Weekly Rundown features circus performances, ex-battle rappers

Wednesday, Oct. 16

Zimmermann & de Perrot

Through Oct. 18

August Wilson Center

980 Liberty Ave., Cultural District

Showtimes vary

Admission: $18-25

Unwaveringly original performers Zimmermann and de Perrot have created a strange, vaudevillian blend of circus performance, theater and dance that is certain to make audiences’ heads spin. The catalyst for the madness on stage is the stage itself — four separate rooms on a vertical axis that rotates throughout the performance, creating chaos as well as a serious sense of the surreal. Employing the assistance of five circus performers and dancers, the innovative use of set results in a performance that, though slightly hectic, won’t be soon forgotten.

Friday, Oct. 18

Soul Khan

The Smiling Moose

1306 E. Carson St., South Side

9:30 p.m.

Admission: $10

21+

Songwriter Soul Khan made his debut in 2008 as a much-hyped and promising battle rapper, but in recent years he has seen his career take a very different path. After stepping away from the world of battle rap in 2010, Soul Khan has taken a very different approach to the world of music, releasing four EPs dedicated to John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme and honing a soul-inspired, smooth sound that draws comparisons to rappers such as Washington, D.C.’s Oddisee.

Saturday, Oct. 19

Owl-o-Ween

The National Aviary

700 Arch St., North Side

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission: $13

In accordance with the Halloween season, Pittsburgh’s National Aviary will be leading its annual costumed tours of the aviary, with a special emphasis on the raptors and creatures of the night that undoubtedly haunt the dreams of small rodents far and wide. This year’s event will have a special twist: Participants will help select the name of one of the Aviary’s newest additions: a Eurasian Eagle-Owl that hatched in March.

Sunday, Oct. 20

“Cool Hand Luke”

Regent Square Theater

1035 S. Braddock Ave., Regent Square

8 p.m.

Admission: $8 general, $4 with student ID

Part of Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Disillusionment in Modern America series running throughout the month of October, “Cool Hand Luke” is perhaps best known as the iconic Paul Newman film. After being arrested for cutting the heads off parking meters, Lucas “Luke” Jackson (Paul Newman) comes face to face with a despotic warden and draconian prison system that are bent on breaking him down. Naturally, Luke has no interest in being broken, and the saga that develops has become a classic piece of American filmmaking. The film’s eponymous protagonist has a key position in the pantheon of American film heroes, cheerfully bucking the unjust systems before them.