14/48 Plays ACT Theatre’s Gregory Falls Theatre 1/6-14

The January 6-14, 2012 installment of 14/48 has a new artist roster listed at www.1448fest.com.

Each festival, 14/48’s Steering Committee strives to comprise the artist pool of at least 25% new participants (a.k.a. “14/48 virgins”) to broaden the community of 14/48 artists and to share with Seattle’s arts patrons the breadth and depth of the city’s talent. Participation in 14/48: The World’s Quickest Theatre Festival is by invitation only and the Artist Roster ranges from experienced fringe theater artists to Seattle’s performance elite.

Where: ACT Theatre’s Gregory Falls Theatre, 700 Union St, Seattle WA
When: January 6 & 7, 13 & 14, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 & 10:30pm
Tickets: $20 online / $25 day of show / $40 All-Fest Pass at (206) 292 – 7676 or www.acttheatre.org

Some of the virgins in these disciplines at 14/48 are:
Actors Renata Friedman (recently named Best Actress of 2011 by Seattle Magazine for her performance in Seattle Repertory Theatre’s The K of D), Paul Mullin (Stranger Genius Award winner), Tracy Leigh (Annex’s Team of Heroes) and up-and-comers Harry Jameison, Adria LaMorticella and Bobby Temple.

Directors Tim Moore (Theatre Schmeater’s The Twilight Zone episodes) and Ghostlight Theatricals’ Rob Bergquist.

Playwrights Emily Conbere of the Seattle Repertory Theatre’s Writer’s Group, Daniel Tarker of Seattle Playwright’s Collective, Doug Willott of Jet City Improv and after a number of turns as a14/48 actor and band member, Sean Nelson.

Here’s how 14/48 works:
Early Thursday Night, Before the Festival Begins: After tapping the ceremonial 14/48 Keg, all the participants choose a theme by completing this sentence: “Theatre would be a lot more interesting if there were seven ten-minute plays about _____.” One answer is chosen at random as the theme for the following evening.

Thursday Night: Seven caffeine-filled writers have one night to write a 10-minute play based on the theme.

The Next morning: Seven directors gather and each randomly draw one play. Thirty minutes later, the directors blindly choose actors and actresses to cast the show.

That Day: The band shows up to provide music and sound as the directors and their casts rehearse all day. Early that evening the groups struggle to squeeze in a tech rehearsal and at 8pm the first show begins!

After the Seven World Premiere Plays Wrap: The 8pm audience chooses a new theme for the next night and the adrenaline-charged theater-a-thon kicks in again with seven new plays on Saturday night thus creating 14 plays in 48 hours.

About 14/48
Founded in 1997 by Michael Neff and Jodi-Paul Wooster, the festival has evolved from a one-night one-time only event to a twice-yearly, two-weekend-long theatrical bonanza that features Seattle’s most fearless theatre artists playing to sell-out crowds. The festival will be at ACT Theatre for the fourth consecutive year as part of ACT’s Central Heating Lab.

14/48 is 14 plays conceived, written, designed, scored, rehearsed and performed in 48 hours. The brutal combination of short deadlines, extreme talent, incredible speed, frayed nerves and an overflowing fountain of inspiration serve to strip away creative inhibitions occasionally found in more traditional theater, proving that, contrary to popular opinion –sometimes the first idea is the best.

About ACT
For the past 44 seasons, ACT’s mission has been to present a broad spectrum of the very best of contemporary theatre that speaks to audiences of all backgrounds. A significant part of ACT’s mandate is to commission new works and to foster the development of those works in a supportive and inspiring workplace. Through The Central Heating Lab, ACT seeks to heat things up and create a conversation with its season that reaches for a deeper impact.

ACT gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Season Sponsors ArtsFund, ACT Foundation, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, The Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, and The Shubert Foundation, along with Producing Partners 4Culture, The Boeing Company, Getty Images, Microsoft Corporation, Nesholm Family Foundation, One Nation, PONCHO, and The Seattle Foundation.

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