Get out, Phoenix. Here are Jackalope Ranch's top picks for things to do this week.
Intro to Stand-Up Class @ Tempe Center for the Arts Whether you have only a tiny kernel of a funny idea that wouldn't add up to half a tweet or you have long, entertaining stories that need to be chopped up and polished, it's time to shape up if you intend to be a soldier of hilarity. Comedy commandant Tony Vicich drops knowledge Monday, September 23, in his Intro to Stand-Up Class.
See also: 30 Must-Attend Events in Metro Phoenix This Fall Vicich has nearly 30 years of experience in pulling down the LOLs from coast to coast as a stand-up comic. In addition to producing shows here in the valley, he's chock full of expert lessons that he's passing on to eager students. This intro class covers the basic training of joke-writing and performing on stage.
ComedySchools.com's Intro to Stand-Up Comedy Class is held at the Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway. Admission is free and the class starts at 7:30 p.m. For more info, visit www.comedyschools.com or call 818-571-5653. -- Jose Gonzalez
"Even in Arcadia" @ Night Gallery Three ASU art professors have banded together to explore the idea that complexity can exist within what appears to be simplicity. For inspiration printmaker Mary Hood, sculptor Mary Neubauer, and painter-drawer Janice Pittsley look to utopia -- specifically Greece's Arcadia, a region historically reknowned for its paradisiacal landscape and its inhabitants' simple way of life. With their group exhibition, "Even in Arcadia," the artists present works in a variety of media, wading through arcadia's ancient mysteries.
The show is on view through Sunday, September 29, at ASU's Night Gallery at Tempe Marketplace, 2000 East Rio Salado Parkway. Hours Tuesday, September 24, are 6 to 9 p.m. It's free and open to the public. Donations are welcome. Visit www.art.asu.edu/gallery/night/index.php. -- Becky Bartkowski
Soylent Green Screening @ ASU Life Sciences Center Vegetarians, you don't want to know what the future of food production looks like if it's anything similar to the eats seen in the Charlton Heston police/sci-fi thriller Soylent Green. The 1973 Saturn Award-winning film finds Heston in 2020 and the planet suffering global warming and over-population. Food is in very short supply. Soylent Green raises ethical questions about food production in a future that, though fictional, feels a little too familiar. After Charlie reveals the secret of soylent green in the closing frames, you'll wonder: Is this what we have to look forward too?
Presented by ASU's Bioethics, Police and Law Program, and the Center for Biology and Society, the film will screen as the third of four installments in the 2013 Bioethics Film Series, dubbed Feast, Famine and Folly.
Join the discussion following the 6 p.m. September 25 screening at ASU's Life Sciences Tower E-106. The event is free. Visit https://asuevents.asu.edu/bioethics-film-series or call 480-965-8927. -- Glenn BurnSilver
Steve-O @ Tempe Improv Some things you probably don't know about Steve-O, the guy from Jackass: His real name is Stephen Glover, he's fluent in three languages, and after spending a year at the University of Miami, he went to actual, factual lown college. Some things you probably do know: For more than 13 years he's sacrificed his body for our amusement, suffering nut punches on Jackass, animal bites on Wildboyz, and a unique form of torture we call Dancing with the Stars. Something you should know: He does stand-up now, and he's bringing his talents, stories, and bruised testicles to the Tempe Improv for a four-day special event.
Don't be a jackass; catch Steve-O at the Tempe Improv, 930 East University Drive. Tickets are $20 to 22. Set time is 8 p.m. Thursday, September 26. Performances run through Sunday, September 29. Call 480-921-9877 or visit www.tempeimprov.com for more. -- Zachary Fowle
The [sic] Sense Sketch Comedy Presents: Revenge of The [sic] @ Phoenix Center for the Arts In spring, swallows return to Capistrano. While we support swallowing in general, autumn reappearances are often even better -- like The [sic] Sense Sketch Comedy Troupe, our fave performance group with a Latin editorial comment in its name. Formerly on Grand Avenue, the Siccies hit the comeback trail with Revenge of the [sic], in the groovy, air-conditioned Basement Theatre at Phoenix Center for the Arts, 1202 North Third Street.
New peeps and new sketches will make the new space buzz with song parodies, adult humor, and weirdness starting at 9:30 p.m. Friday, September 27. It's a case of "the later the better," because this stuff really synchs with the indecent-hour biorhythms. Get advance tix for $15 at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/450482, or take your chances at the door for $20, for shows through Saturday, September 28. If you want to try a conversation, go for 602-214-4344. But honestly, we've already said it all. -- Julie Peterson