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Top 10: The best cheap things to do in Brooklyn this week, material world edition

Get into the groove with Elle McQueen (#10) (pic by JKREALBOY)

1. Put on your dancin’ shoes for Urban Bush Women: How We Got to the Funk, a participatory examination of history through the lens of African American social dances from 1955 through the present. (Monday, BRIC, FREE)

2. See a slew of strangeness at I Have a Crazy Idea to Perform for the King and Queen, a variety show with magician Nelson Lugo, drag king Vigor Mortis, storytellers Will Lee and Michelle Carlo, poet Allison Sylvia, actor Hank Burkhalter, and singer/songwriter Phil Cohen. (Monday, Threes Brewing, $5 suggested)

3. Giggle through BackFat Comedy Variety Show, with funny folks like Julio Torres, Doogie Horner, Casey James Salengo, and Samantha Badnarz, plus hosts Emily Winter and Larry Mancini. (Tuesday, 61 Local, FREE)

4. Be stimulated as two boozy series — Astronomy on Tap and Sexology on Tap — team up for an evening of talks on the hows and the whys of Sex in Space. (Tuesday, Way Station, FREE)

5. Get your creative juices flowing at Ideation, presented by General Interest Studios, with guests Josh Gondelman, Sam Taggart, Ana Fabrega, Sam Weiner, and cartoonist Tad Kimball. (Wednesday, Our Wicked Lady, FREE)

6. Hone your political acumen at We the People Live, a talk show about current events with host Josh Zepps and guests Akilah Hughes, Kmele Foster, and Samhita Mukhopadhyay. (Wednesday, Over the Eight, FREE)

7. Cool down at Brooklyn Screams for Ice Cream, a look at the history, mechanics, and future of ice cream cones, sundaes, and sandwiches in our fair borough with historic gastronomist Sarah Lohman and folks from Ample Hills and Van Leeuwen. Plus tastings! (Thursday, Brooklyn Historical Society, $12)

8. See some surreality at Rough House Theater’s adaptation of Alfred Jarry’s Ubu the King, performed with original music and 70+ handcrafted puppets. (Thursday & Friday, Cloud City, $12)

9. Don your best day-glow for the skint’s Cruel Summer ’80s Dance Party, featuring tunes from 10-piece ’80s band The Engagements and Party Like It’s 1999 DJ Steve Reynolds. (Friday, Bell House, $5 with promo code “theskint”)

10. Open your heart for Femme Ambition: a drag-tastic tribute to Madonna featuring Bambi Galore, Elle McQueen, Cream Victoria, Miss Cuntstrude, and many more. (Friday, Coney Island, $15)

Want more? Check out our full events calendar and add your own event today!

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Oriana Leckert :Oriana is a writer, editor, and cultural hipstorian [sic] who is kind of obsessed with Brooklyn. She is the author of "Brooklyn Spaces: 50 Hubs of Culture & Creativity" (Monacelli, 2015) and creatrix of the website of the same name. She is the events editor for both Brokelyn and Greenpointers, and her writing has appeared on Slate, Atlas Obscura, New York Post, Matador, Hyperallergic, Gothamist, Curbed, Brooklyn Magazine, Brooklyn Based, and more. Follow her at @orianabklyn.