Last night, Austin's theatre denizens gathered at Zach Scott Theater for the annual B. Iden Payne Awards ceremony. A function of Austin Circle of Theaters, every fall the BIPpies recognize outstanding work on Austin's stages. This year's ballot was chock full of amazing talent—undoubtedly the voting public had some difficult choices to make. With a fabulous ceremony helmed by Andrea Skola and the women of Shrewd Productions, and featuring commentary from the always-funny Buzz......

And they're off.... The nominations for this year's B. Iden Payne Awards have been announced. We received 'em this morning, straight from the offices of the Austin Circle of Theatres. If you want to get in on the action, ballots will be available starting this Thursday, September 21, at ACoT (701 Tillery Street) & AusTIX (kiosk at the Austin Visitors Center, 209 E. 6th Street). You must be an ACoT member to vote, but......

Well folks, there are already so many still-running productions to choose from (see end of post) that we're a bit surprised Austin has any actors left to staff even more shows. Then again, this weekend's new works all come from the Specialty Aisle -- from Shakespeare to radio theatre, high school productions to college work, This Week in Theatre offers several interesting things to choose from. Let's get to it. The UT Department of......

M O N D A Y [20] [art] Sex Workers' Art Show comes to UT-Austin at Texas Union Showroom (RM. 2.208) at UT-Austin (Free, 7pm) (link) [music] Tammany Hall Machine, Impossible Shapes, and Red Hunter at Stubb's (link) [film] "The Outdoorsmen: Blood, Sweat and Beers" at Alamo South (Monday-Thursday, 10:05pm) (link) [film] "Penitentiary" at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (link) [film] "930 F" (a documentary about DC's 9:30 Club) at Alamo Downtown ($1, 9:45pm) (link) [film] "The......

In honor of our nation’s Vice President, Dick “Whoops that was your face” Cheney, and the hullabaloo surrounding his little "accident", we bring you this week’s theatre listings in the style of a Scott “Funny as a heart attack” McClellan press conference! We were going to bring you these listings yesterday, but were too busy pretending that A) no one would notice B) global warming is “just a theory” and C) God created us......

Argh! Fie! Sigh. There is so much theatre going on this weekend that we fear our heads will explode. So much, in fact, that instead of wasting space (and your damned important time) trying to be witty ironic clever, we're gonna get straight to the goods. Umph. We encourage you to take these listings to the hole with authority. FRONTERA FEST: This is the last time in 2006 (we swear on all that's holy!)......

MONDAY [6] karaoke » Karaoke at Beerland (link) music » The Lay-Moes and Loy Bones at The Parlor (Free, 9pm) (myspace) film/comedy » Soul Cinema Mondays screens "Richard Pryor Live in Concert," the comedian at his finest. At the Drafthouse Downtown ($1, 7pm) (link) music/film » One of the most exhaustive music documentaries ever, "New York Dolls," the story of Arthur "Killer" Kane" reuniting with the legendary band, features interviews with Morrissey, Iggy Pop, Mick......

Outside of it being the second-to-last week of Frontera Fest(!), things have taken a turn for the traditional here in the A-burg. Now’s your chance to get out and see theatre that actually looks and sounds like real life – instead of some weird, alternate reality where people scream a lot and pee on stage. (Note to reader: if you’re like us, and enjoy weird peeing plays -- never fear -- next weekend brings......

*This post by future contributor Jonathan Morgan Get psyched, get pumped, and get the hell outta your house. Continuing this weekend, you'll find more cool shows in Austin than scared kids at a Michael Jackson concert…or a Gary Glitter concert…or…. FRONTERA FEST: "Jesus, Austinist", you say, "can't you guys talk about anything else?" We could, but this festival is so damn jam-packed with theatrical goodies that we're hereby telling you again, just in case......

F R I D A Y [ 2 0 ] [music] Attack Formation at The Parlor [music] Faceless Werewolves, For Those Who Know, The Ugly Beats, Tran Tram play the Benefit for Austin GI Rights at Emo's [music] Just Guns CD release show with northKorean, Stories From the Frontier, Sad Accordions, and Infant of Prague at Beerland (7pm) [theatre] "Two Into War" at the Play! Theatre ($5-$20, 8pm) (link) [theatre] "House and Garden" at Austin......

The holidays are over, and our hard-working thespians are back on the boards. A pile o' theatre is opening this weekend. There's so much to choose from -- just take a gander at the following delights. Get Your War On! - Rude Mechanicals "A down and dirty theatrical adaptation of David Rees' savage and hysterical internet comic strip of the same name, Get Your War On represents stunned and outraged Americans as they react......