>>>Meet the Artist: Pig Iron. Save the date – two weeks from today, Pig Iron’s Quinn Bauriedel, Geoff Sobelle, and Dito van Rigersberg talk about the creation of Welcome to Yuba City. At the Arts Bank, 601 South Broad Street, Philadelphia. Tuesday, June 16, 7:00 pm.

>>>Marilyn Jackson previews the nEW festival for the Inquirer. This dance crucible, a creation of Melanie Stewart (Kill Me Now), features Melanie performing a solo adaptation from choreographer Deborah Hay, and a slew of performers you’ll see in the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe this fall. At the Drake Theater, University of the Arts, 1512 Spruce Street, Philadelphia. Performances run June 3 through June 7, various times.

>>>UPDATE: City Paper‘s Carolyn Huckabay also has a very nice Q&A at the Clog with Gabrielle Revlock, who’s performing in the nEW festival (June 3 and June 5) and competing in The A.W.A.R.D. Show! at Live Arts this fall.

>>>Mike Daisey (How Theater Failed America, The Last Cargo Cult) is one of America’s few true raconteurs, and perhaps the only one who brings together disparate tales in a way that yields genuine insights about life and art. To get a taste of what’s in store for you this September, check out these YouTube excerpts from How Theater Failed America. But he’s not talking about us. We won’t fail you, I promise.

–Nicholas Gilewicz

Photo courtesy Pig Iron Theatre Company.