TeenTix Blog TeenTix News

Today we are so thrilled to share that Monique Courcy will join us in October as our new Executive Director!

Monique grew up in the Yakima valley before earning a BFA in Dance from the University of Washington and an MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University. She has spent the last six years working at TeenTix partner organization On the Boards, where she manages Digital Media and OntheBoards.tv, a pioneering project that makes high-definition recordings of contemporary performances accessible to an international audience through streaming and downloads. In this role, Monique has expanded the program’s national reach, producing films and developing a video-on-demand platform that now reaches thousands of students at over 100 universities across the globe. OntheBoards.tv has been profiled in the New York Times, and is the winner of a 2015 Arts Entrepreneur Award from Fractured Atlas.

You are invited to the 2016 Teeny Awards

A party for the future Sunday, October 9th Benaroya Hall

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! Can't attend but would like to make a donation in support of TeenTix? Thank you! Click here to be taken to our donation page. (Be sure to click 'designate my donation to a specific fund' and choose TeenTix.) CEREMONY

The annual Teeny Awards celebrate the best in our region's arts and culture according to teens. Come and help us elevate and celebrate young people's contributions to keeping our arts community healthy and strong for decades to come. Plus, there will be cupcakes! Tickets to the ceremony are just $5 for teens, and $20 for everybody else. Don't miss the red carpet & fabulous prizes! DINNER

Hello TeenTix family! I have some news to share. Earlier this afternoon, the board of TeenTix announced that I have decided to step down as Executive Director of TeenTix and given them my notice. October 28th will be my last day here.

I love TeenTix. Doing the work of elevating teens' voices in the arts community for the last decade has been more rewarding than I could have imagined. If you have the opportunity in your lives to do work that you believe in, that makes the world little bit better, and that puts you in contact with excellent people, I highly recommend it. The most rewarding part has been watching our members leave us and go off and become even more amazing adults than they were teens--which is really saying something, because TeenTix teens are basically the greatest.

Do you care about keeping art accessible for young people? Come and work with us!

QUALIFICATIONS You must be: 16 or older, and able to get to Seattle Center Available 10-15 hours per week during regular business hours (M-F, 9am-6pm) Smart, motivated, responsible, and enthusiastic Willing to conduct monotonous tasks with a smile Passionate about making art accessible for young people

All we see on stage when we go to see a play are the actors and the set pieces. We notice the lights and sound, and maybe the tech crew, but there are so many parts to running a fully-functioning theater that people may not realize. I considered myself pretty knowledgeable about all things theater, but I still had a lot to learn on my mini-mentorship with Robert Hankin, the Associate Director of Development at ACT Theatre. He was a great person to have as a guide and mentor for the day because he said he has had nine different positions in his nine years at ACT!

I was surprised by the dozens and dozens of people who work behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly. A few departments I can rattle off: Development (a.k.a. fundraising), Sales, Marketing, Graphic Design, Casting, Costuming, Set Design, Tech Design, Outreach, Front-of-House, Executive Team, Artistic Team, and more! I remember meeting one person in the elevator who's only job was to paint things. In a large-scale theater like ACT, so many different moving pieces have to work together cohesively. What mattered was that everyone cared about what they were doing and enjoyed putting in the effort to create amazing theater.

Wanna get acquainted with the TeenTix community? There's no better way than to attend one of our ~special events~ produced in cooperation with our partner organizations. The best part about seeing one of these shows? Proceeds from the tickets you purchase always support TeenTix and our mission to ensure equitable access to the arts for all young people. Ready, set, GO get some art!

On Wednesday, April 9th, representatives of TeenTix partner organizations, supporters, and other friends gathered at the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at Benaroya Hall for the First Annual TeenTix Partner Meet-Up. The Meet-Up closed with a half-hour-long panel where members of The New Guard, TeenTix's Teen Arts Leadership Society, talked about their experiences as avid arts-goers, and answered questions from the audience.

Our panelists jotted down their thoughts after the panel, and we provide them here for anyone who is interested in a glimpse into the world of an arts-going teen. Enjoy! Our panelists:

The Arts & Culture Coalition of Pierce County and the City of Tacoma are working with us in hopes of bringing TeenTix to The 253! The most important part of this feasibility study is hearing from YOU. We want to know if/how the arts fit into your life now, and if/how that could change if TeenTix was introduced to your home turf.

If you're a teen that lives in Pierce County, please take this survey that'll ask about your arts-going habits, hopes, and desires!

EMP’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) is hosting Oh Snap!, a photography contest highlighting live performances in the Seattle music scene.

A maximum of eight winners will be selected to have their photographs displayed in Soundboard Alley at EMP, a youth-designed and curated section of the museum. Those selected will also win tickets and passes to events hosted by EMP partners Vera Project, The Crocodile, and Youth in Focus. The winners will be chosen by the Youth Advisory Board.

Youth Voice, Youth Choice is a new Participatory Budgeting (PB) Initiative from the City of Seattle. Focusing on engaging people who have historically not been involved in government, PB is a democratic process where community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.

Youth Voice, Youth Choice involves four steps. First, community members will come up with ideas for public projects they would like to see in their communities. Second, youth volunteers will turn those ideas into concrete proposals with support from the Department of Neighborhoods and City staff. Third, Seattle youth will vote for the projects they would like to see implemented in their communities. Fourth, the winning projects will be funded and implemented by the City of Seattle and other local agencies.

Spring has almost sprung, and our partners' education programs are in full swing! Check out these opportunities below and make the most of the season.

Henry Teen Collective @ Henry Art Gallery February 25 through May 12 Thursdays, 3:30–5:00 PM

Big, super happy, exciting news: TeenTix just added FOUR new partner organizations to our list! Wowza, this list is growing fast--give a warm welcome to our newest additions: Hugo House, Moisture Festival, West of Lenin, and Mirror Stage!

Very exciting news is on the horizon--TeenTix is working with a group of incredible folks to build a mobile app so you can have your pass/our calendar wherever you go!

The thing is--we can't do it without your feedback. Fill out this survey and enter to win ~prizes~: tickets to Brooklyn Bridge @ SCT, Unexpected Productions, and a couple of framed SEATTLE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE and SEATTLE OF THE DEAD old-movie-themed posters. The survey closes on February 3rd, so fill it out TODAY! The sooner we have your help, the more time our team has to work on it and make it the best app of your life. #trill

Is this real life, or are we dreaming? *pinch* OH YEAH NO IT'S REAL. Teatro ZinZanni is now a TeenTix partner! (Our 60th, at that!)

Please join TeenTix in welcoming foundry10 into our growing list of FRENZ (aka Community Partners)! Foundry10 is a not-for-profit educational organization. They see learning as an opportunity to be curious and explore both inside of classrooms and beyond. Their work includes running programs, collaborating with teachers and industry partners, and conducting scientific research, all to build an expanded and accessible understanding of what it means to learn.

Always offering some sort of awesome, student-led free or extremely low-cost opportunities ($1 a class, what!)–especially in the areas of dance (from hip-hop to ballet) the performing arts, and music-making–they're most active in the fringes of Seattle. For instance, check out what they have going on in the next few weeks in Tacoma and Edmonds!

It's in YOUR power to ensure that life-changing arts experiences remain within reach for all teens! Donate to TeenTix before December 31st.

Tis' the season for giving, and when you give to TeenTix you can start the new year knowing that you did your part to keep safe, enriching, empowering, inspiring arts experiences accessible to ALL young people.

TeenTix’s The New Guard: Teen Arts Leadership Society is holding inaugural elections for its ~Leadership Board~, expanding beyond the singular role of President, held by Coco Allred of Skyline High School.

Joining Coco will be the newly-formed roles of Vice President, Secretary/Historian, Finance/Philanthropy Chair, Events Chair, and Peer Engagement Chair.

In June I graduated high school, and in a few weeks I’ll be moving out of my parents’ home and beginning college. Summer is drawing to a close and reflecting back on it, Culture Writing 101 was one of the coolest (although it was pretty hot) parts of my summer.

The first class was right after my freshman orientation at the University of Washington Seattle campus. I got stuck in rush-hour traffic and ended up being late to the first day! But the minute I walked in, I felt welcome. As I sat down and was greeted by the lovely Ijeoma Oluo, our teacher, I immediately felt like this was where I belonged. We discussed current events and news items and I found myself among peers who shared my opinions and love and passion for social justice that I’ve felt all my life. At my predominantly white, suburban, middle-class high school, people often care more about prom or football games than police brutality or LGBTQIA+ issues. In this class I even found people who read the same feminist blogs as I did!

Hey there TeenTixers!

It appears that Wicked-mania is upon us. We've been getting a lot of calls and emails in our office wondering whether Wicked at The Paramount is TeenTix-eligible. Some of you have even been showing up at The Paramount hoping to buy Wicked tickets with your TeenTix pass. We're sorry to have to tell you that WICKED AT THE PARAMOUNT IS NOT TEENTIX ELIGIBLE. You see, Wicked is presented by STG, which is not a TeenTix partner organization. (Shout out to STG! We love you! Thanks again for that rad party you threw us!)

About a month ago, I shadowed the jobs of members of the Starbucks Newsroom at Starbucks Headquarters. Yes, coffee heaven. Often when we imagine what something will be like, we tend to picture it better than how it is in reality. (I still consider myself a child in this aspect.) However, when I went to coffee heaven, I was out-imagined by Starbucks. The bittersweet aroma of roasted coffee beans filled the air as I walked up to the elevator. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight—the eighth floor was where I was supposed to wait. Once I met with the Newsroom Director, we went straight into the newsroom meeting. Here, I met the rest of the newsroom staff, people with diverse interests and roles in the newsroom. The meetings started out with a delicious tea tasting. The staff talked about news ideas, stories they needed to follow up with, and new systems to make communication easier between the editors and the photographer.

A small presentation was made by the photographer. She laid out a set of pictures. They were iconic pictures and posters, including "V-J Day in Times Square" and Joe Rosenthal's "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima." She then took out another photo she took of a soldier smiling so widely you naturally wonder what he is looking at. I saw the humanity in her photos—something spontaneous, mind-boggling, and hauntingly beautiful. As a musician, an artist, and a performer, I saw the members of the newsroom and their souls shine through their work. Their work, their life, and their being was their art.