WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Sex, lies, videotape, tea bags. ... If you crave scenes non-Shakespearean in nature, check out what local artists have brewed up for Meat Market’s Performance Week.

Starting last Wednesday, the fresh-facaded Dupont Circle gallery hosts a week of edgy happenings. Performances take place 5 to 7 p.m. with a few noted exceptions.

The showcase kicked off Wednesday with “Moving Pictures,” a mix of postmodern and minimalist paintings by Richard Siegman, and “Statis,” J.J. McCracken’s ceramics-driven exposé on our packaged consumerist lifestyle.

Thursday, Charlotte Andrew used her “Travel Bag” to show tea’s power as a social lubricant. Working feverishly on her set piece, the artist shared plans to draw viewers into conversation about “the contemporary nomadic lifestyle.” Well-acquainted with that lifestyle, the former nurse from New Zealand studied art in Belfast, Northern Ireland; London; and at the Corcoran.

That travel bag? It’s made “from all the canisters of tea that our family has consumed in the 2 1/2 years we have been here. It’s taking me so much longer to make.” She may be kidding or confiding.

Also on display: Raymonde van Santen’s installation of tea bags marked by their original owners with photos and written remembrances.

On Friday, brave souls peered through a hole in a white cube at Matt Ravenstahl as he explores the fine line between sexuality and violence. In the spirit of Marina Abramovic, the European artist who literally threw herself into her work, Ravenstahl used his body as the drawing tool.

Saturday’s noon matinee features “The Glass Age,” a reading by Guggenheim-winning Cole Swenson. At 5 p.m., Aaron Jackson unleashes a contemporary dance piece.

Sunday at noon, Mark Cameron Boyd directs two artists in a window-and-mirrors “question and answer” performance visible from the street. At 5 p.m., d’steel(e) drops poetics, followed at 7 p.m. by Breck Brunson’s found-object improv.

Monday, the YAY Team may discourage public displays of affection as they attempt to creep home in a body-lock.

Tuesday, David Williams gives “book-ish” a new meaning while graphically showing how research pervades art, and on Wednesday, David Page wraps up the week with suspense, physically engaged in a balancing act with metal and canvas sculptures.

Performance Week

Through Wednesday

» Venue: Meat Market Gallery, 1636 17th St. NW

» Tix: Free

» Info: 202-328-6328; www.meat

marketgallery.com