For those of you who were too busy enjoying expensive dinners and gallivanting around the city drinking bubbly and, well, doing other things, to see Intergalactic Nemesis on Conan last night, you missed quite a show. Don't worry, we've got you covered. Featuring Conan O'Brien as Tim, Andy Richter as Timmy, and a special shout-out to Austin, the video does the show proud and only makes us wish it was a little longer, or that Conan and Andy would do a whole performance (we can dream). Without further ado... more ›

Writer, director and producer Jason Neulander has one of Austin's most impressive resumes; from 1994 to 2008, Neulander was the founder and Artistic Director of Salvage Vanguard Theater, where he directed and produced more than fifty world premiere plays, musicals, and operas - earning him the Austin Chronicle's coveted "Best Theater Director" title not once, but three times (2004, 2005 and 2007). Neulander's work has been staged at national venues including The Playwrights' Center and The Guthrie in Minneapolis and Oregon's Portland Center Stage, but it's his long-running radio play, The Intergalactic Nemesis, which began in 2006, that's been touring to sold-out audiences coast to coast. more ›

Fantastic Fest is knocking on the door of being, against all odds, one of the world's most important film festivals. That's not just hometown pride talking -- that shit comes from Variety and Texas Monthly. But there's more to it than just movies, and the recently concluded 2010 edition of the festival was a fine example: In addition to the film portion of the festival, attendees buzzed about the Fantastic Arcade, which featured independent games from around the world at the Highball. Less heralded, however, was the new inclusion of theater as part of the Fantastic Fest program. more ›

Last Friday and Saturday, the Long Center hosted Jason Neulander’s pitch-perfect homage to sci-fi pulp and Weird Tales-inspired radio dramas, The Intergalactic Nemesis. We’re glad they did, it was totally nuts and a ton of fun. more ›

The Intergalactic Nemesis was a radio serial from the 1930's that started being recreated live on stage here in Austin back in 1996. Several years ago, Nemesis returned to the radio when recordings of these performances airing on KUT. The evolution of this project now makes a leap to the big screen with a "live-action graphic novel" from the creative team led by Jason Neulander and Tim Doyle. The story itself plays out on screen in the form of comic book panels, while three actors and a foley artist perform all of the voices and sound effects live. more ›

Salvage Vanguard Theater has announced its new season! // Rubber Repertory has started airing their dirty laundry in a new, recurring series called From the Dumpster, in which they confess to madcap ideas they seriously considered staging. // There's more than music to SXSW. more ›

Tonight, Dionysium will encourage participants to "get their think on" by debating an issue of recent importance to Texas politics: are votes for third parties in America a waste? Local actor, comedian, and champion debater Mr. Shannon McCormick squares off against Travis County Libertarian Party Chair Mr. Wes Benedict, so it will be, indubitably, interesting. more ›

Theatre fans aren’t hurtin’ for stuff to do this week. So let the good times roll, people. Let ‘em roll theatre-style. Put your hands together for our Austinist Pick of the Week, Free Night of Theatre! Not just one, but like a bazillion completely free shows in Austin, and across the nation. (That’s right, jetsetter – even if you’re out of town, it’s no worries, because the metro area you’re closest to is probably... more ›

As if the folks at Salvage Vanguard Theater didn't have enough going on.... In the midst of touring The Intergalactic Nemesis, winning a Best of Austin award, and birthin' babies, the intrepid SVTers are also producing the world premiere of Caridad Svich's Thrush: A Play with Songs, opening tonight at 8pm. Earlier this week, our own Matt Wright snapped a few photos of rehearsals.... more ›

FRIDAY [8] theatre • Salvage Vanguard Theater's The Intergalactic Nemesis at UT PAC's Hogg Memorial Auditorium music • Ghostland Observatory, Lions, and Crash Gallery at Trophys ($8, 10pm) ® film • Sinus Show: Xanadu at Alamo Downtown (7pm & 10pm, $12.50) film • Raiders of the Lost Ark at Paramount Theatre (9pm) books • Mark Wangrin presents Hook Em Horns: The Story of Texas Longhorn Football at BookPeople (7pm) ® music • Cruiserweight, Rory... more ›

All y'all theatre fans will already know that Austin’s fringe giants, Salvage Vanguard Theatre, are about to whoop some theatrical ass on a big time national tour. The Intergalactic Nemesis, the company’s wildly popular live-performance-sci-fi-radio-drama-send-up, kicks things off with a performance at UT’s Hogg Auditorium TONIGHT ONLY, 8pm. (To all y'all who aren’t theatre fans: see this show; be converted.) more ›

Welcome to a deliberately antagonistic This Week in Theatre, inspired by St. Nicholas – Hyde Park Theatre's one-man show about a theatre critic who hangs out with vampires. Not so subtle, and starring HPT’s Artistic Tour de Force, Ken Webster – a man who’s reportedly tumultuous relationship with local critics befits his role in said production. (Not that we’ve ever had any run-ins with Ken. Ever. Not even one time.) We say this to... more ›

As we scourged all the theatre listings this week, endlessly digging for all the dirt on all the shows in all the venues from all the companies in all of Central Texas, we realized…there is no spoon. There’s also practically nothing opening this weekend. But never fear, dear theatre goer, there’s plenty, plenty of shows that are still running from previous weeks that – if you haven’t already seen them – will forever haunt... more ›

FRIDAY [23] [theatre] I Love My Dead Gay Son: The Musical! at Off Center (8pm, $15) (more) [theatre] Uncertainy Avoidance at Peacock Lounge (8pm, $11, 220.7198 for more info) (more) [theatre] HMS Pinafore at Forrest King Performing Arts Center at Crockett High (8pm, $15-$20) (more) [theatre] The Return of the Intergalactic Nemesis (Episode II) at Blue Theater (8pm, $12-$35) (more) [dance] Blue Lapis Light: Requiem at Intel Shell (8pm, Pay what you can) (more) [film]... more ›

MONDAY [19] [film] Tickets on Sale Now for Superman Returns, opening June 27th @ Alamo at Alamo South (Multiple Shows, $8) (more) [sports] World Cup Matches at Alamo Village (Daily, Various) (more) [film] State vs. Reed (funds from screening benefit Rodney Reed's family) at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (more) [film] Casino at Austin Java (8pm, FREE) (more) [film] The Fearless Freaks at Café Mundi (8pm, FREE) (more) [film] Fela Kuti: Music is the Weapon at Alamo... more ›

FRIDAY [9] [music] Shellac, The New Year at Emo's (link) [music] Twilight Singers w. Mark Lanegan, Afterhours, Jeff Klein at The Parish Room (link) [music] The Late Fees at End of an Ear (6pm) (link) [music] Sons of Hercules, Jesus Christ Superfly (15th Anniversary!) at Beerland (link) [music/danceparty] Waxploitation! at Red's Scoot Inn (9:30pm) (link) [music] The Beer Garden Series presents South Austin Jug Band at Threadgill's World HQ (link) [dance] A Place to Land... more ›

It’s pretty hard not to like Salvage Vanguard’s Intergalactic Nemesis trilogy (of which we saw Episode II: The Return of the Intergalactic Nemesis this past Friday). As the lights come up, an incredibly dry and playfully sarcastic LB Deyo introduces the show like a late night personality doing his opening bit. The audience warms, then laughs – almost as if Deyo is their new buddy, with whom they’re merely shootin’ the shit. By the... more ›

MONDAY [5] [film] Anime Monday at Ventana del Sol (7:30pm, Free) (link) [film] Be Here to Love Me at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) (link) [film] Memento at Austin Java (8pm, Free) (link) [film] Strangers on a Train at Paramount Theater (7pm) (link) [film] North by Northwest at Paramount Theater (9:10pm) (link) [film] The Puffy Chair at Alamo Downtown (Though 8th, 7pm, except Tuesday, 9:45pm) (link) [film] The Fall: The World of Mark E. Smith at... more ›

FRIDAY [2] [food] Flip Happy Crepes is open! (link) [music] Country Teasers, Green Milk From the Planet Orange, Attic Ted, Gorch Fock at Emo's (link) [music] The Roots with Blackalicious and the Incredibuls at Stubb's (link) [music] Nightmare of You at The Parish Room (link) [music] "Country Teasers -- ""Is their new album ""The Empire Strikes Back"" a concept album about race, England, and Star Wars, or did the band just find something unwholesomely amusing... more ›

Our common pitch to the non-theatre-goer: Hey, you’re a fun looking guy/gal. Wanna give something new a try? You know that persnickety twitch in the back of your head, reminding you that you feel disconnected from friends, neighbors and co-workers? You know how, in a quiet moment, alone in your apartment with the sinking feeling that there just isn’t anything imaginable that you could possibly want to do, you wish that you’d felt one... more ›

Salvage Vanguard Theater is about to get big -- real big. Long established as one of Austin's fringe theatre giants, SVT is going national with a full-scale tour of their Intergalactic Nemesis series (not to mention a possible commercial run in NYC). They'll return home just in time to move into their brand spankin' new performance space and mount Nemesis again at the 1,200 seat Hogg Auditorium here in town. But according to Jason... more ›

UT PAC's Bass Conert Hall is already the largest performance space in Austin, boasting 3,000 seats and playing host to everyone from Ballet Austin to the touring company of Movin' Out (and, really, every other large scale performance that comes from, or to Austin). more ›

Last summer, Salvage Vanguard (the bacchanalistas behind the Dionysium) produced a live performance of "The Intergalactic Nemesis: Twin Infinity," the last in a trilogy of science-fiction radio serials. The run enjoyed considerable success, and as such they've decided to put on the entire trilogy this June. But tonight - and tonight only - they're doing a special performance of the first part at The Hideout Theatre. From their press release: Follow Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter... more ›

[documentary] Grammy-winning classical percussionist Evelyn Glennie is one hell of a musician. She's also deaf. Check out Thomas Riedelsheimer documentary as he follows her across the States and around the UK in "," part of Austin Film Society's Texas Documentary Tour. At the Drafthouse Downtown. (7pm) (link) [film] Another screening of Werner Herzog's "Wheel of Time" at the Drafthouse Downtown. (9:45pm) (link) [film] Alamo Weird Wednesdays screens "Pigs," Marc Lawrence's cheesy horror flick about man-eating... more ›

The Dionysia were enormous bacchanals held yearly in ancient Athens, meant to honor the god of "everything uncivilized" through dramatic performances, sacrificial offerings, and - our favorite bit, slouched over a bar as we usually are - drunken revelry. Each day, a succession of comedies, tragedies and one satyr play were performed; playwrights competed against one another and awards were bestowed upon the winners. more ›

MONDAY [music] The Fags at Stubb's [film] A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, 9:45pm. One Dollar! [film] East of Eden and Rebel Without a Case at The Paramount Theatre. Through Thursday. [reading] BookPeople's UTTER Reading Series, 7pm TUESDAY [music] Neko Case at Antone's [film] Austin Film Society screens Godard's Une Femme Est Une Femme at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, 7pm [art/books] Luis Alberto Urrea discusses his novel, The Hummingbird's... more ›

:: FRIDAY :: [art] Art Party, 7pm @ 708 Congress Avenue :: SATURDAY :: [politics] DemocracyFest 2005 with Howard Dean and Neal Pollack, 7:30pm @ Stubb's - $20 [sports] Longhorns play the College World Series, 6pm on ESPN [art] Summer Fashion Party, 8pm @ Art Studio Studios [music] The Teenage Pajamas From Outer Space Tour featuring The Aquabats and The Epoxies @ The Backroom - $12 [culture] Pop Nation! @ The Austin Convention Center... more ›

In America's post-war period marked by seemingly limitless technological advances, science-fiction radio serials dominated the airwaves. Families gathered to hear dramatically narrated tales of astonishing foreign worlds, populated with heroic space cowboys and insidious alien overlords. In some ways it was almost better than watching a movie; supplied with colorful, gorgeously effusive dialogue and then-impressive sound effects, you were free to envision the stories in your mind. Some of these serials - The Adventures of Superman and Journey Into Space, for example - were hugely popular, enjoying lengthy runs on the radio. Most famously, Orson Welles' broadcast of The War of the Worlds was so convincing in its authenticity that many listeners believed the tale of a Martian invasion of Earth was actually taking place. more ›