21 Best Things to Do in Houston This Week: Deathcopter and an Arts Open House – Houston Press

Tuesday, August 22

A full decade after its release, Hot Fuzz remains just as kooky and cultish as ever; its 10th anniversary gives Alamo Drafthouse ample reason to screen the film once again. In it, top cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is so good he makes everyone else look bad. So, after a little shuffling of paperwork, hes off the London force and assigned to the sleepy British town of Sandford, where nothing ever happensuntil peoples heads start falling off. Its a group of cops who find out there is a dark conspiracy, and it becomes a parody of American action films, says the theaters programming director, Robert Saucedo. To add to the fun, a curated pre-show 30 minutes before the film will provide gags and props to use throughout the movie. 7:30 p.m. August 22. 531 South Mason. For information, call 281-492-6900 or visit drafthouse.com/houston. $12. Sam Byrd

Wednesday, August 23

Yoga, craft beer and the breweries that produce that craft beer are all a big part of the Houston social scene. Why not combine all three into one? Thats exactly what Yoga & Hops has done, bringing yoga and beer to a number of local breweries, including Karbach and 8th Wonder. Entry includes one hour of vinyasa-based yoga, which focuses on movement and breath, and a craft beer to help wind down afterward. Yoga & Hops is a chance to do something outside of the studio and maybe bring yoga to people who might not initially be drawn to that sort of environment, says Cindy Agnew, who co-founded Y&H with college friend Angie Currell in 2014. Its a really friendly community setting. 7 p.m. August 23. 8th Wonder Brewery, 2202 Dallas. For more information, call 832-930-0391 or visit yogaandhops.com. $20 to $25; bring your own mat or rent one for $3. Clint Hale

With President Trump making progress pulling out of the Paris climate accord and global warming deniers growing louder by the day, its good to know there are folks whove got our back. When not busy keeping track of the pollution released each year in the Bayou City (more than 68 million pounds in 2015), Air Alliance Houston also helps organize the Houston Green Film Series. Next up is Wild About Houston 2017: Short Films Screening, and its being held, fittingly enough, at the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion at Hermann Park. Just based on whats going on politically, people have kind of opened their eyes a little bit to seeing whats going on around them. How their lives are being affected, says Ryan Small, communications director. Come immerse yourself in nature, breathe in the (hopefully) fresh air and catch half a dozen shorts about wildlife and ecosystems. Stay after for a panel convo about our regions conservation needs. Co-presenters include Katy Prairie Conservancy, Citizens Environmental Coalition, Coastal Prairie Partnership and Houston Native Prairies Association of Texas. 7 to 8:30 p.m. August 23. 1500 Hermann Drive. For information visit facebook.com/HoustonGreenFilmSeries. Free. Susie Tommaney

Thursday, August 24

Its hard to imagine a world without smiley faces, LOLs or other emoticons that describe our current state of mind. Newest kid on the Houston dance block Group Acorde is premiering a work that explores how technology has become so intertwined with our interactions. After developing a hashtag for a performance last year, Director Roberta Paixao Cortes said the troupe began talking about how we communicate with hashtags, emojis, emails and Facebook, which all fed into the title of this new work: Unemojional. Its a full collaboration. All of the music is original and performed live, says Cortes. She describes their dance as contemporary, though both Cortes and Associate Director Lindsey McGill are classically trained. They also seem to have tapped into the zeitgeist with the timely release of The Emoji Movie. 8 p.m. August 24-25. Rec Room, 100 Jackson. For information, call 713-344-1291 or visit groupacorde.org or recroomhtx.com. $15 to $20. Susie Tommaney

The Wayans are an entertainment dynasty, but how has Shawn Wayans kept his career satisfying? Diversity! Besides starring in and sometimes writing box-office hits like Little Man, White Chicks and the first two Scary Movie films, hes kept his stand-up comedy a priority by hitting the clubs for more than 20 years, a tradition that continues with a weekend headlining the Houston Improv. Stand-ups not easy! Wayans explains. Its never boring, theres always excitement with new people coming to see you. The high you get from making people you dont know laugh is impossible to explain, this jolt of energy. Youll get out of shape if you dont do it youll go from being Kobe when hes in shape to now Kobe with his shirt on. 8 p.m. August 24, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. August 25, 7 and 9:30 p.m. August 26, 7:30 p.m. August 27. Houston Improv, 7620 Katy Freeway. For information call 713-333-8800 or visit improvhouston.com. $25. Vic Shuttee

Friday, August 25

Imagine a door becoming a see-saw, a 12-foot-tall stone mill morphing into a Ferris wheel or a tunnel that narrows your point of view like a telescope. Now factor in a company of dancers, leaping and swinging, climbing and twisting against these transformable set pieces, and youve got NobleMotion Dances Catapult: Dance meets Design. Husband-and-wife artistic directors and choreographers Andy Noble and Dionne Sparkman Noble agree that it would have been easy to make the five dance works mechanical, and therefore less human, but, adds Dionne Noble, I think music and lighting and the dancers themselves soften the edges throughout, but it is true that these are real structures theres steel onstage, theres a largeness, a grandness to the structures. I think we can only be human against them. 7:30 p.m. August 25-26. The Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For information, call 713-315-2525 or visit noblemotiondance.com. $25 to $35. Natalie de la Garza

The premise is simple: A couple has invited another couple over for a dinner party, but the guests show up on the wrong night. What makes Yasmina Rezas Life X 3 ominous and/or funny, depending on which of the three outcomes the audience is watching, is how protagonists Henry and Sonia respond when theres no food and no way to calm their unhinged six-year-old child. Its not what happens to you, its how you respond, says Trevor Cone, executive director of Dirt Dogs Theatre Co., producing the French playwright known for Art and God of Carnage for the first time. Its a very philosophical yet scientific look at who we are in the universe, adds Cone, whos directing the play. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. August 25 through September 9. The MATCH, 3400 Main. For information, call 713-561-5113 or visit dirtdogstheatre.org. $22. Steve Jansen

Sure, card-carrying designers get first crack at The Houston Design Centers Designer Sample Sale during a day before preview but trust us there are still plenty of couture furnishings to be had for a song. Sheri Roane, marketing director for the center, tells us they keep raiding designer storage areas throughout the event, even Sunday. Its really good stuff; designer furnishings, things that go into beautiful homes and condominiums all over Houston. Look for rugs, case goods, accessories, lighting and one-of-a-kind pieces. Time it right (the early bird finds the bargains), refuel at the food trucks (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), and attend one of the free lectures about mastering luxury (10:30 a.m. August 25), remodeling tips (10:30 a.m. August 26) and escaping the clutter (11:30 a.m. August 25-26). 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. August 25-27. 7026 Old Katy Road. For information, call 713-864-2660 or visit thehoustondesigncenter.com. Free. Susie Tommaney

The Waiting Room follows the spirit of a Bengali-British housewife who has just died but has three sunrises remaining to eavesdrop on her family and find closure before she moves on to await reincarnation. Her spirit guide? Bollywood heartthrob and legendary actor Dilip Kumar, who reached his peak with audiences in the 1950s and '60s yet remains crush-worthy for Priya even in death.British dramatist Tanika Gupta garnered attention (and the John Whiting Award) in 2000 for this sentimental comedy that takes us through the stages of denial, outrage and acceptance as long-held secrets are revealed. Bree Bridger, who just finished a stint directing for Mildred's Umbrella's Museum of Dysfunction IX, directs this production for presenter Shunya Theatre, a Texas-based South Asian theater troupe. 8 p.m. Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. August 25 through September 3. The MATCH, 3400 Main. For information, call 713-521-4533 or visit shunyatheatre.org or matchouston.org. $20. Susie Tommaney

Anybody who has ever wondered about the glamour of the greasepaint and the prestige of hanging out backstage will think again after witnessing the door-slamming British farce, Noises Off, where everything that can go wrong, does. Playwright Michael Frayn got the idea for the play after realizing that behind-the-scenes hijinks are sometimes funnier than what the audience members are watching, and his play-within-a-play debuted in London in 1982. Stageworks Theatre is opening the season with this classic romp and updating the piece by setting it in 1971, the same year that No Sex, Please, We're British debuted. Costumer Ellen Girdwood has her work cut out for her, outfitting the cast in the groovy bell-bottoms and bright, psychedelic colors of the early '70s. Sean Thompson (As You Like It) directs. 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. August 25 through September 17. 10760 Grand Road. For information, call 281-587-6100 or visit stageworkshouston.org. $19 to $28. Susie Tommaney

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21 Best Things to Do in Houston This Week: Deathcopter and an Arts Open House - Houston Press