The Show! Austin Features Locally Grown Film and Comedy Every Month

The Austinot loves supporting local creatives. We have covered film competitions, art museums, and more live entertainment than you can shake a stick at. Learning about The Show! Austin, however, was a special treat. The Show! is an hub for Austin-only entertainment. If you love film, comedy, or anything in between, then The Show! is a must-see.

You may not know this, but Austin, Texas is home to some of the best entertainers in the country. It makes sense if you think about it. Austin is weird. Austin is creative. Austin is educated. And we’ve still got that Texas “Come and Take It!” spirit. Roll all that up with some cameras and a boom mic, and you get our distinct anti-Hollywood entertainment industry. We create things Los Angeles will not.

The Show! is a showcase for this industry. On the second Sunday of every month, Austinites fill Spiderhouse Ballroom. They buy craft beer at the bar and settle into the booths and lounges that dot the room. Everybody laughs and talks about what talent they expect to be showcased this month. Once everyone is comfortable, the mics heat up and visitors meet some of the most talented people in town.

Our October 2013 host was Owen Egerton, a multi-talented writer and performer. He is one of Austin’s top comic performers, and has been voted as Austin’s favorite author three years in a row. You need to check him out. His razor-sharp wit kept us laughing all night long.

When I say that The Show! displays some of Austin’s best talent, I mean it. I was impressed by the quality of work I saw on the night I attended.

Three major fields of entertainment were showcased: film, animation and comedy. The event lasted from early evening to 11:30 at night. All of the acts brought something original and unexpected to The Show!

Jesse Dayton, the director of the zombie flick Zombex, gave us a preview of his work. Jesse got his chops working on The Devil’s Rejects with Rob Zombie.

The animation portion of the evening blew me away. I don’t watch much of it on my own time. There are only so many hours in a day, and I’ve wasted too many of my growing years watching cartoons. Now I stay away from the entire genre like an addictive habit. What I saw at the show, however, may just cause me to relapse.

Eric Power is an award-winning animator and film maker. He has created music videos, feature films, and worked on the wildly popular film Waking Life.

Do yourself a favor and press play on the film below. It’s a sample of a project Eric made completely out of paper. A samurai film – out of paper! PAPER! His attention to detail and color is second to none.

Strippy Toons, an animation studio here in town, showcased a couple of animations as well. Strippy’s work reminded me a lot of the late night Adult Swim style cartoons I watched as a teenager. Every clip is short, to the point, and displays the off-the-wall humor you can only get from Strippy Toons. Click below to see what I mean.

Comedy was well represented at The Show! through the sketch troupe Your Terrific Neighbors. I enjoyed the troupe’s quick back-and-forth banter and willingness to go all in comedically. By “all in,” I mean that their skit involved rewriting history, a man turning into a fart, and general fearlessness of being weird. Such a line is hard for comedians to toe, but these folks pulled it off.

Like every showcase I watched that night, Your Terrific Neighbors hung around and chatted with the host for a while. This was my favorite part of the evening. The audience had a chance to ask questions about the performances and films. It was a chance to get an inside look into each industry.

See for Yourself

I loved my time at The Show! Every Austinite with a love for film or comedy should take the time to see it. The lights turn on every second Sunday at the Spiderhouse Ballroom.

Better yet, the price is an even $5.00 if you order online. That’s an entire evening of fun and talent for less than a meal at McDonald’s. Get plugged in by liking The Show! on Facebook or buying tickets for next month’s performances (November 2013 tickets available soon).

If you would like to learn more about any of the featured entertainers, please click their name below. They are great!

• Owen Egerton!
• Zombex!
• Eric Power!
• Strippy Toons!
• Your Terrific Neighbors!
• Rudy Ximenez Photography

 

@DustyVegas asks:

Have you ever been to the Show!? What did you think?

 

Disclosure: I received a press pass to The Show! in October 2013 for the purpose of covering the event. All opinions are my own.