photo/barbara rose brooker

Read her diary

A common perception of middle age and beyond is that people begin winding down their careers and their love lives. Barbara Rose Brooker takes exception to both of those notions. She published her first novel at 50 as a single mother, and at 72 she studied acting and survived uterine cancer. As readers of Brooker’s occasional j. column know, she hasn’t stopped dating, and she keeps on working. On Nov. 15, she will perform monologues from her novel “The Viagra Diaries,” which will be republished by Simon and Schuster in 2013 and made into an HBO series.

5:15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15 at the Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St., S.F. $7-$20. www.commonwealthclub.org

saturday/10

“Stories from the Fringe: Women Rabbis Revealed!” Performance by Jewish Women’s Theater of Los Angeles celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first female Reform rabbi’s ordination. At Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon. 8 p.m. $10-$15. www.kolshofar.org.

sunday/11

“What We Talk About: Stories of Identities.” Local storytellers include monologist Josh Kornbluth and Marin filmmaker Tiffany Shlain. Opening event for “One Bay One Book” project. At Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St., S.F. 1 p.m. $5-$7. www.jewishlearningworks.org/for-adult-learners/one-bay-one-book.

ongoing

“Acid Test.” Warren David Keith channels Ram Dass, aka Richard Alpert, the Jewish Harvard professor who dropped acid in the 1960s, found his guru and explored his spirituality. Script by San Francisco resident Lynne Kaufman. Through Nov. 24. At the Marsh, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 8 p.m. Recommended for 17 and older. $15-$50. www.themarsh.org.

“Another Way Home.” Play by Anna Ziegler on obsessive middle-age Jewish parents who, while visiting their son at sleep-away camp, question what they understand about their children, their marriage and their desires. Through Dec. 2. At Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Building D, S.F. $20-$55. www.magictheatre.org. (See story, 19a.)

“Sea Turtles.” Play with all-female cast follows family of French Berber Jews who fled from Paris back to Tunisia to escape the Holocaust. At Southside Theater, Fort Mason Center, Building D, S.F. 8 p.m. Through Nov. 11. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $20-$35. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/270599.