Here's what's going on this week:
Thursday, May 2

• Tonight from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on East Avenue is the City Newspaper Best Busker Contest. [source: band e-mail, 2013-Apr-30]
• The Possibility Project-Rochester will perform Playing the Odds at the MuCCC tonight through Saturday at 7 p.m. and on Sunday at 2 p.m.
  

  "Playing the Odds," an original musical drama written and performed by a diverse group of teenagers from throughout the Rochester area.

  [source: MuCCC website, 2013-Apr-29]

• Tonight at Water Street Music Hall starting around 7 p.m. is fun ska from Mrs. Skannotto, and Big D And The Kids Table. [source: JamBase calendar, 2013-Apr-29]
• The Dryden will screen Badlands (Terrence Malick, Us 1973, 94 min.) tonight at 8 p.m.
  

  In this poetic echo of Bonnie and Clyde, Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen star as headstrong lovers who find themselves on a cross-country killing spree. The simultaneously whimsical and brutally violent nature of the story glows from Spacek's pitch-perfect performance as a naÏve teenage girl whisked away by an idealistic, and sociopathic, older man (Sheen). Malick's artful cinematic sense punctuates their almost fairytale narrative with beautiful compositions and deep Midwestern landscapes.

  [source: Dryden website, 2013-Apr-29]

Friday, May 3

• Today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at RoCo is Eating Place: An urban foraging workshop with spurse.
  

  Join us for a gleaning walk to share knowledge and sense a world of pleasures under our feet. We will collect edibles from parks, dumpsters, restaurants, markets and create a "freegan" picnic. Dress code: be ready for a little dirt and adventure.

  [source: City Newspaper events calendar, 2013-May-1]

• The Nosferatü Studios Annual Soirée with John Magnus Champlin, and Super Science Lady is tonight from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Nosferatü Studios (250 N. Goodman St. at Anderson Alley, Suite 3-10). [source: Facebook, 2013-Apr-29]
• There is an Artists Reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at The Shoe Factory Art Co-op featuring "the work of surrealist painter Mona Oates and floral painter Wen-Hua Chen." [source: Shoe Factory e-mail, 2013-Apr-29]
• Also from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Siskind Gallery at the Visual Studies Workshop is the VSW MFA Thesis Exhibitions: Then and Now, Until by Sarah Cox, PST1: variations by Brian Murphy, Chasing After The Wind by Megan Sullivan, and buoyed by Alicia Taylor. At the VSW Bookstore Gallery and Auditorium is an Opening Reception and Fundraiser for ChemoToxic, I Am That and Other Stories, "representing photographer Willie Osterman's documentation of his wife Michele's chemotherapy and his fears that the disease might be lurking within his own body". "Proceeds from the opening event will benefit patients at Pluta Cancer Center." [source: VSW website, 2013-Apr-29]
• Tonight at Writers and Books is First Fridays / Wide Open Mic hosted by Norm Davis from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. [source: Writers and Books website, 2013-Apr-29]
• Tonight and Sunday through Thursday at 7 p.m., and tonight through Sunday at 4:30 p.m., The Cinema is screening Admission (Paul Weitz, U.S. 2013, 103 min.)
  

  Tina Fey (30 Rock) and Paul Rudd (This is 40) are paired for the first time on-screen in Admission, the new comedy/drama directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Weitz (About a Boy, In Good Company), about the surprising detours we encounter on the road to happiness. Every spring, high school seniors anxiously await letters of college admission that will affirm and encourage their potential. At Princeton University, admissions officer Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is a gatekeeper evaluating thousands of applicants. Year in and year out, Portia has lived her life by the book, at work as well as at the home she shares with Princeton professor Mark (Michael Sheen). When Clarence (Wallace Shawn), the Dean of Admissions, announces his impending retirement, the likeliest candidates to succeed him are Portia and her office rival Corinne (Gloria Reuben). For Portia, however, it's business as usual as she hits the road on her annual recruiting trip.

  [source: Cinema Theater website, 2013-May-1]

• The Eastman-Rochester Chorus and the Eastman Philharmonia perform at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre tonight at 8 p.m. There is also a Pre-performance Lecture in the Eastman School Ray Wright Room at 7 p.m. [source: Eastman School of Music calendar, 2013-Apr-29]
• Tonight in the 3rd Floor Ballroom of Tango Café is a Swing Dance with the Djangoners starting around 8 p.m. There is a Free Beginner Balboa Lesson preceding the performance at 7 p.m. [source: City Newspaper events calendar, 2013-Apr-29]
• Tonight at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., the Dryden will screen The Jerk (Carl Reiner, Us 1979, 94 min.)
  

  Navin R. Johnson, the outrageously naïve white son of black sharecroppers, runs away from home when he comes to the realization that he was adopted. Quickly finding his way in the world and barely escaping death at the hands of a deranged killer, he becomes the inventor of the "Opti-grab," sending him from rags to riches—and back again. Featuring the "wild and crazy" Martin in his first starring role, Carl Reiner's off-the-wall comedy is filled with an endless string of gags and lunacy.

  [source: Dryden website, 2013-Apr-29]

• Tonight and Friday through Sunday at 8:45 p.m. at The Cinema is The Call (Brad Anderson, U.S. 2013, 95 min.)
  

  When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl's life.

  [source: Cinema Theater website, 2013-May-1]

• Tonight starting around 10 p.m. is great classic rock/soul band Anonymous Willpower, and Steve Pavia at Abilene. [source: Facebook, 2013-Apr-29]

Saturday, May 4

• Today from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. is the UMHN Clean Sweep at Mark's Park near the corner of Westmoreland Dr. and Castleman. [source: UMHN Calendar, 2013-Apr-29]
• Today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. is the Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival, "a campus-wide event that showcases the innovative and creative spirit of RIT students, faculty and staff." [source: Imagine RIT website, 2013-Apr-29]
• Today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the University of Rochester Interfaith Chapel is What You Say Next Can Change Your World: Nonviolence in Everyday Life With Miki Kashtan.
  

  How can nonviolence work-not only as a guiding philosophy for social change, but also as a daily practice in our homes and workplace? Can the power of nonviolence infuse our daily life, despite our human limitations and ordinary circumstances? In this six hour workshop, we'll explore and practice concrete steps that bring to life the principles linking nonviolence, speech and action.

  [source: Gandhi Institute calendar, 2013-Apr-29]

• Today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Rochester Free School will host an Open House at the First Universalist Church (150 S. Clinton Ave.)
  

  The Open House will provide the opportunity for the public to become familiar with the concept of free schooling as well as offer the option of becoming involved with the Rochester Free School. This festive event will showcase Rochester Free School course offerings for the upcoming summer session and provide the opportunity for interested participants to sign up.

  [source: Rochester Free School website, 2013-Apr-29]

• Today from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Kate Gleason Auditorium of the Rundel Library Building, Nina Alvarez presents The Quest(ion) of Self-Publishing.
  

  Self-publishing is a highly personal endeavor. This talk will offer you a quest map: a "lay of the land," orienting you to the current landscape of self-publishing, helping you assess your own styles and strategies, and offering specific examples of how others have maneuvered through their own quests. We will discuss marketing and author platform editing, social media, ebooks vs. Print-on-Demand vs. Printing, and how to create an internal compass that will keep you oriented, informed, and inspired along your journey.

  [source: Friends of the Public Library e-mail, 2013-Apr-18]

• Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Space in the Hungerford Building is May The 4th Be With You, "Star Wars themed art in the gallery and improv jamboree." [source: The Space website, 2013-Apr-29]
• Tonight at 8 p.m. in the Dryden Theatre, Joel Hodgson presents Riffing Myself.
  

  The creator of the long-running, movie-riffing cult hit Mystery Science Theater 3000 joins us for his brand new one-man show. Featuring photos, videos, and notebook pages from Hodgson's personal collection, Riffing Myself is an incredible evening of stories about his forays into the depths of B-movie insanity, from his search for the ultimate ventriloquist dummy to the origin story of MST3K. He'll cap it all off with premiere screenings of newly riffed short films!

  [source: Eastman House calendar, 2013-Apr-29]

• Starting around 9 p.m. to night at Skylark is Space Brawl, May The Fourth Be With You!, a Rochester BRAWL "space themed ladies arm wrestling tournament to support Bivona Child Advocacy Center". [source: Facebook, 2013-Apr-29]
• Good acoustic soloist Nick Young will be at Sticky Lips BBQ Juke Joint tonight starting around 10 p.m. [source: Sticky Lips website, 2013-Apr-29]
• Vows, The Branch Davidians, Monoculture, and Little Spoon perform at the Bug Jar tonight around 10:30 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2013-Apr-29]

Sunday, May 5

• This evening from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Vertex is their Cinco de Mayo Late Risers Garage Sale aka: The Vertex Gothic Garage Sale, Swap Meet & Bazaar. [source: Facebook, 2013-Apr-29]
• Tonight at the Bug Jar starting around 9 p.m. is Cinco de Grunge featuring Anchorage Nebraska, Thoroughbred, Old Soul, and Sexy Teenagers. [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2013-Apr-29]

Monday, May 6

• Tonight on the NextStage at Geva at 6 p.m. is a Regional Writers Showcase featuring Galileo by Bill Capossere. [source: Writers and Books website, 2013-Apr-22]
• Mud Creek Farm [full disclosure: the farm I take part in] will be in the in the Friends Learning Center at Brighton Memorial Library at 7 p.m. to discuss their Community Supported Agriculture. [source: Monroe County Library website, 2013-Apr-29]

Tuesday, May 7

• Tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Little is Raising 100,000 Voices.
  

  Raising 100,000 Voices, a project that encourages young adults to express, through video, issues that concern them, presents a special premiere screening of 20 short videos from 60 filmmakers.

  [source: Little Theatre e-mail, 2013-May-1]

• Tonight at 7 p.m. in the Auditorium at the Visual Studies Workshop is Pinhole Cinema and an Aesthetic of the Handmade, a discussion by Robert Schaller.
  

  Robert Schaller will present a theoretical framework for pinhole filmmaking and discuss the implications of the handmade as a part of photography in general. The presentation will be part talk and part film show, illustrated by screenings of Robert's short handmade pinhole films and documentation of other handmade projects. This event is presented by Lauren Bon and The Optics Division of the Metabolic Studio in conjunction with the exhibition Silver and Water at George Eastman House.

  [source: VSW website, 2013-Apr-29]

• Tonight at 8 p.m., the Dryden will screen Il conformista (The Conformist, Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy/France 1970, 111 min., Italian w/ subtitles).
  

  Trintignant is Marcello, a member of Mussolini's secret police tasked with the assassination of his exiled former professor, Luca Quadri (Enzo Tarascio). Marcello and his new wife (Stefania Sandrelli) travel to Paris, where they visit the home of Quadri and his wife. In trademark Bertolucci fashion, sex and politics become indistinguishable as tensions flare between the couples. The Conformist is a careful balance of beauty and horror, anchored by Trintignant's tragic performance.

  [source: Dryden website, 2013-Apr-29]

• Cemeteries, The Branch Davidians, Eyeway, and Stevie Nicks Ray Vaughn perform at the Bug Jar tonight starting around 9 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2013-Apr-29]

Wednesday, May 8

• This evening at 6 p.m. in the South Gallery at the George Eastman House is an In-Gallery Photograph Printing Performance.
  

  As part of Silver and Water, on view in the museum's South and Brackett Clark galleries, an 8-foot by 12-foot negative of Kodak's chemical factory has been soaking in a shallow bath of water, its silver image slowly decaying. Silver and Water artists Lauren Bon and the Optics Division of the Metabolic Studio invite the public to a darkroom performance. They will convert the South Gallery into a darkroom, and, with audience participation, make a giant contact print of the decayed image.

  [source: Eastman House calendar, 2013-Apr-30]

• At the Baobab at 6 p.m. is a Delta Movie Night screening of Skin (Anthony Fabian, U.K./South Africa 2009, 107 min.)
  

  Sandra Laing is a black child born in the 1950s to white Afrikaners, unaware of their black ancestry. Her parents are rural shopkeepers serving the local black community, who lovingly bring her up as their 'white' little girl. But at the age of ten, Sandra is driven out of white society. The film follows Sandra's thirty-year journey from rejection to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation, as she struggles to define her place in a changing world — and triumphs against all odds.

  [source: Baobab website, 2013-Apr-29]

• Charismatic acoustic soloist Scott Regan performs at Sticky Lips BBQ Juke Joint tonight from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. [source: Sticky Lips website, 2013-Apr-29]
• Tonight at 8 p.m. at the Dryden is a screening of an original nitrate print from Eastman House collection of The Fallen Idol (Carol Reed, Uk 1948, 95 min.)
  

  One of England's most celebrated directors probes the complexity and callousness of human relationships in this Oscar®-nominated adaptation of a story by Graham Greene. Told through the naïve eyes of an upper-class boy, the film centers on his idealization of his father's butler, Baines, who entertains him with extravagant (and fictional) accounts of heroic adventures. Contrasting this is the reality of Baines's unhappy, loveless marriage and his dreams of escaping his lot in life.

  [source: Dryden website, 2013-Apr-29]

• Lions Lions, and From the Sky perform at the Bug Jar tonight starting around 7:30 p.m. (the claim is this is an "early show", but your mileage may vary.) [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2013-Apr-29]