The Coolest Theatre Fest You Don’t Know is Going On

Schuchart and Rodero’s “I Am for Now, Maybe Not Later”. Photo by Jeff Larson.

Last weekend, Infinity Live Productions kicked off The Suitcase Festival at Annex Theatre (1100 E. Pike St.), a five-week showcase of the best touring experimental theatre acts from around the world. The festival hearkens back to the good old days of Seattle’s Fringe Fest, but is smaller and promises to be more consistent. Tickets are $10 for Thurs. shows and $15 for Fri. & Sat.

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Each weekend, the festival showcases a different pair of performers, and this Friday features Seattle’s own Bret Fetzer, with Cigarettes and Chicken Coops: Three American Fairy Tales, followed by Mike Mathieu (of The Cody Rivers Show), with Purple Heart.

The weekend of Sept. 24-26, Melbourne, Australia’s That Girl Entertainment brings their traveling puppet show to town, with Grandpa Sol & Grandma Rosie: A Puppet Adventure Among the Aged and Infirm, followed by Madison, Wisconsin’s well-reviewed contemporary dance due, Monica Rodero and Daniel Schuchart, with I Am for Now, Maybe Not Later. Oct. 1-3, Andrew Connor (the other half of Cody Rivers), presents his new movement-based performance piece, Cyclosa confusa, followed by another act from Melbourne, solo performer Jonno Katz.

And finally, the festival closes out Oct. 8-10 with what (in my opinion) is the can’t miss weekend. Madison’s The Nonsense Company open the night with Storm Still, a searing piece about a group of children trapped the shattered remnants of their school, and perform their own version of King Lear while war rages around them. Then, Baltimore’s The Missoula Oblongata, who blew me away with The 50 Greatest Ladies & Gentlemen, which they brought to Theatre off Jackson just last month, showcase another of their arts-and-crafts-on-crack touring spectacles, The Moon, The Raccoon, The Hot Air Balloon.