Lite + Brite Monthly: February
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the monthly edition of the Lite + Brite newsletter.
This month, we’ve got for you a hefty collection of local February events; a Q+A with the producers of FronteraFest, Austin’s annual fringe theater festival; a new playlist that will get you in the mood for the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and any other sporting events that might be coming your way; and of course our roundup of all-the-time Austin fun.
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Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
Looking Ahead to Upcoming Events
Our weekly newsletters will include many more listings, but here are a handful of events that we know are planned for the next month. We’re giving you the heads up now in case you want to pre-buy tickets or block off the time.
- Feb. 6-7: Austin Unconducted at KMFA Studios
Classical musicians improvise live using “soundpainting” - Feb. 7: Mi Casa Es Su Teatro at Mishpocha Woods
Theatrical performances in people’s homes + “other surprising locales” - Feb. 7: Carnaval Brasileiro at Speakeasy
Celebrate Carnaval+Mardi Gras w/traditional music, costumes, dancers - Feb. 7: 18th Annual Chili Cold Blood Chili Cook-Off at Sagebrush
Raise money for local musicians w/live music + chili contest - Feb. 10-14: FronteraFest Best of Fest at Hyde Park Theatre
“Alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre” - Feb. 11-14: Variations on a Love Theme at East Side Performing Arts
Love-inspired ballet + classical chamber performances - Feb. 12: Art + Love Gallery Tour at Canopy
Cruise around town in style checking out art about love - Feb. 13: All the Dead Dears at Flower Hill
“Hauntingly beautiful night” of Sylvia Plath poetry reading - Feb. 13: Dark Ritual at Capt. Quack’s Soundspace
DJs spinning goth, post-punk + darkwave w/accompanying visuals - Feb. 13-14: Mortified at the Highball
Folks share their teenaged diaries in a new comedic light - Feb. 13-15: Masc4Match at the Vortex
Celebration of queer masculinity w/drag performers + camp - Feb. 14: Boner Bizarre at Come and Take It Live
Stephen King-themed “perverse, grotesque, + socially unacceptable” burlesque - Feb. 14: Horny Book Faire + Romantasy Night at Tiny Minotaur
Blush as you hear some “bodice-rippers” read out loud - Feb. 14: Cupid’s Shuffle at Jackalope South Shore
Dog friendly wiener dog races, “dog kissing booth,” costume contest - Feb. 14: Gothic Hearts Ball at Elysium
DJs spinning gothic tunes w/ love altar, go go dancer, + vendors - Feb. 17: Mardi Gras on East 6th
Celebrate Fat Tuesday w/marching band, parade, traditional eats - Feb. 17: Year of the Fire Horse at Alienated Majesty Books
LNY celebration w/live music, tarot, fiction readings - Feb. 18-22: OUTsider Festival at the Vortex
“Austin’s queerdo arts fest” w/film, dance, theater, music, performance art - Feb. 19 + 26: Experiments in Spiritualist Table Tipping at First Spiritualist Church of Austin
“Spirit communication experiments” delve into the history of table tipping - Feb. 20-21: Ultrasound at Co-Lab Projects
Site specific modern dance performance “exploring psychic freedom” - Feb. 20: Come and Shave It at Mohawk
Beard + moustache contests benefitting charity, + DJ - Feb. 21: Carnaval at Ani’s Day + Night
Brazil-themed live music, activations, food, cocktails, vendors, + costumes - Feb, 21: Gumbo Fest at the Cavalier
Render judgement unto an array of gumbo + see who’s crowned winner - Feb. 21-22: Skál at St. John Studios
Nordic-themed “full fantasy experience” w/live music, vendors, photo booth - Feb. 22: Community Day at ACL Live
Free Dead tribute band, live music, ACL tours, + ticket giveaways - Feb. 22: Peaches, Le Tigre, Gossip Queer Tribute at Sahara Lounge
Indie sleaze era “queer tribute bands” + drag performers - Feb. 24: Twin Peaks Night at Hotel Vegas
Local bands covering songs of Twin Peaks, costume contest, photobooth - Feb. 26: Dance on Film at Galaxy Theatres
Screenings of curated films displaying modern dance performances - Feb. 27-Mar. 1: Nosferatu Festival at Kick Butt Coffee + Holiday Inn
Celebrate horror classic w/batty bands, screenings, “garlic eating contest” - Feb. 28: Fusebash at Distribution Hall
Fusebox gala w/immersive performances, curated food, + DJ - Feb. 28: Austin Modern Home Tour at houses around town
Tour and see the insides of fancy modern houses around town - Feb. 28: Hyde Park Storytelling at Batch
Storytellers ply their trade in a backyard w/ASL interpreter - Feb. 28: Opening Day at Sherwood Forest Faire
Central Texas’ renaissance faire w/medieval food, arts, fun, + dress
In honor of the Superbowl, the Olympics, the basketaball season, and a dash of Heated Rivalry, here are some songs that would all be beloved Jock Jams if we got to run the world. Some house, hip hop, techno + madchester from the Jock Jams era, some anachronistic tunes that are fun to imagine being added to the mix.
Listen on: Spotify / Apple / YouTube
Tracklist
The KLF – 3am Eternal
Utah Saints – Something Good
Shades of Rhythm – Sounds of Eden
Queen Latifah – Come into My House
New Order – World in Motion (No Alla Violenza Mix)
The Shamen – Move Any Mountain
Monie Love – Down to Earth
Les Rhythmes Digitales – Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)
Mylo – Drop the Pressure
Jamie xx – Baddy on the Floor ft. Honey Dijon
Fake Blood – I Think I Like It
Hi Tek 3 – Spin That Wheel ft. Ya Kid K
Sally C – All Love
The 2 Bears – Bear Hug
Confidence Man – Firebreak
Cassius – Cassius 1999 Remix
Daft Punk – Robot Rock
MSTRKRFT – Work on You
Soulwax – Another Excuse ft. Nancy Whang (DFA Remix)
Electroset – How Does It Feel? (Theme from Techno Blues)
The Austinites Behind the Curtain: FronteraFest
We love spotlighting local creatives who are responsible for the events that we list. Remember, there would be no pig parades, facial hair competitions, dance shows in quarries, or sound installations in tree houses without the individual people who organize and promote them.
In February 2026, we spoke with Christina J. Moore, Executive Artistic Director of ScriptWorks and FronteraFest Producer. FronteraFest is Austin’s annual fringe theater festival, showcasing original, unusual, and uncategorizable short performances for five weeks every January and February. Here’s how the producers make it happen…
Lite + Brite: Can you describe FronteraFest for folks who aren’t familiar with it?
Christi Moore: FronteraFest is a five-week long performance festival produced by Hyde Park Theatre and ScriptWorks. The Short Fringe is the core of the festival, and it runs all five weeks. Five short pieces (25 minutes or less) are presented every Tuesday through Saturday, Saturday shows are “Best of the Week,” and the final week (February 10-14) is “Best of the Fest.” The festival is unjuried, so anyone can participate and we welcome all kinds of performances—theatre, poetry, improv, sketch comedy, dance, magic shows, clowning—you name it.
L+B: What’s your process for finding and booking pieces for the Short Fringe?
CM: The festival is unjuried, which means that anyone who pays a $50-$60 application fee can get a show into the Short Fringe. We don’t see the shows until their tech rehearsal, and sometimes not until their performance.
L+B: How do you decide which shows get into Best of Week and Best of Fest?
CM: We have a different panel of three people attending each Tuesday through Friday of the first four weeks. They, along with the audiences, select what will appear in the Best of Week shows. We have a different panel attend all the Saturday Best of Week shows and they, along with the audiences, select the Best of Fest shows.
The staff and crew select the Wild Card shows, those that they think were overlooked by the panels and audiences. There is a strict time limit of 25 minutes, and shows that go over that are eliminated from moving on in the festival. Panelists vote by secret ballot so there aren’t any deliberations, generally, unless we have an unbreakable tie.
L+B: What are the logistics of putting up multiple different short plays back to back, day after day, when presumably each has its own tech and staging needs?
CM: Each show gets a 75-minute tech rehearsal during the weekend prior to their performance. We tech shows Saturday daytime, all Sunday until late in the night, and Monday nights. We do have limitations on the technical elements people can use–light cues, sound cues, the amount of stuff they can have on stage, etc.
L+B: Where does Mi Casa Es Su Teatro come into all of this?
CM: The other component of FronteraFest is Mi Casa Es Su Teatro, a day of unique performances in private homes. It’s a curated event, so most of the artists in that have been invited to be part of it. I think it started in the third year of the festival. This year it’s happening on Saturday, February 7, at Mishpocha Woods Artist Compound. [A note from L+B: We attended Mi Casa Es Su Teatro at Mishpocha Woods during last year’s Frontera Fest, and it was delightful! You know we love site-specific art. We still frequently reference Kirk Lynn’s one-man play about the Wright brothers.]
L+B: What’s FronteraFest’s origin story?
CM: FronteraFest was started by Frontera Productions in 1993. Vicky Boone, Jason Phelps, and Annie Suite came up with the festival as a way of meeting other artists in town and of bringing in some money for their other shows. It has always been open to anyone for a modest application fee.
In 2001, Vicky stepped down as the Artistic Director of Frontera. She looked at their two biggest assets, the Hyde Park Theatre venue and FronteraFest, and wanted to pass them on. She offered the leased venue to Subterranean Theatre Company, run by Ken Webster. And she offered the festival to ScriptWorks, a playwright development and service organization. Ken had been part of many Frontera shows and often rented the venue for Subterranean productions. ScriptWorks had been presenting a commissioned piece every week of the festival for the preceding few years. Subterranean became Hyde Park Theatre and joined forces with ScriptWorks to co-produce the festival starting in 2002.
L+B: What’s the most memorable or unexpected thing to ever happen at FronteraFest?
CM: That’s a tough one! This is my 23rd year producing the festival, and I’ve seen a lot of surprising things. Not knowing what to expect is one of the most enjoyable aspects of FronteraFest. There is no requirement that the performance be original work but probably 98% of it is. Austin has such a wealth of talented, creative artists and it is always a joy to see what they come up with.
All-the-Time Austin Artsy Fun
Our weekly newsletter features upcoming events, but sometimes the activity you’re looking for isn’t an event at all—it’s a place that’s always there. Next time you find yourself with an afternoon when nothing special seems to be going on, you could consider checking out one of these evergreen options.
- Mesmerize
An interactive dream-like world made of site-specific installations by 15+ local artists - Hyperreal Film Club
A clubhouse for weird cinema, with oddball screenings four nights a week - Tiny Minotaur
Drinking and costumed LARPing, Dungeonsynths performing in the dungeon w/lots of lore - The Eureka Room
Uniquely goofy, silly, + fun immersive games you play with a group. No spoilers! - We Luv Video
The Alexandria Library of video rental. It’s community-run, you can rent movies or watch them in a cinema while literally surrounded by VHS tapes and DVDs. - The Goats at Jester King Brewery
More a theme park geared towards folks who like refermented cherries in their beer (me) than a brewery. I have not experienced the Goat Experience, but I have seen their goats, and I approve. - Cathedral of Junk
A towering achievement to collecting weird old stuff that will spark nostalgia and cause you to wonder at your last tetanus shot timing - West China Tea House
In addition to their events, West China is a wonderful place just to chat with interesting and welcoming people and drink some delicious tea - Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve
A lovely park + nature walk that is protected by a crack corps of dedicated peacocks and peahens. Good luck escaping without some flashy, feathery displays. - Laguna Gloria
The Contemporary Austin’s outdoor sculpture garden. Culture + Nature = Profit. - Austin Creative Reuse Center
A nonprofit shop where you can get any art, craft, or office supplies you can imagine for literal pennies. Eat your heart out, Office Despot. - Museum of the Weird
It’s right there on Dirty 6th but worth a visit. From famous fake paleontology to recreations of horror film sets, there’s lots to see. - James Turrell’s Skyspace
Like Turrell’s best works, this is an art experience which unfolds slowly over time. Watch as the changing colors of sunset remake the space.
Thanks to our Patreon subscribers
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Liz, Melissa Dunn, Kat, James Gray, Emily Heddleson, Andrew Creswell, Robert B., Roman Gonzalez, Nick Ivons, Molly Fonseca, Lilly Ettinger, Michael Sales, Zach, Gino Scaramuzza, Erica Speegle, Thomas Refferson, Bones Malones, Katie Green, Christina Jue, Colleen MB, Alexander Freed, Kristen Backor, and Timon A. We’re deeply grateful for your support, which allows us to do things like “pay our Mailchimp fee” and “spend hours researching Austin events when technically we should be working.”
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About Us
How do we choose which events to feature?
Honestly, it’s pretty random. We might include anything in Austin that we, personally, would conceivably want to go to, generally excluding normal concerts, comedy shows, and movie showtimes because there are many other good resources for finding those. (We especially recommend Showlist for live music, The Darker Side of Austin for goth and metal stuff, Concept Animals’ ATX Art for You for gallery openings + artist talks, and the 60+ Weirdest Things in Austin for exactly what it sounds like). This list is by no means exhaustive; it’s just stuff that caught our eye this week. If you have an event that you want us to consider including, send it over.
Who are we?
We are Leila + Brian. We make this newsletter. We do our own events, like No Lights No Lycra and BYOT, a party where we share very good YouTubes (here’s a playlist from the last one). We go very hard seeing bands at SxSW (here’s a playlist of some of our favorites from 2025). We once got called “local Austin couple” by KXAN. We do some other stuff here and there. We love going out to creative events in Austin, and we want you to join us. Visit us at liteandbriteatx.com, and support us on Patreon if you like what we do.