As per usual for summertime in the Bay Area, this weekend there will be lots of fun happenings to choose from-- many either for free or very affordably priced. These include the SF Mime Troupe's latest production Too BIg To Fail (Fri, Sat, Sun), Amoebapalooza (Sun), and the Lakefest (Sat, Sun).

A little earlier this afternoon (Friday July 31st), as the SF Mime Troupe was setting up for this evening's performance in Berkeley's Frances Willard/Ho Chi Minh Park (Derby & HIllegass), I conducted a brief but informative chat (video above) with musical director Pat Moran. The SF Mime Troupe is celebrating its 50th victorious year of putting on socially & politically charged plays for Bay Area summer audiences. This summer they are touring Bay Area parks with Too Big To Fail, which, in the form of a simple tale of an African villager, cleverly tackles the complex current global economic crisis.

Directed by Wilma Bonet, written by Michael Gene Sullivan, and with music by Pat Moran, this evening's entertainment kicks off at 6pm with music, and the play begins at 6:30pm. Tomorrow at 1:30pm/2pm at the same location and on Sunday afternoon (2pm/2:30pm) the Troupe will trek over to Mesa Park in Bolinas, in West Marin County. Admission to all all Bay Area park plays by the SF Mime Troupe is free but a donation (of any size) is requested for these always edutaining events. For more info on the remaining summer 2009 schedule visit the troupe's website.