Improv Night

Before

Long walk · 0.5 mi · 9 min walk; 2 min ride - Astoria

The museum occupies part of the old Astoria Studios complex on 35th Avenue, where Paramount shot silent pictures before the industry moved west. The core exhibition is hands-on, with a recording booth where you dub dialogue over a film clip and cases of cameras, costumes and props. Thursday afternoon admission is free. There is also a 267-seat theater that programs its own screenings.

After

0.1 mi · 3 min walk - Astoria

A Greek cafe on Broadway with a refrigerated case of galaktoboureko, ekmek and cakes cut to order, and a coffee counter that works from six in the morning until half past one the next night. People order a frappe and sit an hour at a marble-top table without anyone minding. There is waiter service at the tables rather than a line at a register. The Astoria branch is one of three, the others being in Bay Ridge and on the Upper West Side.