Comedy on Fire: The Final One
Matt Micheletti is bummed out.
The comedian and host of the monthly Comedy on Fire stand-up show is gearing up for the event’s last installment at The Firehouse Gallery, 1015 North First Street.
Comedy on Fire: The Final One takes to the outdoor stage on Friday, October 28. Musical guest I Am Hologram performs at 8:30 p.m. The stand-up sets, featuring a dozen local talents including Pauly Casillas, Genevieve Rice, Rob Maebe, and Hattie Jean Hayes, will take the stage at 9 p.m. Improv sketch troupe Bully Mammoth will also perform. Tickets are $5 at the door, and with a Halloween raffle, costume contest, and plenty of beer, expect a social wake instead of a somber funeral.
“I took an idea and grew it into one of Phoenix's best independent shows,” Micheletti says of his three-and-a-half year old project. “I’ve taken this zany backyard show as far as it can go.”
See www.facebook.com/ComedyonFire for details. Janessa Hilliard
Danza de los Muertos
In Mexican culture, Dia de los Muertos holds a significant amount of meaning. It’s a time for families to gather and honor loved ones who have passed, supporting them in their journey through the afterlife. It’s a time for reflection and celebration.
In Crescent Ballroom culture, Dia de los Muertos is a time to get funky. And on Friday, October 28, people will be breaking it down, raising the roof, and living like they’re dying at Danza de los Muertos. From 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. at 308 North Second Avenue, Djentrification and DJ Stoneypie will be playing everything from soul to disco, world to future funk. This free night is going to be scary good. For more information, check out www.crescentphx.com. Evie Carpenter
"Off the Page"
The written word is only half the journey: A reader’s imagination makes up the rest. That’s the concept behind “Off the Page,” a visual exhibition that links literature with visual art, combining classic tales with contemporary interpretations from more than a dozen artists.
Those literary illustrations include work from Adonna Khare, who specializes in detailed, large-scale pencil and charcoal pieces; José Rodolfo, known for his pop-art style R-rated Disney depictions and “DisHollywood” series; and Sondra Sherman, who literally places found objects into the printed page.
Jump “Off the Page” from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, October 28, at the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main Street. The free show is on view through Sunday, January 22. Call 480-644-6560 or click www.mesaartscenter.com for details. Janessa Hilliard
Sutra in the City
It’s time to get with the flow, Phoenix. Sutra Studios will give you a little jump start with that during Sutra in the City at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 29. This isn’t your standard Saturday morning yoga class. It takes place outdoors at the Phoenix Open Air Market, 721 North Central Avenue, during the fall Harvest Festival. So after you’ve perfected your downward dog and thoroughly saluted the sun, feel free to browse the vendors, grab a snack, carve a pumpkin, and jam out to some live music. Oh, and did we mention Sutra’s Lovebomb class is free? So, all you need is your mat, towel, and water. Check out www.sutrastudios.com/city for more information. Evie Carpenter
Read on for a zombie walk, photography workshop, and more.
Phoenix Zombie Walk
Let’s face it, given our current infatuation with smartphones, most of us behave a lot like zombies nowadays. Heads down, eyes glazed, we stumble down city streets with a slow and distracted gait. Instead of flesh, however, we devour data. So maybe the eighth annual Phoenix Zombie Walk is just an opportunity to perfect what you’ve inadvertently been practicing all this time, only for a good cause. On Saturday, October 29, thousands will gather near Fourth and Jackson streets in the warehouse district to shuffle through the streets at a decidedly undead pace in support of the Arizona Hemophilia Association. Yes, we’re talking about a legion of flesh-eating monsters gathering to ensure the health and wellness of their primary food source.
The family-friendly event clumps off at 6 p.m. Participation is free, though donations to AHA are suggested. The walk concludes with a costume contest and pub crawl for zombies undead enough to imbibe. Visit zombiewalkphx.org for details. Rob Kroehler
Platinum/Palladium Workshop
It’s true what they say: What’s old is new again. And when it comes to photography in the Valley, it seems like vintage is all the rage. Whether it’s the cameras being used, the film being processed, or the printing techniques, photographers are getting back to the roots of their art.
On Saturday, October 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., photographer Michael T. Puff will be taking it beyond old school when he teaches a free Platinum/Palladium workshop at Art Intersection, 207 North Gilbert Road #201, in Gilbert. With Smith’s help, you’ll leave the workshop with several prints using this 19th-century method that results in images with dynamic color and tonal ranges that no Instagram filter could ever replicate. For all the details, see artintersection.com. Evie Carpenter
Fall Festival
If you’ve been waiting with sharpened knives since last Halloween to show off your talents as a master pumpkin carver, here's an event that welcomes your creative slicing abilities. You could even go home with some cash.
Four Peaks Brewing Company’s annual Fall Festival includes a pumpkin-carving contest with a grand prize of $1,000, plus a gift card for $180 to use at their locations. The prizes for runners-up aren’t too shabby, either. If cutting a pumpkin isn’t your idea of fun, there’s plenty else to enjoy, including food trucks and fall-flavored beers. This seasonal shindig also has activities for the kids, like pumpkin painting. Get festive from 2 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, October 29, at the Four Peaks Tasting Room, 2401 South Wilson Street in Tempe. Admission is free. Visit www.fourpeaks.com. Amy Young
Fever
New York’s 600 Highwaymen experimental theater company breaks ground in composition, design, casting, rehearsal, and/or performance. This fall, the troupe visited ASU’s School of Film, Dance and Theatre to further develop its newest work, The Fever, inspired by Diaghilev and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
The piece, which includes the audience, examines human tendencies to be both nurturing and cruel. What do we do when someone’s looking? When no one is? How do we organize ourselves, and what does it mean to be in charge?
Catch The Fever at Paul V. Galvin Playhouse on the Tempe campus, 51 East 10th Street, through Sunday, November 5. Showtime on Sunday, October 30, is 8 p.m. Admission’s free, but reservations are recommended; call 480-965-6447. For more info, visit www.asuevents.asu.edu/content/fever. Julie Peterson
