Titanic #2: The Floater promises to be another hit for the Museum of Human Achievement

The Museum of Human Achievement sits just behind the Canopy Complex of art galleries and studios for most the year in perfect seasonal neutrality. Laying in wait, some might say, for December's most anticipated avant-garde theatre project to descend upon the un-heated, un-airconditioned interior of that warehouse we all love.

Since 2013's The Terror Pigeon and MoHA Christmas Spectacular - which brought together local artists like Calliope Musicals and Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt to perform as different seasonal figures like the Grinch or Santa Claus - the community art space has delivered a little absurdity into the heart of Austin's mildly chilly winter. Their annual holiday show has changed in scope since the 2010s, pivoting to the current era of reframed Christmas classics often featuring Austin-famous faces as the marquee talent. For example, last year's Edward Normalhands envisioned the Tim Burton tale as instead a story of 5G gone wild, starring drag royalty Sir Beau Elliot and ATX siren Sabrina Ellis. Utilizing its built-out artistic community once more, this year MoHA promises to take you to new depths with Titanic #2: The Floater.

With a story crafted by artistic trio Shaboom - aka Silky Shoemaker, Lex Vaughn, and Paul Soileau - the MoHA space will be transformed by a community crew into that infamous aquatic disaster the Titanic. Audiences will settle into the standing-room-only center of a stage that takes up all other available areas - performers and sets encircling them from above and eye-level heights. As is tradition, production timeline for the stagecraft is tight. Yet, as Vaughn explains over email, that quick turnaround gets done thanks to a "seasoned crew as well as many many many many volunteer dykes who get shit done."

Those volunteers, sapphic or otherwise, have a big task on their hands, but they're not the only ones adding incredible quality to this ship-sinking sequel. On tap for musical arrangements is Austin's most affable instrumental set Thor and Friends, with ambiguous "support" promised from such luminaries as Michelle Marchesseault, Khattie Quinones, Thomas Graves, Lynn Metcalf, Diana Welch, p1nkstar, and Turito. Costumery comes courtesy of the lovely Emily Gilardi, Stephanie Page, and Jess Bee - all three of whom have extensive local costuming, crafting, and creative credentials. As for actors, well, as is typical for the MoHA holiday cast, the lineup is too stacked to mention every star. Safe to say, if our readers take a look-see at the list, they're bound to see a name that rings a bell.

"High achieving low-tech" is what Vaughn calls the holiday show's secret sauce, "i.e. a giant toilet, laser dolphins and Paul Soileau's wig." She stays tight-lipped on the specifics of the play's origins, only letting slip that Shaboom's inspiration was "to take something dumb and disgusting and make it more dumb and disgusting." Dumb and disgusting as the sea-set story may be, MoHA's talented crew - from the tech booth to set designers, actors to musicians - are sure to conjure an experience that won't leave viewers' minds anytime soon.

One last warning from Vaughn for prospective play attenders: "No refunds." Say less, queen! Who doesn't love to slip a little money in a local community art resource's pocket? Especially when you get Titanic #2: The Floater in return.