With two years' experience at the Northwest New Works Festival at On the Boards under our belts as of this weekend, we're seeing a pattern emerge: The really exciting work happens down in the studio, and the mainstage performances are more or less skippable unless you're really into that sort of thing.

Saturday afternoon was a hard day to justify spending indoors in a small, dark (though thankfully cool) theatre, which left John and Anna Dixon, who opened the five o'clock Studio Showcase's second weekend, the unenviable task of warming up a distracted audience. Still, NOW PLAYING: The interactive misadventures of GOAT and subgroup 33 delivered a quite funny and engaging bit of audience-participation performance. Viewers were given instructions on how to direct the performers, identified as "A" and "B", by calling the letter, a number up to 33, or a "subgroup" up to 33 (subgroups and numbers can, in combination, produce yet a third variant). Running through a choose-your-own-adventure play of well-rehearsed non sequiturs, the Dixons subjected the audience to variously brilliant and hilarious bits of dance, funny accents, story-telling, and ukulele and (broken) accordion playing.

Following up was Juliet & Stephen with Rope Course, the stand-out performance we saw, incorporating the most notable movement and acting and concept. The story of two rather bland office workers who, in a moment of all-hands-induced workplace enthusiasm, volunteer for a special "management training" course that more or less constitutes them being left adrift at sea, the actors not only entertained but showed the sort of subtle understanding of the banal details of office work that's so often lacking from the arts, which comfortably judges something it really doesn't understand. In other words, it wasn't just good, it was spot-on.

Following up was Fever Theater's New Believers, a metaphysical-themed performance piece whose tongue-in-cheekiness didn't quite pull off the show; the only down note from a thoroughly enjoyable Studio Showcase. The closing set, Extreme Boylesque by Waxie Moon, was a stand-out in terms of pure comedy (though Juliet & Stephen retain our vote for most creative performance).

The Mainstage Showcase upstairs at eight, in contrast, was more or less a let-down. Danny Herter & The Invasive Species was a bore, while "Awesome" was anything but, and LAUNCH dance theater's pro re nata was the sort of self-involved, nearly self-parody performance that assumes intent is more important than execution. The closer, Realer, a 3-D extravaganza by Portland duo Hooliganship, was perfectly entertaining and creative, but wasn't much of a live performance and ultimately felt shticky.

So take note for next May: the Studio Showcase plays Friday nights, so you can see the good stuff and have your likely sunny afternoon. Oh, and On the Boards has just announced their '08'-'09 season, which looks likely to top this years' spectacular one. Early bird subscriber specials through June 30 for what's consistently the best theatre and performance in town. Take advantage!

Photo of Juliet Walker and Stephen Hando in "Rope Course" courtesy of On the Boards, by Tim Summers.