Girl Talk

IMAGE: Jeff Swensen

When you hear "one-woman show," you might immediately think, "…and that was the day I told my vagina, 'Hey! We're in this together, buddy!'" Lauren Weedman's shows are…not that. Intensely personal, consistently hilarious and periodically cringe-inducing (but in a good way!), Weedman avoids the narcissistic bent of some solo shows by peppering her stories with spot-on portrayals of lots of other characters.

"When I have multiple-character shows, I make mine the one you see the least," Weedman says. "I have enough healthy self-hatred to make myself small in the play."

The play, this time around, is her solo show Bust, which was commissioned three years ago by the Empty Space Theatre in Seattle. Weedman, a Los Angeles-based writer and former Daily Show correspondent, wrote it about volunteering in women's prisons with an organization called Friends Outside. It's "autobiographically based," but Weedman would never call it straight memoir.

"I love blurring the line between truth and fiction, mostly because you can make things funnier," she says. "Plus, I can be really honest about my life because you don't know what's true. Then I can say, 'Oh! You were offended by that? Yeah, that part was made up.'"

Made up or not, Weedman's true character is revealed in her many one-woman shows, her pants-peeingly funny series "Our Bodies Myself" on Funnyordie.com and her absurdly honest memoir A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body. It's definitely a character you'll want to see a lot more of.

Headout Picks

WEDNESDAY APRIL 14

[SCREEN]

While

mounts a caped crusade on big theaters, Chang Cheh's 1981 martial arts madness returns for one night only.

[MUSIC] THE SOFT PACK, MALE BONDING
Hello, garage rock! Two of the year's scuzziest upstarts hit town ready to spit on your shoes. Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663.

9 pm. $12. 21+.

[DISH] HOUSE SPIRITS DINNER
What's better than Lincoln's chic grub? Lincoln dinner with cocktail pairings from House Spirits. Lincoln, 3808 N Williams Ave., 288-6200. 6:30 pm. $50. Call for reservations.

THURSDAY APRIL 15

[MUSIC]

Gil Scott-Heron basically

hip-hop. He's also a poet, spoken-word artist and inspiration to everyone from Nas to LCD Soundsystem. And you had other plans for tonight?

FRIDAY APRIL 16

[STAGE]

Imago's ever-evolving signature performance, which has been delighting the children of Portland since 1979, is still about the most entertaining 90 minutes Portland has to offer.

[BANGING] PACIFIC RIMS PERCUSSION QUARTET
In 1940, John Cage, his wife and a few Cornish dancers performed percussion-only music at Reed College. Now, a contingent of Cornish musicians are re-creating that tour. Kaul Auditorium at Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., 777-7755. 7:30 pm Wednesday, April 14. Free.

[MUSIC] PLEASE STEP OUT OF THE VEHICLE
One of Portland's most beloved house bands returns to play one final show before singer Travis Wiggins moves to Hawaii. Mudai Lounge, 801 NE Broadway, 287-5433. 8 pm. Free. 21+.

TUESDAY APRIL 20

[WORDS]

The Oregon Encyclopedia continues its monthly history series with a talk by Libby Provost on the various forces that created Forest Park.

WWeek 2015