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Happy Monday everyone! Here are some free, low-cost, and donation-based events taking place tonight through Wednesday in the D.C. area from my site Free in DC. All events are all ages and free unless otherwise noted.
Tonight
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival starts at 6 p.m. at the Terrace Theater. With a nod to the institution’s John F. Kennedy 50th anniversary festivities, tonight’s event showcases short plays, monologues, soliloquies, songs, and spoken word pieces inspired by the life, presidency, and legacy of JFK.
Online registration for tonight’s taping of the Kalb Report is closed, but you can still wait in the stand-by line if you want to see Marvin Kalb take a behind-the-scenes look at the New York Times with the paper’s executive editor, Bill Keller, and its Washington bureau chief, Dean Baquet. The cameras will start rolling at 8 p.m. at the National Press Club.
Tuesday
Join neuroscientist James Giordano and artist Rosemary Feit Covey at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria as they discuss chronic pain and the power of art during a talk entitled “Maldynia: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Illness of Chronic Pain” from 6 to 8 p.m. Giordano’s ongoing research addresses chronic pain and its treatment, and much of Covey’s art is inspired by pain and healing.
Curious about capoeira? Head over to BloomBars in Columbia Heights to catch the screening of the film Capoeira: The Dance of Freedom and explore the enigmatic culture of the Afro-Brazilian fight/dance. The screening starts at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by a discussion—conducted via Skype—with director Steve Bartholomew. At 7 p.m., before the film, Bloombars’ own capoeira instructor, Contra-Mestre Bomba, will conduct a lesson/demonstration.
The Beltway Poetry Slam hosts the Women of The World Poetry Slam Qualifier at the Fridge in Barracks Row. The winner of the event will compete in the Women of the World Poetry Slam, scheduled for March in Columbus. An all-female open mic will take place before the slam; sign-up starts at 7:30 p.m. and the event starts at 8. $5 cover.
Wednesday
At 7 p.m. at Politics and Prose, poet Philip Fried, founding editor of the Manhattan Review, reads from Early/Late New and Selected Poetry, which features works from his four volumes of poetry as well as new writings about the financial crisis and technology.
Award-winning Irish poets Siobhan Campbell and Paul Perry are the featured performers at tonight’s edition of the weekly open mic at Busboys 5th & K. Poet-in-residence Holly Bass hosts the 9 p.m. event. $4 cover.
Amy Melrose is the creator of Free in DC, an arts, culture, and consciousness
blog highlighting free and low-cost events that are all Metro accessible in the D.C. area. You can also follow Free in DC on Twitter and Facebook.