Coming up in Philly theater: Ghost stories, Bassem Youssef, and more in June

June in Philly offers a delicious menu of theater tapas. The season is over for most of the larger houses, and passion projects and experimental work by emerging and well-known artists alike take over the stage. When performances of Draw the Circle, by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen, at InterAct Theater had to be cancelled, the company opened its space to showcase the work of smaller companies with its Juneapalooza event (June 1 through June 30). Peruse online for a full listing of events, but don’t miss a reading of Lee Edward Colston II’s new play The First Deep Breath, presented by Theatre in the X. The company premiered the incredible Running Numbers last summer and has a track record of bringing exciting new playwrights to the scene.

Theater that looks inside

You can catch WHO, Tongue and Groove’s last performance before their summer break, on June 8 at the Drake. The long-form improv group presents stories that are deeper and more complex than typical improv comedy, and their performances are reliably compelling.

The following week, the Leeway Foundation continues its 12x12 series (12 minutes of performance, 12 minutes of exploration with the artist, and 12 minutes of audience Q&A), partnering with Power Street Theatre Company (PSTC) founder and executive producer Gabriela Sanchez. The event is part of PSTC’s Hidden Disabilities Project, an exploration of what it feels like to have an invisible disability. The show is coming to West Kensington Ministry on Wednesday, June 13, at 7pm. (Look out soon for a WNWN interview with Sanchez on the show.)

Ghost stories and the grocery store

SoLowFest continues to fill the void that was left when the Fringe Festival came under the umbrella of the less — how should we put it? — fringey FringeArts. SoLow’s small-scale, independent shows are free or pay-what-you-can and feature a wide variety of projects by both new and established performers. Aisle (June 19 through 22) was co-created by Mason Rosenthal (best known for his innovative work with Lightning Rod Special), and the performance will appear in supermarkets across the city. Josh Hitchens (The Confession of Jeffrey Dahmer), a master storyteller you can always rely on to bring the chills, presents tales of the supernatural in Ghost Stories (June 22 through 24).

The big ones

There’s also plenty of outside-the-box work to catch at the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), through June 10. Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef (often called the “Jon Stewart of the Arab World,” despite the fact that his audience encompassed many more people than Stewart’s American cable show did) will present his one-man show, The Joke Is Mightier than the Sword, on June 6. Youssef recounts his story of arrest and interrogation for his work during the Arab Spring and offers a warning about the power of propaganda.

PIFA also brings the acclaimed Taylor Mac to Philly to present A 24-Decade History of Popular Music over the course of two Saturdays (June 2 and June 9), featuring local favorites, including Martha Graham Cracker, Tangle Movement Arts, and West Philadelphia Orchestra trombonist Larry Toft. A New York Times reviewer called Mac’s work ‘one of the great experiences of my life.”

And on June 9, an explosive PIFA street fair comes to Broad Street between City Hall and South Street, full of free activities and performances and pay-as-you-go food and drinks. (For more on the fest, check out BSR’s guide to family-friendly shows.)

June in Philly is packed full of opportunities to see exciting and experimental new work, but most shows are in small venues for short runs, so make your plans now to avoid missing out.

Above: Josh Hitchens's Ghost Stories takes SoLowFest after hours. (Image courtesy of the artist.)