Mon-day, Mon-day....

While Monday is generally a dark night for theatres, there are still shows being performed on San Diego stages tonight. This past weekend (with over ten professional openings around SD County) was proof that there is an ample amount of talent bursting forth from an overwhelming number of local theatres, so much so that there are productions spilling over into traditional nights of theatrical rest. If you’re not completely spent from an insanely busy weekend of theatrical offerings, here are a couple Monday night shows to satisfy your show-hunger.

David Henry Hwang’s “Golden Child” presented by Chinese Pirate Productions

A co-presentation by Chinese Pirate Productions and the San Diego Chinese Center, “Golden Child” is the second play that earned playwright David Henry Hwang a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Play in 1998, his first being the masterful “M. Butterfly” which won the Tony Award in 1988. Hwang has since gone on to write a number of shows, including “Yellow Face” and his most recent “Chinglish,” which just completed a successful run on Broadway this Fall.

The story of “Golden Child” begins with Andrew Eng as he is visited by the spirit of his grandmother who allows him to relive the experiences of her father, Tieng-Bin, a businessman returning home to China in 1918 after spending several years abroad in the Philippines. Armed with a newfound interest in modern “Occidental” culture, Tieng-Bin’s fascination with Western ways comes head to head with his traditional Chinese household, where ancestor worship is observed and time-honored rituals are practiced. As he attempts to bring “progress” to his family, he is met with resistance from each of his three wives who react differently to change and worry that he will follow his heart and choose only one woman as his wife. As decisions are made and consequences follow, Andrew inherits these tales from his ancestors and learns some lessons about the price of progress and the power of sacrifice.

The Chinese Pirate Productions cast includes Kym Miller, Jyl Kaneshiro, Karen Li, Janny Li, Albert Park, Michael Nieto and Dana Byrne. The production is helmed by director Andy Lowe and it is being performed at the 10th Avenue Theatre 4th Floor Cabaret. The show plays now until February 25th, 2012. You can access the complete performance schedule and purchase tickets at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/217810.

And, there are two special Monday night performances of “Golden Child” on Monday, Feb 13th and Monday, Feb 20th. Labeled “Industry Nights,” these performances allow local professionals to bring their industry cards (SAG/AFTRA, EQUITY, IATSE, ACTORS ALLIANCE) in order to get “Pay-What-You-Can” tickets at the door.

For more information about Chinese Pirate Productions, visit their website at: www.ChinesePirateProductions.com or check out their blog at http://chinesepirateproductions.blogspot.com/.

“Hearts Afire” presented by Write Out Loud

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Write Out Loud (a unique theatre troupe that reads literature aloud for a live audience) is presenting their newest performance piece, one that is devoted exclusively to stories about love and romance. Titled "Hearts Afire," the two night special engagement will include non-staged readings of short stories and a poem or two about the most talked (and written about) four letter word: love.

The readers for the evening will include Walter Ritter, Executive Director and co-founder of Write Out Loud, and Veronica Murphy, Artistic Director and co-founder of Write Out Loud, along with local actors Jessica John Gercke and Jonathan Sachs. Among the stories being read aloud during the two-act production will be: “You Were Just Fine” by Dorothy Parker, Pam Houston's "Symphony," "Come Back, My Love" by Maurice Walsh, "Pet Milk " by Stuart Dybek, "Dubinsky On The Loose" by Joseph Epstein, and “A Valentine” by Edgar Allan Poe.

Tonight, Feb 13th, the reading will take place at the Old Town Theatre, 4040 Twiggs Street in San Diego, and tomorrow, Feb 14th, the reading will take place at the Carlsbad City Library’s Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium at 1775 Dove Lane in Carlsbad.

Upcoming readings include "Voices of Ireland" with the Celtic Echoes Band at the Horton Grand Theatre on March 19 and "THE BIG READ: Shades of Poe," a month-long celebration of the works of Edgar Allen Poe at the Lyceum Theatre beginning April 2nd.

For more information about Write Out Loud and their upcoming readings, visit their website at: www.writeoutloudsd.com or call them at (619) 297-8953.