Weekend One Wrap-Up

My job as blogger is almost done, but before signing off, I wanted to say a few thanks and report what a pleasure it was blogging for the festival this weekend.

14/48, each time I experience it, reminds me why people are drawn into the theatre business or, as my good friend Peter Dylan O'Connor might say, why we keep getting sucked back into it even if we try to escape. The people. Live theatre CONNECTS some f***ing cool people. I've met at least two dozen new people this weekend, each of them talented, smart, funny, skilled, and passionate artists! How awesome is that? I look forward to seeing them all again in the future.

My dearest thanks go to all those who made this weekend so memorable.

Finally, anyone who is somehow reading this blog who has NOT yet experienced the awesomeness which is 14/48, I desperately implore you to get your butt over to ACT next weekend and prepare to have your mind blown.

Good night, Seattle. Yours truly,
Jordan Rosin

The First Read: Monique Does the Math

I've decided to sit in on the first read of play #7: Monique Does the Math written by Elizabeth Heffron, directed by Tammi Doyle, featuring the talents of Angela DiMarco, Colleen Robertson, Michael Katt, Alex Garnett, & Amy Love.

As usual with these first reads at 14/48 the director is switching it up quite a bit, having each actor read for nearly every part. As I write, Tammi and Elizabeth are discussing who they'd like to cast in which role. This is, as Aimee Bruneau told me last festival, the "most important decision" a director will make. This decision is all the more important and all the more challenging at 14/48 where the company of actors for each play are selected randomly.

A real estate agent, a couple of first-time homebuyers, two wall-street big wigs... Angela, Colleen, Michael, Alex, and Amy... who will play what? For the answer, come see Monique Does the Math tonight at 8pm or 10:30pm at the Gregory Falls Theatre at ACT!

Director Thoughts.

I decided to try and find all the directors to get some insights from them.  Most were very busy but they were all very willing to talk to me.  I asked them to tell me (in one word) how they were feeling right at that moment and also one word to describe their show.  Here you go.

Show #1: "Inanimacy" directed by M. Elizabeth Eller

Feeling: Hopeful Show: Fucktastic

Show #2: "Funerals" directed by Mik Kuhlman

Feeling: Great Show: Sweet

Show #3: "Mr. Jibbers" directed by Tyrone Brown

Feeling: Good Show: Puppetry

Show #4: "We're From Ohio" directed by Aimee Bruneau

Feeling: Torn Show: Sticky

Show #5: "Calling the Marker" directed by Scott Francis

Feeling: Great Show: Enjoyable

Show #6: "Great Expectations" directed by Makaela Pollock

Feeling: Sweaty Show: Spunky

Show #7: "Mr. McGregor's Garden" directed by Katjana Vadeboncoeur

Feeling: Awesome Show: Fucked

Now who doesn't want to see these shows?  

Lessons Learned

Here are some things I have learned this weekend:

MJ Sieber (playwright) doesn't ever sleep.  

Stage Managers need pants with pockets.

Ryan Higgins (actor) is very flexible.

Beer is better cold.

Alyssa Keene (band) knows how to play a lot of different instruments.  

There are so many people willing to do thankless jobs just for the chance to be involved in this festival.

Salo (band) cuts his sandwiched into quarters and doesn't eat the crusts.

Even people in Texas read this blog.

Chuck Leggett (actor) is very convincing as a can of beer.

On the Boards is a great host for 14/48.

Tyrone Brown (director) ate a whole angel food cake on his bus ride home last night.

There is no reason to not love this festival.

All of these people have been chosen for a reason.

I'm with the band.

Everyone involved in the festival works their butts off.  Seriously.  It would be difficult to say that one group of people has a harder job than another.  But one group who would definitely be in contention for "hardest workers" would be the 14/48 band.  

These musicians are amazing.  They show up in the morning, read the scripts for the seven shows, and then get to work.  Emissaries are sent to each director to see what their vision is for music and then they report back to each other and make that happen.  

They are in charge of pre-show music, transition music, all sound effects for all shows (foley style), all underscoring the directors request, as well as an intermission song and an outro song.  PLUS, they are encouraged to write and score an original song based on the theme and have it awesome by 8pm tonight.  AND THEY DO IT.  (I have been informed that they do have an original song for tonight, written by Jason Anderson and Alyssa Keene).  So, when you are watching the show tonight (at 8pm or 10:30pm) don't forget to pay a little special attention to the band-back in the corner there.  They are the first ones onstage and the last ones off.  

I caught up with the drummer, Ron Carnell, while he was on a rare break (sorry Ron, if you would have rather relaxed than have me ask you questions).  This is Ron's 13th time doing 14/48.  That is a lot.  But once you see him work, its totally obvious why.  He says that today is a music heavy day, but he doesn't seem worried.  I am impressed by how relaxed he is.  In fact, the band always looks relaxed.  Maybe that's why musicians are so cool.  Confidence.    

Half Way

At lunch, all the artists mingle together in an orgy of food and beverage. Alex Samuels and his dedicated kitchen helpers have created a feast: watermelon soup, make-your-own-sandwich bar, fried chicken, chips and salsa, fresh salad, fruit: you name, he has it. Well, you name one of the things on the list I just wrote, and he has it.

No one is simply eating, though. They are memorizing lines, talking about props, discussing music for the show, working on dialects, practicing their blocking, and talking about last nights shows.

One group discusses how last nights shows seemed to have a chicken and star trek theme. (If you didn't see it, there were two shows that had chicken-humans and more than one show that had star trek references.)

Alex Samuels just walked around with otter pops for everyone. He is a God. Now, satisfied that everyone has had their fill, he goes out for a much deserved smoke.

There is much discussion happening right now about trying to locate a coffin. Really. A show needs a coffin and no one seems to be able to have one. Do you have one?

Lunch Time

It's lunch time now.  I know this because the Artistic Liaison (Peter Dylan O'Connor) just walked into the office and rubbed a piece of chicken on my arm.  It was juicy.  I didn't like it.  He did it again.  This time some chunks stuck to me.  Chicken chunks.  People are getting loopy.  

I think I am going to go in another room and see what the other people are doing.   

Brilliance and Hard Work

Just walking from one part of this theatre to another (which takes maybe five minutes) I walked by two shows in full-blown rehearsals, the band practicing an original song they just wrote, designers talking about what they need for the seven shows and who is going to get it or make it, two people cutting vegetables (for lunch), and the stage manager, executive producer and lighting designer talking about projections.

This is just a small window into how many different elements of this festival are constantly in motion and how many different kinds of people are here in this building, all working together to make 14/48. Makes you want to be a part of it, right?

Well you can be be! Come and see the shows tonight at On the Boards at 8:00 p.m and 10:30 p.m. Get your tickets here.

Morning Glimpses

I am here for my official first blog of the day, full of news.  I would have posted earlier, but I found myself suddenly without adequate computer access and couldn't figure out how to send my posts via 14/48 messenger pigeons.  

So, here are a few snippets of things that happened in the first few hours of the second day of the first weekend of the festival that is 14/48:

Shawn Belyea was woken up this morning by Peter Dylan O'Connor pounding on his front door because he needed a computer password and Shawn's phone was off.  

Lou Butler (stage manager extraordinaire) showed up with her glasses taped together with electrical tape and a bruise on the side of her face.  Apparently she walked into a wall last night during the first show.

Alex Samuels (food czar) made fresh potato pancakes for everyone (delicious).  

Chris Bell (actor) could not find his shirt (I am guessing) but did find his name tag- so he pinned it to his chest hair.  

Darian Lindle (playwright) brought videos of her highschool show choir to show Makaela Pollock (director).  (I saw some of it.  Its singing and dancing and sequins.  Oh, and jazz hands.)  

The Second Night - 8pm

So, the second night of the first weekend of 14/48 January 2009 is done. I'm sure Ben will come in behind me with his own fabulous blog comments about the show. Here are mine:

Sold out again - great energy. Fun riffs on the theme "Liquor is Quicker."

1. A twist on AA with four members of a different group embracing their alcoholism and the "success" it has brought them. Hilarious performances by all including Jon Lutyens as a hilarious martini swiller and Hillary Pickles as a pregnant lush.

2. A silent ballet of a high school love triangle set in the 80s and set to 80s music that featured the wonderful 14/48 band rising to the occasion brilliantly.

3. An ex-drinker (Katie Warren) runs into her ex-boyfriend (Anthony Winkler) on the subway and wants him and a drink.

4. Five women wake up in bed with each other post-drunken orgy - great brave performances by Kate Jaeger, Annie Lareau, Khahn Doan, Jaimie Roberts, and Imogen Love as the poor woman who took a power nap and missed the fun.

5. Mullin's dark and epic story of God's cruelty and seeming irrationality. I love it when a piece dares to strike an unusual and startling mood. Kudos to the director and cast for playing it straight and hard.

6. A script that is sometimes seen at 14/48 - a self-referential piece about a playwright with a cast and a theme who's trying to get his 14/48 script written. This one succeeds with its big, strong Broadway number.

7. A Medieval family waits for the return of the father, out slaying a mythical monster. Hilarious and a fabulous finish to the evening!

Really strong night - congratulations all!

I'm too old and too sober to stay for the after party.

Becky Hellyer

Stuff I Ain't Never Seen Before

So, 14/48 participants start out all in one room and then, as the day progresses, they break up into groups and rooms and roles and finally, at about this time of day, each one is completely focused on his own process, his own task. This is how so many people miss knowing what is going on in the next room, or even in the next rehearsal. And this is how it is that I've never seen a band rehearsal or laid eyes on a director's meeting- both of which I got to see today!

The band rehearsal was like listening to a lovely conversation between friends - or people who are becoming friends. I sat up in the balcony and read my book and listened at the same time, enjoying the slow blending of instruments, the expertise of musicians who can hear a key and play a tune they've only heard a few times. Apparently, the band has a heavy load today. They have a ballet, a big musical number, a theme, and a bunch of cues. They talk to each other with instruments and shortcut musician language and Leslie Law's lovely voice. This is a part of 14/48 that I would totally eavesdrop on again - any time.

The director's meeting is when the directors sit around a table and, in order of their shows, make sure the stage manager knows all the needs - lights on the stairs at the end of a show, a bar that needs to be shared by two directors, a subway handle strap hanging from the ceiling, movement of set pieces, who needs the beer cans and how much and can they be open. These people look tired. Their jobs are almost over.

As Peter Dylan O'Connor just said, "I think it's time to open a beer!"

Becky Hellyer

Saturday Rehearsals

The second day of 14/48 always feels like someone picked up all the players from the night before, shook them up in a Yahtzee cup, and poured them out on the board again. Some of the players are still joined (Mark Boeker & Shawn Law, I notice, are still together - so are Tina LaPlant & Troy Fischnaller & John Lutyens). But almost everyone else has been rearranged, regrouped, refamilied.

Today, the two worst rehearsal spaces from yesterday have been switched up. Elevators are required. And by the time I get there, most of the playwrights have already cut out and table work is happening everywhere in the building.

I first find Brian Faker in the Microsoft Lobby with Aaron Washington, Erin Stewart, and Andrew McMasters. Playwright Louis Broom is also at the table. They are discussing a big Broadway musical number. When the costume people come Brian says, "If we could have three canes and three top hats" and Beth Matthiesen says, "It's always good to ask. If you could only have one or the other, which would it be." Brain says. "Hats. Canes. Hats."

In the blue lobby George Mount and his cast are discussing what sounds like a biblical piece - or Mafia - or something like that. It's hard to hear exactly what's going on. This is one of the most frustrating rehearsal spaces because people walk through during the day. Later, I notice they've moved into the main lobby.

Upstairs in the buster lobby Tina LaPlant and her cast are have a raucous good time. It almost sound like (and this is from a sensitive playwright's point of view) that they are writing the script on the spot. Are they adding lines? Re-writing? Saying whatever comes to mind? But it's just rehearsal and they're laughing. It's wild. Troy admits there is "a part of me that always wants to go too far." Tina says, "Just don't upstage. You can do that in the 10:30 show." And she says, "I'm already out of control. I can tell."

In the Allen Theater Lobby space David Grossman has Charles Smith, Michael Patten, and Jennifer Jasper. There are blonde wigs and ballet movement and hands in pants and no lines. Excellent!

The added rehearsal space on the 8th floor is by far the best space in the building. Gorgeous, light, huge. There is a five women cast and Opal Peachy at the helm. They are still just chatting, telling stories from past 14/48, Kate Jaeger is saying some of her students may have been in the audience last night seeing her pull sex toys out of her cleavage. They are still casting.

In Buster they are not only cast but on their feet and blocking it. Peggy Gannon, Chuck Leggett and Megan Ahiers are working with Don Fleming. They're laughing and discussing and trying things out. Lisa Viertel and Shane Regan wait for their turn.

Finally, in the echo chamber, is Nicole Boyer Cochran and the two person cast for tonight - Anthony Winkler and Katie Warren. They are also on their feet, working through the internals of the scene, walking, holding their ground, discussing what this means to their characters. Man, I love watching rehearsal.

Becky Hellyer

Letters from the middle of the night - part deux

I asked the playwrights to email me in the middle of the night, in the middle of the process or when they were done, to let me know how it had gone (reminder: the theme is Liquor is Quicker)

12:48am - Paul Mullin is done. He says it has no comedy in it at all. (We'll see.) "I had it mapped out by the time the bus dropped me off in Green Lake. It's so obvious in retrospect. We all know who the greatest alcoholic of all time is."

1:19am - Brian Neel and Paul Shipp were separated last night after the first show. "We're fine now. Midway on page two."

2:24am - Celene Ramadan writes to say started at about 11pm and she's done and she's happy with it. "I see it as something I'd like to film someday soon, which was a goal of mine for this weekend but nothing I wanted to force."

3:160am - Glenn Hergenhahn sends an email that he's finally finished. It's the second night he's finished by 3. "Too early to tell if it is intelligible, but there is a monster with horns and vikings (sort of) so how wrong could it go?"

4:59am (ouch!) - Brian Neel writes to say that he and Paul Shipp had each, in their separation, written some ideas and sketches. When they reunited "we shoved our material together and discovered that Mr. Neel forgot to include our fifth character. Hurdle number one." Once again, a photo (above) from the boys. I'm thinking that co-writer thing sounds a little dicey after all.

6:11am - Jerry Kraft actually finished his writing by 2am but was up early reviewing it and reflecting on the previous night's performance and tonight's. "The fact that my show will be the first up tonight actually helped me focus on the kind of thing I wanted to do, and since the style is more presentational than last night's play, it was easier to compose."

The emails give a glimpse into the war zone of the Friday night writing process. It doesn't really tell anything except how hard it is to do. And perhaps Brian Neel sums it up best when he says, "Take heed: do not seek perspective in the blur of creativity at four in the morning."

See you soon!

Becky Hellyer

An email from Brian Neel at 11:30

"THIS JUST IN: The team of Neel, Shipp separated
Neel lost his keys, realizing just after Shipp dropped him at his car. Neel bussed home. Shipp is wandering who knows where, mobile phoneless."

Oh boy.

Becky Hellyer

The 8:00pm show

The first thing I should admit is how few times I've attended 14/48 when I wasn't writing. Very few. In fact, to be honest, once. And it was before I'd ever participated. So tonight I'm reminded how fun it can be to just watch - to just enjoy - to not have any ownership of what's about to go up on stage. It's relaxing, it's exciting, it's fabulous. I'm basically loving it. How come I don't do this more often?

The band and Matthew Richter kick us off and then we see (and I realize this is a redundant recounting as Ben has already done one but this is what you get with two bloggers!)...

1. A play about neighbors fighting over a patio with Chuck Leggett rising from the band as a sage, scary dude.

2. A woman who doesn't leave her apartment is visited by a charming young neighbor (Aaron Washington) who invites her to rejoin the living.

3. A battle played in reverse between two men - the escalation instead working it's way backward from death to a simple challenge. (Kudos Celene Ramadan.)

4. An aggressive girl (Erin Stewart) and a sweet boy (Mark Boeker) are coached on playground bullying by two over-involved adults.

At intermission, there is a buzz. These were four funny plays - each successful in their own way - each with a little something to say. I admit to myself that the testosterone rush I was expecting from the theme and the abundance of men is more subtle than I'd predicted. It's sweeter and funnier. Post-intermission...

5. A play about a boisterous playwright (Paul Mullin, played by Troy Fischnaller) who recalls a wish he had to be with a pretty, successful woman. (I know, I know, that doesn't capture it - I'm trying to keep it short here!)

6. An opportunist tries to blackmail a potential political appointee , only to be reminded of his own indiscretions.

7. Women try to identify the enemy to their happiness and, while they don't ever discover it, they find the cure in drugs. (One gal's interpretation.)

And then it's over and the band plays us out the door! And what fun it was! The second half was less tight but I liked it for its roughness - its cockiness.

The new theme is - Liquor is Quicker.

Selfishly, I'm relishing the fact that I don't have to write a script tonight or even remember what the theme is. And I don't have to stay for the 10:30 show and find the strength inside myself to perform again. I don't have to clean up or lock up or get ready for the morning. I'm going to go home and have a glass of wine and go to bed. I'll sleep the sleep of a woman who has enjoyed an evening of strong, brave theater from some of Seattle's most talented artists. Life is good.

Becky Hellyer

Before the show

I'm sitting next to the stairs. Jaimie Roberts sits next to me for a minutes. She tells me she'll be doing the second night as an actress but not the first - she couldn't get out of work. Her theory about why it's so calm tonight - it's because the building is so large and rehearsal spaces didn't have to overlap with each other so much. Not as much stress. I agree but later I think about the rehearsal spaces I had to walk through over and over today. That may not be it.

I catch up with a couple of playwrights and they look dazed, tired, and/or like hell. They're worried about how the script they wrote last night will come off. They're thinking about the next one. I track down Glen and Louis - the two playwrights I missed yesterday - and ask them to send me a middle-of-the-night email. I think they think I'm crazy. Maybe asking a playwright to report back on the Friday night process is a little crazy. I'm part of the asylum.

The lights are dimming. The show is about to start.

Becky Hellyer

Who photographs the photographer?

Well, I do. But not very well.

John Ulman looking into his camera. Harvey on the sidebar.

Becky Hellyer

It's all about MEN

I was thinking that the venue would influence 14/48 tonight but I've changed my mind. I got to go around and poke my head into all the rehearsal rooms (I felt like I was playing a game of Zelda trying to find them all in the lovely maze of ACT) and I think it will be much less influenced by space than by the theme (remember: Neutralize the Threat) and the mostly male playwright pool. (Lots of male actors, too, by the way.) My prediction (and I'm not giving anything away here) is that tonight will be a testosterone-rich experience. And, as Teri Lazarra said when I shared my guess, "I like it!" Pretty much sums it up.

Becky Hellyer

Letters from the middle of the night

I asked the writers (the writers I managed to track down!) to email me during the night and let me know how it all went. Or how it was going.

10:00pm - Jerry Kraft emails from Edmonds to say that he thought about his two men and one woman on the drive up and "now I need to settle on exactly what the threat is, and to whom, and what has to be done to neutralize it."

1:00am - Celene Ramadan emails to say she is done. She says she started by asking herself some questions: "what is the threat? Are the two men in my play opponents or on the same team? What style and mood do I want?" (Ya gotta love it that the writers are actually EMBRACING and WRITING ABOUT the theme, don't you?) Celene "made decisions and decided to just commit 100% to them" and now she's wondering if she should write another one - just in case. 100% commitment to 100% doubt at 1:00am. Yup, absolutely.

2:00am - Jerry emails to say he's done. He's going to go to bed and get up early to look it over and see what he thinks. And then he speaks the familiar phrase - that mantra of the 14/48 writer - "I have no idea if it's any good." Amen, brother.

3:00am - Brian Neel emails that he and Paul Shipp walked the streets of downtown Seattle riffing on the theme until they came up with an idea and then went to Paul's place to bang it out. It "flowed smoothly until about three quarters of the way through when two prominent concepts didn't take hold." They struggled with it until they had to just scrap the concepts and finish without them. "Right now, as I fade away, I just miss that doll's head. (I know it could have worked.)" We'll ALL miss the doll's head, baby! They send the above photo - "taken upon completion of script, one shot of whiskey toast." Kind of makes you want to try that co-writer thing, doesn't it?

No other emails from the middle of the night. We'll have to assume the playwrights all survived and that the scripts are on their digital journeys to ACT to find their directors and actors and come to life tonight. Can't wait!

Becky Hellyer

Talk to me, writers

My heart is with the writers. It always is. In some ways the entire festival is about the writers - they create stories overnight. In other ways, the weekend belongs to everyone but the writers. For instance, every non-writer at the Artists Meeting is chatting and laughing - they're a little nervous, sure. But they're having fun. The writers, on the other hand, normally confident, gregarious people, are not having fun. They pace. They glare. They clench their jaws. They laugh loudly and then go silent. They are like spouses in the maternity ward. And in the morning they will deliver the scripts into the hands of the directors and actors and then go home. No one will really want them around. Tonight, while we sleep, the writers will be having their shining moments. Alone. So, I ask the writers to email me tonight - when they're done or as they're working through their plots, developing their characters, struggling with what to say. "Just tell me anything," I say. Paul Mullin and virgin writer Jerry Kraft say they will email me. Brian Neel says, "Sure!" So does his writing partner, Paul Shipp. Anita Montgomery (also a virgin) looks doubtfully at me as I stop her on her way out the door to explain that I'm blogging and I'd like to hear from her - but she takes the piece of paper with my email address. I've missed Louis Broom and Glen Hergenhahn - they slipped out - I'll get them tomorrow. But Celene Ramadan is still here - lingering with friends. She also takes the paper from me. And then all the writers are gone and the directors are still meeting. Everyone else is drinking beer and talking quietly. As I head off to sleep, I'm thinking about our dear writers and I'm wondering what kinds of emails will be waiting for me in the morning. I'll let you know.

Becky Hellyer