Pencil This In

PARTY: The Novel-T Team is celebrating their 2nd line of literary all-star jerseys tonight in DUMBO. DJ DB Wonder will be spinning tunes, there will be a Wii home run derby, and to fill their literary quota, there will be readings by David Goodwillie and Richard Grayson. And of course, the Brooklyn Cyclones' mascot Sandy the Seagull will be there. Did we mention the free beer and Cracker Jacks?

Friday // 7 to 9 p.m. // powerHouse arena [37 Main St, DUMBO] // Free

THEATER: This weekend's your last chance to catch Gin & "It," an intricate multimedia exploration of the techniques used by Hitchcock for the film Rope, which is famous for the illusion of being shot in one uninterrupted film take. Created by Reid Farrington, video designer for the videophilic Wooster Group, Gin & "It" is performed by actors portraying the grips on Hitchcock's set, manically trying to keep the film in motion as it's projected onto moving screens. The New Yorker writes, "Combining technical prowess and cheeky humor, Farrington creates a spooky interspace between past and present, film and flesh, reminiscent of the Wooster Group's Theatrofilm-inspired Hamlet, for which he designed the video."

Friday // 8 p.m. // P.S. 122 [150 First Ave] // Tickets

THEATER: It's also your last chance to check out The Vigil or The Guided Cradle, which takes its name from a medieval torture device in which a chained prisoner must hold himself up without falling asleep, lest he be impaled on a very sharp spike. Crystal Skillman's play takes place in both present-day and 15th century Prague; in the contemporary portion of the evening, a foreign stranger takes an American tourist hostage, while the medieval half occurs (where else?) in a torture chamber. Martin Denton at nytheatre.com writes, "The Vigil explores the nature of change and progress, and it also meditates on the balance between ultimate control over another human being and the humane impulses that might counteract our basest impulses. And buried in here is a wondrous tale of female empowerment, for neither the American tourist nor her counterpart in the 15th century--the abused daughter of an accused witch--proves to be as helpless as she seems."

Saturday // 8 p.m. // The Brick Theater [575 Metropolitan Ave, Williamsburg] // Tickets

MUSIC: Celebrate Mother's Day with dark brooding rockers. Tonight Extra Life, Larkin Grimm and Queening will hold court at Cake Shop--we've said it before, and we'll say it again: Extra Life is damn good.

Sunday // 8 p.m. // Cake Shop [152 Ludlow St] // $tba

ANIMALS: Do you want to meet Brooklyn's new baby doll sheep? Come to Prospect Park Zoo this weekend for Fleece Fest! "See fleece shorn from live sheep at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., then come next door to Lefferts and try your hand at the steps for making it into cloth: washing, carding, spinning and weaving."

Saturday & Sunday // Prospect Park Zoo // Free

Newsletter contributions from John Del Signore and Jen Carlson