ASU Student Film Festival
You know, student films have gotten a bad rap. Sure these kids may not have the huge budgets or crews that studio productions have, but students know how to visually tell stories nonetheless. Plus, there's a lot more to a good movie than a few big name actors and some flashy special effects. Take note, Hollywood, and pay attention to the films being shown during the 10th Annual ASU Student Film Festival.
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Who knows, you could be watching the early work of the next Spielberg. The two-day festival starts Monday, April 20, at 7 p.m. at Harkins Valley Art, 509 South Mill Avenue in Tempe. Tickets are $10.
Visit asufilmfestival.com for more information and to purchase tickets for either Monday or Tuesday night. Evie Carpenter
"Lilith: She-Devil in the Garden of Eden"
Whether you know her as a she-devil or as Adam's first wife in the Garden of Eden, Lilith is undoubtedly a badass. This mythical figure has repeatedly appeared in literature from Northern Europe, Arabia, and even the Americas, sparking debates about theology and gender whenever her name is mentioned.
This week, in a lecture at Changing Hands Tempe, 6428 South McClintock Drive, Sharonah Frederick, the assistant director of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, will explore Lilith's controversial history. Frederick's lecture "Lilith: She-Devil in the Garden of Eden" will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21. For more information, call 480-730-0205 or visit www.changinghands.com. Katrina Montgomery
Building Mornings
One's brisk morning walk gets cultural with the monthly networking series, Building Mornings, brainchild of Reinvent Phoenix -- which focuses on walkable communities, offers an in-depth examination of historic local architecture. This week's walk explores the Luhrs City Center, an Art Deco skyscraper from 1929 still standing in the heart of downtown Phoenix. Once the tallest building in the Southwest, the Valley's crown jewel now houses cocktail bar Bitter and Twisted and will welcome a 320-room Marriot hotel in 2016.
Take the tour from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22, at 11 West Jefferson Street. The event is free to attend and open to adults only. Visit www.phxudw.org or www.facebook.com/events/797726376949453 for details. Janessa Hilliard
See also: Phoenix Urban Design Week 2015: Your Guide to This Year's Events
Summer of 69: No Apostrophe
Hollywood has no shortage of celebs hooking up for a hot minute, but married couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally's lustiness truly simmers. As Parks and Recreation's Ron Swanson and Tammy 2 (denoting her status as his second ex-wife named Tammy), respectively, the push and pull of their enemies-with-benefits (#benemies) tension was at once achingly funny and intriguing. Their real-life chemistry, as witnessed making the late night talk show rounds, is more affectionate but no less inclined to involve some straddling and has led to the Summer of 69, a full variety show with bits, interviews, and music imbued with hilarity and salaciousness.
Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally's Summer of 69: No Apostrophe gets down and dirty on Thursday, April 23, at Comerica Theatre, 400 West Washington Street. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $53. To purchase tickets or for more info, visit www.comericatheatre.com. Jose Gonzalez
The Tomkat Project
The Tomkat Project takes a partly true, partly fictional, but always funny and informative look at Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, their marriage, and the Church of Scientology. Through invented scenes and re-creations of interviews with 54 celebrities and media figures, all played by a cast of seven, the play examines why people get famous, how celebrities become objects, and how the most ridiculous pieces of dialogue are the verbatim ones. In 2013, the show was well-received during its frequently extended Chicago run and at the New York International Fringe Festival.
Writer/comedian Brandon Paul Ogborn was toiling at Trader Joe's when he created The Tomkat Project, moved by speculation about life in the fishbowl. Stray Cat Theatre presents its production of Ogborn's script through Saturday, May 9, at 132 East Sixth Street in Tempe. Showtime on Friday, April 24, is 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 to $25 at www.straycattheatre.org or 480-227-1766. Julie Peterson
