There is no rest for the weary, I tell ya.
14/48: The World's Quickest Theater Festival Blog
Showing posts with label Friday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday. Show all posts
Friday, July 31, 2009
That was great! Now do it again!
First show just finished. They did it! I'm so proud! And it looked great from the audience. (Trust me, I was looking for flaws.) There are still tickets available for show 2 at 10:30...which is about 15 minutes away...
Friday, January 9, 2009
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
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
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
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
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