On tap this week are classes that speak to your inner child, a dark thriller that could usher in the end of days, a film party, colorful performances and a thespian production set in one of the city's favorite hangouts.
Be sure to click on the links below each event suggestion. You'll find a page filled with helpful intel, like where to eat, drink and shop nearby your final destination, as well as a feature that downloads the deets to your electronic calendar.
Aurora Picture Show's Adult Lego Workshop
I may pretend to be a grownup — sometimes — but the little playful kid in me always takes over when Legos are around. Now envision what could transpire when you mix the construction toy with booze and more booze.
You don't have to imagine anymore. Aurora Picture Show's adult stop-motion animation workshop is promoting adult Lego fun, letting you forge whimsical characters and fantastical settings — whatever is mused by your crafty inventiveness lubricated with adult beverages.
Mildred's Umbrella Theatre Company presents Foxfinder by Dawn King
A Pearson Award Bursary winner and one of the five finalists for the Susan Blackburn Awards last year, Dawn King brings a thriller that's set in a milieu that resembles the zeitgeist of The Crucible — if it were set at the turn of the century.
Local actors Patricia Duran, Michelle Edwards, Bobby Haworth and Kevin Lusignillo awaken the spirit of the playwright's imagination, which challenges the characters to chase after a creature that endangers the future of mankind.
Dark? Yes. But what else would you expect from Mildred's Umbrella Theatre Company?
Houston Arboretum Class: Edible Wild Plants
Mark Vorderbruggen, who calles himself Merriwether the Adventurer, is like a know-it-all boy scout who didn't grow up and who made it a personal mission to become a walking encyclopedia of Texas nature. One of his passions is mastering the ability to identify edible plants that flourish in the wild, telling others how to harvest them and how to best prepare them for consumption.
The research chemist will share his insights in this four-hour indoor/outdoor class, for which you are encouraged to bring comfy walking shoes, bug repellent, water and perhaps a snack or two.
Orange Show and Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow present "Art Car Extravaganza"
The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art launches a new partnership with the Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow that presents screenings of films that have a connection to Houston. The series kicks off with Art Car: The Movie, hosted by co-directors Ford Gunter and Carlton Ahrens of Del Monte Films.
Don't think of this as just going to the movies. A pre-party with the artists at 6 p.m. precedes the film at dusk. No Orange Show gathering is complete without beer — you can thank Saint Arnold Brewing Company for the suds — and food trucks offering local grub.
World Performances presents Tale of Kieu, a Vietnamese epic poem by Nguyen Du
I can't say I know much about Vietnamese culture other than the cuisine. So I am suggesting this Miller Outdoor Theatre performance as an opportunity to learn through a vibrant spectacle that's based on an epic poem penned by Nguyen Du, an 18th century Vietnam seminal versifier who wrote in the ancient script known as Chữ Nôm.
His most famous oeuvre, the Tale of Kieu, finds its inspiration in Confucian principles. Love, betrayal, honor and family tradition render this a juicy, emotional tale of a young woman who sacrifices herself to free her father from the slammer.
The skinny: Saturday and Sunday, 8 p.m.; Miller Outdoor Theatre; admission is free.
Arts smarty pants and in-the-loop thespian lover Nancy Wozny's pick: Horse Head Theatre Company presents The Aliens
Nancy says: "Horse Head Theatre is back, this time with The Aliens by OBIE Award winning playwright Annie Baker, who is all the rage right now on New York and Texas stages. Of course, Horse Head is doing a play that takes place in a coffee show in a coffee shop.
That'd be Boheme Café and Wine Bar. This also happens to be the very place where the company launched during a Cultured Cocktails in 2009.
"Kevin Jones and Horse Head veteran Drake Simpson star in Baker's play about a couple of dudes who appear to be moving in slow motion as they sit around and hang out in the back of a coffee shop. Feels perfect for the end of the summer."
Editor's note: Due to inclement weather that delayed technical rehearsals, the opening of Horse Head Theatre Company's production of The Aliens has been rescheduled for the following week. The dates below have been adjusted to reflect the change.
The skinny: Aug. 22 through Sept. 7; Boheme Café and Wine Bar; tickets are $20, $10 for students.
Viet Quoc Dau, left, as Ma Giam Sinh and Kieu Anh as Tu Ba in The Tale of Kieu at Miller Outdoor Theatre.
Sante's Garden Room is decorated with two olive trees.
Photo by Chris Furia
