Slope Weekday Events Spotlight: September 6-8
The new month begins, the long weekend has finished, but the excellent events just keep coming. Check out a talk with Jonathan Safran Foer, free Shakespeare, puns galore, and more.
Death Cafe with Funeral Director Amy Cunningham
When: Tuesday, September 6, 6pm-98pm
Where: Morbid Anatomy Museum, 424 3rd Avenue (at 7th Street)
What: Morbid Anatomy remains committed to hosting monthly Death Cafes, salon-like gatherings where amazing people meet to sip wine, tea or coffee, and converse with fellow wayfaring strangers on one of our favorite subjects–death and all the lovely conversational tangents death inspires. Amy Cunningham is a Brooklyn funeral director who helps families with green burials, pre-cremation services in Green Wood’s cRematory chapels, home vigils and other sorts of memorials. Her blog, where she discusses these topics, can be found at theinspiredfuneral.com.
How much: Free
Punderdome 3000
When: Tuesday, September 6, 7:00pm (door), 8:00pm (show)
Where: Littlefield, 622 Degraw Street (between 3rd and 4th Avenues)
What: Punderdome® is New York City’s wild & crazy monthly pun competition created and hosted by comedian Jo Firestone and her “Rodney Dangerfield impersonator” alleged dad, Fred. Part of New York’s comedy landscape since 2011, the Punderdome® has been a regular fixture at Littlefield since 2012. The first 18 individuals/duos to sign-up at the door have a chance to participate in competitive spontaneous pun-making. Pun-masters are determined by the “Human Clap-O-Meter” who “accurately and scientifically” assesses levels of audience applause. “Mystery Box” prizes are awarded to the top two competitors. Warning for the faint of heart: the ’Dome is THE spectator sport, it gets loud – decide to attend at your own risk!
How much: $8-$10, available at the door. Tickets available online.
Torn Out Theater presents The Tempest by William Shakespeare
When: September 7, 8, 9, and 10 at 5:30pm
Where: The Music Pagoda in Prospect Park
What: The all-female cast of Torn Out Theater‘s piece brought a tremendous amount of attention last Spring as the production is performed mostly in the nude. The company wants the ideas of body positivity and normalizing the nude female form to synchronize with the themes of identity and liberation inherent within the play. Read our article here for a full preview of the production, including interviews with the cast and director.
How much: Free
Brooklyn By the Book presents Jonathan Safran Foer
When: Tuesday, September 6, 7:30pm
Where: Congregation Beth Elohim, 274 Garfield Place at 8th Avenue
What: In conversation with Jodi Kantor. Here I Am, Jonathan Safran Foer’s monumental new novel, is the story of a family coming apart in modern-day Washington, DC. Jacob, Julia and their three sons must confront the distance between the lives they think they want and the lives they are living as a catastrophic earthquake sets in motion a quickly escalating conflict in the Middle East. Showcasing the same high-energy inventiveness, hilarious irreverence, and emotional urgency that readers and critics loved in his earlier work, Here I Am is Foers most searching, hard-hitting, and grandly entertaining novel yet.
How much: $10, General Admission, $28, Book + Free Admission, $8, BPL/CBE Members. Purchase tickets online.
Chiara Izzi duo featuring Shai Maestro
When: Wednesday,September 7, 8:15pm
Where: ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Place (between 1st and Carroll Streets)
What: Chiara Izzi (vocals); Shai Maestro (piano) The Italian vocalist will meet the pianist Shai Maestro presenting some original music and songs with jazz/pop influences and tunes with open/modal harmonies mixed with Mediterranean and South American vibes.
How much: $10, at the door
Shitshow
When: Thursday, September 8, Doors at 7:30pm; Show at 8pm
Where: Union Hall, 702 Union Street (near 5th Avenue)
What: Some comedians are unwise enough to breed – and tonight, they will mine the fallout of that decision on stage. None of the children of the performers are likely to be present, which is a good thing, because they’re probably gonna say really mean things about them.
How much: $8, purchase advance tickets online. $10 at the door.
Dimensions Variable: Multidisciplinary
When: September 7-24, Thursdays-Saturdays, 2:00pm-6:00pm
Where: Open Source Gallery, (306 17th Street at 6th Avenue)
What: Multidisciplinary was conceived as a response to the Open Source 2016 program which invited international artist-run projects to curate its entire season. With this concept in mind, Dimensions Variable amplified the idea and invited a select group of artist-run spaces in South Florida. The idea is not to invite them to curate special projects, but rather to include the work of the artists who run these projects as a way to honor their work and what they bring to the community. The diverse works in the exhibition reflect the practices and interests of all these “multidisciplinary” artists. They engage the community within and beyond their studio practice contributing vital programming to the contemporary art landscape in South Florida. Dimensions Variable (DV) is an exhibition space committed to the presentation and support of contemporary art. Through a collaborative exchange with artists and institutions, DV develops an exhibition program that engages the community and promotes new and experimental ideas. DV was founded in 2009 by artists Frances Trombly and Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova, who currently serve as directors. Artists in the exhibition include: Naomi Fisher (BFI); Kristen Thiele, Robert Thiele, Francesco Casale (Bridge Red Studios); Frances Trombly, Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova (Dimensions Variable); Francie Bishop Good, Michelle Weinberg, Sarah Michelle Rupert (Girls’ Club); Domingo Castillo, Loriel Beltran (Noguchi Breton)
How Much: Free
εὖτόπος, (Eutopia), a site-responsive installation by the Vanderbilt Republic
When: Through Sunday, September 11. Wednesdays-Sundays, 10am-5pm.
Where: Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island.
What: This large-scale, site-responsive exhibition connects artwork and installations by Sabrina Barrios, Sarah E. Brook, Charles Heppner, Carlton Scott Sturgill,TAXIPLASM, TJ Volonis, and Dale Williams to the storied past and bucolic present of Staten Island’s historic Snug Harbor — creating a space to present the energy and form of dreams made real. Curation, lighting & technical design by George Del Barrio. From Gowanus-based Vanderbilt Republic. Check out our review and why you should plan a day trip to see this exhibition.
How much: $5 Adults, $4 Seniors/Students and free for kids 12 and under. On Sundays, September 11, join artists for a special free tour. Register here.
Taxidermy: Art, Science & Immortality featuring Walter Potter’s Kittens’ Wedding
When: Through Sunday, November 6, 12pm-6pm everyday. Closed Tuesdays,
Where: Morbid Anatomy Museum, 424 3rd Avenue at 7th Street
What: This exhibition seeks to illuminate the strange and profound human connection to preserved animals through the exhibition of seldom-seen taxidermied treasures from private collections. The centerpiece of the exhibition will be The Kittens’ Wedding, the final and perhaps most unforgettable of all of the works of Walter Potter, completed in the 1890s. Equal parts perverse and adorable, and utterly spellbinding, The Kittens’ Wedding transcends kitsch through its tenderness and sensitive attention to detail. The Kittens’ Wedding was created by Walter Potter, a self-trained British Victorian country taxidermist best remembered for a series of anthropomorphic tableaux in which he posed stuffed animals such as kittens, rabbits and squirrels as if engaging in human activities. These works were exhibited for nearly 150 years until the museum he founded was divided at auction in 2003. The pieces then moved the homes of private collectors around the world, most of them never shown since.
How much: Admission to the exhibition & library is $12. Seniors and students are $8, and children 12 and under are free.