It's here! Portland's annual festival of new performance is here! You can see our previews here, and ticketing information here.

The Mercury's crack team of arts writers will be covering shows throughout the festival, so keep your eyes peeled for theater updates as we sift through a metric ton of uncurated performance to share the best, worst, and most side-eye-worthy among Fertile Ground's offerings.

Fair warning: It's a lot. Last year's coverage included a play that mimicked actual depression (it was great, I may have cried a little), a play about the Vanport Flood (also great, and a pretty necessary history lesson for anyone who calls Portland home), and an early glimpse into the greatness that would go on to be Hand2Mouth's Time, A Fair Hustler. And a whole lot more. If you're even a little bit curious about theater, go to Fertile Ground. And say hi if you do. I'll be seeing shows the entire festival. Let's do this!