46 plays, one night

America's First Ladies get their due in a play premiering from Forward Theater, and more Isthmus Picks for May 6-13

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Black Business Resiliency Showcase, Thursday, May 6, 4 p.m.: This Madison Black Chamber of Commerce event recognizes local businesses that have found ways to survive and thrive as we emerge from pandemic times, and offers networking opportunities for participants. The livestream also features guest speakers Loida Nicolas Lewis (former CEO of TLC Beatrice, the first Black-owned billion dollar business) and Jason Fields (MadRep president and a former state legislator). Tickets are $35; register here.

Alison Bechdel, Thursday May 6, 4 p.m. : You’re a certain age if you remember Dykes to Watch Out For, Alison Bechdel’s groundbreaking cartoon strip featuring a cast of smart and funny lesbians who would have been right at home on, say, Dunning Street. Bechdel has moved on to literary and theatrical fame with her graphic memoir/musical Fun Home; now she’s back with another graphic memoir, The Secret to Superhuman Strength, which takes on the American obsession with fitness crazes. She’ll be discussing the new book with Cheryl Strayed (Wild) in a livestream event hosted by the Wisconsin Book Festival and partners Literary Arts (Portland, Oregon), The Loft (Minneapolis), and Black Mountain Institute (Las Vegas). Register here (and check out Stu Levitan's interview with Bechdel for the May 3 episode of Madison Book Beat in the WORT-FM Archive).

Performing Mind, Body, Spirit: Community Healing in the Time of #BLM, Anti-Asian Violence & BIPOC Solidarity, Thursday, May 6, 6 p.m.: Artistic expression is a potent force for inspiring individual and community healing, as well as bridging seemingly uncrossable societal divisions — important tasks following a year of pandemic and political upheavals. During this livestream, performers from around the country will present a mix of movement arts, spoken word and drumming, as well as discuss how their work can bring us all together. It’s hosted by Peggy Choy, a UW-Madison associate professor of dance and Asian American studies, and other Wisconsin performers include poet Kimberly Blaeser, martial artist and musician Lacouir Yancey, and drummer Gizhibaa Aanakwad. Register here for the Zoom link.

UW Family Gardening Days, through May 31: Get some dirt under your fingernails this spring. Whether you have access to a big yard, a community garden plot, or just a couple pots and some potting soil, all will find some information worth perusing as part of UW-Madison’s annual Family Gardening Days, this year happening virtually. Visit science.wisc.edu/family-gardening-day to find self-guided activity plans for all ages and skill levels. There is also a still-growing schedule of live presentations (on Facebook), including a talk on native plants and pollinators by Susan Carpenter from the UW-Arboretum (6:30 p.m., May 6), and a graduate student panel on plant research (4 p.m., May 10).

Mayday for Humanity, Thursday, May 6, 6-9 p.m.: Madison’s own Freedom From Religion Foundation is teaming up with its fellow national secular nonprofits to hold a “Mayday for Humanity” to raise funds for homeless shelters and food banks in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri and California. It’s a livestream with music, comedy (including former Saturday Night Live cast member Julia Sweeney) and spoken word, created in the spirit of freethinker Robert G. Ingersoll’s adage that “hands that help are better far than lips that pray.” Register here for the Zoom link.

Elizabeth Warren, Thursday, May 6, 7 p.m.: Secretly there is a parallel universe where Elizabeth Warren is president; RSVP for the link. No, seriously, there is just this universe, where Warren is a senator, a financial whiz, the woman with the plan for that, and the author of Persist, an adamant new memoir, which she will discuss live with Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler via Crowdcast as part of the Wisconsin Book Festival. RSVP for the link. It’s not a wormhole to another dimension, but it may be the next best thing.

Water@UW-Madison spring symposium, Friday, May 7, 9 a.m.-noon: Water is something most Americans take for granted, but events like the tragedy in Flint, Michigan, are only a part of why we should all be more mindful of our water supply. The 2021 Water@UW-Madison Symposium’s theme is “Opportunities in a Changing World,” and it will focus on state-level action plans surrounding climate change, PFAS, and even COVID-19. This annual event is free and open to the public. Register here.

46 Plays for America’s First Ladies, Saturday, May 8, 7 p.m.: Forward Theater is part of a world premiere for 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies, by Chloe Johnston, Sharon Greene, Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Bilal Dardai and Andy Bayiates. It’s a multimedia, genre-defying assemblage of 46 short plays that do, in some sense, act as biographies to America’s First Ladies, but are far more than that. The 100-minute show, performed live and filmed at the Overture Center, premieres Saturday evening and will be streaming on demand through May 23. Tickets are available at overture.org, and ticket holders can also join one of six talkbacks with the actors and directors, hosted via Zoom.  

Madison Area Jugglers Club, ongoing Sundays, UW Library Mall, 2 p.m.: The jugglers have been around for a long time. You may remember seeing them on the Library Mall, Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings, while you were heading to Helen C. to study or to the Terrace for beers. But the jugglers want you! Those Sunday sessions have started back up are open to all (a return to Thursday juggling is forthcoming). Bring a mask and hand sanitizer and a buddy will instruct you in the art of passing, or, just, not dropping. If you’re interested, contact the club via madjugglers.com, or take a chance and just show up in front of the Wisconsin Historical Society (or, if it is rainy or windy, under the skyway of the Chazen Museum of Art).

Overture Center season announcement, Monday, May 10, 7 p.m.: Overture Center, the crown jewel of Madison’s nonprofit arts universe, has offered worthy virtual programming during our time of dark stages, including the impressive feat of programming an online International Festival. While in-person events at Overture are not here quite yet, it’s not too soon to start planning for your next visit. Overture Center staff members Tim Sauers and Karra Beach will team for a virtual announcement of the 2021-22 schedule, adding to the previously announced slate of touring Broadway shows. Find the livestream on YouTube or Facebook.

Locally Grown, Nationally Known, Tuesday, May 11, 6:30 p.m.: This social hosted by the Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter considers the connections between food and drink production and climate change. One way to support a healthier food system is by buying items grown and made locally, and in the Badger State we are fortunate to have a lot of tasty options to do so. Joining the livestream to talk about two state companies helping keep things local are special guests Kirk Bangstad (Minocqua Brewing) and David Payne (Potter’s Crackers); there will also be Sierra Club trivia as well as chances to donate to the local chapter as part of this annual fundraiser. Registration is free, but required by May 9.

Madison Nonprofit Day, Wednesday-Thursday, May 12-13: Coordinated by local organization Collaboration for Good, Madison Nonprofit Day returns with a two-day online event specially designed to offer skill building and networking opportunities for those working for social good. Along with a virtual exhibit hall, community forums, and a full slate of workshops, the event features a keynote by coach and trainer Kishshana Palmer on a timely topic: "Thriving Despite the Crisis: Has the Money Run Out?" The full schedule is still to be announced, but events will take place from noon-6 p.m. on Wednesday and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday; tickets are pay what you can.

Young Playwrights Festival, Wednesday, May 12, 1 p.m.: Kids not only have wild imaginations but an innate sense of drama, and Children’s Theater of Madison’s Young Playwrights program encourages that. The participants (70 students from four area schools) have been busy crafting their dramas and they’re ready for their staged readings, directed and acted by professional theater artists and experienced actors. The Festival begins May 12 with live staged readings and talkback with the student writers, festival actors and directors on Zoom. Following that, the collection of 10-minute plays will be viewable by anyone on demand from 6 p.m. on May 14 through May 30; links are available at CTMtheater.org.

Universal Sound, Wednesday, May 12, Bowl-A-Vard Lanes, 6 p.m.: It's May, which means the annual outdoor music and vehicle cruise-in series at Bowl-A-Vard Lanes is rolling again. Bring your vintage autos for Car Night on Wednesdays (music at 6 p.m.), and Thursdays welcome motorcycle riders for Bike Night (music at 6:30 p.m.). A range of rock and country sounds are provided by regional bands, and this Wednesday features one of the Madison area's longest running outfits. The roots of Universal Sound run back five decades, and you're sure to hear a favorite rock, country, soul or pop song drawn from an extensive song list. Find the full schedule posted on Facebook.

Wisconsin Film Festival, May 13-20: The beloved Wisconsin Film Festival was one of the arts losses at the beginning of the pandemic last year; scheduled for the first week in April, it was too soon after the shutdown for organizers to truly pivot to online viewing. This year, the Festival is online only, with films streaming through the app Eventive. (See Linda Falkenstein’s article, a crash course in how to navigate the Festival, here.) The lineup of films, as usual, is impressive, not the least of which is the excellent showing of 37 films in the Wisconsin’s Own category. Peruse the complete guide at watch.eventive.org/wifilmfest. All films are available for viewing throughout the duration of the festival.

Drawing Workshop, Thursday, May 13, 7 pm: You've seen Milwaukee-based illustrator Rachal Duggan's often whimsical line drawings at local galleries and in publications from The Guardian to Isthmus, and perhaps even participated in a Duggan-led drawing session for Arts + Literature Lab or Madison Public Library. Duggan's next workshop, hosted by Tone Madison, will put the fun in fundraiser with a focus on local lore and making Madison-themed doodles. Tickets ($25) can be found here; all you need otherwise is an internet connection, paper and some markers.

Tamara Winfrey Harris, Thursday, May 13, 7 p.m.: After a call by author Tamara Winfrey Harris for inspirational, open letters of support for Black girls from Black women went viral on social media, it grew into the Letters to Black Girls project. And now, Winfrey Harris has organized some of these messages into a new book, Dear Black Girl: Letters From Your Sisters on Stepping Into Your Power. "This book is an antidote to the world’s ugly, unforgiving gaze — a balm for the wounds of anti-Black girlness," writes Winfrey Harris in the preface. She will discuss the book with DeShong Perry, one of the letter writers, during a livestream hosted by A Room of One’s Own; register here.

Roberto Torres Mata, through May 14, Chazen Museum of Art: UW-Madison master of fine arts recipient Roberto Torres Mata is the winner of the 2021 Russell and Paula Panczenko MFA Prize, which means he gets a big exhibition to himself in the Chazen. Untethered: Our Journey Beyond Borders displays the several media of Mata’s art practice: relief woodblock printing, wood carving and papermaking. The iconography evokes indigenous cultures of the Americas. It’s literally and figuratively a journey through the gallery. The Chazen is open for in-person viewing by reservation Tuesdays and Wednesdays, noon to 5 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, noon to 7 p.m. The Mata exhibit is up through May 14.

We hope it’s handy for you to find the Picks in a single weekly post. The individual Picks can still be found in the usual places online: collected here, and sprinkled throughout all the events.