WEDNESDAY

(image via HERE Arts Center)

The Sex Myth: A Devised Play
August 16-20 at HERE Arts Center, 8:30 pm (Sunday at 4 pm): $35

I don’t think it’s hyperbole to state that most of America had either an awful sex ed or none at all. Sure, you can take to the internet in all its glory to learn a thing or two, but formal sex education programs are notoriously lacking. This has created a hush-hush attitude around carnal matters, which leads to shame, misinformation, sensationalism, and a whole host of other not-so-great stuff. A new devised show, The Sex Myth, uses real stories and experiences to expand conceptions of what is “normal” in bedrooms and bodies alike.

Based on a book of the same name by the feminist journalist Rachel Hills and created by the ensemble using their actual experiences, The Sex Myth deals in discoveries of sexism, transphobia, ageism, abuse, and just how strange, confusing, and truly silly sex can be.

THURSDAY

(image via Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin / Facebook)

High School Coven
Now through August 20 at Tom Noonan’s Paradise Factory, 8 pm (Saturday at 4:30 pm): $24

Young girls practicing witchcraft isn’t just something contained to Tumblr, it’s the central premise of Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin’s play High School Coven, presented as part of the Corkscrew Theater Festival. The play chronicles 

the life and times of four girls who “form a coven to cope with the pressures of being a teenage girl.” As it turns out, casting spells and setting intentions can have more applications than just basic adolescent perils like shopping and dating. The girls find themselves faced with the convoluted process of reporting sexual assault within the education system, which is something that sadly seems to only work out well when some serious magic is involved.

FRIDAY

(image via Queer Abstract / Facebook)

Queer Abstract: Who Are You Really?
Friday, August 18 at Starr Bar, 9 pm: FREE

Queer Abstract, a monthly curated performance night and dance party, returns for yet another night to highlight the creations being made by local queer, trans, and POC artists in the community. This month’s lineup includes poetry by Aziza Barnes and Trace DePass, music by Tiides and Ceci Pineda, rap by Drow Flow and The Official JK, music/poetry by Getic, and body painting by Dolly Martinez.

As part of their efforts to mix performance and party, the show will be followed by a DJ set by DJ Roze-Royce. If you get there early, happy hour is from 5 pm to 8 pm.

SATURDAY

(image courtesy of Shark Party Media)

Aliens Coming
August 17-September 18 at The PIT, various times: $10

These days, the idea of extraterrestrial beings swooping in and zapping us away forever doesn’t sound too bad. Well, unless Steve Bannon’s creepily pallid flesh is really just concealing alien skin and he ends up doing the abducting. At this point, that doesn’t sound too far-fetched. There are many conflicting claims about what really happens when (or if) an alien abducts you. According to Joe Kelly and Jonathan Evans, they develop a vested interest in harvesting your genitals.

Their comedy musical Aliens Coming, chronicling how a high schooler’s life gets disrupted by the unexpected arrival of creatures from another planet, is being revived at The PIT after a popular run earlier this year. So yes, the aliens are back. They’re singing. And they want what’s between your legs.

SUNDAY

(image via Speak Up, Rise Up / Facebook)

How Hard
Sunday, August 20 at the Connelly Theater, 1:30 pm: $15 advance, $20 doors

Though well-meaning grade school history teachers might be assuring their schoolchildren that slavery is a thing of the past, many assert it merely has a new name: the U.S. prison system. It has been referred to as “dressed-up slavery,” and countless pieces of reporting have cast light on this assertion. This Sunday, storytelling event How Hard gives a platform to formerly incarcerated individuals, community activists, and others working to eliminate the “prison-industrial complex” and close facilities like Rikers Island.

How Hard is presented as part of the inaugural Speak Up, Rise Up storytelling festival, which seeks to elevate the genre of storytelling in all its manifestations, give a platform to underrepresented groups, and combine traditional and non-traditional performers.