A Life in Theater: If you are a student of contemporary American theater, you know the name Joseph Papp, or you should. Aside from being the producer and director who introduced Hair and A Chorus Line into the musical theater canon, Papp was also the man who crusaded for the now-venerated Shakespeare in the Park program. He was instrumental in developing the work of new playwrights, among them Ntozake Shange and David Rabe, and created The Public Theatre (now The Joseph Papp Public Theatre since his death in 1991), a New York institution.

The Winder Cultural Arts Center is hosting a free screening of Joe Papp in Five Acts, a documentary about Papp’s extraordinary life, on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 3 p.m. This is the first film of the new season for the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, and co-director Karen Thorsen will be on hand for Q&A after the screening. For more information, visit www.winderculturalarts.org.

Toning It Down: Most of us will not experience a drag show until we’re at least 21—hell, most of us will never experience a drag show at all—but if you’d like to broaden your kids’ horizons a bit, the Athens Showgirl Cabaret drag group will wrap up Athens Pride Weekend with an all-ages drag revue upstairs at The Globe on Sunday, Sept. 9, 7–10 p.m. Having seen the Cabaret several times, I’m tilting my head and making the Scooby-Doo noise as I contemplate how the girls are going to reel in their usual risqué antics for a younger crowd, but I applaud their efforts to spread some entertainment and tolerance among them, and I’m interested in seeing what the troupe has in store. The cover is $5 at the door, but free for kids aged 12 and younger.

Get Into the Act: Every Monday from Sept. 10 to Oct. 15, Circle Ensemble Theatre Company will conduct acting classes for adults. Classes will be held 6–8 p.m and are open to students of all levels of stage experience. If you want to get your feet wet or could just use some brush-up in a workshop setting, give Circle Ensemble a call at 706-362-2175 or visit www.circleensembletheatre.com.

Campy for a Cause: September’s edition of Burlesque Beta’s monthly talent extravaganza will be a fundraiser for the Georgia Reproductive Justice Access Network (GRJAN), an organization that works to “identify and eliminate barriers to abortion access faced by low-income people in northeast Georgia by providing grants and practical support to those who cannot afford the full cost of an abortion or birth control.” The program features singers, dancers, musicians and comics in the vaudeville tradition and is always rowdy and well attended. The show goes on at Go Bar on Friday, Sept. 14 at 10 p.m. and admission is $3.

Passion Play: The UGA Department of Theatre will present Sarah Ruhl’s 2009 Tony-nominated play In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) in the Cellar Theater of the Fine Arts Building, Sept. 20 & 21 and 25–28 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 23 & 30 at 2:30 p.m. This is a daring production, guaranteed to generate buzz, about a Victorian-era doctor who invents a marvelous and cunning contraption for curing women of “hysteria” by means of the stimulation of certain parts of the female anatomy. As his long-suffering wife and her friend, a fellow patient, discover the new possibilities within their own bodies, questions arise about the differences between men and women and between love and sex, questions which come to a head at the play’s climax. This looks to be a fun and deeply satisfying production. Showtimes are 8 p.m., Thursday–Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $16, $12 for students, and available at 706-542-4400 or online at tickets.perfcenter.uga.edu.

On a Closing Note: I’d like to welcome the students, old and new, back to town and remind everyone, from all the circles in Athens’ great Venn diagram, that this is a rare and wonderful place teeming with opportunities to get involved in live performance. No matter what your background, your schedule, your talent or your level of involvement, there is a place for you at the live-performance table. There’s a reason it’s called community theater, and whether you’re a year-round resident or juggling classes, the experience of working with the many theater companies and performance troupes around town is infinitely rewarding and the friendships you’ll make there are often some of the best you’ll ever have.

Come and check out the theater and performance groups in town and give a thought to getting involved. You, and they, will be glad you did.