FRIDAY: >> Bay Area songstress Goapele’s (pictured) musical background is almost as diverse as her ethnic background. Born to a South African political exile father and a mother whose parents survived the Holocaust, she studied at the Berklee College of Music and later would form musical partnerships with the likes of hip-hop acts like the Hieroglyphics crew and E-40. However her 2005 release, Change It All, established her as especially talented when it comes to…

Good news in time for Christmas this year; the Warehouse Theater will continue to operate through next summer, according to the institution. The venue is currently hosting Scena Theater’s The Maids and will have new shows in February and March. That also means it remains a venue for next year’s Fringe Festival. The Warehouse is still looking for a new home. Despite the usual winter doldrums that December brings, there are still a number of…

FRIDAY: >> Starting tonight, George Mason Stadium plays host to the region’s annual D.C . College Cup. The soccer teams of George Washington, American, Howard, and George Mason will square off in two rounds of games. Though the tournament is conspicuously missing national powerhouses UMD and UVA, the event will still showcase some of the best young talent around. GW and AU kick off tonight’s slate (5:00 p.m.), with Howard and GMU rounding the night…

Washington Improv Theater knows that it’s intern harvest season. By day, the twenty-somethings flip and flop in business casual around the Hill and by night, drunkenly attempt to figure out the Metro rail system. WIT has been studying the funny critters for their second (and final) installment of an intern-themed improv comedy night called “WIT Hot American Summer.” Ken Hays and Rich Nyman, the stars of the two-man show, aren’t actual interns, but they know…

My mother has her own non-profit “recycling project.” It’s called the holiday gift closet, filled with girly lotion sets and hand-held electronic poker games, ready to re-gift. It’s perfect for those fake friends who are clearly not worth the shopping trip. These are just the kind of age-old holiday traditions that Washington Improv Theater wants to know about for their annual show, Seasonal Disorder. Each December, Washington Improv Theater hosts the yuletide-themed spectacle Seasonal Disorder,…

FRIDAY: >> Seems like everyone’s talking about the new nightlife options on H Street NE these days, thanks almost entirely to local bar Tsar Joe Englert. Englert’s latest creation, Showbar Presents the Palace of Wonders (though we hear a lot people refering to it simply as the Freak Show Bar) has been open for a few weeks already to mixed buzz — the decor is cool, the drinks are standard, and the food is…

FRIDAY: >> Here at DCist we like to pimp scrappy locals and industrious indies who are charging hard against the establishment. When it comes to stand-up comedy however, sometimes we have to make an exception. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t support up-and-coming local comedic talent. You should. But we’d be the first to admit that there’s something particularly distasteful about amateur stand-up done badly — when a comic punts on stage, you just have…

If you’ve ever spent a Saturday evening home alone watching a “Whose Line Is It, Anyway?” marathon on ABC’s Family Channel (not..that…this DCist…has), you probably know that when it comes to improv theatre, it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen. Actors never know what kind of suggestions they’ll get from the audience, and how well their team will respond under pressure. This can make for exciting, if uneven, entertainment, and Washington Improv Theater…

Sexual intrigue, Hellen Keller and urine; that’s what area theaters have to offer us during the slow month of August, the dead time between the close of the ’04/’05 season and the beginning of the new one. In all seriousness, August still has plenty of offerings for D.C. theatergoers, as a bunch of well-received shows take final bows and a few exciting new productions make their debuts. People can’t stop tinkering with Les Liasons…

FRIDAY: >> Capital Jazz Fest 2005 goes throughout the weekend at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The line up includes George Benson, Joe Sample, Chaka Khan (at right) Lalah Hathaway and more. Ticket information can be found here. >> The Capital Pride Festival, which runs through June 12, focuses on the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities in D.C. The festival includes panels, film screenings, and a street parade. >> Washington Improv Theater presents its Neutrino Video…