Five Arty Things to Do This Weekend: Oct. 20-22

But, no, we jest.

That is, you certainly may read this list aloud in the voice of Michael Caine, if you wish. If you can. But you can do anything, pretty much, can’t you? This is still America, after all. Never mind those chem trails. Pay no attention to that rufous-tinted Pussy-Grabber-In-Chief. But enjoy your weekend, insh’allah, with these events:

1) Aaaaaaaand see how we segue from an oblique Batman reference to pointing out that this Saturday night is the debut of that new Barney Miller Dark Knight show at ColdTowne Theater. Which comedy offering we told you about in this recent blogpost.

2) Sometimes, dance-based performances are best enjoyed when they’re part of a whole festival of the kinetic artform. That’s certainly true this weekend, as the film-enhanced Fall Dance Festival from Chaddick Dance Theater takes over First Street Studio on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – and boasts a solo performance by Ellen Bartel among the sharp displays of movement.

3) You feel like indulging your taste for visual art this weekend, as a sort of warm-up to the vivid juggernaut of the imminent East Austin Studio Tour? You’re in luck, because all the different galleries in Flatbed Press World HQ are having opening receptions this Friday night – that’s Recspec and Camiba and Shoal Creek and Flatbed itself … and then, on Saturday, there’s the triumphant return of Northern-Southern Gallery and a new show at Art.Science.Gallery. But, oh, you wanna stay all Westside that night instead? Suggestion: Chris Guarino’s “Addressing the Melancholy” at Art on 5th.

4) You know those Rude Mechs don’t purvey any ordinary theatrical events, which is why their collaboration with groundswell theatre has piqued our interest. Lydia Blaisdell’s Bear Eats Bear is a sort of interactive, audio-guided, performance-spiked, afternoon walking tour through parts of Austin – through parts of a magical-realist landscape intersecting with the city – directed by Katie Van Winkle.

5) Or maybe you just wanna kind of hang out of an evening, just chill at some local pub – along with the local science-fiction crowd anticipating November’s World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio? Because that’s what Rebecca Schwarz and her NoConBarCon friends will be doing on Saturday, and you’re invited to join in: at that friendly Spokesman joint, to be precise.