Ken Webster has done it again. Black is this year’s black. Blackbird is this season’s latest thought provoking, stomach punching, try-all-you-like-you-won’t-be-able-to-shake-it offering from the little theatre on 43rd Street in cahoots with Capital T Theatre. Its directed by David Harrower and starts Ken Webster and Xochitl Romero as a pair (let’s not call them couple) that meets up after a decade and a half of a highly advisable, partially law-enforced separation. ...

Ken Webster never met a deep dark comedy he didn’t love. Once again, this time offering up his take on playwright Bert V. Royal’s, Dog Sees God, Hyde Park Theatre’s artistic director has produced and directed a humdinger of insightful sarcasm served up in perfect pitch black. There’s not a weak performance in the piece which imagines a more real, more down and dirty, emotionally raw world for players who resemble, remarkably, a certain collection of beloved cartoon characters original conjured by an artist who’s name rhymes with Marles Tultz. ...

Mark our words: Rotozaza's Etiquette, coming in April for Fuse Box, will sell out. // Hyde Park Theatre is holding auditions this Saturday. // Out of Bounds '08 is now taking submissions. // Troades at the Vortex is held over for two more weeks....

Photos courtesy Hyde Park Theatre Three from FronteraFestMon-Wed @8pm, thru 3/26Hyde Park Theatre (511 W. 43rd. Street)[info] | [tickets]Short theater is great. It’s great for all sorts of reasons. First of all, if it sucks, it’s over quickly. Better, if it doesn’t suck, and if a short piece is put together with another short piece or two, you wind up with this lovely evening of traveling all over the map, enmeshed, if only briefly, in......

Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West, now playing at Hyde Park Theatre has nothing to do with Marfa or Alpine, so don't let the title fool you. Set in an Irish village where murder, suicide, and alcoholism are as common as eating and breathing, the play centers on two brothers who spend just about the entire show pissing off each other in increasingly creative ways. Compared to The Pillowman (which played last year at HPT), Lonesome West is almost sitcom light....

So, I produce and co-star a little show called The Dick Monologues. We have four shows this month—three more than usual. Two are in Dallas this weekend at the Water Tower Theatre as part of the Out of the Loop Festival. Two are here in town—one at the Victory Grill on March 21st and the other at Hyde Park Theatre on March 30th. Please tell your Dallas friends to come to the show up there. And if you want to attend an Austin show, please email me at spike@spikeg.com for info. This week, I present a piece I wrote that sometimes appears in the show. Big Dick on Buddha Mountain To meditate with the enlightened Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, is akin to playing guitar with Pete Townsend, making cookies with Martha Stewart, or tying your shoes with Mister Rogers. And so, despite my tight budget, when I heard that Thay, as he is known, was leading a retreat in California, I did what any overzealous aspiring Buddhist would do: I mailed off a hot check to procure my place at the monastery. ...

Hyde Park Theatre brings us Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West. Think of the brilliance of True West, but without the monotonous fuckin' crickets. Th-Sa @8pm through March 29. Tickets online. // Based on Euripides' Trojan Women, Troades at The Vortex explores life for the women of Troy following its decimation at the hands of the Greeks. Th-Su @8pm through March 29. Reservations: 478-LAVA....

Frontera Fest is such a playing-field-leveled egalitarian opportunity for creative types from all walks and skill levels to have a night in the spotlight. Totally worth the $12 -14 price of admission but don’t wait to figure this out later. The wait for unclaimed tickets on sold out nights starts an hour before showtime and baby it’s cold outside....

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....

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....

Sunday, 1/13, 10pm at the Alamo Downtown, the big Dick cast and Austin's premiere naughty boy band, Cedar Fever, will thrill and excite you with performances, sing-alongs, and heaven knows what else....

Thirteen years after founding Salvage Vanguard Theater, Artistic Director Jason Neulander is stepping down. Neulander has grown SVT from a crazy little fringe collective to a powerhouse producer of cutting-edge works. No doubt it'll be very exciting to see what he gets into next....

Image courtesy Rude Mechs The Method GunThru 12/15, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pmThe Off Center (map)[info] | [tickets] The Dick Monologues12/16 at 2pmHyde Park Theatre (map)12/12 at 7pm (sold out)[info] | [tickets]In this season of family-friendly fare, we're pleased to highlight a bit of naughty-naughty for your holiday pleasure. Admittedly it's something of an intellectually flavored naughty-naughty, but hey, that's how we like it. Rude Mechanicals' current show The Method Gun contains nudity! Whee! Nude Rudes!! Which......

Photo by Bret Brookshire, courtesy Hyde Park Theatre Thom Pain (based on nothing)Through 12/22, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pmHyde Park Theatre (511 W. 43rd. Street)Reservations: 479-PLAY[info]Every so often when doing a review, we’ve gotta own up to something from our past. In this case, it’s that we used to be in a cult. In our defense, it was a good cult. Back in college we were part of the American Forensic Association*—"forensic" meaning “having to do with......

Photo courtesy Shrewd Productions X-Mas: Unwrapped!! A Holiday Burlesque11/30-12/15, Thu-Sat at 10:00pmHyde Park Theatre (511 W. 43rd. Street)479-PLAY for reservations[info] 'Tis the season for giveaways! And the lovely ladies of Shrewd Productions are sharing the joy by offering two free tickets for Friday and Saturday night's performances of Xmas Unwrapped!! A Holiday Burlesque. The Jingle Belles have returned by popular demand to take the chill off the cold winter nights. Or, er, the cool-ish winter......

Did you know that the vestige group was founded on Craigslist in 2006? Interesting, no? What's also interesting is their latest production, The New Jersey Book of the Dead. Billed as portraying a world "where people struggle to hold on to emotional connection in a world gone technological," we're pretty sure we can relate. The show's press materials also include the catch phrase, "Omnivore is listening. Spread the word." We're not sure what that means,......

For this Week's TWIT, we're revealing the contents of our crystal ball—lurking on the horizon are a one-night-only you do not want to miss, and remounts of two box-office smashes. Jambi says, "Get your tickets now!" The Vortex is hosting, an irresistible, oddball of a show; three German actors, two American actors, and two Austrian video artists (collectively GTA’s Road Theater) are driving cross country (track 'em here), performing Roland Schimmelpfennig's Start Up. In this......

Last night, Austin Circle of Theaters ushered in a whole new batch of B. Iden Payne Award winners. The event took place on the lovely St. Ed's campus; MMNT artistic director Ev Lunning Jr. hosted, along with members of the Actor's Equity association. Local heroine Karen Kuykendall was this year's Outstanding Honoree; Austin Chronicle Arts Editor Robert Faires presented her award. It was an elegant and exciting evening, to be sure! We weren't shocked by......

As we mentioned in last week's TWIT, Capital T Theatre Company is currently running Samuel Beckett's "most cheerful" play, Happy Days, at Hyde Park Theatre. In case you're not familiar with this particular Beckett work, it's about "a middle-aged woman, Winnie, [who] finds herself increasingly submerged in a mound of earth. An incurable optimist, she uselessly follows the daily routine of her life. Over the passage of time, her few possessions gradually dwindle, and her......

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......

Fall finally arrived on Sunday, not that anyone would notice. However, autumn also brings a start to most theatre companies' 2007-08 season. Things are kicking on Austin's boards. Here're a few shows we're excited about. If you need to warm up, consider taking in Naughty Austin's Cellbloq. In the words of writer-producer Blake Yelavich, who says it best, "Yes, it's about a bunch of muscular guys in prison, but that doesn't mean it is strictly......

[This review comes from new contributor Anna Hanks! -Ed.] In our culture, children are usually considered innocent until sullied by the grown-up world. Otherwise, why would we have family-friendly TV programming, G-rated movies, and continual furor about “inappropriate” books being taught in public schools? Noah Haidle’s dark little comedy, Mr. Marmalade, brilliantly twists the preconception of childhood innocence into an inspired script. We attended the final weekend of this just-closed, Capital T Theatre production at......

Every once in awhile a show comes along that sounds like a sure bet. The press for Capital T Theatre's upcoming production of Noah Haidle's Mr. Marmalade makes us believe this is just such a show: Lucy is a four-year-old girl with a very active imagination. Unfortunately, her imaginary friend Mr. Marmalade doesn’t have much time for her. Not to mention he beats up his personal assistant, has a cocaine addiction, and a penchant for......

What happens when a runaway bride stumbles into the cabin of a hapless recluse? ...in the middle of the remotest Alaskan outback? ...during a terrible blizzard? Sounds a tad bit like the upcoming film Into The Wild, only with a potentially happy ending. One that's not based on a true story. Oh, and this tale includes a woman in a wedding gown who is hopped up on junk food. Okay, so it's not so......

Friday, July 6artB Scene - Too Darn Hot! at Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress ($5-$10) booksAlan Porter presents Before They Were Beatles, with Beatles cover band Daytripper at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedyJohn O’Connell with Jesse Pangelinian at Cap City Comedy Club comedyPunchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) comedyLovey and Lovey at ColdTowne Theater (8pm) comedyWeekly Improv Cage Match! at ColdTowne Theater (11:30) film"Bonnie & Clyde" and "White Heat" at The......

Monday, July 2film"Clash By Night" and "The Asphalt Jungle" at The Paramount Theatre filmLast day of "Labyrinth" at Dobie Theatre film/awesomeRobosaurus Live with "Transformers" at Alamo South Lamar foodCentral Market Cooking Class: Empanada Workshop at Central Market Cooking School, 4001 N Lamar ($65, 6:30-9:30pm)musicCanada, Our Solar System, Ryan Anderson at Emo’s musicBurning Brides, Strange Boys, Black Earth, Blackmarket at Emo’s musicBurning Brides at Waterloo Records (Free, 5pm)......

Thursday, June 28 artOpening Reception for Whitney Lee: Power Craft at Women and Their Work, 1710 Lavaca Street (6-8pm) artOpen House Work Viewing at Atelier 3-D, 2209 Pasadena Drive (4-10pm) artArtistic License: Josefina Guilisasti at The Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress Ave (Free, 6-8pm) booksAmanda Eyre Ward presents Forgive Me at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedyPat Dixon with Brendon Walsh at Cap City Comedy Club comedyParallelogramophonograph with special guests Look Cookie at ColdTowne Theater (8pm)......

Monday, June 25musicGreat Northern, Experimental Aircraft, Seaholm Electric at Emo’s musicWhen Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Pataphysics, The Jimmy Buffet Experience at Emo’s music"Wet Hot American Summer" with Friends of So at Beauty Bar film"The Princess Bride" Quote-along at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown filmMusic Monday: "Nashville Girl" at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown......

Thursday, June 21 comedy Christian Finnegan at Cap City Comedy Club music Emo’s 15th Anniversary Week with De La Soul, Word Association, Just Born, DJ Notion at Emo’s music Buddy Guy, The Greyhounds at Stubb’s music US Air Guitar Championships at The Parish Room music The Score at Beerland music Discovery School Fundraiser w/Gary Clark Jr., Johnny Moeller, Mike Barfield, Ephraim Owens & more at Continental Club music Doc Watson, Jack Lawrence, Richard Watson......

Monday, June 18musicHairy Apes BMX, Gabby La LA, Jetpaq Shakur at Stubb’s musicMenomena at Waterloo Records musicArt Brut Karaoke Party and "Caddyshack" at Beauty Bar filmThird Coast Night: "Leila Khaled, Hijacker" at Alamo Downtown filmMusic Monday: "Here We Come" at Alamo Downtown food/booksDr. BBQs Big-Time Barbeque Road Trip at BookPeople, 603 N Lamar Blvd (7pm)foodCentral Market Cooking Class: The Perfect Scoop with Chef David Lebovitz at Central Market Cooking School, 4001 N Lamar ($65, 6:30-9pm)......