If you’ve already seen raconteur Mike Daisey in The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs at Seattle Rep Theatre, you know what he’s capable of: impassioned, unscripted monologues delivered with the fervor of an evangelical priest—one with a wicked sense of humor and an affinity for the F-bomb. He’s taking a break from taking on Apple this week with a Wednesday night benefit performance of his monologue How Theater Failed America, also at Seattle Rep. Tickets are $25 and proceeds go to artists who were expecting work at Intiman this year, but "were not yet contracted and received no severance" when the theater cancelled the remainder of its season. Following the performance, Daisey will moderate a roundtable discussion on the state of modern theater, with Seattle Rep’s artistic director Jerry Manning, actor Hans Altwies, director Allison Narver, and 4Culture’s Charlie Rathbun participating.

How Theater Failed America is as timely as when it ran Off-Broadway in 2008; as far as I know, actors are still paid in "cheese—platters of cheese" at cast parties. Enjoy a preview of Daisey’s theater monologue in the YouTube clip below.

Mike Daisey’s How Theater Failed America (A Benefit for Intiman Theatre Artists) is one-night only: Wednesday, May 18, at 7pm at Seattle Rep’s Bagley Wright Theatre. Tickets are $25 at seattlerep.org. The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs runs through May 22.