The Ten Thousand Things

Seattle playwright Paul Mullins likes big ideas, and how our lives can look pretty small in comparison. He’s written plays about the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the nature of memory, and the last hours of a nuclear scientist who accidentally received a lethal dose of radiation. But his new play, The Ten Thousand Things (through June 16), might be about his biggest idea yet. Inspired by the 10,000 Year Clock, a project by the Long Now Foundation that started keeping time on December 31st, 1999, and will (they hope, with maintenance and attention) keep time for 10,000 years, this show is a dramatic exercise in futurology. A lot can happen in that time (we should be well out of the Democratic primary, for one), and this play takes a look at the deep future to see just what that might be. Directed by Braden Abraham and featuring the fearless WET ensemble. [See review here.] WET, 608 19th Ave. E., 800-838-3006, www.washingtonensemble.org. $10–$18. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Mon. Ends June 16. JOHN LONGENBAUGH
Mondays, Thursdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Starts: May 22. Continues through June 16, 2008