WEDNESDAY
(flyer via Judson Arts Wednesdays)
Blind Crest
August 17, 7 pm at Judson Memorial Church: FREE
Judson Arts Wednesdays, a series of free music, dance, and theatrical-readings twice a month, wraps up the season with this final play reading.
Blind Crest was inspired by the true story of Ronnell Wilson and Nancy Gonzalez, this work by Monet Hurst-Mendoza is take on a “boy-meets-girl” story where a black man on death row and a newly-appointed corrections officer make a connection and plan to have a baby.
Beyond the outlandish IRL tale, the play investigates the racist inclinations of the judicial system (and probably also the media, society as a whole, etc.) along the way. It’s gonna be a whole-evening kind of experience, with drinks n’ snacks before the show and a talkback with the artists after the play is over. All that, for the low cost of zero dollars.
THURSDAY
(photo: Francine Daveta)
Infertile
August 18, 8 pm at UCB Chelsea: $5
How do you have a child? It seems easy, but sometimes it’s not. And sometimes the only way to explore these issues is by making sketch comedy about it.
If you ever spent restless nights sleepless and wondering if your niche interests in matters of infertility and structured comedic scenes would ever find their way together, you can rest easy now. UCB performers John Murray and Silvija Ozols wrote the show based on their own personal experiences with the struggles of babymaking, which drove them to deal with pain the best way they know how: comedy. The show also stars two more porking pairs, made up of funny folk from Billy On the Street, Adam Ruins Everything, and more.
FRIDAY
(image via JACK, photos: Maria Baranova)
Quiet, Comfort
Continues through August 27, 8 pm + additional Saturday August 20 performance at 5:30 pm, at JACK: $18
OBIE-winning theater company Hoi Polloi has taken a play by Japanese writer Toshiki Okada and turned it into a dream. The performance is guided by director Alec Duffy, who also founded the Clinton Hill performance space.
You might expect to be sitting in a chair during a theatre performance, no? Keep dreaming, because for this one you’re all gonna be laying in a giant bed together. Like an orgy full of voyeurs, swapping sex for choreography and tranquil musings about travel. Surely this’ll be an experience to stay impacted in your memory (foam).
SATURDAY
(flyer via SOAP / Facebook)
SOAP’s Messy Backyard Show 3: Dirt Olympics
August 20, 7 pm at secret Williamsburg location: FREE
Weirdo sketch group SOAP is at it again, and by “it” I mean an outdoor comedy show where everyone is encouraged to incorporate messy stuff into their acts.
A sampling of the mess accumulated at their last show included blood, wine, and urine billowing from phalluses into comedian’s eyes. There was also a skit about GG Allin going to the doctor, a watermelon demolition, oozing goo from glow sticks, and a kiddy pool that started out filled with clear water and ended up filled with god-knows-what. This Saturday’s event is most likely the last one they’ll have this summer, so it’s surely gonna be the messier one of the bunch.
Plus, they’ve got cool people involved like Alyssa Stonoha and Sandy Honig of Three Busy Debras and something called Garbage Farts, which is either supposed to be an act or a prediction.
(poster design by Lukey Walden, via Facebook)
UGLY x CRYING
August 20 and weekly through September 10, 8 pm at the Annoyance Theater: $10
Comedian Rachel Kaly, who’s been busy running the inclusive comedy/workshop pop-up the Absurd Comedy Collective that we trust you’ve heard all about, takes some time to quiet down for a show of her own, created with her friend Charlie Bardey. And I mean really quiet down. Super quiet. Shhhh. No talking. Because it is a non-verbal sketch show.
What do you have to say about that? Nothing. Hopefully nothing. But hopefully you’ll laugh, or try to laugh without making a sound and somehow cause a respiratory issue. Good luck!
