Fun around town, for $10 or less: Buzz: 2009 Oscar Preview lecture and discussion at the Philadelphia Art Alliance (251 S 18th), 7PM. Free Collage: Collage artists Heather Maries Davis Jones, Leroy Johnson, and Theodore A. Harris discuss their work at Woodmere Art Museum (9201 Germantown Ave), 7PM. Free Sweet Dreams: Bedtime Stories: A Tribute to the Philadelphia Phillies, part of Shubin Week by the Philly Improv Theater at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge), 8-9PM.......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Onstage Philadelphia: Philly Fringe Preview Series featuring Aboveground Theater, IdRatherBeHere, Malleable Dance Theater, and more at Plays and Players (1714 Delancey Place), 8PM. $10 Comedy Show: The Comic vs Audience at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge), 8PM. $5 Open Mic: Free at The Fire (412 W. Girard). Sign up at 8:30PM. (21+) Sing Your Life!: Karaoke With DJ Sara Sherr Mondays upstairs at the Khyber (56 S. Second),......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Doom!: DVD release/screening party for Doomsday at the Troc (1003 Arch), 7:30PM. $3 Good Cheap Comedy: The Comic vs. Audience Comedy Show at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge), 8PM. $5 (Oops! This event actually takes place next Monday, 8/11. Sorry, folks.) We Heart Iggy: Screening of Iggy and The Stooges—Escaped Maniacs featuring filmed performances from the 2005 Lokerse Festival at the Khyber (52 S 2nd), 8PM. Free Open......

The first trick to a successful production is having a really solid script. That should go without saying, but it's amazing how many bad scripts there are out there, being produced with less-than-successful results. Brian Golden's Six Seconds in Charlack is, mercifully, exactly the opposite of that: a tight, clean, well-plotted script that moves along at a good pace and feels significantly shorter than its nearly 150-minute running time. And handling the script excellently......

Yikes! I must not be very good at this gig, because this is the second time since I took up editorial duties last February that I need to apologize to an outstanding cast for my very un-critic-like behavior. I came in late. To a tiny theatre that you enter by walking pretty much on the stage. For whatever reason, I got the theatre location wrong. By about thirty blocks. I made good time, but......

This week’s quote comes from the musical Damn Yankees. The players on a baseball team are singing that they aren’t the greatest players, but at least they play with heart. Unfortunately, we can relate. Now, on with the listings! Nine Parts of Desire - Heather Raffo’s one woman play is based on a series of interviews he’s conducted with Iraqui women who have been affected by the violence that has become a part of Iraqui......