Carla Sosenko In Conversation With Jenni Kaye
Thursday 12, First Light Books
Carla Sosenko’s debut memoir, I’ll Look So Hot in a Coffin: And Other Thoughts I Used to Have About My Body, situates her life at a series of intersections. The book chronicles Sosenko’s life with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome and reflects on the impacts her condition has had on her self-image and mental health. Sosenko draws out the contradictions of pretty privilege and fatphobia as she reflects critically on the social and internal forces that impacted her, her relationships, and her career as a journalist. Local filmmaker and creative programmer Jenni Kaye joins Sosenko for what is sure to be a thought-provoking conversation about identity and embodiment. – Caroline Drew
Wet Hot American Summer
Thursday 12, Swim Club
We’re officially in the time of year when if you go outside at all, it’s prudent to be in or at least near water you can plunge into. Thankfully Swim Club is hosting movie nights every Thursday this summer with no pass required, so you can not only take a necessary dip, but be entertained and fed as well. It kicks off with throwback summer camp satire Wet Hot American Summer, a 2001 cult classic with an ensemble cast of stellar comic actors like Janeane Garofolo, Ken Marino, David Hyde Pierce, Amy Poehler, and Paul Rudd. Take a dip, sip a Southside Cooler, and indulge in a lobster slider poolside as you try to forget how ungodly hot this summer will be. – Kat McNevins
Lance Myers: “Frequencies in the Static Bloom”
Through July 6, Wally Workman Gallery
Lance Myers’ previous work as an animator (Space Jam, A Scanner Darkly) inherently involved movement. With this exhibition he slows things down to a complete stop. The still lifes and portraits are a study in stillness, but there’s life in every brushstroke with flowers bursting with color and figures with proportions that are almost imperceptibly exaggerated. Throw some insects into the mix and you have a gently surreal and passionate display. Just because there isn’t any action, doesn’t mean you can’t be moved. – James Renovitch
Lucky Stiff
Through June 29, the Rosette
Resident theatre company of the Baker Center’s floral-named stage, Beyond August Productions goes zany this summer season with a rom-com musical. After Harry Witherspoon learns he’s getting big buckaroos – or pounds, as they say in the play’s setting of merry old London – following an estranged uncle’s demise, his life gets turned upside down thanks to a particularly “zany” clause requiring he escort said dead unc all the way to Monte Carlo. Failure means no money for ol’ Harry, but success involves a whole lotta hijinks including weirdos, schemes, and even true love! – James Scott
Fraud Basics
Thursday 12, Carver Branch Library
For me and most people with a phone, it’s commonplace to ignore texts about unpaid toll bills and emails announcing “You’ve just won a free laptop!” as scams. But with artificial intelligence changing the way scammers trick people, it’s important to get educated on fraud. At this free informational session, the AARP Fraud Watch Network explains common tactics used by scammers and how to keep your data and devices safe. As the older set are especially vulnerable to scams, learning what fraud looks like can help. – Julianna Plewes
Michael Velliquette: “The Distance Within Us”
Through August 22, UMLAUF Sculpture Garden + Museum
Slow down, stroll the gardens, enjoy a specialty cocktail, and see sculptures nestled in the green gardens at Umlauf this summer. Velliquette’s solo exhibition shows off his largest presentation of sculptures made of paper and powder-coated metal. These works invite visitors to take a moment to breathe and focus on the present moment, with an awareness of the shared human experience. “It’s about reaching inward and outward at once, and the ways that symbolic forms can guide us toward greater awareness and connection,” Velliquette said. – Sammie Seamon
The Red Shoes + Black Swan
Thursday 12, Paramount Theatre
Insanity and obsession en pointe as the Summer Classic Film Series brings together two of the greatest and most disturbing movies set in the body-breaking and mind-wrecking world of professional ballet. First, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger rewrite Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of a dancer who can never stop into a Technicolor horror, as Moira Shearer is driven to madness and death by her three passions: the love of a composer, the promise of stardom, and dance. Then Natalie Portman implodes in a dangerous pas de deux with Mila Kunis in Darren Aronofsky’s twist on Swan Lake. [Editor’s note: Special for this screening, local drag icon Louisianna Purchase delivers a dreamy performance before the double feature.] – Richard Whittaker
H.M.S. Pinafore
Friday 13 – Sunday 22, The MacTheatre at McCallum Fine Arts Academy
If you’ve got some idea that Gilbert & Sullivan are stodgy, or only for posh people, think again: Their Victorian-era comic operas are genuinely witty, and musical theatre fans will recognize the genre’s building blocks in their collaborations. (Specifically, W.S. Gilbert wrote the libretti, and Arthur Sullivan composed the music; see Mike Leigh’s most excellent Topsy-Turvy for the story of their long-running creative partnership.) For their summer production (in their 49th year!), Gilbert & Sullivan Austin takes on H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor. Even if you’ve no clue who G&S are, you’ll likely recognize “For He Is an Englishman” … and spend the rest of the day happily humming it, too. – Kimberley Jones
Friday the 13th Pt. VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Friday 13, We Luv Video
Much like I did after graduating high school, our old friend Jason Voorhees is taking a trip to da Big Apple. His high seas slasher antics provide the perfect gore snore for the marijuana-cooked cranium, which is who We Luv is catering to with their summer series “Wet and Mild.” Selected screeners emphasize a damp and unserious vibe for the discerning stoner – who’ll find the drenched figure of Mr. Voorhees a pleasing presence. Show up softened by a pre-movie treat and enjoy the free popcorn, WLV membership specials, and summer-camp violence in the city. – James Scott
Tweens Create: Plaster Casting With Molds
Friday 13, African American Cultural and Heritage Facility
Anyone informed about our local art history felt their interest piqued by the mention of plaster casts. “What ho,” you might exclaim, “but isn’t that the method used by the one and only Elisabet Ney, of the Elisabet Ney Museum?” Correct, intrepid reader! This class – aimed at those between eight and 12 years old – is part of a large program from the Ney called Breaking the Mold: Mobile Hands-On Art Crates. These crates were created to connect Ney herself to three contemporary women artists, with this class specifically inspired by local Tammie Rubin. Tweens will experiment with plaster casting via custom-made molds, and all supplies are provided. – James Scott
The Dark Market
Friday 13, the Vortex
As an outcast due to my preference for a 6pm sunset, I am often derided in the town square for wishing it were dark, like, earlier. Lucky me – and all of my fellow shadowy someones – that there’s the Dark Market, where vendors, food makers, and many more gather to celebrate that lovely low-lit vibe. This edition brings about a dark academia theme, which calls to mind a library window seat gazing out at rain or pushing your friend, who is based on the guy who wrote American Psycho, off a cliff with five of your other friends only for the murderous secret to then turn you all against each other. (Donna Tartt, you will always be semi-famous to me.) Check darkmarketatx on Instagram for the full vendor list – as well as further vibe-building suggestions. – James Scott
Austin Monthly’s Burger Bash
Saturday 14, Central Machine Works
Where will I be this weekend? Sampling 22 burgers, of course. As the Chronicle’s resident burger correspondent (again, follow @burgertourofamerica), I must thank my fellow journalists over at Austin Monthly for throwing the third annual Burger Bash, where experts from JewBoy, NADC, Bub’s ATX, Lou’s, and more offer their best meat sandwiches all in one place. Music from DJ Sunset Canyon, line dancing, and burger-adjacent sides (including fries from JABS, ice cream from Lick, and wine from Priest Ranch Winery) make this the perfect Father’s Day event. – Carys Anderson
Friday the 13th (1980)
Friday 13, Alamo Village, South Lamar, Slaughter Lane & Mueller
Many horror movies start as a creator’s attempt to communicate some larger theme that interests them, like Tobe Hooper tackling government distrust in Chain Saw or Wes Craven digging into the teen sleep shortage in Nightmare. But perhaps the most pure origin place is where Camp Crystal Lake began, with director Sean S. Cunningham wanting to make a “roller-coaster ride.” Yet this slasher series debut is maybe the least theme-park schlock centric of the franchise, with no hockey mask, ironic kills, or New York ferry ride that later come to characterize the date-dependent features. No, no: The first is just a solid scream fest with a fun twist that I urge longtime fans not to spoil for first viewers. All that connects the 12-film franchise is that perfect scary score: ch ch ch ah ah ah… – James Scott
City Theatre presents Tartuffe, or the Hypocrite
Through June 29, Genesis Creative Collective
Get this – a priest advising a high-ranking family is actually corrupt and trying to take all their possessions for himself, all while being a rampant sex-pest toward every woman around. Shockingly, it’s not actually a breaking news story! But wowza: It sure could be. This French classic may be over 350 years old, but the story’s fresh as a daisy. It’s hard not to find resonant moments of recognition in corrupt con-man Tartuffe pulling the wool over hapless nobleman Orgon’s eyes. How easy it is for the wealthy to swallow comfortable lies. It’s just like Molière (and high school Cat) always said: “Man, I can assure you, is a nasty creature.” – Cat McCarrey
The Austin Flea: Pet Palooza
Saturday 14, Still Austin
Despite having the word “flea” in its name, you and your pooch have nothing to fear from this market of local artists, vendors, and makers. The Austin Flea’s pet lovers’ market will surely have something for your faunal friend – dog, cat, fish, rodent, reptile, and bird alike. People and their pets will enjoy a day of shopping and community, accessories, treats, and, specifically for the humans, whiskey, courtesy of the event hosts at Still Austin. – Julianna Plewes
Zilker Eagle One-Year Celebration
Saturday 14, Zilker Train Depot
For those of us who love riding the rails, 2019 to 2024 were grim years, because they were the first time in nearly 60 years that Zilker Park didn’t have a mini train in motion. Luckily, the relaunched Zilker Eagle Mini Train started circling the track in June of 2024 – now fully electric – and it’s that anniversary that’s being celebrated Saturday. The free party runs 10am to noon and promises free popsicles from GoodPop, face painting and balloons from Parties by Kara, train activities with Painting Pandas, a special Zilker Eagle ice cream creation by Amy’s Ice Creams, and a whole lot more. – Kimberley Jones
Captivating Colors: A Group Exhibition
Through August 15, Art for the People Gallery
There are entire college courses and certification programs for color theory, aka color science, delving into how colors interact and affect our perceptions and emotions. Fascinating stuff, really – part of why so many restaurants use warm colors like red, yellow, and orange in their branding is due to their tendency to stimulate the appetite. For this group exhibition featuring over 40 Austin artists, Art for the People showcases pieces where “color is not just aesthetic but an active agent shaping meaning and mood.” Visit with artists at a noon-5pm opening celebration on Saturday, June 14, or catch the exhibit sometime this summer and experience color in a new light. – Kat McNevins
Blanton All Day Summer Dance Series: Bachata
Saturday 14, Blanton Museum
Second Saturdays at the Blanton are always an all-day affair packed with culture and local flavor, and this one has the added distinction of opening the Summer Dance Series. Activities start with family-friendly storytimes and crafts, followed by several opportunities for deep dives into artworks with guided interpretation. In the afternoon, DJ Guapea turns it up a notch and instructors from Planet Music Austin lead lively instruction on bachata, a form of dance originating in the Dominican Republic influenced by bolero and merengue. Practice your moves on the dance floor until 7, and the galleries stay open until 8. – Kat McNevins
Changarrito Cart: Magaly Cantú
Saturday 14 – Sunday 15 & Saturday 21 – Sunday 22, Mexic-Arte Museum
Conceptualized by artist Máximo González in 2004, the Changarrito Cart as it appears in front of Mexic-Arte is an alternative space for art vending. According to the museum, this phrase is a combo of Mexico City slang for a small retail store (“changarro”) and the suffix “-ando,” which Mexic-Arte summarizes as “indicating the act or action of hanging out at a ‘changarro’ with the featured artist.” This month features Fort-Worth based Magaly Cantú, whose ceramic work, printmaking, and drawings all play on her girlhood as a Latina and, the artist says, “exemplifies an exchange of values and the divided relationship they create between immigrant mothers and their Americanized children.” – James Scott
Alice in Wonderland
Saturday 14, Harry Ransom Center
Whether or not you’ve had the chance yet to fall through the rabbit hole of the Harry Ransom Center’s current exhibition, “Words and Wonder: Rediscovering Children’s Literature,” you’ll have a thumping good time at this free screening of Disney’s 1951 animated classic, Alice in Wonderland. More purely pleasurable than the doomy 2010 live-action remake, and less eyebrow-raising than the origin story behind Lewis Carroll’s source novels, Uncle Walt’s vision of Alice under ground is sweetly nonsensical and as spry as the White Rabbit, who is late, late for a very important date. Like the polite party guest you are, you’ll be sure to RSVP online first. – Kimberley Jones
“Collective Minds”
Through July 26, Flatbed Studio
At Flatbed, printmakers of all styles, inspirations, techniques, and levels of experience find a home for their expression. Collective Minds, their annual in-house showcase, celebrates the collaboration and support that connects 22 diverse artists and staff members working out of the community studio. Get a feel for Flatbed’s 36-year legacy as Austin’s premier home for print and the dynamic spirit that keeps their work contemporary at the showcase’s opening event Saturday, as you meet local printmakers and admire their recent works. – Caroline Drew
“Neon Range: Pop Visions of the New West” Artist Talk
Saturday 14, West Chelsea Contemporary
Hey there, Miles Glynn and Cyrus Walker – turns out this town IS big enough for the both of you! Which makes sense, considering the wide-open spaces and epic mythologies in their Southwest-flavored art. Both Glynn and Walker’s work takes inspiration from a pristine image of pulp paperback cowboys, midcentury advertisements, and halcyon Western films. But these matinee idols morph into wry takes. Marfa artist Glynn’s collages show scarred silhouettes or Warhol weirdness. Walker’s horseback heroes feel ripped from comic pages, giant colorful takes on panels of epic action and deep despair. Together, their “New West” gives a thoughtful spin on a country classic. – Cat McCarrey
“The Floating World: Tokyo to Texas”
Through September 7, Neill-Cochran House Museum
Step into a colorful space filled with music, dance, and Daryl Howard’s exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints. The Central Texas artist will be displaying his ukiyo-e inspired collection of surreal landscapes and vibrant florals. There will be Japanese appetizers, drinks, and cocktails for viewers to enjoy. Make sure to enter the raffle to win a $150 gift card, good for all Uchi restaurants in Austin. Traditional taiko drummers are scheduled to perform for this celebration of Japanese and Japanese-American culture, free and open to the public. – Sammie Seamon
“Big Pour”
Through July 12, MASS Gallery
Collaboration’s the name of the artistic game here, with the newest exhibition at MASS being a three-way split showcase of Erin Miller, Audrey Blood, and Alexandre Pépin. Their pieces find shared experiences in the process of paper-making and reflect their navigation of “vulnerability, trust, and transformation through making.” Displayed alongside their separate works will be community-made pulp paintings, which were created during a MASS-hosted community paper-making day. Opening reception’s this Saturday, so take a page from these entangled artistes and invite all your friends. – James Scott
No Kings, Kick Out the Clowns
Saturday 14, Texas Capitol
Never say Texas misses an opportunity to cause a (nonviolent) ruckus, as this weekend heralds a protest on the Capitol lawn. Organized by the nonprofit No Kings to take place not only here in ATX but across Central Texas and beyond, there’ll be sign-making, community action, and “Parody and pageantry.” Expect many circus-related lines to be delivered during the chants portion of the protest, and bring your own suggestions. “No more clowning around,” maybe, or “Honk off of our rights”… eh. I’ll leave the slogans to the professionals. Remember: Bring water; wear comfortable shoes, layers, and a well-fitted mask; and stick together, even when certain overpaid city employees try to break you apart. – James Scott
Kevin James: Owls Don’t Walk
Saturday 14, ACL Live at Moody Theater
Whether you know him for popular sitcom The King of Queens, cult film Paul Blart: Mall Cop, or even more recently the inexplicable meme of him smiling coyly at the camera, the impressively timeless Kevin James has been making generations laugh for decades. Those laughs make a pit stop in Austin for James’ Owls Don’t Walk comedy tour. We doubt he will, but if James comes out on stage on a Segway, we will literally squeal with delight. – Blake Leschber
Erika Gill: Lone Yellow Flower Book Tour
Saturday 14, Monkeywrench Books
Hitting North Loop for their first non-hometown stop, author and editor of Alternative Milk Magazine Erika Gill promotes their new poetry collection Lone Yellow Flower. In this debut, Gill covers intimate themes through bold verse, such as mental health, selfhood, and queerness. They’re joined on the Monkeywrench stage by Dallas-based author SG Huerta (Good Grief), whose newsletter “Trans Poetica” covers all things trans/literary. – James Scott
“Terra Forma”
Through July 19, Co-Lab Projects
This group exhibition featuring 10 local artists reimagines cartography as a skill endemic to artists, not scientists. Before the 17th century, maps were painted according to bodies, the show argues. These bodies were a lived, agreed-upon experience of a place not bound by data-driven management, the purpose of which is solely “to help outsiders drive through a land in which they had no real interest – except for locating resources to be exploited.” That’s Co-lab quoting from the book that lent the exhibition its name, Terra Forma: A Book of Speculative Maps by Frédérique Aït-Touati, Alexandra Arénes, and Axelle Grégoire. In an age of at once increasingly policed borders and forced migration due to a changing Earth, the show argues that “humankind is no longer solely in control.” – Lina Fisher
Showgirls
Saturday 14 & Monday 16 – Wednesday 18, Alamo South Lamar, Slaughter Lane, Lakeline & Mueller
I will not entertain the ironic enjoyers of this film any longer. Paul Verhoeven’s devastating dig into the sexist swamp that is American capitalism is unironically Good. It’s a Good Movie. Yeah, okay: It’s funny when Gina Gershon says doggy chow – consider that this is intentional. Consider that Verhoeven, a man whose work has always leaned satirical, might know the story’s over the top and that is the point – that overstimulation allows our conscience an excuse to leave the room so we see Nomi as a fool rather than a tragic figure. Also, I think Kyle MacLachlan does a pretty great job being a guy who sucks in this. This plays as part of Queer Film Theory 101, the screening series – NOT the Highball show. – James Scott
When You Get to the Forest
Sunday 15, Dimension Gallery Sculpture Park
One-man animation studio Eric Power has done samurai epics (Path of Blood) and zombie horror (Attack of the Demons), but the Austin filmmaker’s latest feature is a family-friendly wonder, all created in cut paper. A fantastical tale of a lost hiker, a magical forest, and a talking cat that mixes the heart of Miyazaki and the absurdity of Lewis Carroll celebrates its recent release on Blu-ray through Cartuna with this special free screening. – Richard Whittaker
Ms. 45
Sunday 15, AFS Cinema
Your favorite independent local bookstore and occasional DIY music venue Alienated Majesty is pairing with your favorite nonprofit local arthouse theatre AFS Cinema to bring together two of life’s most fulfilling hobbies – female revenge and poetry. In just two hours, you’ll witness feminist murder onscreen and enjoy the poetry of the film’s star Zoë Lund. The exploitation classic naturally comes to a bloody denouement, and the outrage and shock is included in the ticket price. [Editor’s note: Alienated Majesty also offers a curated pop-up bookshop in the AFS lobby, if you wanna grab a tome or two.] – Levi Langley
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 13 • 2025.