Soundstreams is inviting actors, playwrights, composers, and directors to Behind the Curtain: Developing New Musicals and Operas, a salon to discuss and learn about these underrepresented genres. Meet Acting Up Stage’s Mitchell Marcus and SummerWorks Musical Works’ Tracy Michailidis. 7PM. August 16. Pre-registration required. Gardiner Museum. Free.
StoryMobs stages a reading of Robert Munsch’s The Paper Bag Princess with costumes, choreography and live music. Find out if Princess Elizabeth can save her prince from a self-serving dragon and set both of them straight while she’s at it. Sometime between 1PM and 4PM. Aug 17. Location given 24 hours prior to event. Free.
The first ever Toronto Podcast Festival pairs a promising medium with the city’s most tantalizing talkers. The lineup includes live podcasts by Matt O’Brien (ReHash), Precious Chong and Melissa Story (Sex and the Single Parent), and Todd Van Allen (Comedy.Above.The.Pub.). Various Venues. August 20-August 24. $5-$10 per event.
Figment Toronto is an arts festival with a participatory twist. Installations that add a few extra senses to the viewing public are preferred. 10AM-6PM. August 17-18. Toronto Island Park. Free.
Is the car a little grimy for the forthcoming apocalypse? Toronto’s 4th Annual Zombie Car Wash: Bloods N’ Suds can fix that. Zombie attacks and blood treatments are available for a small fee. 12PM-5PM. August 18. The Classic Coin Wash. Donations.
Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke is interviewed by Susan G. Cole about his new book, Illicit Sonnets. The book is a post-colonial retelling of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese. 8PM. August 21. The Gladstone Hotel. $5.
Jason Rovito, Bookseller holds his weekly Chelsea Shop. Find books, prints, ephemera, and academic press titles. 2PM-8PM. Aug 15-17 and 22-24. 894 College Street.