previews start tonightfor the first U.S. production of Australian Gordon Graham's play The Boys, ferried here across the bigger pond by Outhouse Theatre Co. The title characters aren't boys in age, but they certainly are in their attitudes toward women: at a party celebrating one man's release from jail, he and two buddies grow increasingly angry at their girlfriends, and leave in a misogynistic huff. The next day a woman is found raped and murdered -- was it them? The play should provoke plenty of heated -- but hopefuly not too heated -- discussion among audience members. - Mallory Jensen

THEATER: The Impact Festival and fall at the Culture Project get started in a big way with the world premiere of The Treatment, which starts previews tonight. Add together playwright Eve Ensler (of Vagina Monologues fame), stars Dylan McDermott and Portia, director Leigh Silverman, and a sharply topical play about a traumatized soldier who saw and took part in too much for his psyche to handle when he was a military interrogator, and you've got all the makings of a must-see. - Mallory Jensen

THEATER: The Fringe Festival is over and pretty much every stage in town is dark tonight, but the Abingdon Theater Co. is producing a reading of Stephen Cone's Lacrimosa, about an famed evangelist and his wife who seclude themselves in their big mansion, thinking the Second Coming is near, but instead a strange girl arrives, and the evangelist's volatile brother, and with them all the problems and craziness of our mixed-up world, jolting them from their comfortable complacency. This reading will be even more interesting because minster and evangelical expert Cathy Gilliard is on hand for a talk-back. - Mallory Jensen

THEATER: The end of the Fringe Festival draws near, and the dilemma sharpens: what should you not miss? Of the shows that are still on, a good bet is Chris Harcum's http://www.chrisharcum.com/ Some Kind of Pink Breakfast, a solo comedy (but multi-character) with music by Debby Schwartz that melds '80's songs and movies with events from his own experiences, making for a hilarious yet poignant retro performance that should be a perfect way to end this year's festival. - Mallory Jensen

THEATER: Perhaps even more challenging than producing a play in 24 hours, as in the well-known series mentioned yesterday, is writing a good play that lasts only 8 minutes. Maybe that's why Turtle Shell Productions calls their challenges to playwrights from around the country to do just that "8 Minute Madness." Plays are performed in groups of nine and judged by both audience members and a panel of theater people, and are advancing now toward the finale. - Mallory Jensen

THEATER: Both the Fringe Festival and the wildly successful, but once Fringe-y, 24 Hour Plays are celebrating their tenth anniversaries this year, so why not do it together? Starting tonight, some of the original cast members and plays from the series that proved that a gimmick (conceive, write, rehearse and perform a play in a day) can produce fresh theatre, reunite in five totally different sets of five. - Mallory Jensen

THEATER: Among the many great things about the Fringe Festival is that it makes theatre available on Mondays, when almost all venues are usually blacked out. 34 different shows are on today, to be exact, including Armageddon Dance Party, David L. Williams' inspired, hilarious take on our precarious times, in which a couple does what comes naturally when they hear the end of times is nigh: invite people over and crank up the music to drown out the horror and sadness welling up from within. Smart writing and great acting got it a gold star in yesterday's reviews and is the sort of Fringe show that should get an extension, but in case it doesn't be sure to go now. - Mallory Jensen

MOVIES: Seriously, like there is anything else to see this weekend besides Snakes on a Plane. C'mon, you know you wanna.

THEATER: "A black comedy about a family tree that is gradually rotting away": Brutality of Fact, Keith Reddin's play about two sisters -- one an alcoholic and one a newly converted, zealous Jehovah's Witness -- their crazy mother and an estranged husband, sounds a bit like something from the Fringe gone uptown a few blocks, which in our book is a very good thing; previews start tonight for this show that is likely to provoke plenty of laughs in some unexpected places. - Mallory Jensen

THEATER: Most people will remember some awful tragedy that marked their high school years -- the rite of passage of discovery of mortality via car crash, or skiing accident, or overdose. In Le Wilhelm's The Death in the Juniper Grove, three adults revisit the dark forest they entered as teenagers with a fourth friend who never emerged, trying to determine what exactly happened back then and how it influences who they are now. The plot's familiarity doesn't mean lack of suspense, especially with an experienced cast directed by Wilhelm himself. - Mallory Jensen

MOVIE ART: Young artists with wtf?-attitudes come together to bring us "Risky Business" - a showcase of mixed media, including video, sculpture, collage, painting, and photography. A parents-out-of-town themed art party will follow the opening.

READINGS: Jennifer Paddock will be at the Borders to read from her sophomore novel, , which follows a young writer, Caroline, as she leaves her MFA program and seeks out stories in the devastated wake of Hurricane Ivan. Paddock combines her story with Caroline's writing, which is an interesting technique, if not a little meta. - Krissa Corbett Cavouras

READINGS: Mark Helprin, author of the whimsical and weird (reviewed on Gothamist) will be reading from the novel at the 7th Ave Barnes & Noble in Brooklyn. We suspect the witty parts will be even more witty when read in a British accent, so head on down. - Krissa Corbett Cavouras

THEATER: Last time we saw the National Asian-American Theatre Co. http://www.naatco.org/ was in the charmingly quirky Cowboy vs. Samurai. Now, for something completely different: their next show, which opens tonight, is The Dispute by Pierre Marivaux, an 18th century French dramatist. In it, a prince confines two male and two female orphans to an artificial "Eden" until they come of age, then he sets them loose to see what happens -- who will succumb first to temptation? Not only is it sure to be good theatre, there's virtually a guarantee of interesting after-theatre conversation. - Mallory Jensen

EVENT: Fat Baby is turning in to Craft Baby tonight, with a Make Workshop event that will teach you to reconstruct your boring 'ol clothes. You can als how to embroider, knit and crochet...your grams would be so proud of you. And don't forget to stop by the silk screen and iron-on station (byo-witticisms).

FASHION: This is an early one, fashionistas. The Brooklyn Public Library is hosting a round table discussion today on Fashion and Beauty trends. Come. Learn. Be pretty.

MOVIE: Netflix Rolling Roadshow presents The Warriors. Watch the local turf wars play out on a big screen in Coney Island. Tickets are on a first come, first serve basis. And for some reason, Lisa Loeb is hosting this and there will be a Q&A following the movie.

MOVIE: Get a little more in depth on the whole border crossing controversy with Woodstock in the

COMEDY: The Del Close Marathon is happening this weekend, the full schedule is here.

THEATER: Though some might balk at an outdoor performance in this muggy, thunderstormy weather, The Drilling CompaNY's version of As You Like It, the next installment of Shakespeare in the Park(ing) Lot (directed by Jesse Ontiveros), is bound to exude enough cool to counteract the waves of heat rising from the asphalt. It also helps if you show up with your own chair so you don't have to exert yourself in a scuffle to nab one of the limited number available there. - Mallory Jensen

THEATER: Untitled Intentional Exercise #1, a "wild trip through desire and isolation" that combines the talents of Stuck Pigs Squealing, http://www.stuckpigs.com.au/ an Australian theater collective, with those of Mac Wellman, Oliver Butler, and Banana Bag and Bodice, http://www.bananabagandbodice.org/ has a fascinating show-specific website http://stuckpigs.multiply.com/ where the creators have been posting rehearsal videos and notes; check it out for a taste of the improvisational whirlwind you'll enter if you go, though even thus prepared it will surely be crazier, in a good way, than you expected . - Mallory Jensen

THEATER: The River to River Festival isn't just about outdoor concerts, and Canadians not only have great indie bands, they also have theatre troupes breaking into the experimental downtown scene. Bluemouth Inc.'s What the River Said, which is in both R2R and the Sitelines series, is a case in point; the play, which evokes "the struggle for acceptance in the calm before the family storm" is the third part of a trilogy originally performed along a creek near Toronto; you aren't likely to feel lost if you haven't seen the other parts, but you almost certainly will be eager for the full production to make it here. - Mallory Jensen

PARTY: Superheroes are all over the big screen this summer, so come celebrate one of the originals. Lynda Carter: A Celebration of the Birth and Life of a Wonderful Woman is a party going on tonight with Shakey and Justin Carter (from Nublu). They invite you to come celebrate the 55th birthday of Wonder Woman! There will be a best Wonder Woman costume contest and "revelers are also invited to bring a record of their favorite wonder woman to play during the evening."

PARTY: ABC No Rio is the 26 year old LES center for art and activism that has JUST received the title to their building. "Envisioned for the site is a multi-use community arts center with darkroom, silk-screen printing facility, small press resource center, computer center, expanded space for art, music, performance, educational and community activities, and meeting and office space."

COMEDY: If you missed Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel and Aziz Ansari at Summerstage last night - you can catch them all together tonight as Human Giant takes over UCB tonight. What to expect?: "Each week they present a collection of sketches, short films, and presentations that have all been pre-approved by the other "human giant" - Michael Clarke Duncan. In addition, if anyone leaves the show unsatisfied, Mr. Duncan has agreed to go to the homes of Mr. Ansari, Mr. Huebel, and Mr. Scheer and personally beat the #!*$ out of their family."

READING: READINGS: Looks like literary talent might just be genetic - 26-year-old Owen King, son of best-selling spookmaster Stephen King, has a collection of a novella and short stories out and is reading tonight at the Astor Place Barnes & Noble. We're All in This Together has been called "compelling" and "imaginative", and having a famous father can't hurt, right? - Krissa Corbett Cavouras

FILM: Dutch animator Paul Driessen (who you know even if you don't realize it - he did the Beatles' Yellow Submarine movie), will have films from the last 30 years screened at BAM - as part of their Animation Festival. Step into his socially conscious fantasy world!

EVENT: Help raise some money for the good fight with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra and Time's Up! Two long time allies are coming together to raise money and awareness for the environment. RMO is NYC's punk rock radical marching band and will lead the evening of music that includes Monkeyshine 9, Heavy Creatures, Quick Release and Phil Not Bombs. Also featuring DJ Suggested D's dance floor madness and the infamous blender bike.