If you aren't a fan of literature or the Irish, chances are you had no idea that today is Bloomsday, a traditional Irish celebration in recognition of author James Joyce.

Well, it just so happens that Alive Theater company is currently performing Lucia Mad, the story of Joyce's schizophrenic daughter, Lucia, and her love affair with Samuel Beckett, at the Hotel Lafayette in Long Beach. Because of this happy coincidence, Alive Theater is bringing the traditional birthday fete to our shores, and everyone is welcome to attend.

The celebration will include corned beef and gorgonzola cheese sandwiches, Irish libations, performances by Irish band Sligo Rags, and—of course—theatrical readings from Joyce's novels Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake.

Now, because we're talking about the Irish (read: drunkards), the evening's festivities will include a pub crawl, which will begin at the Hotel Lafayette and end at Clancy's Irish Pub, one block away.

I attended a performance of Alive Theater's Lucia Mad by Don Nigro over the weekend and can attest that it is worth catching. The delightful little theater company possesses some extremely good young actors. Go out and support some local theater, won't you? And get drunk, too. It's the Irish thing to do.

Bloomsday Celebration at the Hotel Lafayette, located at 528 E. Broadway, Long Beach. 6-10 p.m. Pub crawl to Clancy's Irish Pub, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.

Performances of Lucia Mad occur every Friday and Saturday until June 29 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, June 22 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $18 general admission and $15 for students/seniors—except on Saturday, June 21, when it's Pay-What-You-Can.

There aren't any previews or coming attractions for plays, which can make it difficult for potential audience members to decide if they'd like to attend a production. Well, the internet is changing that.

Thanks to the development of YouTube, theater companies can now record a section of their performance and broadcast it for the world to see... and then judge. One theater company hopping on the viral video bandwagon is South Coast Repertory, who've posted clips of their current showings.

Take this snip-it from Alan Ayckbourn’s Taking Steps for example:

Were you even thinking of making it out to see it? Yeah me neither. And based off this YouTube clip I think my hesitance has morphed into a full fledged "hell no!" It appears that this clip-sharing process is a blessing and a curse—like the previews for any film starring Robin Williams—over-acting just doesn't translate.