Flat Stanley Comes to Austin

My cousin’s son’s friend, Stanley, just came for a visit to Austin, Texas. Since Stanly is quite tiny, he is able to travel by envelope.  Traveling by envelope is nearly as good as traveling by Floo Powder, and it certainly beats the TSA lines at the airport!

This is what Flat Stanley told his friends at Shadycrest Elementary about his trip to Austin, Texas!

My Austin Adventure, by Flat Stanley Hanks

Howdy Shadycrest, I’ve just gotten back from a whirlwind trip to Austin, Texas, and boy is my everything tired!

I had a super-duper exciting visit to our state capitol.

First, I went to a taping of an episode of the Austin City Limits television show, where I saw British musician James Bay tape an episode of the PBS show. I was amazed to see an entire band wearing such tight black trousers! I wondered if they had all recently had the kind of growth spurt that made their pants so tight? I may never know.

Flat Stanley at the James Bay Austin City Limits Taping

I always thought the show happened outside, but it turns out that the city skyline that you see in the distance is just a television stage set. The show is filmed in the middle of Austin, Texas. But the band was fun, and I got to dance!

However, I didn’t get to go backstage, since I didn’t have a backstage pass.

Flat Stanley at the James Bay Austin City Limits Taping

On the way out, I took a photo with the statue of Texas singer Willie Nelson, who is known for his love of running and playing his guitar “Trigger’”

Next, I went to a taping of an “Overhead with Evan Smith” which took place on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. This is another PBS program. I didn’t understand a lot of the words that were said, but I met Evan Smith, who recently interviewed President Barack Obama! It was so exciting to take a picture with the man who had met the President of the United States of America!

Flat Stanley with Evan Smith at the “PBS OVerheard” Taping

Then, I put on a raincoat so that I could go to an outside event, a production of Shakespeare’s play, Richard III. Shakespeare was a playwright who was born in England nearly 400 years ago.

Boy, that play was really bloody, but I wasn’t scared at all. (Since it was all acting, I knew nothing bad would happen to me!)

The play took place in a replica of the Globe Theater. (Since there was no air conditioning in Shakespeare’s time, the Globe replica is open to the weather, just like the one Shakespeare had for his plays 400 years ago.) I had to keep my raincoat on, in case it rained during the show.

Flat Stanley at Richard III at the Globe Theater replica

For my last moment in Austin, I went to another taping of the Austin City Limits television program, this time to see Rhiannon Giddens play the fiddle in bare feet! I didn’t know any musicians played their instruments in public without shoes on!

After all that excitement, I’m totally down for a spot of rest! I’ll just lie here and watch this lovely Rhiannon Giddens video for a bit…