Shakespeare in the Park and 14/48 Festival

Shakespeare in the Park and 14/48 Festival

by Miryam Gordon - SGN A&E Writer You have a couple more days to see Wooden O Productions' uproarious version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, playing for free Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 1-3 at 7pm, at Luther Burbank Park, Mercer Island. Set in vintage Las Vegas, the sight gags and droll looks keep this production bubbling along as director Vanessa Miller's version stays firmly on the funny. The cast is a collection of Shakespearean stalwarts and by now is weathered into a true team effort. Still, some of the funniest, silliest performances are by Matt Shimkus and Tim Gouran as Demetrius and Lysander, Chiara Motley and Brenda Joyner as Helena and Hermia, Kelly Kitchens as Titania and Jon Lutyens in a small but hysterical turn as Francis Flute. David Goldstein as Bottom does a great mimicry of "acting" that is tortured past, well past believability and is laugh out loud funny. Costumes by Deane Middleton and music by composer Robertson Witmer help create the winning Las Vegas atmosphere. The wonderfully easy-to-change set by Craig B. Wollam works for benches, trees, beds, and assorted other scenic elements, while still maintaining that Las Vegas stage appearance. The second free Shakespeare in the Park production by Wooden O Productions is Romeo and Juliet. The final performances of this production are on Friday, August 1, at 7pm at City Hall, Redmond, Saturday, August 2, at 7pm at the Sno-Isle Library Marysville Branch, Marysville and Sunday, August 3, at 5pm at Wiggums Hollow in Everett. The choice of director George Mount to set this play in some unnamed war zone fails to illuminate any part of this famous story and actually confuses it. A strong performance by Kate Parker as Benvolio is confused by whether she's a woman playing a woman or a woman playing a man, which is not Parker's fault. John Farrage plays a compassionate and helpful Friar Laurence. Hana Lass as Juliet and Michael Place as Romeo have nice chemistry together, but the compression of the play at the beginning gives them little time for us to really believe they've found a love so strong they would die for it. A positive for this production is that every actor understands what he or she is saying, which helps the audience understand it, as well. 14/48: The World's Quickest Theater Festival produced another segment in its unique assemblage of writers, directors, actors, musicians and assorted technical helpers at the Center House Theater, the past two weekends. Not only do they produce 7 original works, written and produced in 24 hours, they do so twice in one weekend, making that a total of 14 plays in 48 hours (hence the name). You may not yet have attended these zany festivals, so you should know that most of the participants are invited to come play with the 14/48 organizers. Some well known writers, directors and actors are regulars in this grueling "why did we ever want to do this?" weekend craziness. Since themes for the plays are drawn at the beginning of each 24 hour cycle, no writer can come prepared knowing what to write about. The writers are given directors and a cast before they have written a word. They have eight hours to make it work. The theme for the Sunday, July 27 performances was "kicking a habit." The seven plays presented chose a wide variety of habits, from sex to drugs to television to food. As usual, the 14/48 band accompanied each performance, sometimes becoming sound effects. The band also plays between each play. This festival is usually done twice a year, so the next one will likely be scheduled in early winter. Recently housed by Capitol Hill Arts Center (which had to close after losing a lease), 14/48 moved for this festival to Center House Theater in the basement of the Seattle Center House. While this is a great theater space, the old CHAC environment allowed for a bit more raucous audience participation. A common accompaniment to the production is the sale of various alcoholic beverages. Thus lubricated, the audience appreciation for the evening is increased. For more information, go to www.seattleshakespeare.org or www.1448fest.com.