If your idea of puppetry begins and ends with "Sesame Street," Seattle has a surprise for you.

The big picture: Seattle's adult puppetry scene is drawing new audiences as more people seek live performances that feel distinctly human in an era dominated by streaming and AI.

Driving the news: Two consecutive weekends of adult-oriented puppet shows are coming to Theatre Off Jackson, giving audiences a chance to experience experimental puppetry.

Zoom in: The shows are produced by Seattle puppeteers Zane Exactly and Cass Bray, who helped build the local puppetry scene through Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam, which has presented performances since 2011, and their newer project, Shadow Girls Cult.

• "We're experiencing a resurgence of puppetry in Seattle," Bray tells Axios. "Audiences are looking for ways to connect on a more tactile level."

What's happening: This weekend, Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam presents two full-length performances from visiting artists Happy Accident of Portland and Brooklyn-based Ow Wow Meow.

Shadow Girls Cult will then bring its touring production, "Unraveling," to Seattle for three shadow puppet shows July 16–18.

Shadow puppetry uses light and shadow to create stories — (think of the bird shadows you may have made with your hands as a kid but more sophisticated) — though the narratives are intentionally more abstract than traditional, Exactly says.

What they're saying: Audiences have become more selective about leaving home since the pandemic, gravitating toward in-person experiences they "can't get from a screen," Exactly says.

• "People want things that are human-made ... where you can feel the touch of the human."

Bray said every Puppet Slam attracts dozens of first-time attendees, alongside longtime puppetry fans, theatergoers and artists from Seattle's drag, burlesque and fringe theater communities.

The bottom line: Whether it's surreal shadow theater or DIY puppet punk, Seattle's adult puppetry community is betting audiences are ready to trade another night on the couch for something different.

If you go: The pay-what-you-want shows begin at 7:30pm at Theatre Off Jackson at 409 Seventh Ave. S. in the Chinatown-International District.

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Seattle is the setting for this season of "Married at First Sight," in which strangers marry upon first meeting.

• The new season of the reality TV show premieres Sunday and includes local singles.

Filming took place across Seattle, including at Pike Place Market, the Hotel Sorrento rooftop, Seattle Glassblowing Studio, several local parks and aboard a Washington State ferry, according to The Seattle Times.

Our thought bubble: We're not sure if these 14 people will find love. But maybe we'll get a few date ideas out of it.

💵 Seattle city officials are weighing a proposal to ban certain "junk" rental fees and require landlords to disclose all charges upfront for would-be tenants. (KOMO)

⚖️ Seattle's immigration court has started "mega" hearings for children in deportation proceedings, with some hearings framed as welfare checks — a rationale some immigration attorneys question. (Seattle Times)

🚧 Three months of sewer work is set to snarl traffic around 12th Avenue and East Pike Street as Seattle begins a major utility project in Capitol Hill. (CHS Capitol Hill Seattle News)

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Washington taxes distilled spirits far more heavily than any other state, according to the Tax Foundation.

• The Evergreen State taxes liquor at $36.68 per gallon, compared to the median state spirits tax of $5.98, the think tank says.

Zoom in: The estimated spirits tax rate for Washington includes retail and distributor license fees.

• Those fees stem from Initiative 1183, which voters approved in 2011 to replace Washington's state-run liquor system with a privatized one. The measure created the fees to make up for the loss of state liquor revenue.
• The Tax Foundation converted those fees into a per-gallon excise tax rate for its analysis.

Zoom out: Oregon ranks second, with an effective spirits tax rate of $23.74 per gallon — nearly $13 less than Washington's.

Gigi and Raffi came from the same breeder and are "perfect little buddies," owner Hélène J. tells us. "But they do have very different personalities."

Raffi likes to play and lives for his daily walks.

Gigi, by contrast, will refuse to keep walking after visiting one or two shrubs, forcing her owners to carry her most of the way.

Good thing she's only 5 pounds!

📸 Got a pet that deserves the spotlight? Hit reply and send us their name, some cute pics (horizontal if possible) and what they most like and dislike. They might just become our next featured star!