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D.C. storytelling league Story District’s latest production is called Not Funny!, but it promises to be exactly the opposite. Local storytellers join comedians from around the nation to share “true tales of the hilariously tragic” as part of Brightest Young Things’ annual Bentzen Ball comedy festival. Take this chance to laugh guilt-free at stories that seamlessly blend comedy and sadness from a myriad performers including Story District regulars Allison Steinberg, Vijai Nathan, and Adam Ruben, as well as actress Jacqueline Novak and comedy writer Phoebe Robinson (pictured). Expect stories involving nakedness, awkward romantic encounters, and other uncomfortable scenes that performers and audience members can chuckle about in retrospect. Read more >>> The show begins at 8 p.m. at the Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. $20. (202) 803-2899. storydistrict.org. (Tatiana Cirisano)
EAT THIS
The first annual Make It Funky Beer Festival hits Denizens Brewing Co. in Silver Spring on Saturday with over 50 types of beer from both local and out-of-town breweries. Tickets are $50 and include unlimited samples from 20 participating breweries like the District’s 3 Stars Brewing Company and Rockville’s Gorden Biersch. Food truck fare from Dirty South Deli, Go Fish, and others will also be offered. Festivities begin at 1 p.m. Denizens Brewing Co., 1115 East-West Highway, Silver Spring. (301) 557-9818. denizensbrewingco.com. (Tatiana Cirisano)
OH AND ALSO
Friday: The National Endowment for the Arts celebrates its Heritage Fellows program with a concert at the Lisner Auditorium featuring this year’s selected artists. Among those scheduled to perform are oud player Rahim AlHaj, aerialist Dolly Jacobs, blues musician Drink Small, and classical Japanese dancer Gertrude Yukie Tsutsumi. 8 p.m. at 730 21st St. NW. Free; online reservations required.
Friday: Quotidian Theatre Company opens its season with the world premiere of Maytag Virgin, Audrey Cefaly‘s play about two characters forced together amid tragic circumstances, at the Writers’ Center. 8 p.m. at 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda. $15–$30.
Friday: Salad Days, the documentary about D.C.’s punk and hardcore scene in the 1980s, is being released on DVD. The occasion is being marked with performances by two contemporary D.C. punk bands, Dot Dash and Nox, at Comet Ping Pong. 10 p.m. at 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW.
Saturday: While some might observe throwing away broken objects as wasteful, the abandoned items can become materials for tinkering dumpster divers and, for the next month, Swedish artist Tobias Sternberg. Logan Circle’s Transformer Gallery welcomes Sternberg and his installation “Temporary Art Repair Shop,” in which locals are invited to drop off items that no longer work for the artist to “repair.” Make no mistake: Sternberg’s goal is not to return these things to working order. Instead, he’ll take parts from the donated objects and turn them into stand-alone sculptures. Read more >>> The exhibition is on view Wednesdays through Saturdays noon to 6 p.m., to Oct. 31, at Transformer Gallery, 1404 P St. NW. Free. (202) 483-1102. transformerdc.org. (Caroline Jones)
Saturday: UrbanArias presents As One, a new opera by Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell, and Kimberly Reed about a trans woman who seeks understanding and acceptance in the outside world, at Atlas Performing Arts Center. Read more in our Fall Arts Guide. 8 p.m. at 1333 H St. NE. $25–$29.
Saturday: Comedian Al Madrigal, best known for his spots on The Daily Show as its Senior Latino Correspondent, performs a stand-up set at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater. 7:30 p.m. at 2700 F St. NW. $25–$55.
Sunday: The members of the Georgian folk music and dance group Zedashe could just as easily call themselves anthropologists as they could performers. Founded in the mid-’90s and directed by Ketevan Mindorashvili, the group’s mission is to revive traditional folk music and customs that were lost during the communist era. This means using traditional instruments like the goat-skin bagpipe called a ch’iboni and two different kinds of lutes for accompaniment. Read more >>> Zedashe performs at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, 2700 F St. NW. $39–$175. (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org. (Caroline Jones)
Sunday: Rebollar Dance returns to Brookland’s DancePlace with “Sacred Profane,” its collaboration with several local companies that examines the female form. Read more in our Fall Arts Guide. 7 p.m. at 3225 8th St. NE. $15–$30.
Sunday: Walking Dead star Emily Kinney moonlights as a pop musician and performs with her band at U Street Music Hall. 6:30 p.m. at 1115 U St. NW. $25.
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