Aptly dubbed The Worlds Quickest Theatre Festival, 14/48 is a swift and quirky adventure. The idea: Toss together the citys best writers, directors, actors, and musicians on Thursday night, give them a theme, and send them to create seven completely original short plays to be performed Friday. A new audience-generated theme is drawn after Fridays performance, and everyone comes up with seven new plays for Saturday. By the end, Seattle has been blessed with 14 world premieres in 48 hours. No wonder 14/48 won the 2008 Mayors Arts Award; the idea is so brilliant it hardly seems to matter what the end result is. Lucky for us, 14/48 has the substance to back up the concept. Everyone involved is a pro, the live band is a huge highlight, and the night I went there was nary a dud in the collection. NANCY SMITH
Fridays, Saturdays, 8 & 10:30 p.m. Starts: Jan. 9. Continues through Jan. 17, 2009
