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Photo courtesy of Justin Willman

Magician and comedian Justin Willman has cemented himself as one of today’s most prolific entertainers. In 2018, Willman premiered his six-episode magic series on Netflix, Magic For Humans with Justin Willman. In the series, Willman brings his skills as a magician to the strange and misunderstood subcultures of America, while incorporating his disarming demeanor into street magic and social experiments that will boggle the mind.

Prior to Magic for Humans, Willman was known for his multiple appearances on The Tonight Show, Ellen, and Conan. He also performed live at the White House for the Obama Family.

Photo courtesy of Redrum Fear Park

Redrum Fear Park

Visitors to Redrum Fear Park will descend into madness with unimaginable scares and innovative ghastliness. It features four haunted attractions, including Beyond the Silver Screen, Greatest Horror Show on Earth, Deadwood Asylum, and Lazer Fury, as well as two live theatrical performances. It also offers live music, outdoor seating, food, outside crowd actors, merchandise, and more.

Redrum Fear Park is located on actual haunted grounds at 1800 E Hwy 90 Alt, Richmond, TX 77406.

Image courtesy of Teatrx

Teatrx presents La Vida Es Cortos/Life Is Shorts Festival

Teatrx's annual La Vida Es Cortos festival encapsulates Hispanic Heritage Month by exploring rich and inspiring short stories through live theatre and cinema.

TEATRX will produce two plays: Cafecito by Marielle Vizcarra, which depicts a ladies’ night of poker and drinking interrupted by a ghostly visit, and Arpilleras by Justin P. Lopez, in which a Chilean matriarch processes her husband's disappearance by sewing arpilleras, small handmade pieces of fabric, but her daughter still tries desperately to search for answers.

Adam Castaneda’s Pilot Dance Project is back with the dance theatre production of Jarabe by Adriana Domínguez, a play that explores a daughter’s memories of her mother through Folklorico dancing. Theatre artist and TSU professor Rosarito Rodríguez-González will make her TEATRX directing debut after acting in the festival in 2021 by directing her own adaptation of Iván Brave’s novel Awake and Asleep. And finally, the Spanish language theatre collective Teatro Maktub will use satire and comedy in Café Deluxe by Doris Ramos to examine how smartphones affect human interaction and behavior.

The festival will showcase a diverse lineup of short films by independent filmmakers from around the US and Latin America. The lineup will include short dance films to provide a multidisciplinary experience. Following every performance, audiences will vote for their favorite short film and the winners will compete during the final performance for the chance to be named “LVEC 2023 Audience Favorite Film.”

This year the festival will also provide programming for young audiences by adding La Vida Es Cortitos, two performances at 10:30 am dedicated to showcasing short plays and films for young audiences ages 5 and up. The inaugural performance will feature short films made for young audiences alongside three short plays selected from a nationwide search.

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Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company presents O: A Rhapsody in Divorce

O: A Rhapsody in Divorce is The Odyssey reimagined as a rhapsodic dramatic comedy in which O, a childless female neurologist in her forties, is blindsided by her husband who wants a divorce, but he refuses to leave the house. With that, her life is upended and she’s thrown into an epic couch-hopping odyssey.

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Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts presents The Circadian Project

Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts presents The Circadian Project, a world premiere embodied storytelling event that exemplifies the expression, “leap, and the net shall appear.”

The incoming MFA Acting cohort will present an ensemble-building project like no other. In just over 100 hours of rehearsal, an entire play without words will be conceived, devised, and performed. Exploring the vocabulary of the body, the company will embark on a quest to find the miraculous in the mundane.

What insights will they discover? How many characters and lifetimes will they experience? What story will emerge from the culmination of their efforts?

Photo courtesy of Theatre Southwest

Theatre Southwest presents A Doll's House, Part 2

It has been 15 years since Nora Helmer slammed the door on her stifling domestic life, when a knock comes at the same door. It is Nora, and she has returned with an urgent request. What will her sudden return mean to those she left behind?

The probing and bold play is both a continuation of Ibsen's complex exploration of traditional gender roles, as well as a sharp contemporary take on the struggles inherent in all human relationships across time.

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Houston Hot Girl Megan Thee Stallion seizes the awkward with mental health campaign

hot take

We all know Megan Thee Stallion is the baddest you-know-what of them all. She can share the stage with a fellow Houston queen (and still get choked up about it), make an ex-porn star quote her lyrics on social media, and even play a cartoon version of herself on a Netflix show.

But America’s favorite Hot Girl Coach also wants you and your friends to take care of each other mentally.

She recently joined the Seize the Awkward campaign to encourage young adults to reach out to their “strong” friends in a new PSA. In the video, Megan gets real about the pressures to be strong and the importance of peer-to-peer support. “No matter who you are,” she says in the video, “being vulnerable is what makes us whole.”

Seize the Awkward is a national campaign (first launched in 2018) that encourages young adults to start the conversation with friends about mental health. The campaign was developed by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and The Jed Foundation in collaboration with the Ad Council.

With 76 percent of young adults turning to a peer for support in a time of crisis, how can more young adults join Megan and Seize the Awkward to get the conversation started?.

As Megan says in the PSA, you can visit SeizeTheAwkward.org and Megan’s website BadBitchesHaveBadDaysToo.com for more resources to check in on a friend. You can also follow @SeizeTheAwkward on Instagram.

Score free Shake Shack for one day only at juicy collab with charming Rice Village jeweler

SIMPLY (EAR)RESISTIBLE

Popular ear piercing barStuds made a name for itself by offering a customized piercing experience for those who aged out of places like Claire's but wanted an alternative to a tattoo parlor for piercings. With 19 locations nationwide, Studs offers a wide assortment of earrings that range from classic shapes, to huggies, flatbacks, and dangling charms.

Studs has once again added to their earring selection with their latest collaboration with Shake Shack. They created an adorably beefy earring to add to any burger lover's Earscape.

Studs and Shake Shack created a limited-edition Burger huggie earring and Earscape set. Photo by Studs

Retailing for $32, the limited edition Shake Shack burger huggie comes as a 14K gold-plated hoop with a loaded hamburger charm. Shoppers can opt for the $64 pair, but Studs is also currently offering a discount on the Shake Shack x Studs set. For $78, earring enthusiasts can get the two Shake Shack burger huggies, the 14K-gold Smiley Stud and the 14K-gold Micro CZ Stud.

What's even better than cute earrings? Free Shake Shack! On Thursday, September 28th customers can enjoy free bites from Shake Shack while they shop the new Shake Shack Charm Huggie collection at Stud's Rice Village location.

For $78, earring enthusiasts can get the two Shake Shack burger huggies, the 14K-gold Smiley Stud and the 14K-gold Micro CZ Stud.Photo by Studs

Shake Shack is known for their always made-to-order fare including ShackBurger, crinkle-cut fries, hand-spun shakes and their new Veggie Burger and non-dairy offerings.

Interested shoppers can RSVP here.

Studs Rice Village, 2567 Amherst St.; (832) 981-2869. RSVP here.

Pink-powered Barbie merch truck cruises into Houston on 'Dreamhouse Living Tour'

This Barbie Sells Merch

Hot on the heels — or wheels — of the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck comes another timely pink rolling shop for two Saturdays in October.

The Barbie Truck will stop in Friendswood and The Woodlands on its 2023 "Dreamhouse Living Tour," which celebrates the 60th anniversary of Barbie's ever more popular property, and will give visitors a chance to spice up their own homes.

Although this is all about the house, there are only a few homewares: things like coasters, glass tumblers, a glass mug, a throw blanket, and an "accessories cup." Visiting Barbies have more opportunities to take home wearable and on-the-go items like graphic tees, hoodies, and denim; a baseball cap; embroidered patches; and keychains.

Barbie Truck Dreamhouse Living TourIt's a Barbie world in Houston.Photo courtesy of the Barbie Truck Dreamhouse Living Tour

Most people who have been awake and on social media in the past year have learned that Barbie's Dreamhouse has a more empowering history than many girls realized while orchestrating drama between the dolls.

A release announcing the arrival of the truck reminds fans (and detractors) that when the Dreamhouse came out, only a tenth of a percent of young women were independent homeowners, and states that someone buys a Dreamhouse every minute.

This year's Barbie truck tour should be in very high demand following the success of the 2023 movie.

Barbie Truck Dreamhouse Living Tour

Photo courtesy of the Barbie Truck Dreamhouse Living Tour

Dreamhouse aside, this is a dream ride.

The Barbie Truck will be in Friendswood on Saturday, October 21st, from 10 am to 7 pm at Baybrook Mall at the lawn near Gloria's. Arrive early in case of long lines.

The truck will then cruise to The Woodlands on Saturday, October 28th at The Woodlands Mall near Shake Shack from 10 am to 7 pm.

These Barbies will hit five other Texas cities on the tour:

  • September 30 – San Antonio
  • October 7 — Austin
  • October 14 — Laredo
  • November 4 — Plano (Dallas)
  • November 11 — Fort Worth

Follow along to see more stops on Instagram or Facebook.