The prescription for what ails ya

“Big Girls Club (The Happy Dance Dance Princess Show)," a play on uppers, exploring excess, fetishism and female cruelty propelled by our ever-schizophrenic and media frenzied culture, coming soon to The Brick

Recession depression? Global warming got you down?

Seek an antidote from The Brick, as the Williamsburg theater known for its oddball themes presents The Antidepressant Festival, a month-long of theatrical productions exploring instant and medicated happiness, running June 5 to July 4.

With nearly 20 indie theater acts performing over the course of the month, including Glee Club singers and sock puppets, where to even begin? Well, on June 5, the whole thing kicks off with an opening night cabaret, as (self-proclaimed) doctor Lisa Levy, S.P. brings her couch to the Brick Theater’s stage for excerpts from her show, “Stand up. Lie Down.” Some of the festival’s characters will also drop in throughout the evening for brief sessions with the “doctor.”

The cabaret’s followed by a “Prescription Pill: Party, where you can tell Dr. Levy your problem and she’ll write you a “prescription”, which you can redeem at the “pharmacy counter” for some “medication.”

As the festival proceeds, you might just find one of the perfect prescription for your needs. If it’s booze, sports, or romance, writer-performer Danny Bowes has a show about all three, which combines essays on the title subjects and autobiographical storytelling. Titled fittingly “Booze, Sports and Romance,” it runs June 14 and June 20.

Happy songs might do it for some, and on June 7, 12, 20, and 28, you can catch “Glee Club,” a comedy about singing, and watch those blues get carried away by eight men singing in harmony.

Clowns tend to get the job done (right?), and on June 26 and 27, the boys behind Logic Limited, Ltd. are hosting a self-help seminar where you can reach catharsis by laughing at them, in “Schaden, Freude and You: A 3 Clown Seminar.”

Not all of the shows take place on The Brick’s mainstage. The Fifth Wall, which had a hit run last year at the theater with “Suspicious Package,” returns with an all new interactive adventure that turns the audience into the actors by bringing them onto the streets of Williamsburg with a Zune media player and into the middle of a mystery. This year’s show, “Suspicious Package: Rx,” takes the brave participants into the not-too-distant post-apocalyptic future in which “happy pills don’t make anyone happy, memories can’t be trusted, and everyone seems a little suspicious,” say the organizers. Shows are by appointment, on Saturdays and Sundays.

Sneaky Snake Productions will be performing “Adventure Quest,” a play that is reminiscent of old-school computer adventure games, combining live action with graphics and 8-bit music. Shows are on June 6, 17, 25 and July 4, but you can also play the game yourself online and let the nostalgia begin.

For a look at all the antidepressant fest productions, running from June 5 to July 4, go to www.bricktheater.com. Tickets are $15 unless otherwise noted. The Brick Theater is located at 575 Metropolitan Avenue.

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Balkan beats

Balkan Beat Box has no problem filling venues like Webster Hall to capacity, with the crowd getting close as they sweat it out to electronic music and Balkan brass-band stomp.

But for their next New York show, the Brooklyn-based band is scaling things back, playing the Gowanus venue The Bell House June 7 in what promises to be a more intimate show, with a bigger, electrifying sound.

The band, comprised of Jewish, Gypsy, Arabic and American members, will primarily be playing cuts from their mysterious-new-record-in-progress, and “Nu Made,” a mix of dub, Moroccan and Mediterranean melodies and hip hop.

“Our backgrounds are super wide and you will get a totally different one from each band member,” says one of the band’s leaders, Tamir Muskat, naming punk rock, traditional Gypsy & Arabic music, Yaman melodies and dance hall beats as some of the ingredients that go into making BBB’s sound so distinct and grooving.

Don’t miss out for what’s a guaranteed good time in Brooklyn.

Balkan Beat Box play The Bell House (149 7th St.) June 7 with DJ Joro Boro, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 and can bet purchased in advance here. The show is 21 plus. For more information, call 718-643-6510.

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Next stop on the G-Train Salon

A series of intimate, conversation-based exhibitions, the G-Train Salon, made its debut earlier this year in a living room on Atlantic Avenue. In June and July, this nomadic emerging artists’ salon will venture to the Urban Alchemist design collective on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope and WORD Bookstore off the Greenpoint Avenue stop on the G train.

A collaborative effort between a Queens-based salonière and various private and public venues throughout Brooklyn, the G-Train Salon gives emerging artists the rare opportunity to communicate with the general public about their work, thus minimizing the distance typically separating an art object on display from its maker.

Come to a salon-style discussion, June 5 from 7-9 p.m. at Urban Alchemist for Things Left Behind, a fanciful installation of homegrown creations, photographs and mementos by artist Kelly Murphy. On the evening of June 13, the artist will also be on hand to host an interactive craft-making activity related to objects in the exhibition.

Also stay tuned for Hit Factorie’s summer reading exhibition at WORD Bookstore this July.

Check out http://gtrainsalon.blogspot.com/ for more information and specific locations and events about their summer salon shows.

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Pool Party dreams

Brooklyn Vegan has a look at the Pool Party schedule thus far, moving from the pool at McCarren Park to the East River State Park (I guess the popularity of those summer concerts is too strong for a name change).

Nothing's offical yet (unless you count what bands, like Mission of Burma, have listed on their own touring schedule), though the site fills in some of the gaps left to be filled in by an official announcement from the people at JellyNYC.

If any of those guesses turn out to be true (Dirty Projectors?! Santigold?! Grizzly Bear?! For free?!), I hope the the park is as big, if not bigger, than the pool.

Who would you like to be on the summer lineup?

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Use your brain tonight

Test your music smarts at the Bell House's monthly music trivia night, Outsmarted, returning tonight to the Gowanus venue.

This month, Dave Hill joins the festivities, and as usual, the night is hosted by Conrad of Takka Takka.

It all starts at 8 p.m. at the Bell House (149 7th St.). It's free, with the opportunity to win stuff.

Feel like you need to do some learning tonight instead?

Over at Union Hall, Adult Education presents a lecture series on urban travel.

Hear from designer Eddie Jabbour on improving the NYC subway map, Suzanne Reisman, author of "Take the A Train," on the line's hidden treasures, Matt Muro, author of "The Passive-Aggressive Turd From the Suburbs," and Cully Long, whom you may have seen sketching away at a sleeping or zone out passenger on the subway, talking about "Underground Life Drawing."

It's all hosted by Charles Star and starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $5. Union Hall is located at 702 Union Street.

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This week in 24/Seven

Each week we'll preview what you can expect in our 24/Seven print edition, out Thursday for you southern Brooklynites and Friday for the downtown neighborhoods.

Highlights include:

Music festivals: All those fantastic Brooklyn festivals are almost upon. Celebrate Brooklyn! kicks off June 8 with David Bryne, and the first ever Northside Festival takes over Greenpoint and Williamsburg June 11-14, with performances from the Hold Steady, Bishop Allen, Sunset Rubdown, and too many more to list here, over the four days, as well as gallery events. If the $45 badge is still a too pricy, you can get in on the festival for free by volunteering. E-mail volunteers@northsidefestival.com with your name, age, availability and why you want to volunteer at Northside to take advantage of that.

Theater: Indulge in self-medication, sort of, with the The Antidepression Festival, a month of plays and performances dedicated to lifting those blues away. It starts June 5 at the Brick Theater.

Columns: On the street, Pumps & Pleats checks in at the Brooklyn Flea, and in the kitchen, The Reporter's Table dives into a mesclun salad, and the Kitchen Klutz tries her hand at Frito pie.

Albums: Randy Stern, co-founder of Brooklyn punk-party band The Nerve, celebrates the release of his debut solo effort, "Give," a two-year effort, with a show at the Bitter End June 13.

Concerts: In even more music news, Brooklyn boy Kevin Devine culminates a nation-wide tour in his hometown, with a show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg June 7, and the alt-rock band The Posies make a rare performance, playing the Bell House June 12.

For these stories and more, pick up a copy in your nabe or check back here later this week!

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Have some variety tonight

DUMBO's Galapagos Art Space has a mixed bag tonight, presenting an open variety night with one of the area's foremost authorities in the matter - the Bindlestiff Family Variety Arts.

Every Monday the space puts on the variety night, inviting everyone from tightrope walkers to bowling pin jugglers to come out and show what they've got. So while you won't know what you're in store for until the show starts, it's sure to be entertaining.

Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are only $5 and can be purchased here.

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