TeenTix Blog by TeenTix

On Sunday, September 24th, teens, parents, artists, and arts leaders gathered at TeenTix Community Partner, Vera Project to celebrate the 10th annual Teeny Awards, hosted by TeenTix arts crush, Justin Huertas and members of The New Guard: Teen Arts Leadership Society.

In the first seconds of the film, a dark screen appears and fuzzy neon green text slowly types the message: It is the distant future. Mankind has conquered many galaxies, but the universe is vast. The mega-corporation Apocalypse Inc. has dispatched exploration vessels to discover new resources and possibly new life. The following is a journey of Syrinx-87.” This opening statement is frozen on the screen for a full 75 seconds before launching into the one hour and 13-minute long feature film, “Constant Space”.

“Constant Space” is a claymation space adventure filmed with a vintage Super 8 camera. The filmmaker Emmett Fifield, Snohomish native, wrote the script at the age of 16 and began filming at 18.

Our partners and community do so much more than provide art(erriffic) experiences--many of them also hold programming year-round that supports your participation! Check out what's on the docket for Fall/Winter 2017.

Drumroll, please, for the newest additions to our partner list, the the culmination of our work to expand the TeenTix program, and the most fantastic first six organizations from afar...

You can now use your TeenTix pass at the following TACOMA(!!!) partners: Broadway Center for the Performing Arts Museum of Glass Symphony Tacoma Washington State History Museum Tacoma Art Museum The Grand Cinema

Do you know a teen who is always getting their friends to go to shows? How about a teen who works to keep arts education in school? Or a teen who creates opportunities for other teens to express themselves through art? Or a teen who pours themselves into leading a drama club, poetry slam, photography club, writing club, dance team, or WHATEVER KIND OF AWESOME ARTY CLUB? Know anybody like that? Nominate them for the Youth Arts Advocate of the Year Award! Given by TeenTix's New Guard: Teen Arts Leadership Society, the Youth Arts Advocate of the Year Award celebrates a teen who makes big contributions to our region's arts and cultural community through passion, advocacy, and leadership. Finalists will be announced Monday, September 17, and the award will be presented during the 2017 Teeny Awards, Sunday, September 24th at The Vera Project.

Nominees must be 13- to 19-years-old and live in Washington State. Nominators must be TeenTix members (anyone 13 - 19 years old can sign up for TeenTix FOR FREE by clicking here). You will find the nomination form in the Teeny Awards Survey, which ALL TeenTix members are invited to take. By taking the survey, you'll be entered to win tickets to the Observation Deck of the Space Needle!

This past Sunday, I saw the classic Puccini opera Madame Butterfly at the Seattle Opera for the first time.

We know transportation is a BIG part of the equation when you're planning your arts-going with your TeenTix Pass, which is why we're ALWAYS looking for new ways you can see art safely and for not a lot of dough. We also know that not everyone's transportation options are the same - so we like to work with people who can help teens get around Seattle in all sorts of different ways.

We are STOKED that our friends at ReachNow want to help.

You know all about what to wear to the 2017 Teeny Awards - AND we hope you've got your Teeny Awards tickets (but if not, no worries, you can do that right here!), AND you've probably noticed that the doors open (@2:30 pm) a whole hour before the awards ceremony starts (@3:30 pm) on Sunday, September 24th.

Why's that?

So glad you asked!

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO/EAT/SEE during the pre-show red carpet/cupcake hour!

WHAT TO DO @ THE 2017 Teeny Awards

That's right, we're filling the walls of The Vera Project with amazing (teen approved) art for you to enjoy. And you can get your snack on at the Snack Bar (sponsored by Pacific Northwest Ballet, thanks, PNB!). We've also got delicious cupcakes for you to nom. And last but not least RACHEL's GINGER BEER for when you get thirsty. YUM.

Now that you're feeling nice and full, what should you do next? How about getting your very own TeenTix temp tat? Or winning cool swag at the Seattle Symphony Swag Toss (hit the target, win the swag!)! You should also be sure to vote for your favorite arts organization! And take advantage of a REAL LIFE RED CARPET!! Get your photo taken on the red carpet or do it yourself at the Selfie Booth (sponsored by the Seattle Rep!). Feeling crafty? Make your very own buttons to take home or adorn your person!

All this awesomeness starts at 2:30. And we haven't even told you about the Award Show yet!!

Come early, bring your friends, party.

When the summer heat dies down and the yellow buses start running again, you know it’s Teeny Awards time!

WHAT IT IS

The Teeny Awards celebrate the things teens (aka Seattle’s trendsetting young taste-makers) love in our local arts & culture scene! The winners are selected by popular vote — in other words, YOU choose which shows, exhibits and organizations should receive coveted awards such as “Best Aesthetics,” “The Treat Yo’ Self (or our favorite thing to see during finals week) Award” or “Best Front-of-House Experience.” We’ll send you everything you need to know about voting soon.

In the meantime, get excited!!!

Happy July! I’m Katherine and I’m back with more recommendations from The New Guard. In June, we took advantage of our summer freetime and went to a TON of TeenTix events. Some of our favorites included Sweeny Todd at ArtsWest, Lydia at Strawberry Theatre Workshop, and Welcome to Braggsville at Book-It. We all went to the MoPOP Summer Kickoff Party and it was so cool! What did you do in June?

This month, our number one recommendation is the Yayoi Kusamsa: Infinity Mirrors exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. Kusama is one of the most prolific artists of our time and this exhibit “contextualizes the notion of infinite expansion.” Besides the Instagram-famous mirror rooms, the exhibit includes paintings, sculpture, multi-media installations, and “rare archival materials.” Unfortunately, tickets for this exhibit are very hard to get but they are available on a first come-first serve basis starting at 10am. We highly recommend you have a backup plan in case you can’t get tickets. To learn more, check out the SAM website and follow their social media accounts.

Going to see Here Lies Love is an experience. It is immersive and provocative and at times incredibly overwhelming. This rock musical was written by Fatboy Slim and David Byrne about Imelda Marcos, the wife of a Filipino Dictator in the years leading up to the People’s Power Revolution.

While the Rep’s 2016/17 season revolves around power dynamics, HLL would perhaps have been more fitting in the next season, titled “We are real, messy, human.” The entire duration of the play one both sympathizes and is disappointed with Imelda as she embarks on a life that seems to continually draw her further and further away from reality. HLL gives voice and accessibility to Filipino history while at the same time telling the story of a complex and struggling woman in power.

Happy June and Happy Summer!

I’m Katherine and I have more recommendations from TeenTix’s Arts Leadership Society, The New Guard. In May, we saw a ton of art around Seattle! We kicked it with fellow youth arts group, the Henry Teen Art Collective, at the Seattle Art Museum and explored the permanent collection. We watched as many SIFF movies as we could fit into our schedule. We also saw lots of theater; some of our favorites were Murder for Two at ACT, Spring Awakening at the UW Undergraduate Theatre Society, and The Magic Flute at Seattle Opera. What did you see in May?

Get your hands on some art this summer and keep yourself movin' and groovin' during the hottest months of the year! There's something for everyone on this list:

DANCE

Hey TeenTix members! It’s Katherine and I’m bringing you more recommendations from The New Guard, TeenTix’s Arts Leadership Society.

During April, we saw a TON of different shows and went to many events. Our favorites were Here Lies Love (which is still playing!) at Seattle Rep, The Secret Garden at 5th Ave, and Ballet on Broadway at PNB. Personally, I saw The Fog Machine Play at *new partner* Copious Love Productions (which was one of last month’s recommendations) and it was probably the weirdest thing I’ve seen (but also one of the coolest)!

Happy Spring! I’m Katherine and I’m back with more recommendations from The New Guard, TeenTix’s youth leadership board. During March, we saw many different plays, films, and art exhibits. Some of our personal favorites were the Moisture Festival, SIFF movies, and Dry Powder at Seattle Rep (which is still running!). What did you see in March?

This month, we have three main recommendations. Firstly, the amazing Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor exhibit opening at the Pacific Science Center is going to be the hottest ticket in town. It’s “an immersive investigation of the science behind priceless artifacts including real figures from the terracotta army” and it sounds SO cool! PacSci recently became a FULL TeenTix partner so you can see the special exhibits (in addition to the IMAX educational films and Laser Dome shows) for only $5. Don’t miss this epic show!!

​We totally get it - transportation can be hard to navigate, especially at night. So much so that it can even prevent teens from getting to see the cool stuff our city has to offer. We also know that transportation to and from the art you want to see has to be parent AND teen approved.

Happy March, TeenTix members!

I’m Katherine, a member of The New Guard, TeenTix’s youth leadership board. We’re excited to bring you our recommendations for upcoming shows and TeenTix-eligible events! (Hopefully, this will become a monthly tradition.)

As the film opens, the voice of Samuel L. Jackson is rich and deep—almost booming. His capacity for intensity made him an arguably perfect choice to narrate this documentary. Typewriter clicks accompanied words on the screen, words from a letter written by James Baldwin to his literary agent. In the correspondence, he described the book he was writing, which would be titled “Remember This House”. After his death in 1987, Baldwin’s book remained unfinished. Director of “I Am Not Your Negro”, Raoul Peck, reimagined Baldwin’s work, integrating the manuscript with photographs and videos of not only Baldwin, but his friends Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and others.

The film does not follow a chronological structure, nor does it develop a “linear” thesis. Instead, it is organized into many separate chapters, with titles such as “Heroes” or “Witness”. Baldwin’s manuscript opens each chapter, and is quickly woven in and out of cinematic breaks. The film acknowledged that Baldwin’s words are irresistibly applicable to the modern racial climate, seizing the opportunity to diverge from Civil Rights Era footage. The faces of Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and others flashed on the screen toward the end of the movie.

Looking for something to do this Spring? Wanna get your hands on some art? Our partners have got some amazing opportunities for teens that we've compiled here for your viewing pleasure. Behold the wonder of art & community!

---------------

After attending Seattle Opera’s: La Traviata, I can officially say that I have been to the Opera!

As a die-hard-theater-goer, I figured it was high time I had my first operatic experience, but I was unsure of where or what to attend as a newcomer. Luckily, I had the perfect friend to phone! I immediately rang my wonderful sister- a trained singer, an opera fanatic and a Senior in the Audio Engineering Program at Evergreen State college- and out of her mouth came five beautiful words “Let’s go see La Traviata.” She went on to explain that the easy-to-follow plot was exactly what a first-time opera attender would want, as well as, La Traviata was a classic that she’d been meaning to see live. With this, I knew we had to attend the show. When the fourteenth finally rolled around, we spent THREE HOURS doing our hair and makeup while listening to Aidan Lang’s La Traviata podcast (which the Seattle Opera oh-so-courteously emailed me prior to the show) on repeat. The time had finally come to strut our way to Mccaw Hall and take our seats in the stunning theater. Within moments of the first set of traditional red curtains being drawn, I was hooked- ready to delve into Violetta and Alfredo’s passionate story of lover’s heartache. The minimalist set- one pair of red curtains after another- allowed me to lock in on the plot and the singing, and Corinne Winters’ (Violetta) & Joshua Dennis’s (Alfredo) voices did not disappoint: seemingly soaring through the packed house with precision and ease. As well as the ensemble/party-goers looming presence over Violetta & Alfredo’s relationship was ever-present in the group-orientated choreography; along with, the push, pull and heartbreak of the young couples love being dynamically translated through the entrances and exits of existent/nonexistent red curtains. La Traviata’s fast pace and beautiful symbolism kept the audience on the edge of their seats for the entirety of the one-hour, fifty-minute production, and was the perfect Opera to see as a ‘newby’. Afterwards, I picked my sister’s brain to get an experienced Opera attender’s opinion and, shockingly enough, we agreed on a plethora of things. This experience just goes to show that whether you are a die-hard-theater-goer or a die-hard-opera-fanatic art is universal. I couldn’t have asked to see a better first-opera, and I’m very excited to farther expand my knowledge of opera. Also, If you haven’t had a taste of the opera scene yet either, La Traviata is playing at Mccaw Hall until January 28th, don't miss it!