“We Shall Be Monsters” Art Show
Through November 25, Guzu Gallery
Arise! You are summoned to Guzu’s latest gathering of the eerie and uncanny. It’s their biggest show to date, with new works highlighting ghastly ghouls and creepy creatures from 35 artists including Dan Brereton, Half-Human, Francisco Salinas, Holly Hansel, Robert Zavala, Mia Burwitz, and Cody Schibi. Terrors of all kinds will be available to adorn your walls, from classics like xenomorphs, Leatherface, and the creature from the Black Lagoon to modern nightmares such as Longlegs and Art the Clown. Crawl your way to Friday’s opening night gala for nibbles from chef Matt Zepeda, and a chance to pick up an exclusive cover edition of the new issue of Gore Noir. – Richard Whittaker
Alexis Gay: Unprofessional
Monday 21, Coldtowne Theater
In a world where we’re supposed to live for the hustle and make careers our entire personality, one bold tech worker-turned-comedian dares to stand up and say NO. We are humans, and we will be treated as such! That brave soul is Alexis Gay, whose show Unprofessional deftly points out the ludicrous life of ladder climbing. It’s coming to us after a lauded turn at Edinburgh Fringe, so you know it’s going to be wild and weird. Witness Gay twist and turn through a dreaded 4pm meeting. Is this the best show to drag along that tech-employed partner of yours? I say absolutely yes. Remind them of the happiness waiting outside of LinkedIn stats. – Cat McCarrey
The Brood
Monday 21, Alamo South Lamar
Body horror beginner’s round, with only flashes of freaky leading up to a finale most foul – this here’s a real early Cronenberg. Considered equal only to Temple of Doom in the well-stocked Divorced Guy Cinema genre, even David calls this movie “Kramer vs. Kramer but more realistic.” Here’s the gist: Mom has emotional problems, so post-divorce Dad gets the kid and she gets a therapy retreat hosted by Oliver Reed, where she makes little anger babies who start attacking people. Presented as part of Alamo’s Queer Film Theory 101 series, but not that QFT 101 series, i.e. Michael Graupmann and Lesley Clayton will not be there. You know who will be there? The spirit of being mentally ill. – James Scott
Into the Woods
Through October 27, ZACH Theatre
The last time Zach Theatre staged Steven Sondheim’s not-so-happily-ever-after, delicious deconstruction of the fairy tale was at the height of the pandemic, in an all-fresco production where the audience was seated on office chairs. Now the show returns in a new and fun-filled incarnation, courtesy of the Zach Academy training program. – Richard Whittaker
Teen Animanga Club
Tuesday 22, Central Library
As a child of the pre-Crunchyroll era, I’m thrown off by the presence of Naruto at Target. You mean a 13-year-old can just buy their favorite little guy right next to Goodfellow henley shirts? Crazy. What a new world we live in. Still, there’s nothing like just infodumping about the newest update to your fave Shōnen Jump series or getting introduced to a new isekai that’ll take over your brain for the next year. Just because you younglings won’t ever experience sneaking out at midnight to catch the Adult Swim premiere of English dub Death Note because your mom caught you reading fanfiction about L and Light kissing and has banned the anime in your house doesn’t mean you wouldn’t benefit from a club of little like-minded nerds. Have fun and stay safe! – James Scott
Tech Savvy Seniors
Tuesday 22, Twin Oaks Branch Library
Anybody claiming seniors can’t manage These Digital Times is both ageist and also hasn’t met my 74-year-old pops, who’s basically my personal tech support. The Austin Public Library has the same faith in our elders, and has created this morning drop-in time (9:30-11:30am) for y’all to bring in your preferred devices – tablet, smartphone, or eReader – and learn how to access digital library resources, including downloading books, audiobooks, e-magazines, and more. These Tech Time sessions take place at branches all over Austin, so if Twin Oaks isn’t convenient for you, then peruse the library’s online calendar (library.austintexas.gov/events) to find a future session in your neck of the woods. – Kimberley Jones
All About Butterflies!
Tuesday 22, John Gillum Branch Library (formerly North Village)
What’s the deal with butterflies? Sure they’re beautiful and delicate and pollination allies, but what are they up to when they’re in that cocoon? We’re all about personal privacy, but it seems shady. Luckily author and illustrator Tracy Dockray will make a stop at the library to show off her new picture book Butterfly Island and the Invincible Crew and help demystify the species. If that’s not enough, there will be crafts and activities to help you get on team butterfly. – James Renovitch
The Rocky Horror Picture Show 49th Anniversary Spectacular Tour
Tuesday 22, Bass Concert Hall
If your response to being asked if you’ve ever watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show is “Ha! I’ve seen it,” then not only are you quoting the queen of the groupies, Columbia, from the film, but you’re also only half-right. Because even if you’ve thrown the rice and the toast, called Janet a slut and joined the Shadow Cast for the Time Warp, you’ve never seen it quite like this: a screening of the original uncut movie with the original Columbia, Nell Campbell, in attendance. Get your best dancing fishnets on for a night at the Frankenstein place that you’ll never forget. – Richard Whittaker
Co-opportunity Fair
Wednesday 23, Black Star Co-op
On the national and international scale, cooperation may not be a popular sentiment at the moment, but let some locals who have embraced a sense of communal ownership show you how it’s done. The city of Austin and a smattering of cooperatives host this event showcasing job opportunities, their services, and the overall co-op lifestyle. If you’re looking to attempt your own joint endeavor, there are worse places to get advice than from these success stories. – James Renovitch
Hallowed Be Thy Ween
Wednesday 23, Elysium
Legends of Austin drag the Boyz of Austin have come up with perhaps the best Halloween pun I’ve ever heard for this night of spooky spectacle. If you, like many of us, believe Halloween deserves a monthlong celebration, mark your calendars for the Wednesday before to rev your engines for the actual date. The Boyz’ monthly performance at Elysium is the longest-running gender-diverse drag show in Austin, and Elysium has been gothing up Red River since 2001, so you can be sure these pros will be serving immaculate scares. There are so many iconic drag king costumes for the season – Gomez Addams, Beetlejuice, the Wolfman – plus a couple of topical 2024 ones I can think of off the dome – Challengers, Troye Sivan… it’s bound to be a spine-tingling evening for a variety of reasons. – Lina Fisher
Dark Angel: The Ascent
Wednesday 23, Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
I’ll be honest: I haven’t seen this movie. But I trust programmer Morgan Hyde to choose a suitably strange screener for Weird Wednesday. Boasting a repentant vampire seeking to quit her day job torturing sinners in hell, Dark Angel also features a sewer setting – one of the best places for grime. Surely you need a little more grime in your daily cinema intake, don’t you? Yes, yes you do. Say thank you to Alamo, Morgan, and the good people at Full Moon Entertainment for this helping of grime. – James Scott
Fusebox Artist Salon
Thursday 24, Canopy
Leave your beret at home for the second installment of the Fusebox Artist Salon series. The genre-defying event unites artists from Fusebox Festivals of years past to generate casual, “unpretentious” conversations about the arts. This intimate dialogue of Latin artistry and identity features performances from Andie Flores and Bobby Pudrido. Self-described “embarrassment artist” Flores dons extravagantly garish costumes in an experimental challenge to the portrayal of feminine, brown bodies. Pudrido redefines being a queer country Tejano through their drag king performances and storytimes. Stop by the open bar for cocktails mixed by Eva Suter of award-winning restaurant L’Oca d’Oro. – Eden Shamy
Austin Oddities Market’s the Odd Ball
Thursday 24, Elysium
Halloween: It’s the Goth Christmas, and so the perfect opportunity to don your favorite attire for a ball … the Odd Ball, presented by those curators of curios and purveyors of the most strange and unusual, Austin Oddities Market. Come be enchanted by vendors of objects magical and mysterious, then succumb to the dark allure of live music, DJ sets, and entertainment most esoteric. – Richard Whittaker
USWNT vs. Iceland
Thursday 24, Q2 Stadium
A video clip of the United States women’s national soccer team belting the Cheetah Girls’ “Strut” on a shuttle packed with Olympians encapsulates the program’s new era under manager Emma Hayes – there’s joy again. The team swiftly atoned for last year’s early FIFA Women’s World Cup exit by earning gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Their first post-Olympics match comes against the No. 13 squad in FIFA’s current world rankings, Iceland. This match also marks a full circle moment of sorts for star forward Mallory Swanson, who tore her left patella tendon at Q2 Stadium during an April 2023 friendly. – Derek Udensi
We Are Fugazi From Washington D.C.
Through October 30, AFS Cinema
“The danger of documentaries is always: archive, archive, talking head.” That’s what Joe Gross – the Austin journalist who literally wrote the book on post-hardcore innovators Fugazi – told the Chronicle he and co-directors Jeff Krulik (Heavy Metal Parking Lot) and Joseph Pattisall (The Legend of Cool “Disco” Dan) were going to avoid when they assembled their video history of the capitol city’s emo revolutionaries. It’s not a concert movie, either. It’s a patchwork of footage captured by the band’s most devoted fans, it’s all kill(tak)er, no filler, just like the post-screening insights provided by Gross. – Richard Whittaker
Austin Film Festival
Through October 31, Downtown Austin
They call it the last stop on the road to the Oscars, and AFF earns that nickname yet again with one of its most loaded lineups yet. Amy Adams is getting awards season buzz for her performance in Nightbitch, as has Pamela Anderson for her career-best work embodying old Las Vegas in The Last Showgirl, while the epic The Brutalist is being called an unmissable experience. But this is the Austin Film Festival, so don’t miss a packed roster of locally made films getting their premieres, including Texas Cult House, The Ego Death of Queen Cecilia, and a contender for this year’s most heartwarming documentary, Deaf Santa Claus. – Richard Whittaker
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 October 18 • 2024.
