August is generally a dead month in the arts, so it’s a good time to launch the 14/48 Kamikaze Festival, a summer variant on the insta-theater fest generally held at On the Boards. For this iteration, 45 veterans of past 14/48 jamborees will begin hatching their seven new Friday shows the day before (based on a random theme). If you go Friday, you can then suggest ideas for Saturday’s septet of short works—10 minutes is the preferred length. As always, speed is no guarantee of quality, but all the actors, writers, and musicians have been through this wringer before. With experience comes speed—and the knowledge that sometimes a playwright’s best strategy is fewer words and more white space on the page. (Also, we’ll just warn you now of another, open-air 14/48KF that’ll be part of Seattle Center’s Next 50 celebration, free, Sept. 7 and 8.) BRIAN MILLER

Fri., Aug. 10, 8 & 10:30 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 11, 8 & 10:30 p.m., 2012