In addition to music and art, Athens is home to a variety of creative performance-based communities with regular monthly and seasonal events. There are opportunities for the curious to participate or entertainment seekers to simply watch. Check Flagpole’s weekly calendar in print and at flagpole.com for an updated roundup of specific event information.

Catch Some Laughs

Comedy offerings in Athens continue to grow with an expanding local scene that puts on weekly shows featuring regional artists and the occasional nationally-touring comedian passing through The Classic Center (classiccenter.com), 40 Watt Club (40watt.com) or Georgia Theatre (georgiatheatre.com).

Flying Squid Comedy is an improv-based troupe that offers classes and regular public events. Every Wednesday Gorgeous George’s Improv League performs at Buvez. On the first Thursday of every month, the group performs an ASSSSCAT, an improv show based on true stories told by a monologist, at Hendershot’s. There is also a rotating schedule of events on Fridays through the fall and spring at work.shop. Find a full list of events and details at flyingsquidcomedy.com.

New on the scene is The Upstairs Bar and Comedy Club, in the upstairs space above Gyro Wrap. Stand-up comedy shows take place every Monday and Friday, with specialty shows Queer Comedy on the first Monday of the month and Funny Femmes on the third Monday. For specific show details, visit instagram.com/theup_stairsbar.

Athens Comedy hosts featured shows and weekly events, like the recurring Off the Clock Comedy held upstairs at The Globe on Sunday evenings. It also maintains a calendar of other shows and open mics happening in the comedy community at athenscomedy.com. One of the longest running comedy open mics in Athens is OpenToad Comedy at Flicker Theatre and Bar every second Tuesday. On the third Wednesday of every month, Noell Appling hosts a lineup of comics from Athens and Atlanta at Hendershot’s. 

Be Fierce and Fabulous

Drag shows pop up around Athens year-round at various venues and breweries; however, there are also plenty of consistent and reliable staples on the calendar. Boybutante AIDS Foundation hosts two of the biggest drag events of the year at the 40 Watt Club. The Boybutante Ball each spring and Halloween-themed Boobutante each fall raise money for the nonprofit. The organization also hosts Drag Bingo nights throughout the year. More info can be found at boybutante.org.

The Athens Showgirl Cabaret performs twice a month at Hendershot’s. Drag for All is held most first Saturdays, with some movement accounting for holidays and out-of-town shows, welcoming all ages for an open drag night with sign-ups. Fabulous Fridays is held the last Friday of every month with a lineup of entertainment suitable for ages 18 and up. Keep up with the Cabaret’s events at athensshowgirlcabaret.com. The Kourtesans regularly perform at Sister Louisa's Church downtown. This troupe hosts a variety of themed shows and drag competitions featuring performers from Athens and Atlanta. Keep up with their events at facebook.com/kourtesans.

Set the Stage

Theater stages across Athens stay busy between the University of Georgia’s theater program, active local troupes and touring productions. The Classic Center hosts a Broadway Entertainment Series drawing non-local productions throughout the year.

UGA Theatre (ugatheatre.com) announces a full schedule of student productions every fall and spring season held at the Fine Arts Building on the UGA campus. Its official theater club is the Thalian-Blackfriars (ugatheatre.com/thalians), the second-oldest collegiate drama club in the U.S., that produces student performances. The college’s student-run musical theater group Next Act (uganextact.weebly.com) also performs one full-length musical each year and several cabarets held at Hendershot’s. The community theater Town & Gown Players (townandgownplayers.org) produce plays year-round from classic dramas and musicals to more experimental theater productions at its location. Athens Creative Theatre (accgov.com/act) also performs a diverse variety of plays that are either held at Morton Theatre or Quinn Hall at Memorial Park.

Just outside of Athens in Watkinsville the Oconee Youth Playhouse (oconeeyouthplayhouse.com) features casts drawn from the youth of Athens, Oconee and surrounding counties performing plays suitable for an all-ages audience. In neighboring Winterville the recently restored and renovated Marigold Auditorium also hosts theatrical productions. A little further out in neighboring Monroe is the On Stage Playhouse Walton (onstagewalton.org), and Elberton is home to The Elbert Theatre (elberttheatre.org).

Calls for upcoming production auditions are listed in Flagpole’s Bulletin Board in print and online.

Express Yourself

Interested in dance and movement-based performances? The Studio Athens (thestudioath.com) offers classes for all ages but also is the home of dance companies Boulevard Burlesque Company, The Modern Pin-Ups, Speakeasy, Athena Rhythm, Normaltown Tap Company, Athens Swing Central and Classic City Bellydance. The Studio presents group shows and themed events for the individual troupes. Dancefx (dancefx.org) also offers classes and is home to the varied-genre performance companies Concert Dance Company, Contact Dance Company, Revolution Salsa Company, Sweet Dreams, The Vixens, Classic City Tap Collective and The Bombshells. Canopy Studio (canopystudio.org) offers classes and workshops in flying dance trapeze, silks, lyra, pole and more. Showcases are open to the public and diverse in styles of aerial performance, sometimes incorporating narrative, art or music.

Poetry and storytelling more your speed? Athens Word of Mouth (facebook.com/athenswordofmouth) is the city’s longest-running poetry open mic, taking place the first Wednesday of every month at The Globe. Come prepared to sign-up and read a piece, or enjoy the night’s featured poet. Athens-Clarke County started a Poet Laureate program (accgov.com/9713/Poet-Laureate) in 2020, and the current Poet Laureate, Mikhayla Robinson Smith, hosts special pop-up workshops, readings and events. Rabbit Box (rabbitbox.org) is a monthly event held at the VFW Post 2872 where people from the community tell stories from their lives based on a theme. Organizers put out calls for themes ahead of time to help people interested workshop their stories.

 

The long-running Small Box Series (facebook.com/smallboxathens) features a little bit of it all. Creatives bring their art to a 4’x4’ stage, sharing theatrical performances, dances, writing, music and more.