Seattle Blog

On Thursday night, filmmakers and art fans flocked to the Opening Night Gala of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). This annual film festival, hosted in downtown Seattle, brings together international filmmakers ages 7-22 in order to cultivate the next generation of film talent. NFFTY presents films filled with passion, excellent visual design, and an innovative spirit. The films showcased at the Opening Gala of NFFTY 2014 were compelling and well-made, eliciting both tears and laughter from the audience.The following films are just a few highlights from the evening.

Dave’s Wild Life, directed by UK filmmaker Samuel de Ceccatty, captures the essence of what it means to live a passionate life. Dave would love to be a naturalist, and he keeps with pride a little leather journal full of diagrams and drawings of urban creatures (such as the “London Hipster”). Between Dave’s self-conscious grins and head-bobbing, you can’t help but smile. (Major shout-out to Stuart Benson for a fantastic portrayal of Dave and his endearing awkwardness.) From the outside, Dave’s life appears uneventful and mundane. But Dave lives his life to the fullest, armed with an infectious grin and creative perspective. His imagination makes life a worthwhile adventure. The film raises the question, “Do you live your life with as much passion as Dave?”

An evening that ignited excitement, joy and appreciation for the art and talent of young directors is the best way to describe the amazing gala celebration that kicked off the 2014 National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY).

The gala was held at Cinerama, where hundreds of spectators were excited to experience firsthand the talent of the young directors who opened the festival with high-quality films that varied in content and style. As crowds walked down the vibrant red carpet that lead to the theater, photographers, press, and audience members young and old gathered to celebrate NFFTY 2014.

Bethany documents a jungle. It’s setting in suburban America may seem sterile. Those who live in it slick back their hair and put on suits. They follow its rules and rarely stray from protocol. They do and say the “right” things. They’re always courteous, always civilized.

But beneath the niceties and small talk, the intention of the jungle—the savage relationship between predator and prey—is very much alive. It’s easy to get lost in the chaos of economic free fall. And those who don’t make the sale, who don’t pry open the door, are liable to slip through the cracks.

Do you think of yourself as beautiful? Whatever the answer may be, it’s more than likely you’ve been exposed to external forces that have shaped the way you perceive yourself and others that fall within certain standards of beauty. One powerful external force is the mammoth-like monster of the media sending the recurring message of the objectification of women’s bodies.

Impenetrable by Mia McCullough full-frontally deals with issues regarding the objectification of women in the media, beauty, religion, relationships, and rape culture in a compelling way. By engaging the audience through a narrative that involves sensitive topics, the show challenges the ideals entrenched in society that tend to value women for their outward appearance.

Alden is a high school student at Garfield High School, in the 2017 graduating class. More interested in music than writing in his free time, he’s been writing his own material for a few years now, primarily electronic and orchestral or both. He hopes to study biotechnological genetics or music production/management for a career and to be honestly happy and self-loving for a lifetime.

1. Kithkin “Kithkin are a Cascadian treepunk tribe out to spread the hidden knowledge of the forests. Through its rituals and performances, Kithkin hopes to confront crowds about the impending ‘end of things’ through witchy rhythms and chaotic sorcery.” That’s what their Bandcamp profile states. Only having produced one full release ever — their Takers and Leavers EP back in 2011 — this band is still touring with the same material more than 3 years later. And it’s still amazing. Really, it can’t exactly be described with words, as the band has such a finely-tuned and crafted aesthetic that the their very existence is art within itself. Check it out. That is all. And be free.

The story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is complex. There are kings and queens, fairies, multiple love stories, magic spells, and a character whose head is replaced with that of a donkey’s. As if reading Shakespeare’s own original work wasn’t difficult enough, Pacific Northwest Ballet has taken on the fanciful tale in an even more challenging way: wordlessly. With music by Felix Mendelssohn and choreography by George Balanchine, the PNB company manages to share the Bard’s mystical comedy through ballet.

Act one begins in a forest of dreams. The elaborate set of this production is astounding. At times the forest is full is luscious pink roses and ballerinas portraying fairies and butterflies dance below them. A giant green tree frog watches over the forest dwellers. Of course, a magic flower, which causes anyone sprinkled with its pollen to fall in love with the next person they see, grows in a world like this.

“As I walked into the Miró: The Experience of Seeing at Seattle Art Museum, I noticed first off the gorgeous use of color in the artwork itself. A greeting piece that demands attention, Miró’s ‘Woman, Bird and Star’ is the essence of larger-than-life colors. The second thing I noticed was not the other art pieces, but the bright, crimson wall that stands out from its white peers. There are several atmospheric touches like this throughout the exhibition, including quotes by Miró that are printed onto the walls, as well as a room that is completely painted black. Continuing on the topic of the atmospheric setup, the lighting is absolutely spectacular. As pertaining to the sculptures, the lighting is such that you can see shadows, which creates incredible depth and a more natural viewing perspective. Almost unnoticeable, the lights trained on the paintings are centered so that the outer corners of the walls are darker than the focal point.” - Hattie S.

“One of the most fascinating parts of this exhibition is the use of color in the works. Miró's sculptures are cast from bronze and have a mystifying tint to them: a combination of blue, green, white, black, and tan. His paintings are dramatically different, consisting of vibrant blues, reds, and yellows, outlined in pure black lines. The two divergent value themes serve to play off of each other, creating a sense of harmony and balance.” - Georgia G.

About the DJ: I like many nerdy things and if I don't know what you're talking about, I'm always willing to learn. Because I love learning about new things, I'm also active in journalism and media production. I will be attending New York University in the fall, where I will be studying Media, Culture, and Communication.

1. BIGBANG On my recent flights to and from New York, I listened to South Korean pop group BIGBANG's album Still Alive using the in-flight entertainment. The stunningly produced, riveting tracks did not disappoint, even for someone who knows no Korean. These MTV Music Awards "Best Worldwide Act" winners are some of the most iconic K-pop personalities ever. They are signed to YG Entertainment, the same powerhouse that employs rapper PSY, of "Gangnam Style" (the most-viewed YouTube video of all time) fame. BIGBANG is making a much anticipated comeback this summer, when they are sure to show the world that they are still "Fantastic Baby."

About the DJ: Right now, I am a senior at Hazen High School, but I am super excited to be spending the next school year at the University of Washington! My hobbies include taking gratuitous selfies with my cat Chico, consuming copious amounts of chai tea, and Netflix binging.

1. Mapei Mapei premiered the music video for her single "Don’t Wait" last week, and the song has since been on repeat on my iPod every day. Describing her genre as “soulful doo-wop,” this Sweden-based singer shows off her major talent in this enchanting song. Her previous EP Cocoa Butter Diaries is just as awe-inspiring, and I can't wait to see what this new artist will showcase next.

Take your interaction with the arts to the next level — learn how to write about them!

If you want to become a writer for the TeenTix blog, now's your chance!

About the DJ: I am an aspiring playwright, novelist, chef, computer scientist, screenwriter, and now art critic. My special talents include puns, procrastination, and cupcake frosting. My special talents do not include painting, playing trumpet, or understanding intermolecular forces, but I make frequent attempts anyway. I live by the phrase, “A sloth is just a koala doing tai-chi.”

1. Emma Approved This webseries is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, as told through the YouTube channel and Twitter account of Emma Woodhouse, a 20-something SoCal socialite and lifestyle excellence specialist. It’s a radical immersion into literature as the thick volume published in 1815 is condensed into a collection of 4-minute vlogs. (See its predecessor, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, as well.) So maybe there aren’t any cravats or Colin Firths in ponds, but take it from an Austen devotee: Emma Approved is proof that classic period dramas are much more than a practical cure for insomnia. They can be funny. Fresh. Exciting. They just need a good lens.

This is BIG. We got our very first national press today when a story about TeenTix from local NPR station KPLU was posted to national NPR's facebook wall! WOO HOO!!!!

TeenTixers, just take a second and remember how amazing you are. Seattle is the only place in the country that has TeenTix. Seattle is showing the rest of the world that teens actually do care about art. You are making a difference for young people everywhere. Go YOU.

The most common excuses my friends give me when I ask them to accompany me to the ballet are the following: “It’s too long!” “I never understand what’s going on!” “It’s boring!”

But Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Pinocchio is the perfect beginner’s performance to gain an appreciation for ballet. Only running a little over an hour, it eliminates the inevitable fidgeting that often accompanies long periods of sitting. Pinocchio opens with a colorful set and costumes transporting you to a circus-like atmosphere in which you quickly forget you are indeed at the ballet. Pinocchio tells the classic childhood fairytale with upbeat music, humor and, of course, energetic and remarkable dancing (which is the real treat of coming to the ballet).

Painted in primary reds, yellows, greens, and blues, the dozen chairs that make up the majority of The Suit’s set are unrealistically simple, impossibly bright. They’re the sort of chairs a child would draw for stick figures in a two-dimensional house, shallow and cheery.

The chairs are fitting for the home of Philomen (Ivanno Jeremiah) and his wife, Matilda (Nonhlanhla Khewsa). The two tiptoe around the delicate illusion they’ve weaved together. Playing house, they eat from an invisible tray, bathe in an invisible shower, and turn an invisible faucet. They pretend not to notice that two chairs make their bed, that a bare clothing rack serves as a wall. Philomen narrates his life in Sophiatown as if reading from a storybook approaching its happily-ever-after, as if he’s beyond the trials of South Africa’s apartheid and marriage’s pitfalls.

About the DJ: I’m currently a junior, who is often mistaken for a freshman, at Garfield High School in Seattle. I enjoy short walks on wifi-enabled beaches and debating which of the Disney princesses is best with anyone who will listen (Hint: It’s Tiana). I love spending afternoons finding new music online and singing very old music with my choir.

1. 14/48 14/48 is a ridiculously intense festival which gives playwrights a topic at around 10 at night and has them finish their script and give it to a director the next morning. At that point the director spends all day rehearsing with his or her actors, making up a set and getting ready to perform that night. After two shows, the whole thing happens again. The result is an insane group of 14 completely original plays written and performed in 48 hours. The last festival was in January, and while they haven’t announced when the next round will be, you can bet I’ll be there both crazy nights.

The Revealing Queer exhibit at MOHAI seeks to showcase queer — i.e. GSRM (gender, sexual, & romantic minorities) and LGBTQIA+ — history in the greater Seattle area. However, like many queer movements, have they focused too much on the L, G, and B and forgotten the T, I, and A?

The LGB letters in the popular acronym LGBTQIA+ (often erroneously shortened to “LGBT,” an acronym criticized for leaving out multiple gender, sexual, and romantic minorities) stands for lesbian, gay, and bisexual. And the exhibit showcased many issues relating to lesbians, gay people, and bisexual people, with parts of the exhibit including several panels on AIDS and the struggle of lesbian mothers in the Seattle area to historically adopt or even get rights to their biological children.

There’s a spaceship in the rafters.

At least, it looks like one. It’s white and ovate with jagged, tooth-like pieces of metal, conspicuously dangling among the stage lights overhead. I spent fifteen minutes wondering how an alien encounter could possibly fit into my painstaking research on the musical, the entire half paragraph of a Wikipedia synopsis that I skimmed beforehand. Then the house lights went dark, the twisted, purple wall onstage split wide open and a soulful trio of Skid Row Supremes (Nicole Rashida Prothro, Alexandria Henderson, Naomi Morgan) launched into the opening number. From that point forward, I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the stage.

Breaking the mold of old, white males pontificating on the meaning and beauty of the Bard, Professor Laurie Jameson is a feminist, anti-hegemonic force of progressive thought — or so she thinks. Seemingly unaware that her life of tolerance has instead made her intolerant, Laurie (played by Marty Mukhalian) must re-evaluate her beliefs and behaviors when they’re called into question.

In the midst of her mid-life crisis, the professor’s story may seem like one for an older crowd, but Third succeeds in being relatable to all. Whether it’s Laurie’s teenage daughter, her senile father, or the titular character, Third, everyone in this play is questioning their habits and ingrained beliefs — doubtlessly, much like everyone in the audience has had to do at some point.

OK, so maybe it’s not the best show ever, but Worst Trip Ever IN ALL CAPS!!1! is certainly a fun and worthwhile way to spend your evening. This improvised show at Jet City Improv asks the audience to pick a place (anywhere in the world) and a category (attractions, restaurants, hotels, etc.), and then proceeds to find some of the worst reviews on TripAdvisor.com with these criteria.

Part of the fun of the show is hearing the actual reviews of bad experiences people post on TripAdvisor.com and the scenarios that ultimately led to the author’s urgent need to share such an experience online in the first place. From a covert mission in a museum in New Zealand to a strange gift of corn at a cathedral in Spain, the actors have the audience jet-setting around the globe with laughter as they experience the various misadventures that could have produced such terrible reviews.

About the DJ: Leon is a 17-year-old in their second quarter of college in Bellevue. They like a lot of things, mostly relating to writing, the paranormal, Paganism, and LGBTQIA* representation — paranormal novels about queer Pagans are pretty much the best thing that they can imagine. They go by they/them and he/his pronouns; and they also like writing bios about themselves in the third person.

1. Welcome to Night Vale