This Thursday through Sunday, improvised music is going to grab a foothold in both Austin and San Antonio. Featuring thirteen artists from all over the world – from the close confines of Houston and Austin to the far-off reaches of Tokyo and Boston – the No Idea Festival is poised to showcase a diverse array of acts you likely won’t see anywhere else, anytime soon....

Gay people and good theatre go hand-in-hand, see: ancient Greece and Tennessee Williams. Conversely, good gay-themed theatre can be hard to come by. How many tired ensemble pieces populated with predictable muscle marys, self-important disco queens, wilting PLWA s, stoic bears and bubbly twink ingenues (each grappling with their place in the world) can one art form support?...

When I graduated from college, there's weren't a lot of gay characters in movies and TV. This was the mid-90's so when there was a gay character, he was usually dying of AIDS. I saw every one of these movies, but I was desperate to see characters more like myself....

What sets Laura and her show apart is a wild imagination and an ability to get the audience inside her head. Not only that, but she pulls this off with no set to speak of and very few props, key among what little she uses being a ukulele and a shopping cart. Luna Tart, the character, much like her creator, is not just from another era, she’s from another planet....

The third annual see.hear.speak fest opens on Thursday and closes on Saturday, with shows nightly at 8 & 10 at Coldtowne Theater. Bringing a few big-name comedy groups to town, this year's fest has quite the lineup....

Starting tonight and going through February 3, The Long Fringe portion of FronteraFest will showcase pieces up to 90 minutes at the Blue Theater. Max Langert's You're Happier Than You Think: Recalibrating Your Emotional Scale and Spank Dance Company's Dance Carousel 2008 kick off the shows with stories of downtrodden ocean liner passengers and innovative choreography....

Photo courtesy Refraction Arts The Assumption12/7-21, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pmBlue Theatre (916 Springdale Ave)Late Shows: 12/8, 15, & 21 @ 10:30pm[info] | [tickets]Here's something you might not know about us: Our hands-down favorite play by the old Bard has always been Hamlet. With that in mind, we expected to be at least a bit annoyed by Refraction Arts' irreverent re-imagining of one of Shakespeare's greatest works. But we weren't. As a matter of fact, immediately upon......

Spank Dance Company and Refraction Arts are hosting a festival this month celebrating modern dance. Because most of you were probably out at that little music festival last weekend, you might have missed some seriously rockin’ dance performances during opening weekend. Don’t be sad, though, because there are two more weekends in September for you to get your contemporary dance on. Hot September Flurries is a massive collaborative event with involvement from Salvage Vanguard Theatre,......

The crazy kids from the Getalong Gang have a lot of things these days. They have a roller coaster, apparently. They have a hip-hop narrator. They have a $50 gift certificate to Mars*. They have separation. And they also have one pair of free tickets to tonight's opening performance of We Have Separation that they've graciously tossed our way. This production, featuring the aforementioned goodies, centers on Roy, an amnesiac with a recently kidnapped sister......

Sadly, it is upon us. We'd say they saved the best for last, but the whole darn fest has been great from start to finish. Along those lines, all of the offerings these last several days look to be par excellence. Here're just a few. The Blue Screen International Program, Part I, curated by Lisa Kaselak. (Read Lisa's interview with Refraction Arts' Ron Berry here.) This 1.5 hour program, tonight only, 8pm at the Blue......

The following article and interview is by guest contributor Lisa Kaselak, who will be curating a short film series at the Fuse Box Festival tomorrow evening. Check the IST list for details. -- Ed. Note I first met Ron Berry last year, after I finished a short documentary piece and some accompanying prints and was looking for a community space to house the whole exhibit – not necessarily an easy task since this work was......

We recently caught the new work Wireless-Less during its run at the Cohen New Works Festival. The play continues its run this weekend—Thursday through Sunday at the Blue Theatre—as a part of Refraction Arts' Fuse Box Festival. Wireless-Less is a trippy, fun fantasy about the human consequences of constant access to technology. Watching this thoroughly enjoyable piece, we were reminded somewhat of David Cronenberg’s movies, in which humans are always brushing up against tech......

Ed Note: Please note that the Mobile Art Place opening party mentioned yesterday is not actually free, but is open to those attending Night at the Galleries. Sorry for the inconvenience. FRIDAY [23] music • Maneja Beto, The Interest Kills, The Laughing, White Denim at The Compound ($5, 18+, 9pm, 1300 East 4th Street) comedy • The Frank Mills perform their new sketch show, "One Classy-Ass Show," at Blue Theatre (DEETS) books • Abriendo Brecha......

THURSDAY [22] art • Opening Reception: Owen McAuley at d berman Gallery (6-8pm) comedy • The Frank Mills perform their new sketch show, "One Classy-Ass Show," at Blue Theatre (DEETS) party • Misprint Magazine's Beard & Moustache Competition with performances by Sharp Dressed Men (ZZTop Tribute Band), hosted by Matt Bearden, DJ sets by Stay Gold at Club de Ville (9pm) art • Artistic License: Blanton artist Fabian Marcaccio discusses his work, which is......

FRIDAY [2] music • A Fist Full of Duckets, featuring The Interest Kills, Finally Punk, and The Fucking Transmissions at The Mohawk (10pm, 18+, $6) ® music • Dave Barnes at Stubb's music • Black Before Red at End of an Ear (6pm, Free) ® music • Sparklehorse, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, Bill Baird (member of Sound Team) at Antone's ® music • For Her & The Snow, The Unfortunate Heads at......

FIRST THURSDAY [1] music • Tre Orsi (members of Shearwater, South San Gabriel, Little Grizzly), The Paper Chase, Red X Red M, at Emo's music/benefit • ME! Live presents the Emerging Artist Series Debut with Meagan Tubb band, Tacks, the Boy Disaster and the Channel at Antone’s (7pm, $5) music • Yonder Mountain String Band at La Zona Rosa music • Onion Creek Crawdaddies at Waterloo Records (5pm, Free) music • Horse + Donkey,......

WEDNESDAY [31] dj • fStar, a biweekly project about "living, breathing, moving graffiti" coupled with a live soundtrack at Jo's on 2nd Street (8-10pm, Free) dj • Cut Club at The Mohawk music • The Lymbyc Systym, This Will Destroy You, Loren Dent at Emo's music • Live Oak Decline, Sounds Under Radar at Stubb's music • Brother Will, Carley Wolf, Stoney's Spoken Word (featuring the Golden Boys) at Beerland music • Militant Babies,......

TUESDAY [30] books • Amy Wallen presents Moon Pies and Movie Stars at BookPeople (7:00pm) music • Dodo Bird, W-S Burn, Pink Nasty, The Easies at Emo's music • Stickman, Distant Seconds, The Late Fees at Beerland film • The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • The One-Man He-Man Show at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • AFS Essential Cinema Series: Vertical Ray of the Sun at Alamo Drafthouse South......

That's right: it's time to heat up your winter nights again, with the 14th season of FronteraFest. The Short Fringe, the Long Fringe, or Mi Casa es su Teatro -- FronteraFest is five weeks of alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre presented by Hyde Park Theatre and Austin Script Works. For complete FronteraFest 2007 information, including times and locations for the Short Fringe, the Long Fringe and Mi Casa es su Teatro,......

MONDAY [29] opera • Philip Glass' Waiting for the Barbarians at Bass Concert Hall music • Unwed Sailor, Bayta Darell, The Twilight Lieutenants at Emo's Lounge music • Hidden Hand, Kylesa, The Roller, Ironclad at Emo's music • The Fray, Mute Math at Frank Erwin Center music • Hill Country Outdoors' New Member Meeting at Opal Divine's Penn Field film • Darkon: The Movie at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Melody at Alamo Drafthouse......

FRIDAY [26] film • El Automovil Gris at McCullough Theatre ® art • Opening Reception: Ishmael Soto: Vessels and Inspirations: Ceramic and Sculptural Work at Mexic-Arte Museum (7-9pm, free) books • Sarah Lewis presents Indecent at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Bil Dwyer at Cap City Comedy Club film • Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival 2007 at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown ® film • The Bridge at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar community • Meeting......

THURSDAY [25] music • Meryll, The Lovely Sparrows at The Parish Room music • Many Birthdays, Skiesfalling, The Ron Titter Band at Emo's music • The Laughing, Bello Ragazzo, Shapes Have Fangs, DJ Brian Tweedy at Stubb's ® music • Cartright, Pataphysics, Cavedweller, Smoke Detector at Beerland music • Ottmar Leibert at The Paramount Theatre music • The Missing Tapes, Student Film, Pompeii, The Onlys at Continental Club music • Lindsey Buckingham at Hogg......

WEDNESDAY [24] books • Dr. Steven Moore presents Alternative Routes to the Sustainable City at BookPeople (7:00pm) books • Neal Shusterman presents Everlost at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Bil Dwyer at Cap City Comedy Club DJ • Cut Club at The Mohawk DJ • Tighten Up at Beauty Bar film • Stroszek at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Ladies of the 80s Singalong at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Weird Wednesday: Get Mean at......

TUESDAY [23] film • AFS Essential Series presents Beautiful Boxer at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar ® books • Jean Davison presents Ostrich Wakes at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Bil Dwyer at Cap City Comedy Club film • Estrangement is Death at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • The One-Man He-Man Show at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • "Gilmore Girls" and "Veronica Mars" at Alamo Drafthouse Village food • "Dinner With Friends" Cooking Class with Chef......

MONDAY [22] books • The Ludicrous Speed Book Club discusses The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin at BookPeople (7:00pm) film • The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Cold Hearts: Icelandic Music Shorts at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • "24" at Alamo Drafthouse Village film • "Heroes" at Alamo Drafthouse Village film • St. Edwards University Paper Project at St. Edwards ® indicates a recommended event.......