http://www.savetxschools.org/

This morning was the pro-education rally at the Capitol, organized by savetxschools.org. It was a great experience - not as big as the March for Women's Rights I attended in DC, but definitely the largest rally I've been a part of since. With all the bad (and worse) news lately about budget and staff cuts in Austin and the rest of the state, I felt truly gratified to see how many people bussed in from around Texas to gather. Even better, the folks over at SXSW publicized the event, and I know at least a few people in town for live music also came out to the rally.

Also, the Austin-American Statesman has a lovely photo gallery up; here are a few of my own additions:

Austin's The Best

I've seen more plays in the last year and a half than in the last decade - and Austin theatre is still surprising me.

Here are the three most recent, since they're on my mind. These are all still running, by the way, so if you live in Austin go see them already:

Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, from the Palindrome Theatre Company. As a future English teacher I'm always interested in the not-often-done performances, and I'd never seen any Ibsen performances that weren't A Doll's House. (not that I have anything against A Doll's House, but a woman longs for a little variety). It was fairly impressively done, and I thought most of the actors put on a great performance. Kate Eminger also kindly answered a few of my questions afterward. I got into a debate about the scenery, which I found appropriately evocative of The Addams Family, and Ryan found somewhat distracting - if any of you see it, I'd love your opinion.

Alvida & The Airship Pirates: A Steampunk Adventure! from Weird City Theatre. Ok, so I love steampunk, and the music was from one of my favorite groups - Abney Park. My friend Ryan had me sold at steampunk, but he completely sealed the deal with "and John Carroll wrote and directed." We went last night, and I had a lot of fun. The set is nicely done, (most) of the costumes were quite good, and nearly all the writing was very funny. The fight scenes were a bit clunky, but overall it was enjoyable and the actors (who did a great job) seemed to be having as much fun as the audience.

This afternoon Ryan and I are off to see You Wouldn't Know Him, He Lives in Texas / You Wouldn't Know Her, She Lives in London from The Hidden Room. I'm excited about this one, since the format is quite a change:

From London's Look Left Look Right and Austin, Texas' The Hidden Room: You Wouldn't Know Him, He Lives in Texas / You Wouldn't Know Her, She Lives in London links US and UK actors and audiences live via Skype. Become the friends and family of the show's London/Texas lovers, and help decide if distance really does matter in this interactive, site-specific, partially improvised, original collaboration. (source)