Seattle Blog

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

About the DJ: I’m a college sophomore writing you all the way from the frigid wastes of upstate New York and counting the days until I can come home. I’m a double major—English (Creative Writing) and Social Sciences — and I love all things involving the arts: theater, dance, film, fine, or otherwise.

1. Romeo and Juliet, 2013 I just finally managed to get my hands on the latest iteration of the love story to end all love stories, and it’s fantastic. It was actually filmed in real, gorgeous castles Italy. The all-star cast lineup includes Douglas Booth as Romeo, Hailee Steinfeld as Juliet (of Ender’s Game fame), Damian Lewis (Homeland), Tomas Arana (Gladiator), Stellan Skarsgard (Thor), Tom Wisdom (300), and Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl). The costumes are to die for, and if you’ve never listened to a movie soundtrack before, this is the one to start with. Everything about this movie is well done. It’s beautiful, sad, and adventurous. Although the purists will complain that it’s not the Bard’s original script, it’s worth it.

I had the opportunity to visit Seattle Children’s Theatre and watch the newest adaptation of Pinocchio — and a new adaptation it was. The theater is known for it's well-acted plays for children and families. Having had the chance to enjoy several alongside my own family, I was excited to see what they would pull off this time.

As the story goes, Gepetto, a poor woodworker, makes a puppet from said wood and calls it Pinocchio. All Gepetto wants is for his puppet to be alive, to be the son he never had, you know the story. And in a short time that’s just what happens — poof, a live puppet! But what I apparently missed was that there was no magic, no fairy, nothing.

Hey! Did you guys know that teens like art? Of course you did, and so did we! That's why there's a thing called TeenTix, tra la la.

But did you know HOW MUCH teens like art? Guess what? It's SO MUCH. For example, in 2013, teens liked art 10,689 times (And that's only counting the times you liked art with TeenTix. We know that you sometimes go see art without us AND WE'RE TOTALLY FINE WITH IT.)

About the DJ: I'm currently a senior in high school, and I'm preparing to go off to college next year to study cello performance. Apart from music, I am interested in all art forms, particularly film and literature. I'm also really into cupcakes and pie. 1. National Theater Live at the SIFF Cinema I recently saw the encore broadcast of Coriolanus at the Uptown and it was incredible, as was Frankenstein, which was shown in October. I love that SIFF runs these broadcasts because it brings such incredible theater productions to Seattle. The shows star world-class actors as well, which makes them more accessible for young people. 2. Supernatural, Season 9 It isn't often that a show’s older than the network it's on. Supernatural has done this and still continues to bring great episodes to the screen. The scope of the show has gotten bigger since last season, bringing the conflict among the angels in heaven down to earth. The episodes that carry the story arc of the season are hard-hitting and emotional, and the monster-of-the-week episodes are just as fun as they've always been. 3. Cymbeline by William Shakespeare I've been on a bit of a Shakespeare kick recently, and I thought I might give one of his lesser-known plays a try. Despite being a tragedy, Cymbeline is one of the most uplifting plays I've read. And it provides a strong female protagonist, which is a refreshing after characters like Ophelia in Hamlet. 4. Only Lovers Left Alive Jim Jarmusch's latest film, starring Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton, tells the story of two aging lovers dealing with a changing world in different ways. Oh, and they happen to be vampires. The film doesn't have much in the way of a major plot, but it presents a touching and wry character portrait of the vampires Adam and Eve. 5. Soap Kills I'm discovering them pretty late, but I am in love with this Lebanese electro-pop band right now. Even though I don't understand the lyrics in the songs, the music itself is really interesting, and I haven't been exposed to a lot of music from the Middle East. Their song “Mannin Elak” from the 2005 album Enta Fen is a particularly excellent track to check out.

Thank you to all of the TeenTix parents who took the time to complete our first-ever parent survey! Your answers have already helped us make the program better for you and your kids.

Today I wanted to share some of the results of the survey, share some of your comments, and answer some questions that came up a lot. Of course, if you have any questions or thoughts about to improve TeenTix, I would love to hear from you. My email address is [email protected] and my phone number is 206.233.3938. Thank you for being a part of the TeenTix community and for all that you do to support your children's art explorations!

Get a taste of Southern hospitality by joining six women as they embark on a moving journey in Edmonds Driftwood Player’s newest production, Steel Magnolias. Each woman in this production comes with her own unique sass, flair, and outlook on life as they come together in Truvy’s home beauty salon. With secrets bigger than the hair seen in this show, get to know the gossip around town and get a first-hand look into these abstract women’s monumental life moments and the emotions that follow. Shelby, an ambitious Southern belle brings the group closer as she sets off the story on her wedding day when we slowly uncover Shelby’s medical secret, a potentially deadly one. It is Shelby’s constant drive and ambition that inspires and strengthens the group to journey out of their comfort zone and come into their own during the process. Whether you’re out on a girls night, mother-daughter date, or just looking for a quality story, join Shelby, Clairee, Truvy, Annelle, Ouiser, and M’Lynn through weddings, divorce, births, funerals. This touching performance reveals the beauty of friendship, through both prosperity and hardship.

Steel Magnolias Edmonds Driftwood Players February 14 - March 2

About the DJ: My name is Chloe. I live in Ballard, go to school in Everett (Don't ask, it's complicated.), and spend a lot of time downtown working at Pacific Science Center or playing violin for something or other. As a classical musician in training, I like to go to the symphony, opera, and ballet. I love Seattle and living in a big city.

1. Portlandia Portlandia is a must watch for every proud Northwesterner. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, the show's creators, do a wonderful job of lovingly making fun of the Northwestern lifestyle. The episodes don’t follow a storyline, so you can start watching at any point, which I enjoy. Once all your friends start watching Portlandia, the real fun begins with making references. With lots of memorable skits that resonate with my friends and I, we have frequent inside jokes based off the show. I can no longer walk into a store without suggesting to “Put a bird on it!” and I couldn’t be happier about it.

When most people think of Frankenstein, they think of a tall, green monster with bolts through his neck. However, Book-It Repertory Theatre creates a performance that goes beyond that. Director David Quicksall, who also directed Moby Dick and Dracula, puts together a performance well-worth its iconic source material, creating a spooky yet enticing tale of life and death — and what that means. The classic story of Victor Frankenstein (Connor Toms) is known world-wide: A mad scientist, obsessed with blurring the lines between life and death, creates a monster (Jim Hamerlinck), which proceeds to wreak havoc on his life, tearing apart his family and everything he knows. Fans of the novel will likely enjoy this show, due to the fact that the show’s dialogue is made up entirely of direct quotes and lines of narration from the original Mary Shelley novel. Book-It has a very unique style of theater in which all of the spoken words are taken directly from a literary text. Instead of doing an injustice to the horror feel of the show, once the viewer has gotten used to the style, the narration often doesn’t feel out of place or strained. It’s able to add background and emotion to the characters without feeling cheesy. The sets and lighting are beautifully done, staying very simplistic while adding to the creepy feel of the play. Toms’ Victor Frankenstein strikes the perfect balance of being likeable yet absolutely insane. The actors are able to make the audience laugh with an over-dramatic childhood sword fight, squirm while Dr. Frankenstein chops the arm off of a body, and stay on the edge of their seats until the very end of the performance, when the haunting final visual will stick with you long after you go home for the night.

Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus Book-It Repertory Theatre February 12- March 9

5th Avenue Theatre is currently putting on a spectacular rendition of Monty Python’s Spamalot. And after that, it will be done again with their high school-aged students (Go support teens in the arts too!).

Spamalot, written by Eric Idle, is a goofy spoof of the famous movie, Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Even if you’ve never seen Monty Python and The Holy Grail, this spoof is witty, hilarious, and performed amazingly by the 5th Avenue cast. In Spamalot, after King Arthur gathers troops for his round table — well, gambling table — he and his knights are sent by God on an absurd adventure to find the Holy Grail.

About the DJ: My name is Reanne (pronounced like the one character from My So-Called Life), and I'm currently a junior at Garfield High School. Besides artsy things, I like books, caffeine, learning languages, Asian food, and have an ambition to travel the world one day.

1. Humans of New York Being the politically correct person that I am, I instantly fell in love with photographer Brandon Stanton’s book/blog/wildly popular Facebook page. The media so often portrays big cities as cold, impersonal places, but his photographs really do capture the (literally and figuratively) colorful side of New York and the wonderful people who are a part of it. There are so many different people with so many different ideas, and for some reason it just makes me really happy to see how they express themselves. Stanton’s work has inspired dozens of similar projects from other cities, and catching a glimpse of someone else’s life somewhere on the other side of the globe never fails to fascinate me.

At the Sound Off! Semifinals #2 , the entire night built up, transmigrating itself from making one feel like bit of moss on the side of a tree on a warm, breezy spring morning to the hard-rocked, fiery hellfire that the Skychurch was always meant to be. It was fun as all damn. Sound Off! may have just been one of the best, most fun concerts I have ever attended, and, very possibly, one of the best I will ever attend — seriously.

After a late start of more than half an hour, the first act, Manatee Commune, went up to much praise for an act finally starting. Hailing from Bellingham, this electronic artist combines ambience and downtempo, along with some bright, contrapuntal synthesizer action to create a very airy, happy, peaceful, and overall chillaxed feel. Manatee Commune also played both electric guitar and acoustic viola during his live set, which was quite cool.

Sound Off! — the EMP’s annual under-21 battle of the bands competition — didn’t present your stereotypical bands this past Saturday night. The first round of the semifinals gave a little taste of everything.

“Y’all rocking with us?” was the question asked during the first performance of the competition as Tommy Cassidy took the stage. And yes, Tommy Cassidy, we were all rocking with you. The group, composed of the frontman and his band, is a diverse bunch with their incorporation of saxophone and trumpet harmonies into hip hop. If you ever wondered what Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” would sound like with a band, Tommy Cassidy is it.

About the DJ: My name is Layne, and I am an inhabitant of West Seattle by week and downtown by weekend. I live a hectic life full of unique adventures and wonderful experiences. I am a city girl so I am used to the hustling, bustling, ever-changing world that is life in general. Though I am usually on the move, there are some things that have stuck with me. I must say, I am very happy that they haven't even been whisked away by the swiftness of the crowds around me. Here are just a few of the little treasures that I hold very dear in the playlist of my life.

1. Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs by Marty Robbins OK, typically I am not a country fan as I can't really take the boo-hooing of unrequited love. But Marty Robbins has revolutionized the way I look at it with his great story-telling prowess mixed with his “lone ranger” voice. I am simply entranced by Robbins and his stories. Only he can tell a story in a 4-minute song better than most people can in a whole novel.