Books at The Bar, Strings on The T, and More Events This Week

Zeitgeist Stage Company’s one-person show from Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour has no director, no set, no rehearsals, and no script — until it’s handed to the actor taking the stage. Sounds like that nightmare where you show up for class and everyone’s cramming furiously and you’re like, “There’s a test today?” and you’re naked and your teeth fall out. (7:30 p.m., FREE, all ages)

The Bridge Center’s annual Comedy for a Cause benefit at the Wilbur Theatre helps the organization provide summer camps and year-round services for special-needs children. The ImprovBoston comedy troupe headlines this year’s show, which also features a capella groups from Boston College and Berklee. It’s not a competition but it’s totally cool if you pretend to be the judges from “Pitch Perfect” and pick a winner. (7 p.m., $12, all ages)

Ain’t no party like a silent reading party ‘cause a silent reading party don’t stop until you finish this chapter and make some tea. Part of Grub Street’s Lit Week programming, the event welcomes bookworms to read and chat in the Sheraton Back Bay’s lounge. The hard part is choosing which book will make other cool and smart people come talk to you. Is there a book version of “Pitch Perfect”? There is? That’ll work. (6 p.m., FREE, 21+)

Art Week Boston classes up your commute with this hourlong Roxbury Youth Orchestra concert on the North Station T platform. You actually won’t mind when four inbound trains come through the station before the outbound you’re waiting for. It’s pretty rare to see street musicians playing stringed instruments, not counting Harvard Square Chinese violin guy with the wild, unblinking stare. (5 p.m., FREE, all ages)

More from Lit Week: Arts organization Opus Affair’s monthly salon series usually features musical performances, but this special edition at The Hawthorne welcomes writers and other creative types to mingle while enjoying literary-themed cocktails. Or probably just get drunk and complain about how that hack James Patterson has like 15 of the New York Times top ten bestsellers every week. (7 p.m., FREE, 21+)

Named for the Townes Van Zandt tune, the For Sake of the Song series brings together local musicians to pay tribute to legendary artists through covers and originals. Wednesday’s show at Johnny D’s celebrates Bob Dylan, probably the most covered artist of all time. It’s tough to beat Hendrix doing “All Along the Watchtower” but I’m partial to Cat Power’s “I Believe in You” or maybe Harvard Square Chinese violin guy’s version of “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” (7:30 p.m., $10, all ages)

The Flash Forward festival (celebrating still photography, not that one really crazy “Lost” episode, um, spoiler alert, sorry) runs through the weekend and features an outdoor Harborwalk exhibition, gallery shows, networking events, and panels with National Geographic and New York Times photo editors. (Various times, mostly free, all ages)

The Boston native brings his standup festival back to town, kicking off Thursday at The Sinclair with “A Night of Foreigners and Immigrants Taking Your American Standup Comedy Jobs.” Tickets are going fast for the festival’s six shows, featuring performers like Wyatt Cenac, John Hodgman, Kristen Schaal, H. Jon Benjamin, and, why not, Bill Nye the Science Guy. Mirman’s a Lexington High grad, and hopefully the festival’s finally convinces his parents that this standup thing is going to work out and they can stop sending him law school applications. (Various times, $15-35, 18+)

Photo credit: Robert S. Donovan/Creative Commons

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