Shrewd Productions presents the first world premiere of local playwright Briandaniel Oglesby. This "hilarious and campy, but heartfelt" play deals with the very real themes of isolation and loneliness, and the bravery involved in searching for real connection in our disconnected world. Directed by Braxton Rae, starring Dane Parker, Jen Brown, Trey Deason, Shannon Grounds, and Andy Shaw.

Small Steps

See the interior of Hyde Park Theatre transformed into an art gallery for a show by a dissident Chinese conceptual artist, a man who was imprisoned and tortured for an art piece in which he organized an imaginary protest. Or maybe that's what they're doing, as HPT presents this intricate, puzzling Christopher Chen drama – under the direction of Ken Webster, with performances by Norman Tran, Esther Park, Rebecca Robinson, and Robert Pierson.

Caught

See the interior of Hyde Park Theatre transformed into an art gallery for a show by a dissident Chinese conceptual artist, a man who was imprisoned and tortured for an art piece in which he organized an imaginary protest. Or maybe that's what they're doing, as HPT presents this intricate, puzzling Christopher Chen drama – under the direction of Ken Webster, with performances by Norman Tran, Esther Park, Rebecca Robinson, and Robert Pierson. And, look: Here's Bob Abelman's review of the production.

The singer's dear friends, aSymmetry, will be performing on the aerial lyra, accompanying his hopeful songs about finding love and meaning after prostate cancer.

Earl "Pottymouth" Arbuckle and the Sirens of Titan

Inspired by James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son and Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, Zell Miller III uses hip-hop culture, jazz aesthetics movement, and spoken word to weave an authentic tapestry offering a picture of what it means to be a person of color in this southern city. This new show is "a therapeutic exhale that documents growing up Black in Austin, Texas," and "a love letter to cultural landmarks that have been erased from the city's consciousness, Chronicles also exposes the city's dark past. Famed photographer Ivan Millers's black-and-white images create a striking visual environment, and Miller's longtime musical collaborator Thomas "Hitman" Wheeler on percussion creates a funky sonic landscape.

Chronicles of an Indigenous Offspring

Inspired by James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son and Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, Zell Miller III uses hip-hop culture, jazz aesthetics movement, and spoken word to weave an authentic tapestry offering a picture of what it means to be a person of color in this Southern city. This new show is "a therapeutic exhale that documents growing up Black in Austin, Texas," and "a love letter to cultural landmarks that have been erased from the city's consciousness, Chronicles also exposes the city's dark past. Famed photographer Ivan Millers's black-and-white images create a striking visual environment, and Miller's longtime musical collaborator Thomas "Hitman" Wheeler on percussion creates a funky sonic landscape.

On the 20th anniversary of her father’s death, Austin theater artist and storyteller Joy Cunningham began her gratitude project. The idea was to post stories from her life — often featuring her late parents and brother — in part to practice gratitude, in part to keep alive the stories of those she had lost. Six weeks later, COVID hit. For the next year, almost daily, Joy wrote a gratitude and posted it on Facebook; her hilarious, moving, often astonishing life stories became not just an anchor for her but a lifeline for many hundreds of others. Now, after 38 years, Joy is leaving Austin. Come see her off in her thank-you to Austin and fundraiser for Hyde Park Theatre and ScriptWorks, in which she will read and perform some of her best gratitudes.

Gratitudes with Joy: A Farewell to Austin

This staged reading, produced by Broad Theatre Company, is part of the play's developmental process in anticipation for a 2024 world premier. It's a play that centers around five young teenage girls on the night of, and day after, the biggest high school race of their lives.

Staged Reading: Hungry Teenage Track Stars

The Latino Comedy Project's jefe grande, Adrian Villegas, brings back his dynamite one-man show – a note-perfect performance set against the spectacle of a tumultuous national election, a sprawling and irreverent tour through a single day in the barrio.

Barrio Daze

Award-winning actress/storyteller Bernadette Nason reprises her role as everyone in this critically-acclaimed one-woman version of Charles Dickens' classic, bringing vivid life to more than 30 characters.

A Christmas Carol

Some of Austin's finest singers, burlesque babes, drag divas, and comical clowns celebrate and skewer the holidays in this twisted delight from Shrewd Productions – a show that's a little bit naughty but very, very, very nice.

Xmas Unwrapped: A Holiday Cabaret

Austin’s longest-running and most beloved performance festival returns for its 29th year! This unique collaboration between Hyde Park Theatre and ScriptWorks attracts actors, artists, poets, dancers, and performers of all types throughout Texas and beyond. (Over the past quarter-century, performers have traveled from as far as Chang Ung University in Seoul, South Korea, to perform an adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.) FronteraFest includes two separate components: the Short Fringe (four different performances of 25 minutes each, every night) runs Jan. 16-Feb. 17 at Hyde Park Theatre; and Mi Casa es Su Teatro happens only on Sat., Feb. 10, primarily in private Austin homes. Look for the Short Fringe to thrill you with talented Fest regulars Zell Miller III, Hank Schwemmer, Jennine DOC Kreuger, Tristan Mercado, Janet Maykus and Tom Booker, Teresa Johnson and Gloria C. Adams, Collin Carrothers, Pamela Paek, and the Knuckleball Now.

FronteraFest

I have nothing but respect for my sovereign ruler of Texas, H-E-B. Setting a play there sounds like a stroke of genius. A few lucky souls may have been inducted into the tale of turbulent grocery visits at FronteraFest, where playwright Raul Garza debuted this as a short play to great acclaim. But the extended version is now on the market, getting deeper into the nitty-gritty lives of three different grocery store people. Who knows what will happen, but whatever does, I’m sure H-E-B will take good care of any physical or emotional needs. – Cat McCarrey