New Times picks the best things to do in metro Phoenix from April 22 through 24. For more arts, culture, food, and music events in the Valley, see our curated online calendar. Beer Olympics New Times and Tempe Marketplace have joined forces once again for the third annual Beer Olympics, where…
New Times picks the best events in metro Phoenix from Friday, April 15, through Sunday, April 17. For more things to do, see our curated calendar of events. Dance: Inventions & Conventions Most students can already feel the fear — and freedom — of finals right around the corner. And for…
New Times picks the best things to do in metro Phoenix from Monday, April 11, through Thursday, April 14. Once Upon a Mattress If you’re famous, your big break came along somewhere back there, and however hard you worked and prepared, chances are it was serendipitous and unexpected. For Carol Burnett,…
When you picture sunrise in Old Town Scottsdale, a double set of flashing disco lights might not come to mind. But that’s what you’ll find at a new fitness studio called Studio 103, where even the 6 a.m. classes blend calorie burning with club-style dance. Located at 4385 North 75th…
New Times picks the best things to do in metro Phoenix from April 8 to 10. Bird City Comedy Festival Phoenix has humor, people — and the Bird City Comedy Festival is here to prove it. The three-day fête à funny brings nationally known comedians and homegrown stand-ups together for 33…
There’s no shortage of festivals geared toward funny throughout the year. Montréal has Just For Laughs, San Francisco and Chicago each have a Sketchfest, and New York City has, well, New York Comedy Festival. And while Austin’s SXSW and Los Angeles’ RiotLA are only a road trip away, Arizona’s corner…
Turn to any cable news channel, and you’ll hear endless chatter about borders and immigration, both in the Americas and abroad. But for all the talk, anti-immigrant policies still prevail. So San Francisco-based artist Ana Teresa Fernandez takes a different approach, engaging community members along the U.S. and Mexico border…
Kathleen Madigan’s comedic beginnings sound a lot like the start of a joke, except Madigan really did walk into a bar — a bar that just happened to double as a comedy club. It was right next to one she worked at, she says, and after going up during an open…
In the first scene of this three-act play — call it Who’s Afraid of Alternative Theater? or maybe Revenge of Master Ronald and the Boys — we find thespian game-changer Ron May standing in the dusty courtyard of a big, shiny, downtown playhouse. Circled by a small group of well-wishers, he is smoking…
Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre is moving to the former Harkins Fashion Square 7 movie theater location inside Scottsdale Fashion Square. The nonprofit theatrical group, which has been located at 4720 North Scottsdale Road since 2004, announced the news on Monday, April 4. “We are delighted to announce our plans to move into such a prominent…
All season, I’ve been counting the weeks until Arizona Theatre Company’s production of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, which opened on Saturday and runs through mid-April. Despite my anticipation, I was not, by and large, disappointed. Steinbeck wrote the adaption of his 1937 novella that same year, when it…
Known for describing his stand-up comedy as “a puppet show, but way filthier and without the puppets,” Ari Shaffir isn’t afraid to bluntly offend any sensitive people who accidentally wandered into his performance. After pursuing comedy for almost two decades, the New York native and longtime LA resident finally managed…
Picture a tiny ballerina, with hair bun and tutu, methodically turning inside an old-fashioned jewelry box. For some, it’s the quintessential image of a dancer. Everything is evenly-paced and predictable. But that’s not the sort of ballet featured in Today’s Masters, a two-hour program being performed by Ballet Arizona through…
New Times picks the best things to do in metro Phoenix from Friday, March 25, through Sunday, March 27. Comedy on Fire For the better part of three years, comedian Matt Micheletti has hosted Comedy on Fire, a monthly stand-up show made up almost entirely of local comics. The nights have…
If Stray Cat Theatre’s new production of Stupid Fucking Bird wasn’t so thrilling to behold, one might entertain oneself trying to figure out where Aaron Posner’s story ends, and where Chekhov’s The Seagull, to which it (sort of) pays homage, begins. Or perhaps to figure out how many plays-within-a-play this…
Become one with the art. That’s pretty much the crux of this year’s Spark! Festival of Creativity at Mesa Arts Center, which happens from noon to 10 p.m. both Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19. Mesa Arts Center has presented the free festival, which typically blends interactive arts experiences…
No joke, Phoenix is a pretty funny place. Thanks to comedians hosting shows on the regular, solid comedy clubs, and a thriving improv and sketch scene, there’s pretty much no excuse not to laugh on the regular. And that’ll be extra true the weekend of April 8 through 10, when…
iTheatre Collaborative was announced as the newest resident company at downtown Phoenix’s Herberger Theater Center on March 3. Other resident companies at the arts venue, built in 1989, are Arizona Theatre Company and Center Dance Ensemble, both longtime staples of the Arizona arts scene. Founded in 2002, iTheatre focuses on creating performing…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events in metro Phoenix from February 29 to March 4. The Danserye Leap Day suggests leaping about the dance floor. But it’s Monday, and you’re wiped. The next best thing is listening to dance music — beats from assorted cultures and historical…
Water, art, and light. That’s the typical triad for the annual Canal Convergence, presented by Scottsdale Public Art along the Scottsdale Waterfront. This year’s ran from Thursday to Sunday, February 25 to 28. Light figured prominently in most of our favorites this time around, including floating sculptures made with fishing…
Michael 23 has been doing some serious math. Recently, the artist and business owner (who uses the last name 23 because he’s fascinated by the number) learned that the building where he’s spent 15 years operating The Firehouse art space with his wife Joanna Lee is up for sale. So…
Everybody needs a good art binge now and then, and it’s about time to rev up for the next one. It’s Canal Convergence 2016, taking place Thursday, February 25, to Sunday, February 28, in downtown Scottsdale. During 29 hours over the course of four days, Scottsdale Public Art will transform…
