Pick of the day
Winning the lottery Every year we write about the Student Loan Art Program Exhibition and Lottery and are always amazed that MIT students borrow works of art for their living spaces. Our college application is in the works. Approximately 500 framed prints and photographs by modern and contemporary artists including John Baldessari, Herb Jackson, and Daria Martin are available through a lottery. Pictured: artwork by Kwong Chi Tseng.
Exhibition is on view daily starting Sept. 6 from noon-6 p.m. through Sept. 18. Free. MIT List Visual Arts Center, Wiesner Building, 20 Ames St., Cambridge. 617-253-4680. listart.mit.edu/student_loan_art_collection.TODAY
Moving on and fitting in Spin the bottle is a dating dinosaur, but teens’ rites-of-passage issues stay the same and are explored in
“The Myth of the American Sleepover.’’ On a late August night, a diverse group of suburban kids cross paths at parties, sleepovers, and makeout spots. Pictured (from left): Nikita and Jade Ramsey.
1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 p.m. $6.75-$9.75. The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge. 617-876-6837. www.brattlefilm.org Music and madness On Labor Day, take a break from your daily work madness and enjoy the Carnival of Madness Tour in Fitchburg. The lineup features Theory of a Deadman, Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry, Adelitas Way, and Emphatic. Noon. $30. The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester, 212-420-8500. carnivalofmadness.com
Tropical Mondays Every Monday you can travel to Hawaii - Cambridge style - where sous chef Matt McDougall prepares flaming pupu platters, tropical cocktails, and dishes for “Mahalo Mondays.’’ Hula over to the East Coast Grill & Raw Bar and get tropical. 5:30-10 p.m. Apps start at $12.50. East Coast Grill & Raw Bar, 1271 Cambridge St., Cambridge. 617-491-6568. www.eastcoastgrill.net
The plays are the thing It’s not that Mr. Shakespeare doesn’t provide enough material for the namesake troupe, but Shakespeare & Company also nurtures fresh theatrical voices and cutting-edge work. To their own selves be true, the company offers Studio Festival of Plays, a mini-marathon of plays presented as works-in-progress and staged readings. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. $16 suggested donation per show, $60 suggested donation for festival pass. Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble St., Lenox. 413-637-3353. www.shakespeare.org
TOMORROW
Planning to improv There’s nothing improvisational about planning the
Boston Improv Festival with its three stages and approximately 100 acts. New Yorker Todd Barry, who has done the Letterman and Leno gigs and was in “The Wrestler,’’ gets things going tomorrow with two shows.
Sept. 6 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. (through Sept. 11). $18 (Barry’s shows), $10 (other festival shows). Tonight at ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Central Square, Cambridge. 617-576-1253. www.bostonimprovfest.com Change of direction Traditional pop is not the pop of choice for TV on the Radio, which recently released “Nine Types of Light.’’ The band takes a simpler approach to some of the tracks but still changes direction within a song via distorted guitars, reverberating bass, and an off-center drumbeat. Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. $20-$30. Bank of America Pavilion, 290 Northern Ave., Boston. 800-745-3000. www.livenation.com 
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