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    Observer Editor

    “The Physics of Art and the Art of Physics”: U-M Physics Department Saturday Morning Physics

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    U-M physics professor Xiaoming Mao discusses the physics principles behind artistic practice, then turns the lens around to ask how beauty, elegance, and symmetry guide physicists in their search for the laws of nature. Part of a popular series of talks aimed at general audiences by U-M and visiting scholars. 10:30 a.m.–noon, 170 Weiser Hall, 500 Church (enter off Geddes). Also via livestream; see bit.ly/saturdayphysics. Free. (734) 764–4437.

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    Observer Editor

    AADL Printmaking Festival: Ann Arbor District Library

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    Daylong celebration of all forms of printmaking featuring talks by local printmakers, hands-on printmaking demos, and sale tables with vendors offering letterpress, screen printing, block printing, and other hand-printed goods. Schedule: “Perfectly Impractical” (noon), a lecture-demonstration by Detroit-based printmaker Elaisha Hilliard. Drop-in printing demos (1–4 p.m.) with Ypsi artist Lena B. Ellis-Boatman and others TBA. “Finding Ceremony” (1:15 p.m.), a talk on Indigenous printmaking by Delia Touché. “Stitched Editions: Responding to Tradition While Yielding Something New” (2:30 p.m.), a talk by Turkish printmaker Melih Meric. 11 a.m.–5 p.m., AADL Downtown. Free. (734) 327–4200. For more information and the latest schedule, see aadl.org/printfest.

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    “Creature Encounters & Adult Open Hours”: The Creature Conservancy

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    Every Sat. & Sun. and Nov. 6 & 20. On Sat. & Sun., staffers show some native Michigan animals, including a cougar, black rat snake, and opossum at 1 & 4 p.m.; and a wild turkey at 2 & 3 p.m. During the Friday Adult Open Hours (age 18+ only), conservancy staffers show all four animals at 7:30 p.m. All tickets include a chance to see the conservancy’s other animals. Noon–5 p.m. (Sat. & Sun.) & 7–9 p.m. (Fri.), 4950 Ann Arbor–Saline Rd. $15 (kids ages 2–12, $13; under age 2, free) cash or credit at the door only. (734) 929–9324, thecreatureconservancy.org.

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    Documentary Program: 33rd Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival

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    Nov. 13–15. Three days of subtitled Polish films at the Michigan Theater. Tickets $15 (students & seniors, $10; U-M & MSU students with ID, free) except as noted. annarborpolishfilmfestival.com.

    Nov. 14: Documentary Program. Two documentaries. Cicha Wędrówka (Konrad Borusewicz, 2025). Documentary short about ecological changes in the Tatra Mountains. The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & the Art of Survival (Julie Rubio, 2024). Feature-length documentary about this preeminent Polish Art Deco painter known for her sensual nudes and portraits of high society during the Jazz Age. 1 p.m.

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    “Carmen”: Fathom Entertainment

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    (734) 973–8424 (Cinemark), (734) 316–5500 (Emagine). Tickets $12.50 (except as noted) in advance at fathomentertainment.com/events and at the door. Cinemark (4100 Carpenter, Ypsi) & Emagine (1335 E. Michigan Ave., Saline). 

    Nov. 14: “Carmen.” Rebroadcast of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2010 production of Bizet’s popular opera, a steamy melodrama set in Seville around 1820, about the fiery Gypsy temptress Carmen. A hot-tempered young army corporal falls victim to her charms, but when she falls for a bullfighter, the corporal’s jealousy takes a violent turn. The score’s famous arias include the “Flower Song,” the “Toreador Song,” and the habanera “Love is a rebellious bird.” 1 p.m.

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    U-M Museum of Natural History Planetarium & Dome Theater

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    Every Fri.–Sun. Three different audiovisual planetarium shows suitable for all ages. Did an Asteroid Really Kill the Dinosaurs? (noon) looks at cosmic collisions across the solar system including the 6-mile-wide asteroid that hit the earth 66 million years ago; The Sky Tonight (1 & 3 p.m.) explores the current night sky, with tips on how to find the cardinal directions, constellations, and planets on your own; and T. Rex (2 p.m.) describes the iconic dinosaur’s scientific and cinematic history (includes scenes of dinosaur violence). Noon, 1, 2, & 3 p.m., 1105 North University. $9 at the gift shop. Limited capacity. (734) 764–0480, ummnh.org.

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    “Tree Town Trans Film Festival”: State Theatre

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    Film screenings every Wed.–Sun. Tickets $11.75 unless otherwise noted (children under 12, students, seniors age 65 & older, and US veterans, $9.75; Marquee Arts members, $8) in advance online (recommended) & at the door. (734) 668–8397. For updated schedule, see marquee-arts.org/calendar. 

    Nov. 14: “Tree Town Trans Film Festival.” A 3-hour program of films by and for trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people. $16. 1:30 p.m.

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    “Cyrano de Bergerac”: Community High School Ensemble Theatre

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    Nov. 12–15. Emily Wilson-Tobin directs Community High students in Simon Evans and Debris Stevenson’s new translation of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play, a hit on London’s West End this year. The classic tragicomedy about a gallant but ugly swashbuckler who feels unworthy of love gets new life in this adaptation that gambols in the riches of language, blending modern lyrical verse, classic text, and grime poetry. 7:30 p.m. (Thurs.–Sat.) & 2 p.m. (Sat. & Sun.), CHS Craft Theatre, 401 N. Division. Tickets $22 (students & seniors, $15) in advance at communityensembletheatre.ludus.com, & (if available) at the door (usually sells out). (734) 994–2025, a2cet.org.

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    “Hadestown: Teen Edition”: Pioneer Theatre Guild

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    Nov. 12–15. High school students perform pop-folk singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s musical, which sets the myths of Orpheus & Eurydice and Hades & Persephone in a hellish industrial version of the Greek underworld. The 2019 show won Tonys for best musical and best original score, which draws on American folk music and New Orleans jazz. 7 p.m. (Thurs.–Sat.) & 2 p.m. (Sat. & Sun.), PHS Schreiber Auditorium, 601 W. Stadium. Tickets $20 (students & seniors, $15) in advance at a2ptguild.org & at the door. [email protected].

  • Observer Editor

    Family Folk Dance: Pittsfield Union Grange

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    Drake Meadow calls dances suitable for children and adults to live music by David Laurance and Donna Baird. All ages welcome. Bring clean shoes for dancing. 2:30–4:30 p.m., Pittsfield Grange, 3337 Ann Arbor–Saline Rd. $15/family (Grange members, free). (734) 274–0773.

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    Short Films Program: 33rd Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival

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    Nov. 13–15. Three days of subtitled Polish films at the Michigan Theater. Tickets $15 (students & seniors, $10; U-M & MSU students with ID, free) except as noted. annarborpolishfilmfestival.com.

    Nov. 14: Short Films Program. Three 20-minute shorts. Długa Przerwa (Recess) (Jan Saczek, 2025). A young primary school teacher accidentally sends a nude photograph of herself to a student who has a crush on her. Nibylandex (Agata Kapuścińska, 2025). A middle-aged man, living in isolation, sets out to escape from his overprotective father. Patrzę W Niebo (Gaze at the Sky) (Aleksandra Strunin, 2025). Set during the early days of the Russo-Ukrainian War, a music teacher of Ukrainian descent living in Russia faces a moral dilemma when she recognizes her estranged nephew. 3 p.m.

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    “Bastard”: Purple Rose Theatre Company

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    Every Wed.–Sun., Sept. 24–Dec. 20. Rhiannon Ragland directs retired Detroit newscaster and playwright Devin Scillian’s family comedy-drama about a conflict between brothers—an aging country rocker and a buttoned-down finance guy—after their mother’s death. Adult language and subject matter. 7:30 p.m. (Thurs.), 8 p.m. (Fri. & Sat.), 2 p.m. (Sun.), & 3 p.m. (Sat. & Wed.). 137 Park St., Chelsea. Tickets $31.50–$52.50 in advance at purplerosetheatre.org, (734) 433–7673, & (if available) at the door. Discounts available.