It Came From The Neo-Futurarium: Supergirl

The Neo-Futurists present their 9th annual series of live film script readings, It Came From The Neo-Futurarium IX: The Perils of the Neo-Futurarium! Tonight's kick-off performance is 1984's Supergirl, re-enacted onstage by The Plagiarists. The film festival runs Thursday nights at 8pm through August 5. Tickets are $10, $8 for students with ID and repeat customers. A full schedule and tickets are available at the Neo-Futurists' Website. Neo-Futurarium: 5153 N. Ashland at Foster. (773) 275-5255.

Orchestre Septentrional d'Haiti @ Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park

Music without Borders, the summer series brought to us by the Department of Cultural Affairs, brings Orchestre Septentrional d'Haiti to the Pritzker Pavilion for a free show this Thursday. Bring your blanket to the lawn to catch this Haitian Big Band. 7:30pm. FREE.

The Story of Tupac Shakur @ Black Ensemble Theater

The Black Ensemble Theater's Black Playwright's Initiative (BPI) presents "Urban Legend: The Story of Tupac Shakur," tonight at 7pm. Written by Lyle Miller and directed by Daryl Brooks, this two-act stage reading features the life of the late rapper/actor and his impact on pop culture. This event is free; however, RSVP at 773-769-4451. Note: Due to harsh language, this show is recommended for adults only.

"Writing at the Movies" Workshop @ Messhall

"Writing at the Movies" is a new writing workshop led by the poet Gene Tanta.
Participants in this workshop will use as their point of departure Andre
Breton's surrealist montage technique of dropping in and out of various
cinemas looking to cutup visual elements and dialogues. However, instead of the
velvety cinemas of Paris, they will use DVDs and Google Videos (no limits on
theme or form). For the first half, they will screen a few minutes of the films
we bring in and/or of internet audio-visual artifacts while describing what we
see and hear. For the second half, they will perform and discuss what we produced
(again, no limits on theme or form). They will write in response to these moving
images and sounds, striving for a precise or even a phenomenological
(suspending our assumptions) description of what we see and hear.

"Writing at the Movies" is at Messhall (6932 N. Glenwood Ave.) tonight from 7 to 9:30. It is free & open to the general public.

Junk Shot Benefit for the Gulf Coast @ West Loop Studio

Tonight's benefit for relief in the BP-ravaged Gulf Coast includes music from Toast and Jam and drinks and noshes from a bevy of local businesses, among them Fig Catering, Hearty Boys, City Provisions, and Food for Thought. There's also a raffle for gift certificates and other prizes. Proceeds benefit the Greater New Orleans Foundation Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund. Event starts at 7:30pm at West Loop Studios, 17 North Elizabeth; tickets $30. FYI, tickets MUST be purchased in advance, as the venue cannot take money at the door for admission.

2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift @ Music Box Theatre

The world premier of a new movie by the local VHS mash-up artists Everything Is Terrible! promises to deliver "lots of godawful infomercials, tutorials, and straight-to-video cheese" in this sequel to last year's full-length film, Everything Is Terrible! The Movie. Tickets are $9.25 for the 9:40 p.m. showing at the Music Box, 3733 N Southport Ave. Schubas will host a free after-party at 11 p.m.