theater

'Sleepless' again

Denali Drama celebrates "the myriad absurdities of love and romance Alaska style" with sketch and improv comedy for a second year. "How to Make Love Like an Alaskan -- Sleepless in Soldotna" continues at 6 p.m. Sundays-Wednesdays through Aug. 29 at the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar in Talkeetna. Hey, where else can you see a show in an airplane hangar (especially one that has beer and wine available)? And what else did you plan to do on the Fourth of July weekend? Tickets are $25 at denaliartscouncil.org or call 733-7929. The show is deemed suitable for those age 18 and up.

music

Sensational sounds

For the past two weeks, a group of eight international musicians, led by Alaska-born composer Matthew Burtner, has been trekking around Alaska and picking up sounds of whales, seal, glaciers and other noises of the north. It’s part of the EcoSono Institute, a melding of arts, environmentalism and science. Previous sessions have taken place in the Caribbean and Tibet.

At 7:30 Saturday they’ll present their new pieces at a concert at Grant Hall, Alaska Pacific University. Tickets are $10 at the door. In addition to Burtner, featured performers will include Jane Rigler (flute) and Glen Whitehead (trumpet) and Yi Wang (electronics). We can’t say what you’ll hear, but if previous Burtner concerts are anything to go by, it will be like nothing else you’ve ever heard before.

visual arts

Welcome summer

This week saw the arrival of summer solstice, an event that provides subject matter for Michael Conti’s installation titled “Solstice” at the University of Alaska Student Union Gallery. Conti uses video and life images to “celebrate and lament both the longest and shortest days of the year.”

Conti won the No Big Heads Self-Portrait competition last year and has work featured in the “True North” show now on display at the Anchorage Museum. The UAA gallery is open from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday. “Solstice” will remain on exhibition through July 12.

'Sleepless' again