Screw your case of the Mondays. Here's something to do every day this week in and around Phoenix.
"Repurposed" @ Tempe Public Library Tossing cans, bottles, paper, and cardboard in the recycling bin each week is awesome, but really, you've got nothing on Marco Albarran and Jose Benavides. These local artists up the recycling ante by providing cast-off and discarded objects new lives as art.
These works also offer the remaining traces of those past lives through fingerprints, rough edges, and the indelible touches of the previous owners. Benavides' Desert Found Objects bases a "saguaro" composed of mostly of cloth and paper wrappers on a hubcap, while Albarran's Madonna Car is a working vehicle made from license plates, auto parts and assorted found objects.
See also: Summer Guide 2013 Five Must-Attend Metro Phoenix Pool Parties in June
Examine those pieces in "Repurposed," which is on view from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, June 10, in the Connections Café at Tempe Public Library, 3500 South Rural Road. The exhibit is free and remains up through Wednesday, August 21. Call 480-350-2867. -- Glenn BurnSilver
Swing Night's 5th Anniversary @ Fatcat Ballroom Fans of Brian Setzer Orchestra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will be happy to know that it looks like swing dancing is due for a comeback. The Arizona Lindy Hop Society formed to create an outlet where new fans of this 1920s and '30s vintage music and dance form could comingle, while hopping, bopping, shimmying, and maybe even showing off an aerial maneuver around the dance floor. The society celebrates the fifth anniversary of its weekly Swing Night in high style with the Solomon Douglas Quartet providing the music. Douglas, also an accomplished swing dancer and instructor, takes that expertise to the bandstand, providing the perfect musical accompaniment for the dancer's tastes.
The Tuesday, June 11, celebration at the Fatcat Ballroom, 3131 East Thunderbird Road, begins with dance lessons at 7:30 p.m. and dancing at 8:30. Tickets, which include the lessons, are $10 advance or $12 at the door. Visit www.facebook.com/events/569848226379788. -- Glenn BurnSilver
Chelsea Girls Screening @ Phoenix Art Museum The Phoenix Art Museum invites you to work some culture into your Wednesday with a special screening of of the cult classic film Chelsea Girls. Co-directed by Paul Morrissey and Andy Warhol, this underground experimental film takes a split-screen look at 12 vignettes shot in the historic Chelsea Hotel and Warhol's studio ("The Factory") in New York in 1966.
In this time capsule of '60s culture, look for Warhol notables such as Nico, Edie Sedgwick, Brigid Berlin, Gerard Malanga, and Mary Woronov.
Chelsea Girls is the first film in the summer film series "Contemporary Art and Rock 'n' Roll," presented by Contemporary Forum and Lisa Sette Gallery. This special showing on 16mm film will run at 5 p.m. on June 12.(Runtime is 210 minutes -- yes, really).Admission is free. Visit phxart.org or call 602-257-1222 for more information. -- Katie Johnson
Noises Off @ Mesa Arts Center The "play within a play" is a familiar tradition in both drama and films. In fact, when Hamlet says "the play's the thing," it's that sneaky internal play he's talking about. But if you're looking not to catch the conscience of the king but instead to laugh your hiney off, the play outside the play is the one you want. That's Noises Off, a relentless farce about the backstage dysfunction of a theater troupe presenting a goofy, blandly sexy romp called Nothing On. Forget not trying this at home -- what these characters get themselves into is not safe anywhere, but it sure is funny.
Mesa Encore Theatre wraps up its 2012-13 season with the popular comedy through Sunday, June 16, at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main Street. Curtain time on Thursday, June 13, is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $24 to $29 and are available at www.mesaartscenter.com or 480-644-6500. -- Julie Peterson
Whitney Cummings @ Tempe Improv Don't let her size fool you; Whitney Cummings is a comedy machine. The actress, writer, comedian, and executive television producer has made a name for herself as a former cast member of Punk'd, a frequent contributor to Chelsea Lately, a co-creator of CBS' 2 Broke Girls, and the creator and star of NBC's recently canceled Whitney.
Named "one of the most powerful women in lowbrow comedy" by Vulture, Cummings' stand-up gives an edgy unapologetic look into the ass-backward world of dating and beyond. From men and relationships to self-grooming and the inner-workings of the female mind, Cummings' takes on daily encounters are as honest as they are hilarious.
Cummings takes her one-woman show to Tempe Improv, 930 East University Drive. Showtimes are 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, June 14, and 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Tickets are $28. Call or visit www.tempeimprov.com. -- Katie Johnson
