Chronicle critics offer entertainment suggestions

The dark fantastic: Catastrophic Theatre almost always has something intriguingly offbeat up its sleeve – especially when artistic director Jason Nodler gets it into his head to introduce Houston to an exciting playwright he's discovered. This time, the emerging dramatist is Mark Schultz. Nodler will direct Catastrophic's world premiere of Schultz's "The Blackest Shore, which centers on a troubled 16-year-old obsessed with making a graphically violent movie, and the relationship with his father, who has dark corners of his own. As when he introduced Houston to Mickle Maher by presenting two of his plays in one season, Nodler will present a second Schultz play, "Everything Will Be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy," later this year.