OPENING the break/s @ ACT. Marc Bamuthi Joseph is a poet, theatre artist, and educator who's produced a hip hop influenced solo performance piece that's generating buzz all over town. (700 Union St. Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., matinees Sat. & Sun. 2 p.m. Tix $40-$55.) more ›

RECOMMENDED Northwest New Works @ On the Boards. The NW New Works Fest returns in top form! The first weekend features a lineup of top Northwest dance groups on the mainstage, and a cast of brilliant experimental troupes down in the studio, our favorite part of the fest. The studio showcase plays Fri. 8, Sat. and Sun. at 5. The mainstage performances are Sat. and Sun. at 8. Next weekend, the lineup changes, so this is your only opportunity to see some of Seattle's best performers, including Helsinki Syndrome, featuring former Seattlester Rachel Hynes, live from London. (100 W. Roy St. Tix $14.) more ›

It's fitting that the star of Richard Dresser's Below the Belt is an actor best known for sitcoms, because the play feels like a 90-minute-long one: There's plenty of one-liners, the characters are all archetypes, and the plot is all about lies, because a story about lies ensures that you can end up exactly where you started and that's exactly how sitcoms like to roll. That's not to say the play's bad—it's actually really funny—but it's not exactly the biting satire it's made out to be. Like so many contemporary plays, confronted with several possible directions to take a scenario, Dresser instead wussies out and aims straight for middle-brow sentimentality, leaving you with a funny but toothless take on the trials and tribulations of corporate peons. more ›

ONE WEEKEND ONLY biome @ Seattle Rep. Capacitor, a San Francisco-based performance group that mixes dance, multimedia, and science, is finally back in town with biome. Originally scheduled for January, the performance was canceled when flooding closed I-5. Now, Capacitor is finally back for two nights with a stunning visual exploration of the micro-habitat of the rain-forest canopy, based on a close collaboration with scientists in the International Canopy Network, including Evergreen College professor Dr. Nalini Nadkarni. (Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. 155 Mercer St. Tix $15-$25.) more ›

'CAUSE HATE IS JUST UGLY: The California Supreme Court announced last Friday that they would be handing down their decision today on the constitutionality of the infamous Prop 8. The court upheld the same-sex marriage ban, but allowed the existing 18,000 unions to stand. Since the news is mixed, it's fitting that there's a rally and/or protest taking place at Westlake Center Park tonight. Get out and show your support either way. more ›