Culture Flash!

• C. Denby Swanson's The Death of a Cat heads to New York City as one of 11 plays in this year's Playwrights' Week, June 10-18, at the Lark Play Development Center. Swanson gets a creative team (including a director and actors), 10 hours of rehearsal, and a public presentation to work on specific goals for her play, which, she says, will involve the drama's puppets: "The festival has a big focus on Southeast Asian theatre this year, which has a very rich puppet tradition. So I'm eager to be there as an investigator of what else might be possible."

• First Night Austin needs artists to contribute to this new New Year's Eve event that will feature art and performance stretching from Congress at Ninth to Town Lake, west to City Hall, and across the First Street Bridge from noon to midnight. Projects involving visual art, performance art, music, dance, puppetry, storytelling, film, video, theatre, circus arts, comedy, technology art, and more are being solicited. Application guidelines and a description of the selection process are available at www.firstnightaustin.org/involved/artist.htm. Proposals are due July 1. Artists will be notified of selection on Aug. 29. For more information, call 476-5577.

• Gregory Fleeman and David Best's art car drove away with a prize in Houston earlier this month. Their Jeep Wrangler Electrolux, which is covered with electroluxes, action figures, footballs, fish, and more, was one of four second-place winners in the EV1.net Art Car Parade.