Bash Compactor: 13P is Falling for You
Typically, if youre at a high school dance and a teacher gives you his phone number, thats kind of bad news. But if youre in your twenties and the teacher is a legit NYU professor, youre probably doing OK.
On Monday, Nov. 8, 13P hosted 13P is Falling For You, a Fall Formal-themed fundraiser to support the theater collective's last three plays. Ever.
Founded in 2003, 13P's mission is to produce 13 plays by 13 different playwrights. That's it. When the remaining plays are finished, the organization will voluntarily disband, as originally planned.
Every year, the collective throws a party to support its cause, and this year, the unspoken (but heavily implied theme) was awkward '80s prom.
For the authentic fall formal experience, I began the evening with dinner across the street, at a pizza place that handed out cafeteria style trays and blasted "Party Like It's 1999" on the radio.
Inside 3LD Art & Technology Center, where the event was held, there was more (and louder) Prince to be heard. A massive, animated image of the words "13P is Falling for You," was projected onto the face of the building across the street (with technology apparently on loan from Conde Nast).
The prom-style fundraiser came complete with a Vice Principal played by Murray Hill, a fake guidance counselor and even a homecoming drag-queen. The hosts ran a raffle and auction, with high-profile prizes like The Daily Show and Colbert Report tickets, and a VIP tour of the set of Boardwalk Empire.
"Our style is shitty-funny, so that's why we planned it like this. And many of our 13 playwrights had their proms in the 80s, said Event Producer Morgan Gould.
If shitty-funny was the goal, this Fall Formal was done right: The alcohol in the punch wasnt apparent until the dizziness started to kick in, but there were enough streamers and balloons to cushion the blow should anyone need to pass out. Theater-types in sparkly jackets and puffy-shouldered dresses danced flamboyantly to the sounds of everything from Willow Smith to Stevie Nicks, and by the end of the evening, even some of the more conservative-looking middle-aged donors were getting their groove on to Peaches' "Fuck The Pain Away."