This Will Pinch a Little

Related Content

• Also Playing
  January 16, 2008
• Elf Me!
  December 3, 2003
• Carved in Stone
  August 14, 2002
• A Play in a Day
  September 12, 2001

More About

• Jeffrey Hartgraves
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Layoffs and Downsizing

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

The "very nearly solo show" Shark Bites gets its name from writer and actor Jeffrey Hartgraves' irrational childhood fear of sharks. That he lived in Phoenix reassured him not at all, and isn't that how fear usually goes? Hartgraves' autobiographical play tells the story of his diagnosis with a nasty cancer, complete with complications like crushed vertebrae and lost jobs, but he credits the fear his sickness created with powerful motivation to make art. Some people have the gift to be funny about their own illnesses: If we're smart, we latch onto them and listen in for dear life. Hartgraves is definitely one of them, as he proved in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter: "It starts out about fear in general, and then we give you specific information about my life. It ends up with my explaining the meaning of life. All for $16. In 75 minutes. And drinks will be served."
Jan. 17-Feb. 9, 8 p.m., 2008