03/04/2024
RULE OF 7x7 WRAP SPEECH, DELIVERED MARCH 3RD, 2024.
* * *
Somebody recently asked me: Brett, are you going to deliver a speech at the closing party of 7x7 or what?
That someone was me. I asked myself that.
And my answer was: Well if anyone has to give a speech today, it might as well be me.
So here we go...
The year was 1987.
Just kidding.
The year was 2012.
One day my playwright pal Jordan Swisher said to me "It’s been a second since I’ve written a full length play, I want to write another one soon."
"OOh, so do I," I responded. "I have a connection with The Tank because I won their SLAM Playwriting Competition this year-- that's right, first place. Do you want me to see if we can have a staged reading event there?"
"Sure, check that out," Jordan said, casually.
Sure enough the Tank was available and Jordan and I said to each other "Oh- wow- oh, ok, we—we gotta really do this now."
"And it can't just be any old boring staged reading event,” I insisted. “The audience needs an in. We need a unique draw. Something that makes this play series unlike any ot-- OOOH!" I interrupted myself. "How about if we come up with random rules that each of our full length plays has to follow, like these lines or themes or elements that have to happen on certain pages or whatever?"
"Okay, sounds good,” Jordan said, not really minding as long as I hurried this along.
So we put up staged readings of two full length plays, one written by each of us, each having the following seven arbitrary elements sprinkled throughout-- the very first set of rules for a RULE OF event:
1) on page 14, the line: "You can't place those there." 2) One character grew up nearby.
3) A letter.
4) A character loses something.
5) Someone thinks it's a little too cold.
6) A scream, uncalled for.
7) The last moment of the play -- Someone says "Oops." / They are still. / Blackout.
Rule of 7.
It was a smashing success, tons of fun, productive for our writing portfolios, we cast our friends in it, we loved it. I did it again half a year later -- Rule of 8, swapping Jordan out for Chris Sullivan. Half a year later, Rule of 9, Abby Rosebrock in Chris Sullivan's place. Half a year later, Rule of 10 with Rob Askins writing alongside myself-- - all lovely events with striking new work...if I do say so myself.
Cut to 2014.
Rania, the sensational and spirited co-artistic director of the Tank at the time, says "Brett I have an idea-- why don't we do a special one night only one-off event on Mother's Day, based on your RULE OF series? Rule of 10x10. 10 short plays all following the same rules."
I go "Rania, you’re insane, that’s insane. Rule of 10x10?! No way!... But... Rule of 7x7. Hmm. Now that I would consider."
And so I assembled the first ever Rule of 7x7 writing team: myself, Jordan Swisher, Chris Sullivan, Abby Rosebrock, Stephanie Swirsky, Dan McCabe and Chiara Atik.
By the way, it is a very touching full circle moment to have had Dan and Chiara write for both the first and last round of 7x7, 10 years apart-- thank you both for your dazzling and captivating work. Dan, Sprinkles & Lloyd is still one of my favorite 7x7 pieces of all time. And your unforgettable turn as Brett Epstein in Brett on Mars. Iconic.
Okay. So. May 2014. The first ever Rule of 7x7. Filled to the brim, some hilarious plays, some heartbreaking plays, very pleased audience, an intimate experience, an uplifting theatrical outing, mothers sitting in the aisles, we loved it, we all absolutely ate it up.
The vibe, the energy, the community at the Tank on Mother’s Day 2014 made me pause and reflect and made me say: ohhh this is what this event is supposed to be, that wasn’t a one-off, no ma’am, okay, the RULE OF series is now officially RULE OF 7x7.
And off I went producing and hosting a short play series, bi-monthly at The Tank, under the tagline "7 writers. 7 rules. 7 new plays. 1 free beer. Every other month." Until we had to stop free beer: the economy folks, the economy.
And every other month, the plays, the creative teams, the directors, the actors, the writers, the scripts and the rules all changed... but the vibe and the spirit and the joy in the space remained the same. The sense of community in the space remained the same. A very present and giving audience remained the same. The creative boldness and gutsy risk-taking of the artists remained the same. For a decade.
That is special. That is a legacy. I will hold onto that when I leave here today. I will always be proud to have facilitated an experience that felt uplifting and enriching to people, myself included. As someone who can go this way/that way/this way/that way/this way/over here/over there/over here... 7x7 was like a rock for me. 7x7 was that project I always looked forward to circling back to, six times a year. Inside of an industry that is rocky and unpredictable, 7x7 was solid. 7x7 was reliable and steady. 7x7 at The Tank felt like a hug to me. It felt like coming home.
Even when we didn’t have a physical space, the desire for a communal experience and the soothing power of laughter actually grew stronger -- not only did our audience follow us into the virtual realm but the early stage of the pandemic is finally when the New York Times covered 7x7... I finally got 7x7 the pull quote it deserved ;)
As you’ve heard tonight in this speech and as you’ve seen with your own eyes by attending the show however many times you did, there are so many people involved that have made this event-- in my own words-- the number one short play series in Off Off Broadway history. I want to enthusiastically thank these people right now, or should I say TANK these people.
That’s right. My first thank you is to The Tank. The theatre that has hosted and co- produced every single round of Rule of 7x7 from the get-go. This theatre and its staff are open minded, accommodating and encouraging. Beyond that, they go out of their way to make artists feel safe and comfortable. They believed in me, they believed in this series, and they proudly included 7x7 on their roster for 10 years, no questions asked, as long as I wanted to keep producing it. I sincerely thank all of The Tank staff I’ve come in contact with and had communication with over all these years, including but not limited to Rania, Rosalind, Ben, Collin, Danielle, Meghan, Mollie, Johnny, Pete, Kaela, Miranda, every intern, every bartender and every box office staff member. Thank you thank you thank you for your unwavering support and appreciation of this series. The Tank was 7x7’s home base, from start to finish, from 46th Street to 36th Street. We did it together. Thank you.
I want to thank the audience. 7x7 had the best audience. Really. You showed up. You clocked in. So warm, so considerate, so present in the space for the artists and with the artists. You brought joy to the room in equal amounts that the artists did. It was a symbiotic relationship. Thank you for coming. Thank you for enjoying. Thank you for listening. Thank you for responding. Thank you for supporting. Thank you for laughing. Thank you for crying. Thank you for taking in the wild, weird, and wonderful work that was created here. Thank you for being a part of the magic recipe that made 7x7 a hit. Thank you so much to the fans, 7x7 loves you.
Next, I want to thank all of the writers, directors, and actors that have participated in any round of 7x7. You were the show. You were the event. If a round of 7x7 or a portion of a round of 7x7 was successful, the artists involved are the reason why. For 1/100th the pay they are all worth, the artists committed themselves/their work/their scripts/their direction/their acting/their humor/their hearts/their special sauce/and their time to delivering their artistic goods while also being A+++ human beings throughout the rehearsal, tech, and performance process. Artists, I am forever indebted. I am your biggest fans. As a producer, I sincerely thank you for your work and for your time. I lived. I lived, I snapped, I cheered, always from the aisle seat in the very back row just because audience members liked to come in 18 minutes late and then fall down the stairs in the middle of play #2, so.
I want to specifically thank everyone who worked on this final round of 7x7—we had a killer roster, dear god. I kept getting the updates on who was working on each play and I kept saying “Damn, really?! That person is available?!” So lucky to have had you all for 4 performances this weekend.
This week, for my play “Redemption,” we had one three-hour block where the full cast was available. Par for the course for 7x7. And maybe it was just because it was the last 7x7, but being back in the room with some of the most talented friends I know, friends I’ve known circa 2012, since our days at the Theatre That Shall Not Be Named... being back in the room with them for just three hours and laughing our asses off and crying a little bit and oh yeah crafting a play a little bit too and then running out of time to finish crafting the play but oh well we’ll figure it out at tech... it brought me back to the essence of 7x7. This 3-hour rehearsal filled my heart with a palpable giddy magical feeling. Thank you to Tom Costello, Cristina Pitter, Alex Gould and Alex Mandell for providing that magic. (By the way, fun fact, Alex Mandell and Eli Gelb were in my very first 7x7 piece in 2014 and are both here in this final round of 7x7 in 2024. Amazing.)
I want to shout out four dear dear pals of mine who graciously stepped in and each hosted a round of 7x7 during one of the handful of times I was out of town or had an unmovable conflict. And they absolutely killed it. A very heartfelt and special thank you to hosting extraordinaries and humans I’m obsessed with: Dan McCabe, Rachel Lin, Matt Stango and Olivia Stoker.
Next, I want to thank someone who I first met and interacted with as an audience member and then he became 7x7’s unofficial photographer. Nearly every 7x7 round over the last few years, this beyond courteous and thoughtful gentleman-- without me approaching and asking for this-- took some of the most stunning photos of 7x7 live in action, so now we all get to fondly look back at some of these fabulous 7x7 moments and memories. After so many rounds in the past several years, I would simply get an email with a link to his photos. And I never took that for granted. And these photos were professional caliber, they were gorgeous, and they made the artists so thrilled to have access to. Norh Miles, thank you very much for your kindness.
Next up, I want to thank Xan Weiser and Marty Murray who became 7x7’s submission managers as to take a load off my shoulders on the producing front. Once again, like Nohr with the photos, Xan simply approached me about helping out and donating her services to support 7x7. Xan, I shall forever treasure our 7x7 script reading coffeeshop outings. Thank you for your time, your energy, your expertise and your contribution to this series.
I want to give a big big huge larger than life thank you to an incredible friend and human, Rory Kulz. He is way too humble for me to go into lengthy detail about why I’m thanking him, but folks, just know, there was a point in time where Rory’s contribution kept this series going. And once again, like Nohr and like Xan, Rory approached me to offer his assistance in being an under-the-radar co-producer of the show for several recent rounds of 7x7. Rory, I do not take this for granted. You are kind, you are an amazing friend, you deserve this shoutout, and I love you.
In addition to Rory, I want to thank the warmest of all warm people – Leemore Malka and Jessie Cannizzaro who in addition to Rory became part of the “2023 Save 7x7 Committee.” Well, we didn’t save 7x7. The committee failed. I’m kidding, I’m kidding. The committee was there to bounce ideas off each other and most importantly, to listen. These artists and friends allowed me the space and the vulnerability to consider what it would look like to keep 7x7 going versus putting a bow on the series. Thank you Rory, Leemore and Jessie for these special meetings together.
Next. Jonathan god damn Cottle. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you, I can literally just write the words ‘thank you’ for pages & pages. We didn’t have a firm plan for this but you just sort of became 7x7’s resident tech designer and operator over the years. And I am SO glad and SO grateful you did. There is no, and I mean no, other human I’d rather be in the Tank with from 10am-10pm on 7x7 tech day. No one. Beyond your skill at getting each play to look and sound their absolute best in such a limited amount of time... it’s you as a person. That’s what makes us all love working with you. It’s your presence and your gentleness and your demeanor – you are the absolute easiest person to work with, you are a bright light and a gem and a delight, I love you and I thank you SO much for all of the time you gave to 7x7, 0nce again at 1/100th the pay you deserve. FYI we had a very low budget for 7x7, I don’t know how we pulled this off, truly... but we did!
Next. This may sound pat or silly but I genuinely want to thank my friends and family members for cheering me on in this producing endeavor, including my mother who for the first 3 years of the show called 7x7 “Brett’s play thing.” And a special shoutout to a long time pal who’s here today, in from Chicago—many thanks to Samantha Kaplan for starting and handling the official 7x7 Instagram handle all those years back, thank you boo.
Next. I just wanna let everyone know what I’m up to next—why not—this is a great opportunity to do that, and these two projects are part of the reason my calendar is less available for 7x7 in the near future. So up first... BRETT EPSTEIN: ALONE ON STAGE. www.itsbrett.net/alone And then INTIMACY COMPANION. https://www.bluecollaborative.org/intimacy-companion
Now, I can’t conclude this speech without a final tally of the number of new plays that were produced under the 7x7 banner. It was mostly every other month for 10 years although there were a handful of rounds skipped in the last year as I took time to reflect upon the future of the show, plus I skipped a round when I was in LA, plus a couple of All-Stars rounds... so the final number of new short plays that Rule of 7x7 world premiered is... 378.
378 short plays. By so many writers. Following so many rules. Creating so many unforgettable theatre memories.
So, let’s raise a glass one last time. CHEERS to the work created, to the people who made the work, to the people who supported the work, to the laughs, to the joyful experience we shared together, to 10 years of RULE OF 7x7. That’s a wrap everybody. Thank you so much.
