Rule of 7x7 All-Stars Edition

In celebration of four years of top-notch, original short plays—always served up seven in a row—the creator, producer, host and participating playwright, Brett Epstein—a self-proclaimed “type-A genius”—decided to bring back seven favorites among the nearly two hundred shorts that have premiered at The Tank for said special edition.

Unlike the “regular” episodes, where each of the seven plays must include all of seven different dramatic (or more often, comedic) elements specific to that production, each of these shows had its own, original list of requirements.

Considering that two pair of the all-star plays came from the same previous rounds, tonight’s special episode featured thirty-five different themes, including:

At some point, Truth or Dare is played.

The same word has to be repeated back and forth between two actors, four times in a row.

“If I had a ___ for every ___, I’d be ___.”

and, simply:

Fat.

Now, if you’ve been to as many occurrences of 7x7 as we have, you know how difficult it must be to select just seven finalists from a long list of great performances, where only one out of every twenty-eight contenders can actually make the cut.

First up tonight was Tradition! Tradition., written and directed by Lilli Stein, in which grown-ups Casey Worthington, Briana Pozner, Alex Gould, Arielle Goldman, Zachary Byrd and Cristina Pitter spent a holiday dinner together at the “kids table.”

Next, in James Anthony Tyler’s FATFATFATFATFATFATFAT! (directed by Andrés López-Alicea), Carl Hendrick Louis and Lorenzo Jackson attempted to shame Amelia Fowler into starting her day off at the gym, only to be put in their place.

In Truth or Dare, written by Amanda Keating and directed by Molly Rose Clifford, a teenage basement party placed best friends Rachel Lin and Briana Pozner against each other over the love of Quinn Franzen, as older sister Julia Greer practiced a hands-off approach to chaperoning.

Last before intermission, Sean Murphy wrote, directed and performed solo in In and Out of Itself, a spoof of the immersive off-Broadway show by illusionist Derek Delgaudio, which even featured “I Am...” cards selected by audience members before entering the theater.

After the break, Carry Gitter’s Talk Dirty To Me (with Molly Rose Clifford again in the director’s chair), saw “good boy” Jonathan Randell Silver and “dirty slut” Sarah Chalfie coming to terms with each other’s quirks in the bedroom for the first time.

The Alignment System was next, with playwright Will Arbery directing coworkers Briana Pozner, Will Dagger and a very drunk Rachel Sachnoff as they break away from an office holiday party to have an awkward private conversation.

Last but never least, Epstein’s own Homolone (directed by Tom Costello) featured Alex Gould outing his thirteen-year-old self to classmate Alton Alburo on their first date (at Cracker Barrel).

After the show, our generous host invited everyone in attendance back to the bar/lobby, where he distributed solo cups of Prosecco to the crowd before reading a funny, warm-hearted speech thanking everyone from the playwrights to the directors to the actors to the tech crew to the audience for making the series such a huge success.

With such a wonderful conclusion to such a special show, it’s no wonder that Rule of 7x7 packs The Tank bi-monthly with loyal fans who never walk away disappointed.

Don’t believe us? Check out the next installment on February 1^st or 2^nd and find out first hand!

And if you were among us, scroll down and tell us how you felt about this special all-stars edition.

Your reviews can help encourage (or discourage!) others from attending Rule of 7x7 themselves, and your ratings help us help you find future performances and other events you’re sure to love!