The OPB Radio show Think Out Loud asked me on this morning to talk about the weekend's art events, which was very nice of them and also a tiny bit hilarious. (FWIW, I always maintained that Dave Miller would make a much better host than Emily Harris. And he does!) And while I got to plug a few things, I really hardly scratched the surface of the ridiculous amount of great-sounding stuff happening this weekend. (All of the theater shows have pay-what-you-will nights, which I'll highlight—because look, guys, when you overthrow the corporate hegemony, there's gonna be nothing left to watch but local theater. You might as well acquaint yourselves.)

Matt Braunger—The very funny LA-based comedian grew up in Portland (he went to Grant High School) and he returns this weekend to film his second comedy album at the Alberta Rose Theater. Braunger's a clever writer with a deceptively affable, slightly bumbling stage presence; he helped conceive of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and has performed there as well. Read more about him in our profile.

Shine A Light—We'll have a more detailed post on this later, but the Art Museum's annual joint venture with PSU's Art and Social Practices MFA Program fills the museum with "community artists"—chefs, tattoo artists—and projects geared toward finding new ways of experiencing the museum. Who's gonna get a tattoo based on museum art? Anyone? That's tomorrow at the Portland Art Museum.

Jeffrey Eugenides—On Sunday, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of MIddlesex reads from his newest, The Marriage Plot. I really liked it. That's at the Bagdad at 7 pm; the $28 entry fee buys you a copy of the book.

The Pain and the Itch—The reliably good Third Rail Repertory opens their sixth season in their new home at the Winningstad Theatre with a play that promises to be about "liberal hypocrisy." (Oh no, a look into our souls!) I'm glad they're moving out the World Trade Center theater. I know it serves its purpose, but I have really grown to dislike that venue. Tonight's a pay-what-you-will preview.

Animals and Plants—CoHo Theater presents a script by Anthony Rapp, directed by Third Rail's Michael O'Connell and starring fellow Third Railer Chris Murray as well as Portland Playhouse's Nikki Weaver and the always-good Joe Bolenbaugh. If I'm not mistaken, the last Rapp show we saw in town was the dark, seedy Bingo with the Indians; Animals and Plants promises more black humor about two drug runners who get trapped in a cabin during a blizzard. (Opens tonight; Thursdays are pay what you will.)

PDX Dance Card—There are so many dance shows this weekend that local dance organizations partnered up with something called the PDX Dance Card: At any show by the eight participating organizations, you can pick up a punch card and collect punches for each show you see, which you can redeem for prizes like dinner gift certificates, free tickets to future shows, or hotel stays. Read more about it here.

Cloud 9—Theater Vertigo tackles Caryl Churchill's 1978 play about colonialism and sexual mores. Churchill can be a challenge, but Vertigo's got a pretty good track record of getting to the heart of difficult material. (Opens tomorrow; Thursdays are pay what you will.)

Glengarry Glen Ross—It's hard to know what to make of this one without seeing it, but defunkt theater has cast Mamet's unequivocally masculine play with both male and female actors. (Opens tomorrow; pay-what-you-will Sundays & Thursdays.)

Seven Deadly Sins Puppet Slam—I know a lot of people have a problem with puppets. And I get that, I really do. But the "puppet slams" that Katie McClenahan hosts occasionally at the Someday Lounge are clever, funny affairs that sample Portland's surprising depth of puppeteery talent. Promise. Details here.