TeenTix Blog

We asked our summer interns to give you the scoop on what they've been up to for the past couple of months. Read on to find out what real teens are doing to make our organization run! Neha Gupta

OUTREACHHi! I'm Neha, one of TeenTix’s outreach interns this summer. Over the past 5 weeks, Justin and I have been working on various projects to help expand the reach of the TeenTix Pass Program, specifically to areas outside of central Seattle.

Fellow TeenTix Press Corps writer, Rosemary Sissel, and I were honored to interview Seattle Art Fair’s curator and artistic director, Nato Thompson. The Seattle Art Fair 2019 took place at Centurylink Field Event Center August 1-4.

You’ve attempted to create a wide array of different objects and pieces of art and magic that evokes the curiosity rooms of the 16th and 17th centuries, and reading your curatorial statement, it’s almost as if these rooms contained everything. So how is it possible to curate everything?

A tunnel of captive trees reflects itself into infinity. Pieces of wood arranged in the shape of Africa cast the shadow of a face. Another face, painted by many tiny newspaper words, loses its eye.

The Fair is a river of continual images, inviting viewers to look at, question, and interact with collections from nearly one hundred galleries from around the world—and the variety is staggering. A head is suspended upside down by steel cable. A nose is a shoe. A plunger is glass.

Jackie Allison, professional journalist, and TeenTix alumna, is a prime example of a TeenTix success story. Currently 25 and working for the Skagit Valley Herald - a daily news source serving the Skagit Valley - Jackie participated in Young Critics Workshops waaaaaaaaay back in 2011 as a junior in high school (YCW is a program from a former incarnation of the Press Corps - now we call similar events Press Corps Intensives)! She was also a Teentix pass user and had hers through 4 years of high school. When we talked, I asked if any art she attended stuck out from that point in her life. It’s been a while, but she specifically remembers the shows she wrote reviews for (a good reminder that critically engaging with the art we see can expand and enrich our experience as audience members). She recalled a show at TeenTix Partner On the Boards: “Oh, I do remember this one moment. I remember someone, they were stretching a red string across the stage. And I remember I wrote that in my review, like that was one of the moments I wrote about.” At time, Jackie wasn't exactly sure what the show meant, but that was probably the point! TeenTix did a little digging and we found that very review from 2011. You can read it here.

Now Jackie writes less about metaphors in movement and more of your typical, local reporter-fare. At the Skagit Valley Herald, her “beat” is business and agriculture - but they don’t have a particular arts writer, and since her editors know her interests, sometimes Jackie gets those stories too. Her favorite story, to date, is a weird and wonderful jaunt into the wormhole of maritime law. You can read the whole piece here, but in short, complicated laws mandate the kinds of ships allowed to sail in US fishing waters. A beautiful new ship was under construction, but elements of the design didn’t meet the intense government standards and a company in Anacortes had to spend YEARS getting a waiver from Congress to save their company. The fallout took a toll on the community and Jackie got the document all of it! (Don’t worry, they got the waiver and this story has a happy ending.) When asked why this story stuck out in particular to her, Jackie said, “I kind of got a behind-the-scenes look at what was going on and I built a lot of relationships with the business owners. They trusted me and at one point were really only wanting to talk to me over like, even the Seattle Times! Then I got to go on the actual ship, like this giant fishing ship for a day when it did fishing trials in February so that [kind of] really amazing national news [with] many different aspects to it. The feeling of being trusted and having a relationship, building a relationship with sources, which I think is what journalism is all about.”

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! 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.

Heard about the TeenTix Press Corps? It’s a program that allows teens to learn, practice, and publish arts criticism. For more information or to get involved, click here! For the insider scoop we chatted with Press Corps teaching artist Melody Datz Hansen about why this program is completely awesome and important!

Among many other things, Melody is a research ethics consultant - a fancy way of saying that she helps keep an eye on medical studies involving people - but she is also proud to be a writer, teaching artist, and full-time parent. Melody’s original foray into the art world was through dance, she’s a classically trained ballet dancer; in college she became a sociologist. In 2011, while working full-time for the University of Washington, she applied and was accepted for an internship at the Stranger. Her job description was to write book reviews, but at the time no one was doing dance writing and Melody asked if she could take those pieces on too. The rest is history! She’s also written for the Seattle Times, City Arts, and has a blog, plus various other freelancing endeavors. She says, “Dance writing is close to my heart because it something I understand and can communicate to people who don’t know anything about dance or who don’t care about it or who haven’t previously liked it or cared about it. Dance is not an accessible art form in many ways. It can seem very high brow or contemporary. Dance can seem very weird and inaccessible.” She is delighted to have found a kind of niche where she can write about dance and “People can think about it in simpler ways that maybe apply to their own lives and own interests a little better.”

Hey TeenTix-ers: Scholarships are now available for Singing the Gospel, a masterclass from our friends at The 5th Avenue Theatre!

This energetic and uplifting vocal master class will explore the history and influence of gospel music in musical theater. In this two-part course, students will work with Seattle-based singer and actress, Shaunyce Omar, to examine how gospel music has influenced both musical theater and pop music; learn the power of ensemble singing; and discover how to adapt their own personal style to gospel singing. Join in for this fun and engaging class and get singing!

We are beyond EXCITED to share the nominees of the 2019 TEENY AWARDS!

TEEN CHOICE AWARDSTeens in each of the following groups has the ability to nominate their favorite event from the year PRESS CORPS PICKNEW GUARD PICK

Heard about the TeenTix Press Corps? This radical program allows teens to learn, practice, and publish arts criticism. For more information or to get involved, click here! We wanted the insider scoop, so we enlisted the help of an active TeenTix Press Corps writer and arts-goer - Sumeya Block!

Sumeya is a rising sophomore at the Downtown School, just blocks from TeenTix headquarters! She got a TeenTix Pass at the age of 13 when The 5th Avenue Theatre put on a production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She desperately wanted to attend the performance but tickets were way out of her price range. Luckily, she discovered TeenTix just in time and got herself a ticket for just $5 - she hasn’t looked back since! When TeenTix showed up at her school, she was introduced to the Press Corps and was excited to learn that writing about the arts was even a possibility! Sumeya applied to be a writer in the TeenTix Newsroom and soon after took an Intensive Workshop where she honed her arts journalism skills. “I didn’t realize my love of writing and my love of art could come together; I never thought I could potentially use that as a job”.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Although I had been warned by the sign at the front door—CAUTION: LOUD GUNSHOTS—I still started, pretzeled my arms into my chest, when the trigger was finally pulled. I sat, head buzzing, as the murderer monologued for the final two minutes of the play. The lights went down amidst audience mumblings, then I stood clapping with the room while the actors bowed. My chest was tight with anxiety all through the talkback, the drive home, my pre-bed face wash; even now, I can easily picture the muzzle flash. If art’s job is to affect individuals, then Pass Over deserves a raise.

We made it! It’s an odd feeling, watching the first era of our Teen Editorial Staff—the group that we all helped to create—come to a close. Just a little under a year ago, we were five strangers, only connected by our shared passion for art. Now, we’ve grown into a sort of family, and we can’t imagine the Teen Editorial Staff being any different. However, as a different group of teen editors will be the reality next year, now comes the time to move on, let go, and get ready to enter a new era. It truly has been our pleasure editing reviews for the TeenTix blog. We’d like to take a moment to thank some very important people who’ve really made the Teen Editorial Staff the success it is. Firstly, we’d like to thank our incredible Newsroom of teen writers, who write the lovely reviews we have had the pleasure of editing. We’d also like to thank the TeenTix Arts Partners, who provide us with the means and support we need to go out and experience their incredible art. We’d like to give the biggest thanks to Mariko, our mentor and guru who’s guided us through the world of arts criticism and given countless hours to help make the Teen Editorial Staff a reality. And finally, we’d like to thank YOU for supporting TeenTix and the Teen Editorial Staff through your patronage. This has been the 2018-19 Teen Editorial Staff, signing off!

- Anya, Hannah, Huma, Josh, and Lily

The movement of the human body accompanied by a simple monotone score, props that seem familiar, and a new musical score can tell a beautiful story with great emotion and power.

After almost two years of brainstorming and eight intense weeks of choreographing and rehearsing, This is Not The Little Prince is now being performed at the Cornish Playhouse. This one hour contemporary dance piece is full of heart, creativity, emotion, and flexibility. Choreographed and staged by Olivier Wevers, this show conveys a well-known story in a new light, with the story of the author. Using the language of dance, everyone can interpret the narrative, no matter what language they speak.Whim W'Him in This is Not the Little Prince. Photo by Stefano Altamura.

“Click, click, click, click. Beautiful!” said the young woman instructing me on selfie stick use towards the end of my walk through the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP)’s A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes. The video, entitled Selfie Stick Aerobics (constructed by Arvida Byström and Maja Malou Lyse) was of two young women in pink tracksuits, posing with a selfie stick as feminine items, such as menstrual cups, belly button rings, and thongs, floated past. As they showed me different photo angles, they continued to enforce body positivity, insisting that this was not a competition. Instead of mocking selfies, which are often viewed as vain and superficial, the artists embraced them enthusiastically, as a way to affirm how beautiful they and the people around them were. The artists found an interesting way to reclaim culture frequently made fun of, all while promoting self-love.

MoPOP strives to use creative expression as a force for change by featuring exhibits that both educate the public on the history behind some of our favorite culture points, often giving new artists a platform. At this particular exhibit, a group of fashion designers diverse in popularity and establishment came together to discuss the meaning of femininity and the label’s borders. The presentation was split up into different feminine archetypes: “Mother Earth,” “Sage,” “Magician,” “Enchantress,” “Explorer,” “Heroine,” and “Thespian Queen,” each accompanied by a paragraph on the wall and archetypal symbols. Instead of a traditional mannequin presentation, there was a mixture of videography, photography, and clothing. Among the fascinating displays were pieces from an Alexander McQueen collection: Natural Dis-Tinction, Un-Natural Selection. His work was an interesting juxtaposition between natural-seeming fabrics and patterns and more modern silhouettes. For example, one outfit was composed of a dress made of light, cream silk patterned with meadow flowers under a simple leather bodice; however, the shoulders were broadened, the upper sleeves were voluminous, and the hips were exaggerated to the extreme. The purpose of this was to find a balance between modern and natural, providing familiarity with a sense of wildness underneath, which was an enthralling contrast. Another dress, similar in shape, had rough rainbow fabric that the light danced upon and, yet, a severe collar and neckline. It was interesting how the two ideas of natural and unnatural blended well together instead of clashing A Queen Within, Installation view by Iris van Herpen. Photo Josh Brasted.

The boy with the warm brown eyes walked away down the sidewalk, turning back to wave before rounding the corner.

Think about that sentence. Visualize it. What did you picture? A busy city street or a suburban neighborhood? A teenager or a young child?

Whitney Mongé, an Alternative Soul artist originally from Spokane, got her start in the Seattle music scene in 2007. As a street musician, (busking in Pike Place Market), Mongé was enlightened as an artist. It was this time in Pike Place that spurred her into taking up music as her profession.

“I’m reclaiming the hell out of this space!” Rell Be Free’s shout echoed throughout the theater of the Vera Project, accented with dim blue and purple lights. A teenager with homegrown Seattle beginnings as a musician, Rell Be Free was one of the night’s featured musicians. These artists, youth who speak truth to power, prepared to make themselves heard through rap and spoken word performances at the Northwest Folklife Festival.

Through Creative Justice, youth are encouraged to share their stories using art as an alternative to completing traditional probation. Co-director Nikkita Oliver describes the program as offering opportunities to “liberate ourselves in a creative space.”

The 2019 Northwest Folklife Festival featured a new exhibit that put youth arts at the forefront. Fitting with Folklife's 2019 cultural focus of "Youth Rising," the A/NT gallery at Seattle Center featured the showcase of The Hydrant Lounge, a collective of youth arts leaders who came together to promote their work and form lasting partnerships within the art world. With an entrance facing the International Fountain, the central location of The Hydrant Lounge greatly facilitated the Lounge's popularity.

The Hydrant, the organization behind the Folklife display, is a youth-created and youth-led artistic "think tank" that seeks to promote emerging figures in the Seattle arts community. Urging young art creators of all kinds to "tap the Hydrant," the organization gives priority to young creators who, without a platform, may feel isolated in artistic fields that are often dominated by the older generations.

CUDDLE stars Hope Shanthi as Dina Razzano, an up-and-coming cuddle therapist as she tries to pave the way for a new bold method of therapy. Created by Adeline Colangelo and directed by John Helde, the series follows Dina as she tries to establish her new business while simultaneously discovering herself. Along the way, Dina finds herself facing many who oppose her non-traditional methods including her own brother, Joe Razzano portrayed by Devin Badoo. Each episode chronicles a new experience for Dina and her business, ranging from encountering anxiety ridden clients afraid of intimacy to hunting for an establishment willing to host a cuddle workshop. The series takes an old classic cliche and puts a fun new spin on it through the introduction of cuddle therapy.

Race, masculinity, and American identity have all played a key role in making baseball the national pastime. Richard Greenberg, the playwright behind the Tony-award winning Take Me Out (now playing at 12th Avenue Arts through Strawberry Theatre Workshop), understands baseball’s all-encompassing scope, and attempts to use it as means for a spectacle of societal discourse. His results are mixed, but when performed by a capable cast, certain moments hold all the power baseball possesses.

The concept is compelling enough to make one wish it had been handled differently. There's no doubt that the highly-decorated Greenberg is a talented playwright. Whether he’s the one to pen a play of this subject matter is another question. Darren Lemming (Lamar Legend), a mixed-race pro baseball player seemingly based off Derek Jeter comes out abruptly as gay, unbeknownst to the weight of his action. Lemming must then adapt to his demoted status, going from untouchable golden boy to the patronized poster child for a community he doesn’t identify with. When screw-loose Shane Mungitt (Craig Peterson)—a red-state rogue with a habit for saying bigoted slurs—joins Lemming’s team, tensions give way to a cultural battleground. The plot has all has the makings for a fascinating dissection of baseball in all its glory and carnage, a symbol of Americana that has both unified and divided the country. With the historical context of baseball’s long-winded journey to racial integration, there is certainly potential for a truly explosive work. Unfortunately, Take Me Out doesn’t quite live up to that potential until the second act.Take Me Out at Strawberry Theatre Workshop. Photo by John Ulman.

“About to Happen” at the University of Washington’s Henry Art Gallery marks the first time Cecilia Vicuña’s collection of sculptures, drawings, films, and other art pieces are exhibited alone in the United States. Vicuña is a Chilean-born artist whose career spans over fifty years, and her unique body of work has only gained relevance as time passes and climate change (often alluded to in her art) worsens. This exhibit combines a wide variety of media, largely composed of repurposed materials, in a unique and visually compelling compilation that invites thoughtful consideration from viewers.

Upon entering the gallery, visitors are greeted by dozens upon dozens of tiny sculptures dotting the walls and a raised platform on the floor. These are “precarios” (“uncertainties” in Spanish), or, as Vicuña sometimes refers to them, “basuritas” (“little garbages”). These tiny masterpieces, pinned to the wall like insect specimens, are entirely made of objects Vicuña collected from the shores of northern Chile, where she grew up. The oldest “precarios” are from 1966, and she has continued to create them in the decades since. Just as other pieces in the room float from the ceiling, the “precarios” seem to swim in the vast white expanses of the walls upon which they are mounted. They range in complexity, from singular pieces of wood to intricate assemblies of thread, netting, and other flotsam. Vicuña’s clever hand has taken seaside trash and created beautiful works of art that are captivating in their detail."About to Happen" by Cecilia Vicuña at Henry Art Gallery. Photo by Alex Marks.