Kyle Regan—a masochistic Stranger reader—has vowed to do every single thing recommended by the Stranger Suggests (movies, galleries, bars, concerts) for the month of January. Look for his reports daily on Slog. —Eds.
The Eagles Auditorium—home to the ACT—is one of those buildings you drive by hundreds of times without ever noticing it. That’s unfortunate. The building itself is beautiful: elaborate terra cotta and general architectural coolness helps it stand out strong against the towers that surround it. Motherfucking Martin Luther King Jr. stayed there during his only visit AND the building was Aerie No. 1 of the Fraternal of of Eagles. History, represent!
Here’s how 14/48 works: the evening before the show—Thursday night—a theme is drawn out of a hat. Seven writers wrote scripts that riffed on that theme. The directors, actors, and crew had all day Friday to mount these new plays. Immediately after the show, that night’s plays are scrapped and a new theme is chosen for the next night’s show.
Not to brag, but I actually have theater experience: I sold concessions at 5th Avenue Theater for a whole six months. It is the capstone on my resume. Unlike going to art galleries—no experience at all until this week—seeing theater was something I had a sliver experience with. But I had never heard of 14/48 or ACT so this was my first non-5th-Avenue-related theater-going experience. I can’t fathom how hard it is to coordinate everything it takes to put one of those 14/48 skit shows together. I’m not saying they were flawless—sometimes the pacing felt off, especially when the show attempted to shift from comedic to tragic pieces. I preferred the comedy pieces, of course, because funny is easier for morons like me to enjoy.
And, God fucking damn, did I ever enjoy 14/48. The theme last night was “collateral damage,” and we got to see a real variety of stuff: collaterally damaged alien heads, a collaterally damaged baby, and… well, some other pieces that incorporated the theme less successfully. The one about a chatroom was inventive, but confusing. (I was given two tickets to 14/48 so I brought my friend Law. He makes Bruce Lee look like an accounting major. And Law’s least favorite was my top pick. Clearly Law has no taste.) But this was my favorite Stranger Suggests so far. It was fun and me and Law both left ACT with dopey smiles on our faces. Even better: I won the raffle for free tickets to the next 14/48 and I got to suggest a theme.(“Mad Science”—fuck you, it was all I could think of.)
There were two suggested events last night: 14/48 and the Shabazz Palaces show at Neumos. I didn’t get to the Shabazz show but there should be a review of it on LineOut at some point.
Hey, I love that DOPEY look on people’s faces.
“Mad Science” is a solid idea for a theme, don’t sell yourself short.
At first, it was kind of charming that the author had never heard of certain restaurants or had never tried a type of food. But…never stepping into an art gallery or an art museum? Even on a whim? Only having seen theater because you work at one? What…does the author do with all his time? This series is starting to make me really sad.
I’m actually really enjoying this series BECAUSE it is from the perspective of someone who doesn’t usually go to these things. And I love the writing voice too.
I agree with Bethm about Kyle’s writing voice – it’s one of a select few I can actually kinda hear in my head (like John Irving or George RR Martin) because of its pacing and honesty. I’m excited to see what next week has in store for Kyle, our new guide into the Seattle Arts/Social scene!