Welcome back to $15 or Less, our eclectic, weekly events calendar for cash-strapped devotees of arts and culture.
Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys
Washington Ensemble Theater, Thurs. 6/6 at 7:30 p.m., $15
Showing Thursdays through Mondays until June 24th, Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys is the debut performance of this original screenplay by Caroline V. McGraw. The play, which features a host of local acting talents, straddles reality and surrealism (plus puppetry!) to tell the story of Brandy, a birthday party clown, who is haunted by her demons.
Jan-Philipp Sendker
Elliott Bay Book Company, Thurs. 6/6 at 7 p.m., FREE
Jan-Philipp Sendker is an accomplished German author you’ve probably never heard of — and neither had I until recently, because his novels had never before been translated into English. Sendker will read from The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, his sweeping modern-day love story, which sprawls arcoss decades and continents, from upstate New York to Burma.
The Maldives perform The Wind
Fri., 6/6 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., $16
Every year, the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) invites an artist or band to perform a live film score to accompany a silent film. This year, local alt-country band The Maldives plays its score for The Wind, a 1928 picture which was one of the last silent films released by MGM. This is one of my favorite SIFF traditions and while the movies can range from unbelievably corny to eloquent, this return to a forgotten medium is always memorable.
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
SIFF Cinema Uptown, Fri., 6/7 at 9 p.m., $12
We’re nearing the end of SIFF and this film, a recent favorite at Cannes and Sundance film festivals, is sure to be celebrated when it goes to wide release in August. It’s an outlaw story, set in the 1970s. Director David Lowery’s fever dream style has been compared to Terence Malick. That’s enough to hook me.
Homebody
New City Theater, Fri. and Sat., 8 p.m., $15
No need for elaborate sets, costumes or visual effects when you have Mary Ewald and Tony Kushner. The actress delivers this hour-long monologue that explodes with the playwright’s linguistic pyrotechnics and wicked humor. Theater at its essence. (For extra credit, read Crosscut's interview with New City artistic director John Kazanjian.)
The Last Ocean
SIFF Cinema Uptown, Saturday 6/8 at 3 p.m., $12
Another depressing yet totally vital documentary, The Last Ocean captures the Antarctic's Ross Sea, the most untouched marine ecosystem on Earth and recent site of the near-ravaging harvest of Chilean sea bass. The underwater images alone are stunning and, in addition, the filmmakers leave you with an idea of how to help the the fish and the Ross Sea.
Capitol Hill Community Garage Sale Day
Capitol Hill, Sat. 6/8
Yet another garage sale day has come. It’s supposed to be a glorious weekend, and God knows you need to round out your kitchen gadgets, or get a pair of barely worn shoes for summer, or just walk around Capitol Hill and ogle the treasure.
Georgetown Carnival
Georgetown, Sat. 6/8 from 12 to 8 p.m., FREE
Hang out in this gem of a neighborhood all day, celebrating and taking in the best of Georgetown: we're talking acrobats and circus acts, burlesque, the Georgetown Trailer Park curiosity market and the concoctions of Georgetown Brewing Company. Against the backdrop of Boeing Field and the hum of the highway overhead, you can watch the sun go down and stick around for the Art Attack and After Hours Masquerade.
NW New Works Festival
On The Boards, Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 5 and 8 p.m., $14
This annual festival, which unfolds over the next two weekends, features new work from northwest artists, particularly in dance and theater. Guaranteed to provide provocative glimpses into the future of our local arts scene.
Elwha: A River Reborn
Central Library, Tues. 6/11 at 7 p.m., FREE
Longtime environmental journalist for The Seattle Times Lynda V. Mapes has spent the last 16 years capturing the nature and the many lives affected by the long-awaited removal of the Elwha River dam – the largest dam removal EVER attempted in North America. Elwha: A River Reborn is the culmination of Mapes’s work over on the nearby slice of heaven known as the Olympic Peninsula, and the commencement of decades more as we attempt to rebuild this unique ecosystem. (Before you go, study up with Crosscut's story about and interview with the author.)
What are you doing this weekend? Let us know in the comments area below. And if you hear of any interesting – under $15 - events in or around our grand city, please email editor@crosscut.com.
