O, the mighty men and women of Austin's stages! They get so busy this time of year. There's more than enough to choose from this week, but here are the theater picks that top our list.

ProArts Collective wraps up the Black Arts Movement Festival with Incognito on Thursday at 8pm, and Spoken Word Caravan on Friday at 8pm. The former is a one-man drama, performed by author Michael Fosberg, about a man who grew up thinking of himself as white, then discovers at the age 32 that he has black roots. With a lengthy list of rave reviews, this looks to be an amazing night at the Boyd Vance Theater. Get tickets here. Spoken Word Caravan features local performers Chandra Washington and Zell Miller III in an evening of spoken word, slam poetry, and music. We always catch Miller when we can. At the Off Center; get tickets here.

The Blue Lapis Light dancers are hurling themselves from buildings again in their latest production, Illumination. This time, they're using the interior of the Seaholm Power Plant. This fascinating building will make a great backdrop for Blue Lapis Light, a company always pushing envelopes with each new production. The show opens this Thursday and runs for four weekends, Th/Fr/Sa/Su at 8pm. Tickets here.

Last but by no means least, we direct your attention to the Capital T Theatre production of Samuel Beckett's "most cheerful" play, Happy Days, opening at Hyde Park Theatre on Thursday. We enjoyed Cap T's Mr. Marmalade, and we imagine we'll enjoy this show, too. Especially since it features Katherine Catmull, who is always great. (Seriously. Always!) Running three weekends, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pm. Tickets here.

For all the other fabulous offerings from Austin's thespians, check the Ist List.

Photo by That Other Paper editor Kristin Hillery (creative commons license).