The festival opens with The Spheres, a new piece by Strange Fruit, which takes a look at physics, the miracle of rebirth and the power behind those two phenomena.

Highlights of the festival include Keith Wallace's The Bitter Game, which provides commentary on what it's like to survive as a black American; and Heaven on Earth, presented by San Diego's Sledgehammer Theatre, in which the apocalypse is imminent, but there is a sense that time has run its course and something new will emerge from the ashes. 

"Family Day," set for Oct. 10, features events and activities by the San Diego Children's Discovery Museum, the Museum of Photographic Arts, the Timken Museum of Art and the Mingei International Museum, as well as a live-action role-play event in which children ages eight and up are able to join a Society of Creative Thinkers. 

Some of the other highlights of the festival include The Car Plays: Interchange, a series of intimate 10-minute plays that take place in a car; Healing Wars, a piece exploring the wounds of war that blends dance, multimedia and a performance piece from a young Navy veteran; George Brandt's critically lauded Grounded; The Golden Door, an immersive theatrical piece inviting audience members to experience first-hand the stories of refugees; and Every Path, in which various garden paths explore a woman's journey through adulthood.

The event features a central Festival Village, where patrons can enjoy food-truck fare, a beer garden and free acoustic music performances. For the full line-up and more information on participating artists, visit WoWFestival.