THEATER—If you’re a fan of new and exciting theater, don’t miss the always reliable Action/Adventure Theatre’s Pilot Season, in which four new shows are tried out over four weekends—with the winner given a full-blown production later in the season! Pilot Season kicks off tonight with Talon Bigelow’s Purgator Inc., about a middle manager in Purgatory who discovers he’s in love with a living person! WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
Action/Adventure Theatre, 1050 SE Clinton, through Sun, 8 pm, $12-15 ($40 for all four plays), pilot season through Feb 14
THEATER—Portland’s annual festival of proudly uncurated new theater, Fertile Ground, is finally here, injecting our sorry-ass Pacific Northwest winter with a refreshingly unpretentious dose of culture: 10 days of brand-new plays, performance art, and dance invading both the city’s major theaters and improvised venues (ever seen a play in a bar? Now’s the time!). MEGAN BURBANK
At various theaters and venues, through Jan 31, fest pass $50 (tickets for individual shows also available), fertilegroundpdx.org