Review: SCRAMBLING THE GOOSE at Washington Ensemble Theatre

When you go to the theater, Dear Readers, you sit in silence and enjoy the show.  You may laugh, or cry, or gasp, but for the most part, you keep yourself to yourself.  (At least I hope you do.) But every now and again, shows may ask something of you.  Maybe a call back like in “Rocky Horror” or voting for who the murderer is in “Drood”.  Well, Washington Ensemble Theatre has created a little piece, or rather several little pieces, in the style of the Neofuturists, with “Scrambling the Goose”, opening at 12th Ave Arts on April 26th.  I was able to catch a rehearsal, and even with some elements missing, I can tell this show is going to be a blast. 

Inspired by the Italian Futurist movement of the 20th century, the Neofuturists started in 1988 with shows such as “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 plays in 60 minutes”.  I was even able to catch one of these crazy shows in Chicago from this group back in 2009 and it’s an experience that has stayed with me. 

WET has taken this style of theater and made it their own with “Scrambling the Goose”.  Here their multi-talented ensemble Francesca Betancourt (aka Cessa), Walden Barnett Marcus, Sasha Bailey, Paige Elf Marie Cooley, Monty Rozema, Sean Hendrickson, Ben Swenson-Klatt, Andy Walker, Salem Salma Wahab, Adriana Hillas, Teague M. Parker, and Amber Tanaka have conceived, written, and perform 30 short plays in the span of 90 minutes.  Each play lasting 1-4 minutes, they careen from piece to piece with minimal sets and props.  From musical numbers to love stories to sessions with your vibrator, there’s something here for everyone.  And if this one piece isn’t to your liking, hang on a few minutes, the next one will be along shortly.

But how, you may ask, is the audience interacting with these?  Well, that would be in deciding the order of the pieces, Dear Reader.  Upon entering you’ll be given a menu with numbers and corresponding play titles.  Such as #9, Honk.  Or # 24, Let it Out.  Or #15, Would You Love Me if I Was a Worm?  Around the stage are hanging those same numbers with the name of the play on the back and when prompted, the audience is responsible for calling out the number of the next play they would like to see.  And beyond that, in a few of the shows there is some small level of interaction beyond just your hopeful enjoyment.

Not to worry.  I know there are people out there who despise any and all forms of audience interaction and the folks at WET understand this.  So, they have established areas where those people can sit where they will not be expected to participate.  But for the rest of us, we can scream out those numbers to our hearts content and hope our choice is heard first.

And let me tell you, it was a great time, and I can only imagine with more rehearsal it will get even tighter.  Now, typically I only review shows once they’ve opened but they gave me permission to go early.  And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give Washington Ensemble Theatre’s “Scrambling the Goose” a super fun YAY.  It’s a riotous, high energy good time from some super talented artists and I predict Seattle audiences are going to eat it up.

“Scrambling the Goose” from Washington Ensemble Theatre performs at 12th Ave Arts from April 26th to May 13th.  For tickets or information visit them online at www.washingtonensemble.org.

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