Stage listings are compiled by Cheryl Eddy. Performance times may change; call venues to confirm. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Rita Felciano, Lara Shalson, and Chloe Veltman. See 8 Days a Week for information on how to submit items to the listings.

theater

Opening

Eye Exit Theater, 156 Eddy; 566-1107. $16-20. Previews Thurs/5, 8pm. Opens Fri/6, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Feb 28. Dynamic Theatre Company performs Jay Levin's drama about the personal and professional struggles of a war photographer.

Gauguin's Shadow Marsh, 1062 Valencia; 826-5750, www.themarsh.org. $15-22. Previews Thurs/5-Fri/6, 8pm. Opens Sat/7, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Feb 21. Fred Curchack performs his solo theatrical and multimedia show exploring the life of the postimpressionist painter.

The Glory of Living Playhouse, 536 Sutter; 677-9596, reservations@sfplayhouse.org. $30 (previews $15; opening night gala $50). Previews Wed/4-Thurs/5, 8pm. Opens Fri/6, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through March 13. The Playhouse presents the West Coast premiere of Rebecca Gilman's play about a 15-year-old girl who becomes a serial killer.

How We First Met Velvet Lounge, 443 Broadway; 845-4314, www.howwefirstmet.com. $25-35. Opens Fri/6, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Feb 28. Bring your valentine to this show, a night of improvised sketches and songs drawn from tales of romance shared by real-life couples in the audience.

Play It again Sam Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; (650) 361-0773. $15-20. Previews Thurs/5-Fri/6, 8pm. Opens Sat/7, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Feb 28. Mystic Bison Theatre performs this Casablanca-influenced comedy about a man navigating the dating scene with the help of his imaginary friend – Humphrey Bogart.

Riddance Edinburgh Castle Pub, 950 Geary; 608-4338, www.theshee.org. $15-20 (previews and Feb 23, pay what you can). Previews Thurs/5-Fri/6, 7:30pm. Opens Sat/7, 7:30pm. Runs Thurs-Sat and Feb 23, 7:30pm. Through Feb 28. The Shee Theatre Company performs Scottish playwright Linda McLean's drama about a woman and two men bound together by their troubled childhoods.

Bay Area

Say You Love Satan La Val's Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid, Berk; (510) 464-4468, www.impacttheatre.com. $10-15. Opens Fri/6, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through March 13. Impact Theatre performs Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's comedy about a man who realizes his hot new boyfriend happens to be Satan's son.

Ongoing

Are We Almost There? Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 345-7575. $20-22. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. Travel is the theme of this musical comedy revue.

Cinghiale! Exit Stage Left, 156 Eddy; (650) 712-9850, www.ticketweb.com. $15-20. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Feb 14. Cinghiale (saying "chin golly" is close enough) is apparently Italian for wild boar. Since my knowledge of Italian comes largely from menus, I rely on Emilie Miller's idiosyncratic one-woman show for the term's proper import, at least beyond the merely zoological. I have no evidence, in other words, for the existence of cinghiale alfredo. Miller's dish seems to be sociopsychological in nature – a bold, sassy, and dangerous delicacy at that – normally closeted at the back of the mind, but here wending its way through the testimonials of a diverse group of women comprising a society of recovering boar hunters. Amid these confessions of stifled female voices finding outlet in firearms, a troubled but gifted girl named Louise tells her tale ("Hello. My name is Louis. And I hunt."), which oscillates, along with Louise's physical and mental health, between an overprotective mother and a demonic inner force (living in her closet). The piece's quirky charm comes as much from Miller's animated delivery as her intriguing theme. Sure-footed comic timing, sharp characterizations, and a clever, playful appeal go some way toward compensating for the story's choppy, slightly muddled design. (Avila)

'Comedy on the Square' Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 522-8900. Most shows $15. Upcoming performances include "A Celebration of Silliness," with Fred Anderson (Sun, 3 and 7pm, ongoing); "The Keith Show!," with juggler and comedian Keith Everslage (Sun/8, 8:30pm); and Oui Be Negroes in "Coal Black Urban Tales," sketch and improv comedy (starting Feb 13, runs Fri-Sat, 10pm, through Feb 28).

Cowboy Mouth Actor's Theatre, 533 Sutter; 433-7827, www.vipsf.com. $20. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Feb 14. An unlikely couple – based on coauthors Sam Shepard and Patti Smith – are at the center of this drama. The play is performed as part of "Old Ghosts Underground Art Show," a showcase featuring theater, visual art, live music, dance, and more.

Disney's The Lion King Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market; 512-7770, 356-LION, www.bestofbroadway-sf.com. $26-82. Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Sat and June 23, 25, 28, and 30, 2pm); Sun, 3pm (starting March 21, Sun show schedule changes to 1pm and 6:30pm; no shows June 27 and July 4). Through Sept 5. This Tony-winning musical employs hundreds of masks and puppets to weave Disney's tale of a lion cub who grows into a great leader.

A Doll's House Geary Theater, 415 Geary; 749-2228, www.act-sf.org. $11-68. Wed/4-Sat/7, 8pm (also Wed/4, Sat/7, 2pm); Sun/8, 2pm. American Conservatory Theater presents Ibsen's 1879 classic in a crisp, new translation by Paul Walsh. Nora (René Augesen) is a wife and mother increasingly stifled by her middle-class marriage to, and dependency on, the well-meaning but benighted Torvald (Stephen Caffrey). Annie Smart's set presents a gemütlich family room encircled by colorfully patterned collateral walls, like a concentric series of gift boxes, a suffocating record of Christmases past pushing outward like the rings of a tree, and a comfy bourgeois carapace smothering its occupant, Nora herself a sort of Russian doll, interiors inside of interiors. The play's journey inward is Nora's outward beyond these walls, and David Finn's lighting, as artificial at first as a toy shop, gradually grows more subdued, shadowed, and naturalistic. Ibsen's formulaic, slightly strained plotline has its limitations, and the supporting characters can hover less than satisfyingly between the play's heavy-handed melodramatic conventions and a restraint that leaves their significance ill-defined. But director Carey Perloff gets compelling performances in Augesen's formidable Nora and Caffrey's wonderfully detailed Torvald. Their confrontation in the third act, when the mask of a sham marriage falls away for good, turns Ibsen's sometimes quaintly antiromantic play into one that sounds suddenly and strikingly contemporary. (Avila)

Dooley and A Taste of Heaven New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972, www.nctcsf.org. $17-38. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Feb 22. The New Conservatory Theatre Center presents one-act plays by Harry C. Cronin (Dooley, about homophobia in the military) and Alan Quizmorio (A Taste of Heaven, about two men who fall in love despite the confining rules of Victorian society).

The Last Sunday in June New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972, www.nctcsf.org. $18-28. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Feb 29. The New Conservatory Theatre Center presents Jonathan Tolins's comedy about a group of gay friends who gather to watch the New York City Pride Parade.

Les Fauxlies Fantastique: Showgirls Who Aren't Really Girls at All! New venue: Venue 9, 252 Ninth St; 248-1942. $40. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2:30pm. Through March 7. Showgirls take the stage in this Parisian-style drag musical revue.

Noises Off Marines Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter; 1-877-771-6900. $40-60. Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Open-ended. In Michael Frayn's popular comedy, a troupe of third-rate actors rehearse and perform a third-rate play three times. Revolving, like a typical French farce, around a multi-doored set, flying props, and the whirligig antics of a bunch of half-wit characters, this virtuosic piece of meta-theater demands absolute precision from the cast. But that's not all: with repetition being something of an obsession of Frayn's (the plot of his later play, Copenhagen, displays similar Groundhog Day tendencies), the director's challenge is to go beyond the ostinato of the action and sustain the audience's interest through every repetition. Although immaculately choreographed to milk the script's funniest moments, Richard Seyd's production often flags. As energetic as the performances are – Jane Carr is particularly adorable as daffy actress/housekeeper Dotty Otley/Mrs. Clackett – the lack of variety in the pace and pitch of the production sacrifices the subtleties of Frayn's work for a hectic melee of frenzied voices, flailing limbs, and flying sardines. (Veltman)

Psychos Never Dream Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia; 626-3311. $9-15 (Thurs and Feb 16, pay what you can). Thurs-Sun and Feb 16, 8pm. Through Feb 16. See "Don't Fence Me In."

Seduction New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972, www.nctcsf.org. $18-28. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through March 28. The New Conservatory Theatre Center presents the world premiere of Jack Heifner's erotic comedy, an all-gay adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde.

Speaking in Tongues Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor; 789-8221. $20 (Thurs, two-for-$25). Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Feb 14. Actor's Collective presents the West Coast premiere of Australian playwright Andrew Bovell's craftily constructed drama, a karmic puzzle that's part comedy, part existential thriller. In the first act, two couples (Kevin Rolston, Karen Finch, Daryl M. Lozupone, and Gabrielle Fisher), whom we first see applying themselves haltingly to one-night stands in parallel motel rooms, get more adultery than they bargained for and wrestle with the consequences. In the second act, the story line displaces the two previous couples in favor of another set of characters, though the former remain peripherally involved. How exactly they all fit together is intriguingly vague, and difficult to guess at, until most of Bovell's mischievous story has run its course. What begins as a sharp but comical study of marital infidelity becomes an increasingly eerie unraveling of fate among a far more intricate set of relationships. Jon Drawbaugh's intelligent direction negotiates the twists in the play's narrative to nice effect (aided atmospherically by Noah Kelly's artful video collages). Together with the tortuous plot, a competent and agreeable four-person cast ensures Speaking in Tongues, while not always as effective dramatically, sustains a keen interest throughout. (Avila)

*Spray Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St; 861-5079. $15-25. Wed/4-Sat/7, 8pm (also Sat/7, 3pm). New York-based writer-performer Mike Albo's terrific solo show, a must-see California premiere currently running at top speed on Theatre Rhinoceros's main stage, lays into the culture of consumption with a blazing and frequently spellbinding mix of comic monologues as well as some oddly compelling dancing. Along the way, the charismatic Albo so deftly catalogs the trumped-up obsessions of mass culture he's spoofing that you worry how he's spending his down time. But Spray's whirlwind tour of needy souls and spiritual cannibals is an invigorating dip into a media-drenched fishbowl society obsessed right out of its collective mind with material gratification – coupled, of course, with projections of deep spiritual well-being, physical beauty and prowess, witheringly off-the-cuff erudition, urban savoir faire, and lots of fame. Directed by AnnaCatherine Rutledge, Spray proves that good comedy, like a good expectorant, loosens what oppresses on the inside and hurls it onto the floor, where it no longer looks like so big a deal and, in fact, is kind of gross, but leaves us with a sense of temporary relief in which we breathe a little easier. (Avila)

Talking with Angels Actors Center of San Francisco, 3012 16th St; 389-8975, www.talkingwithangels.com. $17-25. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through March 6. Shelley Mitchell performs her solo play, drawn from the diaries of four young women living in Nazi-occupied Hungary.

Times like These A Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida; 285-8080, www.atjt.com. $18-30. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Feb 22. (Also, Feb 26-28, 8pm; Feb 29, 2 and 7pm, Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College, Berk). A Traveling Jewish Theatre performs John O'Keefe's play about two actors, a Jewish woman and her "Aryan" husband, struggling against the rise of Nazism.

Bay Area

Helen of Troy (Revised) Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 649-5999, www.aeofberkeley.org. $10. Fri-Sat and Feb 19, 8pm. Through Feb 21. Actors Ensemble of Berkeley performs Wolfgang Hildesheimer's comedy that gets the real story of Helen of Troy from Helen herself.

The Last Schwartz Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; (415) 388-5208, www.marintheatre.org. $28-45. Wed/4, 7:30pm; Thurs/5-Sat/7, 8pm (also Sat/7, 2pm); Sun/8, 2 and 7pm. In Marin Theatre Company's engaging West Coast premiere of Deborah Zoe Laufer's comedy, the four Schwartz siblings gather at the family home in upstate New York to commemorate the one-year anniversary of their father's death. The untenable clan flays itself raw in an often mordantly funny series of confrontations and disclosures, all of which point to the end of the hereditary line for the Schwartzes. If not always original in design, The Last Schwartz is fresh in execution, thanks to some winning dialogue and director Lee Sankowich's sure handling of an especially fine ensemble cast who breathe life into basically familiar character types and situations. (Avila)

The Man of Destiny Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; (510) 843-4822, www.auroratheatre.org. $28-40. Previews Wed/4, 8pm. Opens Thurs/5, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through March 7. Aurora Theatre Company performs George Bernard Shaw's "comedy of egos."

Memphis Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; (650) 903-6000, www.theatreworks.org. $20-48. Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm; Tues/10, 7:30pm. Through Feb 15. TheatreWorks and North Shore Music Theatre present the world premiere of Joe DiPietro and David Bryan's new musical about a pioneering white radio DJ (based on real-life Memphis jock Dewey Phillips) who brings rock 'n' roll to the airwaves.

Yellowman Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org. $10-55. Tues and Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Thurs/5, Sat/7, Feb 14, 19, 28, and March 4, 2pm; no show Fri/6); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm). Through March 7. Berkeley Rep performs Dael Orlandersmith's exploration of the racial tensions that arise between an African American couple.

dance

Ellis Wood Dance Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; 345-7575. Fri, 8pm. $15-20. Choreographer Ellis Wood premieres sections of her newest evening-length work, Haereticus.

San Francisco Ballet War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness; 865-2000, www.sfballet.org. Program One: Wed/4, 7:30pm; Fri/6, Feb 12, and 14, 8pm (also Feb 14, 2pm); Sun/8, 2pm. Program Two: Thurs/5, Sat/7, Tues/10, and Feb 13, 8pm (also Sat/7, 2pm); Feb 11, 7:30pm; Feb 15, 2pm. $8-132. Program One is the encore presentation of the full-length Don Quixote, with original choreography by Marius Petipa and additional choreography and staging by Helgi Tomasson and Yuri Possokhov. Program Two includes Tomasson's Le quattro stagioni (The four seasons), a world premiere by Possokhov, and Stanton Welch's Tu Tu.

Stephen Petronio Company Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, 700 Howard; 398-6449, www.performances.org. Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. $24-45. The company performs Broken Man, with music by Blixa Bargeld; City of Twist, set to original music by Laurie Anderson; and The Island of Misfit Toys, with music by Lou Reed and set design by Cindy Sherman.

Bay Area

Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd, San Jose; (408) 288-2800, www.ticketmaster.com, www.balletsanjose.org. Thurs, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 1:30pm. $22-68. The company performs the classic Coppélia, about an enchanting, lifelike doll.

Big Moves First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St, Oakl; (415) 756-5593, www.bigmoves.org. Sun, 5pm. $20. The company, which celebrates performers of all sizes, hosts "A Taste for Dance," a fundraiser featuring a dance showcase, a fashion show, and a chocolate buffet.

Merce Cunninghan Dance Company Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph, Berk; (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu. Fri-Sat, 8pm. $26-46. Friday, the program includes Biped and Ground Level Overlay; Saturday, it features Interscape and Sounddance.

Smuin Ballet Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; (925) 943-7469, (415) 495-2234, www.smuinballet.org. Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm). $20.50-50. The company performs Tango Palace: Tangos, Fados, and Other Curios, along with Suite Gershwin and Les Noces.

performance

BATS Improv Bayfront Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; www.batsimprov.com. $12. This week: "Rock n' Roll Theatresports" (Fri-Sat, 8pm).

'CAFE Presents' Off-Market Theater (and Studio), 965 Mission; 896-6477, www.cafearts.com. $10. This week: "Improv Revolution," long-form improv (studio, Thurs, 8pm); "Research Findings #2: Everything Appears to Matter," interdisciplinary performances (studio, Fri-Sat, 8pm); improv with the Legal Briefs and Muy Fuerte (theater, Sat, 8pm).

'Crash: Falling Together' Exit Theater, 156 Eddy; www.playwrightscentersf.org. Tues, 7:30pm. $5-10. The Playwrights' Center of San Francisco hosts a staged reading of a new play by Cory McDaniel.

'GenderEnders' Cherry Bar, 917 Folsom; (510) 301-6934. Wed, 8:30pm. $4-7. The latest entry in this ongoing performance series for transgendered, intersexed, and/or genderqueer artists is themed "Tranny Homo-Hop Night"; featured guests are the Urban Hermitt, Jaycub Perez, and Matthue Roth, plus an open mic hosted by Julia Serano.

'Jails, Hospitals, and Hip Hop' Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California; 292-1233, www.jccsf.org. Sat, 8pm. $26-28. The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco's brand-new Eugene and Elinor Friend Center for the Arts opens with Danny Hoch's acclaimed solo show.

'Poets' Theater Jamboree' California College of the Arts, Timken Lecture Hall, 1111 Eighth St; www.sptraffic.org. Fri, 7:30pm. $10. Small Press Traffic presents a series of plays featuring poets as playwrights, directors, producers, and actors; this week's participants include Trevor Calvert and James Meetze, Mazine Chernoff, Yedda Morrison, Deborah Richards, Michael Scharf, and Tyrone Williams.

'Sacrament!' Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia; 626-2787, www.theintersection.org. Mon, 7:30pm. $5-15. Campo Santo's "Open Process" series hosts a work-in-progress presentation of Dave Eggers's first play.

'Secret Sondheim: A Musical Revue' Eureka Theater, 215 Jackson; 392-4400, 551-7990, www.sfartsed.org. Fri-Sat, 7:30pm (also Sat, 2pm; Feb 14, evening show at 8pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Feb 15. $8-15 (Feb 14 evening show, $50). The San Francisco Arts Education Project's Event Players (local public school children ages 10-14) present the Sondheim revue.

'Test Tube: FreezerBurn' New Langton Arts, 1246 Folsom; 626-5416, www.newlangtonarts.org. Sat, 7pm. $5-10. This evening "inspired by the oxymoron" features performance artists Elaine Buckholtz, Linda Ford and Pam Martin, Monique Jenkinson, and Space Vaccuum from Outer Space.

'Three New Plays by Robert O'Hara' Buriel Clay Theatre, African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton; 749-1991. $5 ($12 for all three shows). The New York-based playwright presents three staged readings of new plays: Booty Candy (Fri, 7pm), Living Room (Sat, 3pm, with reception with O'Hara), and Leigh (Sat, 7pm).

'Torch! An Intimate Evening of Song' Martuni's, 4 Valencia; 241-0205. Sun, 6 and 8pm. $20. Singer and actress Ellen Greene (Little Shop of Horrors) performs her cabaret show.

'Va Va Voom Room' Plush Room, York Hotel, 940 Sutter; 885-2800, www.vavavoomroom.com. Fri, 10:30pm (no show Feb 13). Through March 1. $20-25. The New York City-based ensemble performs a burlesque and vaudeville cabaret.

Bay Area

'Aurora Stories' Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; (510) 843-4822, www.auroratheatre.org. Mon, 7:30pm. Free ($20 suggested donation). See 8 Days a Week.

'Spanglish 101' La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 849-2568, www.lapena.org. Fri, 8pm. $10. Bill Santiago performs his "total immersion comedic excursion into Latino USA."

comedy

Bazaar Cafe 5927 California; 831-5620. Tues, 8pm: "Doug Ferrari and Friends," stand-up comedy, free.

Climate Theatre 285 Ninth St; 863-1076. Mon, 8pm: "Monday Night Improv Jam," presented by the San Francisco Improv Co-Operative, $5.

Cobb's Comedy Club 915 Columbus; 928-4320, www.cobbscomedy.com. Wed, 8pm: "All-Pro Comedy Showcase," $7. Thurs-Sun, 8pm (also Fri-Sat, 10:15pm): D.L. Hughley with W. Kamau Bell and Sadiki Fuller, $25-30. Sat, 3pm: "San Francisco Comedy College," $10.

Hyena Theatre 2390 Mission, #304; (510) 333-8397, tonguetraffic@yahoo.com. Sat, 9pm: Angie Krass performs her comedy show, "This Is Not My Oyster," with musical guest Aimee Porter, 9pm, $7.

Java Beach 1396 La Playa; 665-5282. Wed, 8pm: "Doug Ferrari and Friends," stand-up comedy, free.

Mock Cafe 1074 Valencia; noychromosome@yahoo.com. Fri, 9pm: "No Y Chromosome Comedy Showcase," all-female comedy show, $7.

Punch Line 444 Battery; www.punchlinecomedyclub.com. Wed-Sat, 9pm (also Fri-Sat, 11pm): Johnny Steele, $10-15. Sun, 9pm: "SF Comedy Showcase," $7.50. Mon, 8pm: Comedy show to benefit El Camino Wrestling, $10. Feb 10-14, 9pm (also Feb 13-14, 11pm): Al Madrigal, $10-20.

San Francisco LGBT Community Center 1800 Market; 865-5633. Mon, 8pm: "Monday Night Gay Comedy" with host Stephanie Howard, $8-15 (sliding scale).

Spanganga 3376 19th St; 821-1102, www.spanganga.com. Fri-Sat, 10pm: "I Can't Believe It's Not Comedy presents 'It's Funny Because...'" sketch comedy, $10. Through Feb 14.

Uptown 200 Capp; 355-9932. Wed, 8:30pm: "Uptown Comedy Open Mic," with host Eric Peterson, free.

Bay Area

Clem Daniels' End Zone 1466 High St, Oakl; (510) 536-9332. Tues, 9pm: "Dijon's Comedy Corner," $10. spoken word

Open mics take place almost every night in cafés throughout the Bay Area. If you want to perform, show up about half an hour before start time to put your name on the list. A day-by-day guide to spoken word events and featured readers:

Wednesday: BrainWash Café 1122 Folsom, S.F.; (415) 440-5530. "Spoken Word Salon," with host Diamond Dave Whitaker, 8pm, free. Canvas Cafe 1200 Ninth Ave, S.F.; (415) 504-0060, mike@westcoastvideo.net. "Open Mic Talent Showcase," 7:30pm, free.

Thursday: Coppa D'Oro Cafe 3166 24th St, S.F.; (415) 826-8003. "Poetry on the Patio," spoken word and acoustic music open mic with host Charlie Getter, 6:30pm, free. Hotel Cosmo 761 Post, S.F.; www.artworksf.com. "Poetry (and More) at the Cosmo," with hosts Jeanne Powell and Philip T. Nails; this week, continuous open mic with special guests, 6pm, $3. Oakland Box 1928 Telegraph, Oakl; (510) 451-1932, www.oaklandbox.com, www.oaklandpoetry.net. "Oakland Poetry Slam and Verbal Kre-â'shen," open mic and featured readers, plus slam competition, 8pm, $10. Mediterranean Cafe 2475 Telegraph, Berk; (510) 526-5985. "Word Beat Reading Series," with featured readers Barbara Minton and Grace Morizawa, followed by open mic, 7pm, free. Morrison Library Doe Library, UC Berkeley, Berk; (510) 642-0137, lunchpoems.berkeley.edu. "Lunch Poems Reading Series," with Maxine Hong Kongston, 12:10pm, free.

Saturday: Cody's Books 2454 Telegraph, Berk; (510) 845-7852. "Poetry Flash," with Forrest Gander and Elizabeth Robinson, 7:30pm, $2. Berkeley Public Library South Branch, 1901 Russell, Berk; (510) 527-9905. The Bay Area Poets Coalition hosts an open reading, 3pm, free.

Sunday: Cody's Books 2454 Telegraph, Berk; (510) 845-7852. "Poetry Flash," with David Daniel and Jane Mead, 7:30pm, $2. Cafe Prague 584 Pacific, S.F.; (415) 433-3811. Mark Schwartz hosts featured reader Don Brennan, plus open mic, 4pm, free.