Unlike most plays, which are long-incubated, rewritten, and endlessly workshopped, those in the biannual 14/48 theater festival have a lifecycle of precisely two days. Fertilized with an idea, 14 playwrights run off on an overnight scripting bender, whereafter casting, directing, set designing, rehearsals, music composition funnel into the magical sausage machine of artistic production, culminating in 10-minute plays of wide-ranging quality and subject matter. My funny money’s on prolific local bard Scot Auguston, whose recent Penguins, Episode One at Annex served up some of the wittiest ecclesiastical drollery since Molière. Auguston’s kooky, melodramatic Sergeant Rigsby silhouette puppet saga is great preparation for big storytelling packed into tight external constraints. Other 14/48 participants include a mix of event veterans and virgins. Forged in this frantic cauldron, their short works are unlikely to bubble forth again. MARGARET FRIEDMAN

Fridays, Saturdays, 8 & 10 p.m. Starts: Jan. 8. Continues through Jan. 16, 2010