This might not technically be theatre, but it made for some great comedy. On Saturday's show [listen], the Car Talk guys repeated the name of Austinite and Puzzler-winner Quentin Fennessy eight times in a row.......

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....

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......

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,......

We hope that after seven other posts about Spot the Spank you are aware that Austinist has teamed up with Spank Dance Company to be the exclusive promotional outlet for their latest dance 4Red Lines. Prior to each performance, Austinist has posted a clue to help you determine its secret location. If you haven’t recovered from Eeyore’s Birthday been able to catch at least one of these performances, what are you waiting for? This is......

This Thursday, Austinist presents another installment of Spot the Spank. By now, we hope you are already aware that Austinist has teamed up with Spank Dance Company to give you clues on where to check out their latest dance production, 4Red Lines. If you haven’t been able to catch the performance, what are you waiting for? Perhaps our clues have been just that good. Or maybe you were partaking in other recreational activities at Eeyore’s......

As you're hopefully already aware, Austinist has teamed up with Spank Dance Company to be the exclusive promotional outlet for their latest dance production, 4Red Lines. The location for this Saturday’s two performances will be prime people watching and a perfect backdrop to observe the interaction between the dancers and the audience. If you haven’t been able to “Spot the Spank” guess the location of the upcoming performances from the clue listed below and come......

What happens when you throw music, dance, poetry, photography, visual art, theatre, film, and -- why not? -- opera into a great big blue box and shake? You get an explosion of proportions that only the creative geniuses at Refraction Arts can contain. This year's Fuse Box Festival, featuring artists from Brooklyn to Portland and places in between, showcases works you've never seen before and aren't likely to see hence. Things start gearing up this......

MONDAY [9] books • Jillian Robinson presents Change Your Life Through Travel at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • 22nd Annual Funniest Person in Austin Contest, hosted by John Ramsey at Cap City Comedy Club dance • Spank Dance's "4Red Lines" at Secret Location, Check Austinist's Clues (5:30pm) film • "Harold and Kumar" with All-You-Can-Eat Mini-Burgers at Alamo Downtown film • Music Mondays: "Times Square" at Alamo Downtown film • Jim Jarmusch Film Series: "Dead Man"......

Spank Dance Company is conducting a social experiment on you. Have you noticed? Were you wandering around outside of the Convention Center during SXSW only to see four red clad dancers (and one whimsical ring leader) spontaneously break into dance? Maybe you were enjoying the epic day we had this past Thursday at Republic Square Park and caught a glimpse of them. According to Spank Dance Company's director and choreographer, Ellen Bartel, if you......

Note: Several weekend events will be added in the afternoon. THURSDAY [5] fashion/music/party • Car Stereo (Wars), Visuals by Super!Alright!, and 30-40% Everything at Strut (6-10pm) film • "Military Intelligence and You" at Alamo Drafthouse Lakecreek (7:30pm) art •Opening Reception for Aki Nagasaka's "Yellow Labyrinth" at Women and Their Work (6-8pm) books •Pam Oslie presents Love Colors at BookPeople (7:00pm) books •Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht presents "In 1926: Why and How?" at The Harry Ransom......

Austinist is honored to present the second installment of Spot the Spank, an ongoing modern dance treasure hunt taking place throughout this great city we call home. As mentioned during the madness of SXSW, Spank Dance Company has partnered with Austinist to promote their original contemporary dance piece titled 4Red Lines. Performed in an outdoor public venue, the dance addresses the barriers between performer and audience, the concrete and the abstract. Ellen Bartel, choreographer......

MONDAY [2] books •Peggy Collins presents Help Is Not a Four-Letter Word at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy •22nd Annual Funniest Person in Austin Contest at Cap City Comedy Club (Check site for lineup) film •Serge Gainsbourg Birthday Feast at Alamo Downtown film •"El Duce Vita" with The Mentors at Alamo Downtown food •Central Market Cooking Class: Midnight in the Garden of Food and Evil at Central Market Cooking School, 4001 N Lamar ($40, 6:30-9pm) music......

FRIDAY [16] art • Artist's Reception: Joan Winter: From Marfa to Sudari at Flatbed Press and Gallery (6-8pm) art • Flatstock 12 Poster Convention at Austin Convention Center (11am-6pm) books • Jack Pendarvis preseents The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure at BookPeople (3:00pm) books • John Sellers presents Perfect From Now On at BookPeople (7:00pm) sxsw • SXSW Film Festival at Everywhere sxsw • SXSW Music Festival at Everywhere theatre • Austin Shakespeare......

Spank Dance Company, with choreography by Ellen Bartel, will be presenting a series of public performances over the next few weeks. The guerilla-style dance performances are meant to bring art to the public by breaking the access barrier to fine art. Staged throughout the streets of Austin, the contemporary dance company will be performing in bright red costumes that will be hard to miss. Spank has partnered with Austinist to provide clues as to......

Believe it or not, there's a bunch of activities going on around town this week other than SXSW. This week's IST List won't include our usual bevy of music and film events; for those, we recommend that you check out our Interactive Guide to SXSW Parties and the Other Side Guide, respectively. We'd also like to welcome LAist editor Tony Pierce and Gothamist arts editor Jen Carlson, both of whom will be joining us......

FRIDAY [16] music •Of Montreal, Elekibass, DJ Jester the Filipino Fist at Emo's (outside) music •Those Peabodys, Ume, Oh, Beast!, El Paso Hot Button at Emo's music •Spank Dance Company, Hello Lovers at Emo's Lounge music •Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Reckless Kelly at La Zona Rosa music •Long John Thomas & The Duff, Bellfuries, Eddie Clendening & The Blue Ribbon Boys, The Aquasonics at Continental Club music •Bruce Robison at Cactus Café (9pm,......

Alright. Gloves off. We’ve been snarked on in the past for flippantly referring to productions at the Vortex as “naked theatre”. Taking that into consideration, we’d like to bring to your attention some “adults only” (read: probably naked) theatre opening this weekend. Bell(e): The Museum of Suicide Machinery is a “mesh of performance art, visual installation, experimental theatre, and sound montage” from Austin’s purveyors of the out-there-experimental, Ethos. Anne Marie Gordon designs the scenery......

And from the belly of the heaving bastard they ripped the dangling, puke-covered, festering, imp of a baby. Then they all blew themselves up and barbequed some genitalia. They called it…theatre. In honor of our Austinist pick of the week, we thought we’d get all Sarah Kane on your ass. If you’re not already familiar with the playwright that shocked the crap of every English theatre-goer right up until she killed herself in 1999,......

We gotta say, Ellen Bartel has gusto. (She named her company Spank Dance – if that’s any indication.) True to form, in her latest piece, Greyhounds and Other Virtual Ways to Travel, she takes a huge concept – in this case, the future of humanity – and presents it to us in a form that’s innovative, contemporary, rough, slow, boring, exciting, tame, beautiful, banal, moving, ridiculous, and most things in between. As is common......

Just in case you’re on your way to Austin to check out some cool new bands or dig on a few great new movies and it suddenly occurs to you – wait! I hate good movies, awesome music and free beer. What in the hell will I do with myself whilst kickin’ it old skool in the A-burg? You could see some kick-ass new work from Austin fringe dance queen, Ellen Bartell. Bartell’s Spank......

*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......