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The Vortex Tapas Series 2021 begins with a new work-in-progress production of Valoneecia Tolbert’s Tales of a Blerd Ballerina. Presented both as live broadcasts each evening and with limited in-person seating opportunities at the VORTEX, this play centers the Blerd (black nerd) experience, embracing diverse communities and generating vital conversations around black identity, pulling concepts and style from the Afro-Diaspora and Jazz Aesthetic within stories of growing up as a Blerd child of the Eighties. Directed by Florinda Bryant.

Wait, live theatre? And it's outside? And it's a murder mystery? And it's based in the, uh, let's call it the Dunder-Mifflinverse? Yes! The Paramount presents Bob and Tobly McSmith's immersive theatrical diversion in which characters from "The Office" will journey with you along five walkable locations Downtown as they "use their keen detective skills to find clues, catch red herrings, plant evidence, and lock up the Scranton Strangler."

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas is bringing glitz and glamour to their annual fundraiser. The goal is to raise funds to put 80 kids into a caring match with an adult mentor, and you can participate from home by donating, forming or joining a fundraising team, and via online activities including a "Golden Age of Hollywood" costume contest.

Streamed live from KMFA’s new Draylen Mason Music Studio, the genre-blurring string quartet Invoke alongside wildly creative Thomas Echols will fashion a lush musical journey with guitar, strings, and electronics.

Filmed at the historic Scottish Rite Theater and set to Frédéric Chopin’s 24 Preludes for solo piano, Stephen Mills' fantastic new dancework centers around the tradition of a "ghost light" left on stage at night to keep the ghosts from haunting, the filmed performance imagining ghosts coming out to dance through the night, returning to the rafters before dawn.

An afternoon of shopping, socializing, and brunching with Eastside Pop Up at their newest venue, nestled in a wooded grove, with local artisans, makers, and vintage collectors, including bites by Ranch Hand and Pueblo Viejo and bevs from Armadillo Den. All-ages until 4pm; masks required.

Shrewd Productions presents this virtual world premiere of Eva Suter’s sci-fi re-envisioning of Shakespeare's Othello, depicting "a desolate, Central Texas inhabited solely by women after a catastrophic war has eradicated the male population. With the threat of another war and a new romance quickly unfolding before them, five women bound by the tragedy must entrust their lives to one another in order to save themselves and humanity." (Well, damn – count us in on that action, tyvm.) Directed by Rudy Ramirez, starring Ellie McBride, Hayley Armstrong, Elizabeth Mason, Emily Rankin, and Taylor Flanagan. Note: Click here to view the original trailer for the show.

How far would you go for The Good Life? Listen: 20-something couple Jules and Ash and their gamer neighbors Devon and Chris are trapped in an unending cycle of late rent, mounting debt, and day-old pizza. Across from their shitty apartment complex is Natatorium, a premier gated community full of gleaming mansions, sparkling pools, and possibilities ripe for the taking. You will help decide the fate of these would-be thieves as they reach for a shinier life – even if that means taking down a mega-rich corporate asshole or two along the way.: Intrigued? This new show is from improvised-music conductor Kenzie Slottow and director Kaci Beeler in collaboration with Density512 and American Berserk Theatre. So, OK, now we know the premise, and we can trust it'll be done well. Also, "Natatorium pushes the limits of virtual performance technology to combine a chamber ensemble of six musicians with a 10-person cast of improvising actors." And the cast and crew will perform live from Austin and six other U.S. cities, with each night a unique, unrepeatable experience. So this, we reckon, will be one of those online livestream things that are totally worth seeing, not just a theatrical stopgap but another of those odd good things to come out of the pandemic, tempting us to say "Hey – thanks, 'ronas!" even as we continue to kick the virus's ass. Note: This show features adult language and themes of violence.

Street Corner Arts presents a livestreamed production of this new dark comedy produced specifically for the virtual medium. Listen: "When the Public Works Director of a major city confesses to a horrible crime, a team of spin doctors are brought in at the last possible second to pull off a tough assignment: prepare the Mayor’s top aide for a crucial news interview mid-pandemic, distance City Hall from the controversy, and point the public’s attention elsewhere. And do it entirely over video-conferencing." Spenser Davis wrote and directs this modern thriller that's expertly embodied by Zac Carr, Michael Galvan, Carlo Lorenzo Garcia, Natalie Garcia, Jason Graf, Kelsey Mazak, Mike Ooi, Shariba Rivers, and Andrea Skola Summers – with realtime screen management by Morgan Brochu. And, look: Here's a trailer for the show!

New-school barbecue meets old-school handmade pastries as Kendall Melton and Sawyer Lewis present this pop-up at the L&L outpost for two days only. What does that mean? It means a brilliant combination of bready goodness and mouthwatering 'cue, is what it means. Specifically: The Frank, a croissant filled with pork sausage, American cheese, dijon, and sauerkraut; The Brian, a puff pastry filled with macaroni & cheese, barbecue sauce, and brisket; The Francophile, a puff pastry galette topped with crispy hashbrowns, leeks, whole hog, creme fraiche, and caviar; and, finally, The Bonjour Y'all, a barbacoa kolache topped with white onion, cilantro, and chimichurri. Good Gawd, citizen! Maybe don't miss this stuff, hey?