Seattle Blog

There’s plenty of holiday cheer filling up the Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse this season. Between its two holiday performances, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and The Santaland Diaries, Seattle Public Theater meets all wintery needs.

A very family-oriented show, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever offers the lightheartedness and caring the holidays are meant to inspire. It’s a show about understanding, giving, and empathy — the essential qualities often forgotten amidst Christmas chaos.

You can keep arts experiences within reach for everyone.

Hi, this is Holly, the director of TeenTix. Did you know that TeenTix receives no money from the ticket sales we make possible? That money goes straight to our partner organizations, and that's how it should be. But a groundbreaking program like TeenTix still costs money to run, and that's where you come in.

There’s a definite chill in the air, fireplaces are crackling, and more strings of twinkle lights appear every day. But if that’s not enough to get you in the holiday spirit, don’t give up just yet. With the help of your TeenTix pass, it’s easy to find something out there to warm even the Scroogiest of hearts.

For the easily swayed, there are the Christmas classics — as sweet and simple as sugar cookies, and just as loved.

It’s a Wonderful Life has been reaffirming its holiday-classic standing since its release way back in 1946. It’s likely you’ll be watching it this season, so why not make an event of it? It’s playing in it’s usual film form at Grand Illusion Cinema. Or you can catch a live production when either Seattle Radio Theatre or The 14/48 Projects Theatre Anonymous act it out (in Theatre Anonymous' version, nobody--not even the cast--knows who is in the cast. Seriously.) And finally, Jet City Improv offers its own improvised version with It’s Your Wonderful Life.

Hey! We're famous!

Today you can read an article in the Seattle Times AND listen to a radio story on KUOW about TeenTix and our director, Holly Arsenault. Here's a nice quote from the Times story:

Seattle Art Museum has outdone itself once again after the Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion exhibition during the summer. If the past exhibition was a look out into the future, Peru: Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon is a look back into the past. Although the artwork in this exhibition represents three thousand years of history and showcases different cultures expressed in different forms, there is one underlying theme holding everything together: harmony. According to the exhibition guide, Peru’s ancient Andean civilizations valued the unity between two opposing sides — unlike other cultures around the world, which held more significance in the differences between things. In the exhibition, the ancient civilizations’ works are excellent examples of the efforts the artisans of the past put into showing this idealistic unity. The most prominent example is perhaps the Sican culture’s ‘Double-spout vessel decorated with human figures and snake heads,’ which melds two spouts into one vessel with delicate patterns and miniature statues. The most interesting point about this piece is the simplicity that prevails over the intricate and complex patterns. As I observed the piece, I was at first only able to pay attention to the details of the vessel, such as the shape of the holes. But when I took a step back and just looked, the patterns gathered together to form one simple, unified display. And the beauty of its simplicity simply overwhelmed me. As anyone would notice if they walked around the exhibit, a significant amount of the pieces on display are made out of flashy materials such as gold or silver. But it never seem like too much. Why is that? The “Frontal ornament with feline head and octopus tentacles ending in catfish heads,” otherwise known as Peru’s “Mona Lisa,” embodies the reason these pieces do not seem extravagant. Just like Mona Lisa’s ethereal smile, the ornament captures its audience through its geometric unity by the usage of decalcomania. The two sides are so identical with each other to the point that it’s as if the artist simply made one side of the ornament and copied it over — copy and paste, copy and paste. The appreciation of harmony seems to have been carried into the more modern day Peru. For example, the sculpture named “Virgin of the Fifth Seal” made in the 18th century showcases the balance between Spanish and Peru's native cultures. Although the Peruvian artist sculpts Virgin Mary, her appearance is unlike the ones from Europe. Other images of Virgin Mary were always with her in soft, light colors to represent her purity and ultimate good. But this piece chose to show the harmony between both good and evil; she is seen with both light and dark colors on and has fair skin with dark hair. This whole exhibit was an eye-opener for me. After the exhibition, I discovered a whole new world of unity in our own culture. For those who haven’t visited the exhibit, I would highly recommend it. Who knows? You might just figure out what all those gurus’ talk about yin and yang is really all about.

Peru: Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon Seattle Art Museum Through January 5, 2014

Please help us welcome our newest partner organization, The 14/48 Projects! Yay!!!

With a 30-foot king rat with a stray flopping tail, swirling cardboard waves, and a clock that grows legs at the stroke of midnight, Maurice Sendak’s set doesn’t attempt realism. His two-dimensional props look more like cutouts from a children’s book than objects of the real world. But that’s fitting from the author of Where the Wild Things Are. And it’s perfect for a show like Nutcracker.

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s annual show isn’t a typical ballet. From the stage to the audience, Nutcracker is all about the kids. It allows PNB students to take on serious roles and children (armed with tutus and tiaras, of course) to fill the lobby. In some settings, that would make the show feel juvenile, but at Nutcracker, it’s refreshing. It makes the show what it is — magical.

Everybody knows that ACT's Christmas Carol is "the granddaddy of Christmas shows". It's just not the holidays without it. But everybody also knows that A Christmas Carol is the one show in ACT's season is that is NOT TeenTix-eligible. But, wait! What's that you say? ACT *is* making several showings of A Christmas Carol available to TeenTixers? Why, it's a Christmas miracle!

ACT loves you and you love them back (they've won the Teeny Award for Best Theatre two years running). So, as a token of their affection, they wanted to offer you this special gift. The following showings of A Christmas Carol are TeenTix-eligible. And there was great rejoicing!

In case you hadn’t guessed from the title, Robert Davidson’s current exhibition, Abstract Impulse, at the Seattle Art Museum is, well, abstract. And it’s apparently impulsive in its confusion of titles, captions, loud colors, and shapeless forms. I walked out of the exhibition baffled.

Robert Davidson began the Northwest Coast Native art revival in 1969, when he created the first totem pole to stand in his ancestral village, Masset, since the 1880s. He has studied the artistic style of his tribe, the Haida, for years, and the exhibit holds a collection of 45 sculptures, prints, jewelry, and paintings by the artist, all based on the traditions of Northwest Native art.

All month long, we'll be sharing these videos of TeenTix members talking about memorable arts experiences, so check back often. Want to submit a video? Hooray! Just send the link (YouTube, Dropbox, or some other cloud-type situation) to [email protected].

Click here to donate to TeenTix. You will be redirected to the website of our fiscal sponsor, The Seattle Center Foundation. Be sure to choose 'Teen Tix' from the 'designation' dropdown menu. Thank you!

All month long, we'll be sharing these videos of TeenTix members talking about memorable arts experiences, so check back often. Want to submit a video? Hooray! Just send the link (YouTube, Dropbox, or some other cloud-type situation) to [email protected].

Click here to donate to TeenTix. You will be redirected to the website of our fiscal sponsor, The Seattle Center Foundation. Be sure to choose 'Teen Tix' from the 'designation' dropdown menu. Thank you!

Oh, nothing. Just a tiny announcement. No big deal. We just thought you might want to help us welcome the NEWEST TEENTIX PARTNER, THE 5th AVENUE THEATRE !!!!!!!!

Oh, wait, actually, that's an enormous deal. Why, you ask? (We know you already know why, but we're going to tell you anyway, 'cause we're super excited.)

All month long, we'll be sharing these videos of TeenTix members talking about memorable arts experiences, so check back often. Want to submit a video? Hooray! Just send the link (YouTube, Dropbox, or some other cloud-type situation) to [email protected].

Click here to donate to TeenTix. You will be redirected to the website of our fiscal sponsor, The Seattle Center Foundation. Be sure to choose 'Teen Tix' from the 'designation' dropdown menu. Thank you!

Regarded as the first modern play, Woyzeck — written in 1836 by Georg Büchner — certainly embraces the idiosyncrasies of modern writing as it has come to be known. The Undergraduate Theater Society at the University of Washington takes on the fever dream of Franz Woyzeck’s life, complete with the fragmented scenes, impending sense of the absurd, and social commentary that have established this play’s long-running reputation.

I made the mistake of going into Woyzeck knowing absolutely nothing about this actually really well-known play. My complete lack of background knowledge and context left me baffled by the performance. I spent at least the first half of the play trying to mentally stitch the scenes together and wondered whether or not they were even in chronological order, given the absence of transitions. I had difficulty understanding scenes as they unfolded because my thoughts were still trying to make sense of the ones I had seen prior, and it took several scenes before I could gather a working idea of the world director Elizabeth Schiffler was portraying.

The two-part title of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Kylian + Pite is misleading. Consisting of four vastly different dances, the show offers much more than just those two names.

Kylian + Pite opens with Petite Mort, a dance choreographed by Netherlands-based Jiri Kylian and set to music by Mozart. Almost immediately after the sparkly, red curtain lifted, I heard a little voice behind me exclaim “wow,” capturing both my thoughts and her own. This (approximately) five-year-old girl would proceed to accurately narrate the entire show for me.

Let me preface this by saying that I love one person shows. I love them. I find them incredibly interesting and admirable; as someone who participates in theatre, watching an actor seamlessly switch between completely different characters in less than a split second for upwards of an hour and a half is just awe-inspiring. It never ceases to amaze me that an actor can memorize more than an hour of dialogue with specific ticks, mannerisms, and voices for each character. This show was no exception.

Bo-Nita at the Seattle Repertory Theatre is beautiful. It captures the unique voice of a young teenager in an unconventional way, and manages to be charged and convey an array of emotions without seeming forced, over-the-top, awkward, or dishonest. By the 10-minute mark of the performance, I already found myself loving this strange girl and her way of viewing the world. Playwright Elizabeth Heffron's writing thoughtfully develops Bo-Nita's quirks and way of speaking; the character feels real and honest. Hannah Mootz carries this show beautifully, she has the gift of comedy but can transition into weighty dialogue with ease when necessary.

Recruitment for The New Guard: Teen Arts Leadership Society is in full swing and we want YOU. Young, engaged citizens with good ideas who care about art--that's who we're looking for. Click here to learn about The New Guard and submit your application TODAY. Our first meeting is just three weeks away!

If you go to Ballard, Center School, Chief Sealth, Cleveland, Franklin, Garfield, Nathan Hale, Ingraham, NOVA, Rainier Beach, Roosevelt, World School, South Lake or West Seattle, we want YOU to join The New Guard!

New Guard (formerly known as the TeenTix Steering Committee) members guide TeenTix, keep us honest, learn about the ins-and-outs of the arts world, give out The Teeny Awards (our annual Teen Choice Awards for arts), see shows for free, plan awesome events, meet arts leaders, meet each other, get service learning credit, and have super awesome fun times. What's not to love?

TeenTix and Seattle University’s Arts Leadership Program invite high school students with a passion for the arts and an interest in arts leadership to apply to join The New Guard: Teen Arts Leadership Society (formerly known as the TeenTix Steering Committee).

WHAT IS THE NEW GUARD? The New Guard offers 14- to 18-year-olds the opportunity to play a central role in guiding TeenTix, while progressing through an ever-deepening curriculum in arts leadership. Committed members who have served at least 20 hours on the TeenTix Steering Committee will be matched with mentors at TeenTix partner organizations. Mentorships may focus on arts management, arts marketing, fundraising, or artistic planning. This multi-year program culminates in the opportunity to attend classes in Seattle U’s BA in Arts Management Program.

Baroque music, anyone? Yes, please! The Seattle Baroque Orchestra’s enticing performance, Musica Transalpina with the Guest Director Elizabeth Blumenstock, brings the audience 17th century music in perfect bite-sized pieces. It’s like a box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re gonna get”. But unlike life, all of them are pleasant surprises. (If you didn’t get the reference, watch Forrest Gump.) Unlike other orchestra concerts I have been to, the musicians hold open conversations with the audience in between pieces in order to explain the mystery behind baroque music. For example, the chromatic notes such as E♭ and D# were once two different tones, which meant longer chromatic scales for musicians to learn. As a flautist myself, I am thankful that this phenomenon doesn’t exist anymore. Who wants to learn more notes anyway? Blumenstock’s solo performance with the harpsichord, Sonata seconda detta la luciminia contenta written by Marco Uccellini, gives a sense of thrill to the ears of the audience. Her mastery of the violin and embellishment used in the piece shows her dedication to bringing baroque music to life. The rest of the orchestra also shows its enthusiasm for the music with energetic performances. Also, for the first time in my life, I was a witness to the playing of a harpsichord, which I did not even know existed until the concert. It is just like discovering that ice cream tastes heavenly with fries. Seriously. The delightful sound of the harpsichord is definitely distinct from that of a piano; it is more concise, yet fluid in its runs. The only flaw of the instrument may be the need for constant tuning due to chromatic notes of the baroque style. Other pieces, such as Sonata X by Antonio Bertali, showcase the usage of perfect thirds and the balance between Blumenstock and Melsted, the two violinists of the orchestra. The performance showcases what has made baroque music so intriguing to the musicians over the years. The concert goes by in a hurry before you can think ‘boring’. For those who've never been to such a concert before, I highly recommend you to attend one of Seattle Baroque Orchestra’s performances. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Musica Transalpina was a one-night eventNext up at Early Music Guild: Lucidarium: Una Festa Ebraica – Celebrating Life