The intermediate step—the sophomore class, so to speak—is VT’s logically named Beta Series, a laboratory which allows for workshopping and tinkering. The Passage, first seen at last August’s Festival, is the first of three shows in this year’s Series, running Feb. 15–24. “My family went through a huge crisis when I was younger, and this show is what came out of that,” says writer David Darrow. He allegorized that crisis as a monster-in-the-basement mystery that VT describes as “Stranger Things meets Pan’s Labyrinth.”

Beta Series shows get “full, but purposefully minimal, sets, costumes, lights, and staging,” says director Brandon Ivie, and there’s plenty of room to try things out. In fact, VT encourages people to see the show more than once to see what’s changed. “The Beta Series is such a unique opportunity for a creative team to collaborate with an audience, test out what’s working, discover what’s not, and attempt to fix it with time to test it out again,” says Ivie. “This process is especially useful for The Passage—there have been four new songs written for the show in its last eight months at Village and we will probably have a fifth new song written after performances have started.” Still to come in the Beta Series are The Homefront (March 30–31), from the 2018 Festival, and Hart Island (June 7–16), from 2018.

The Passage. Through 2/24. Times vary. $25–$30. Village Theatre, Issaquah, 303 Front St.; 425.392.2202; villagetheatre.org