Swim Session With DJ Dana Scully
Thursday 26, the LINE
Splish splash: It’s the first summer bash in Future Front’s series at the LINE. Treat yourself to vacation-level escape on an at-home budget. As you walk through the lobby, admire artist Iris Kwon (aka Child Appetite)’s otherworldly installation. Then, grab snacks and drinks from Veracruz All Natural and relax resort-style while DJ Dana Scully spins three hours of genre-bending beats. For the price of a small donation, you’ll be transported to carefree summer shores – but don’t let us tell you how to staycation. – Caroline Drew
Betrayal
Through July 26, Hyde Park Theatre
Sure, Harold Pinter was an influential and Nobel Prize-winning writer, but did you know that this 1978 play about a years-long affair is based on the playwright’s own affair? Bold move to put it all on the stage for everyone to see. Director Ken Webster brings the very British story (aka, you have to squint to see the emotion bubbling underneath) to the Hyde Park stage. Told in reverse, with the end of the affair in scene one and the initial flirtations at the end, this tale of deception, in a very small way, has a happy ending – a very, very small way. – James Renovitch
Media Mixer: Screenprinting
Thursday 26, Mexic-Arte Museum
Printing with silk screens has origins in Asia that go back centuries, but the method of screenprinting used today gained traction during the Sixties due to Andy Warhol, who said he wanted to be a machine and embraced art’s mass production. One of Mexic-Arte Museum’s co-founders, Sam Coronado, was an avid printmaker, and the museum holds a strong collection as well as offering screenprinting classes. Learn more at a workshop with drinks, bites, and a class with a teaching artist that lets you take home your own creation. – Kat McNevins
“Feedback Loop”
Through July 24, Contracommon Gallery
Since 2020, gallery Contracommon has hosted critique groups as a way for artists to foster feedback from their creative community via Zoom and in-person meetings. This form has persisted for five years, but the new year has brought a new evolution: artists starting and finishing new work from within the critique group. These projects get their debut this Thursday over in Bee Cave, with participants including Váz Andreina, MJ Hernandez, Garrett Skupinski, and others. Swing by for the opening reception on Saturday, or check in any Friday, Saturday, or Sunday through July 24. – James Scott
The Man Who Stole the Sun
Thursday 26, Hyperreal Film Club
Co-written by Paul Schrader’s brother Leonard, this flick features a Schrader family script staple: bomb-making. Though only one of two films directed by The Youth Killer’s Kazuhiko Hasegawa, this Japanese thriller packs a punch even beyond its explosive MacGuffin, which is used mostly to get baseball and Rolling Stones related victories. Programmer Ziah Grace claims, “You’ve never seen anything like it and you never will again.” Who are we to argue? – James Scott
Moon Market
Friday 27, Shops at Sign Bar
Taylor’s charming Rituals Herbal shop has moved to Austin, and here’s your chance to welcome them. They join a small community of shops next to the scenic Sign Bar, which offers a tour of Austin past with its collections of vintage signs and objets d’art, and the celebration includes a free raffle, refreshments, and an intimate market with vintage items, handmade goods, herbs, candles, jewelry, and magic. – Kat McNevins
Saw
Friday 27, Hyperreal Film Club
Have you seen Saw? To really see Saw as it’s meant to be seen (or maybe Saw-n?), you gotta get yourself a certified Saw sicko in the seat next to you. There’s people in this world whose love for the James Wan and Leigh Whannell-started franchise isn’t a game but a long-running devotion. Through their fawning eyes does this first feature shine especially, with all the key components that will later come to be signature Saw introduced: the scratchy VHS monologues, flash-bang editing meant to cover a low budget, vague homoeroticism, and Billy on his little bike. If nothing else, please take this away from Hyperreal’s Friday screening of this Aughts horror classic: Billy is the PUPPET. Jigsaw is the GUY. – James Scott
Tremors
Friday 27, Paramount Theatre
The dustiest creature feature outside of Arrakis hits its 35th anniversary with a Fangoria-presented screening. Released in 1990, there’s still enough Eighties stink on this picture that its politics are, well, let’s say hazy, but no one can deny it’s a hell of a good time. A small desert town gets terrorized by giant worm monsters, whose defeat is a joint effort between homosocial handymen (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward), a seismologist (Finn Carter), gun-loving marrieds (Reba McEntire and Michael Gross), and a whole crayon box of great character actors that make for truly colorful cinema. – James Scott
The Sandlot
Friday 27, Lou’s Eastside
If there’s a Summer Movie Pantheon, The Sandlot is definitely high in the ranking. Along with being incredibly quotable – “You’re killing me, Smalls!” lives eternally – it’s simply a shot of summer-soaked nostalgia. I didn’t grow up in the Sixties with a feral band of baseball buddies, but this makes me feel like I did. I feel the companionship of treehouse sleepovers. I feel the terror of the shadowy dog behind the fence. I feel the anxiety of losing a prized possession. It all adds up to an achingly lovely experience. How long will I love this movie? FOR-EV-ER. – Cat McCarrey
National Theatre Live: The Importance of Being Earnest
Friday 27 and Wednesday 2, Alamo Mueller
Oscar Wilde’s uproarious story of assumed identities and star-crossed lovers stands supreme through text alone. It taught me not to fight over biscuits and to always carry my diary so I have something entertaining to read. But the 2024 National Theatre production added a whole bunch of spice to an already delicious experience. It opens with Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa playing piano in a Barbie-pink dress, surrounded by a cross-dressing cast. It’s a modern, brash take that combines Wilde’s cheekiness with in-your-face joy. I like to think Wilde would love the simmering sexual tension everyone has for everyone onstage. I’m sure he’d enjoy how well this works. – Cat McCarrey
Dogtooth
Friday 27 – Monday 30, AFS Cinema
Before director Yorgos Lanthimos cast his unique lens on some of Hollywood’s biggest stars in movies like Poor Things and The Favourite, his vision had a smaller scope. In his first Oscar-nominated film, Dogtooth, two parents sequester their three kids away from the world through physical and psychological means. With no knowledge of conditions around them, the children grow and are confronted with the inevitable hormones and curiosities that come with maturing. The stakes get raised in Lanthimos-ian (i.e., weird, disturbing, and sometimes bloody) ways as the parents struggle to keep their wards penned in. Feel every ick and see every awkward look in this brand-new 4K restoration. – James Renovitch
Hotel Transylvania
Friday 27 & Monday 30 – Wednesday 2, Alamo Slaughter Lane & Mueller
Does he really say “blah-blah-blah”? Who knows with this daffy Dracula, voiced by the Sandman himself (Adam Sandler, in case you were thinking of the Spider-Man villain) and animated by the great Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter’s Laboratory, Primal). Rather than inviting human travelers to be exsanguinated in his mountain mansion, this version of Drac runs a hotel strictly for the monsters to get away from the village mobs. Yet his whole world goes upside down – much like how he sleeps – when his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) falls fangs over feet for a dopey human hiker (Andy Samberg). Screens at Drafthouse as part of their Kids Camp series for our younger monster squad members. – James Scott
Infernal Costume Night
Friday 27, Tiny Minotaur Tavern
Yay! The Devil! Or rather, the lowercase and plural devils, because this hangout’s for all citizens of Hell. Come in your best Beelzebub costume to socialize with other maladjusted mayhem-makers and take part in a special demo of the Minotaur’s RPG Candlelight Inquisition. Dylan Blackthorn also provides “sinister shanties,” which’ll be perfect for stoking the Satan within. Tix run you $12 if you’re a non-member, but Tavern faithful get in for free. – James Scott
Ladyhawke + The Hitcher
Saturday 28, Paramount Theatre
Before there was Willem Dafoe, there was Rutger Hauer. Few actors have ever managed to switch so seamlessly between marshmallow squishy and vilely vicious as the Dutch star of Blade Runner. In his latest double bill programmed for the Paramount’s Summer Classic Film Series, Robert Rodriguez highlights two of Hauer’s most memorable performances of the Eighties: fantasy romance Ladyhawke, in which he and Michelle Pfeiffer are lovers separated by cruel yet creative sorcery, and his all-time nightmare-inducing turn as an unnamed, motiveless killer in The Hitcher. – Richard Whittaker
Gals & Goblins: A D&D Live Show
Saturday 28, the Vortex
You venture forth on a misty evening to an outdoor tavern strewn with lights. Before you stands a black door advertising mystery and magic beyond. But the smell of delicious Italian food wafts toward your face. Are you tempted by the lure of food, or do you venture forth? Roll. Ah, a 16. You kick your way through the door. Laughter meets your ears. Onstage, some gals (or are they goblins?) incite the audience with their robust wit and podcast-wisened voices. Will you join their rollicking adventure? Roll to see… – Cat McCarrey
Party at the People’s House
Saturday 28, Austin City Hall
From art guide Almost Real Things and Austin’s We All Belong anti-hate initiative comes a summer festival celebrating community, culture, and creativity. There’s fun here for every person’s passion, from live music spanning multiple genres and grooves, artists hawking their pieces, wellness woo-woo, and activity booths headed by local orgs like Austin Book Arts Center, SoCurious, and Austin Lighthouse. Plus, after you’ve sated your artistic appetite, you can chow down on food and drink from Austin-area vendors. – James Scott
grayDUCK Gallery’s 15th Anniversary Celebration
Saturday 28, GrayDUCK
grayDUCK’s 15 years have seen an adventurous range of styles, mediums, and messages adorn their walls, shelves, and floors. To celebrate, they’ve enlisted local curatorial collective Los Outsiders to assemble works from the roster of talented artists that have shown at grayDUCK throughout its life. One artist has been selected, spanning Austin neighborhoods and continents, to represent each year, including boundary-expanding painting, sculpture, installation, and digital artworks. Plus, one new artist “to grow on,” in honor of grayDUCK’s dedication to showcasing cutting-edge contemporary art. – Caroline Drew
Pointe Noire
Saturday 28, Stateside at the Paramount
What do a murder mystery, crawfish, and beautiful historic architecture have in common? They can all be enjoyed at 2pm this Saturday at the Paramount’s Stateside Theatre. Pointe Noire is the latest offering by Pat Mire, an internationally recognized Cajun filmmaker who founded Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival in 2006, and continues to make movies about Louisiana since his 1997 feature debut Dirty Rice. Pointe follows a filmmaker and crawfisherman who’s reluctantly enlisted by a criminal defense attorney to help save the life of a falsely accused man on death row. Together, they must solve the mystery of who actually killed two people the night of Mardi Gras 30 years ago through digging into their isolated and secretive community. Doors open at 1pm, so you can sample Louisiana-style food, cookies, and music in the lobby beforehand, and make sure to catch the Q&A with the filmmaker afterward. – Lina Fisher
Wizard City Presents: Show & Tell, a Fantasy Game Night
Saturday 28, Merfolk’s Specialty Coffee
Roll the dice at this open game night, and you may just find your new favorite game! Creative collective Wizard City invites adventurers of all stripes to come try their hand at various role-playing offerings, from their own table-top RPG to popular TTRPGS like narrative-driven horror Call of Cthulhu or video-game integrated Titanomachy: Dreams of the Hue. Game masters are running one-shot games throughout the night, so you’re welcome to dip in and see what’s your temperature. Board games are also welcome, as is simply vibing. Ain’t no rules against the vibe. – James Scott
Pride Picnic
Saturday 28, Pease Park
Gay people love a picnic. Local queer- and women-uplifting creative collective Future Front and Pease Park Conservancy know this, which is why they invite you to an afternoon of crafts and activations, food and drink, and information and resource booths in the park. Among the participants, the Little Gay Shop throws a book swap, Gays With Clay host a clay workshop, Mariachi Tex-Mex keeps you full, and Queer Vinyl Collective provides the tunes. Thankfully, organizers had the good sense to start this event at 10am to (try to) beat the heat. – Carys Anderson
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Sunday 29 & Monday 30 , Alamo Slaughter, Lakeline, and Mueller
You might be reading this and thinking, why Legally Blonde 2? That’s the not-as-good-as-the-original sequel to a bona fide classic. Well, you may be right, but it’s only because this time around Elle Woods is up against an even bigger beast than pretentious Ivy League men: indifferent politicians in Washington, D.C. So journey with Reese Witherspoon’s beloved character as she puts herself on the line for animal rights, love, and, of course, the law. (Kind of.) What, like it’s hard? – Levi Langley
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Sunday 29, Long Center
Ballet is beautiful, sure, but what if it were also funny? Les Ballets Trockadero asked and answered that question over 50 years ago with the troupe’s inception in New York City. Affectionately known as the Trocks, this all-male troupe appeals to ballet enthusiasts as well as novices for their skilled en pointe routines combined with hilarious parodies of classics like Swan Lake. Their demanding international tour schedule means they don’t come this way often, so don’t miss the Trocks’ only night in town. – Kat McNevins
Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what’s happening now or in the coming week.
This article appears in June 27 • 2025.
