Seattle Blog

Aside from the ferry’s foghorn, there’s rarely a reason for things in Edmonds to be loud. It’s a quiet suburban town with overly nice drivers and a median age ten years above the national average—that is to say, it’s not the place you’d expect to find an experimental dance/theater/martial arts performance on a Saturday night. But there it was: a half-full house at Edmonds Center for the Arts and Radical System Art’s eight-person cast who brought more energy than this writer’s ever seen in her sleepy town.

The show, Momentum of Isolation began, even before the brief curtain speech and the extinguishing of the house lights, with a man typing at a desk. Unbeknownst to the audience at that point, he’d soon become the main focus of the show, the continuing plot that tied together other seemingly disparate stories. One scene included a depiction of online dating, followed by one dancer trying to woo another, providing brief comedic relief. Another featured the ensemble falling in and out of step with each other. Going into the show with no clue of the performance’s themes, it was at times difficult to parse the significance of scenes or moments. One had the sense that things were supposed to be profound, that the audience was supposed to feel something or react a certain way, but at times the jarring effects and mixture of movements seemed blended beyond coherency. Until checking the website and finding that this performance was “centered around the themes of loneliness and social isolation,” I struggled to describe the overall sense of the show. Photo Credit: Emilie Bland

The genre of the holiday movie is tried and true; from Home Alone to Elf, Frosty the Snowman to A Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas movies have been done before, and they’ve been done well. As Thanksgiving rolls around, viewers observe the tradition of watching their favorite characters celebrating the festive time of the year. This makes 2023’s The Holdovers even more of a triumph as a worthy addition to the holiday canon for years to come.

Director Alexander Payne had the task of adding something new to the holiday genre and creating a film that could hold its own outside of the holiday season. Helped by the incredible talents of Payne’s Sideways collaborator Paul Giamatti, seasoned actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and rising star Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers is bound to become a modern classic.

For this month, TEDS Aamina and Kyle have a special treat for you. An April Editorial in the format of an NYT game of Connections (Learn about the game here)! See the key below to see what events the Newsroom is covering this month.

Youth

We have all heard the theater kid stereotypes. Loud, dramatic, proud. Students in the Rising Star Project at The 5th Avenue Theatre are no exception to this, but in the best ways possible! I had the pleasure of chatting with Rising Star Project participants Spencer Barber and Sebastian Borges, who joined this community of talented youth and professionals to nurture their love for the arts. The RSP program mentors students in all aspects of theater production, and puts on a show at the end.

Barber and Borges both play the role of Dr.Grayburn in the farcical comedy, Something’s Afoot. In our interview, they both showed me how empowering the arts could be. We talked about the magic of theater, what they’ve learned from the Rising Star Project, and how more arts programs are becoming accessible to youth—a trend that will hopefully continue in the future.

Actor, writer, and director-in-progress, Isaiah Hsu is taking on what might be his most important role yet: that of a young professional.

The start of Hsu’s acting passions began at Tacoma Little Theatre’s 2014 summer camp, when he played Shan Yu in Mulan. He also participated in Curtis Senior High School’s theater and choir, experiences that both helped him grow his voice as an artist, but it wasn’t until he joined Village Theatre for their production of Newsies that he felt he really “got his foot in the door” of the theatre world.

On February 27, Seattle Arts & Lectures hosted Joy Harjo, who performed a breathtaking blend of song, poem, and musing followed by a Q&A session with Arianne True, the current Washington State Poet Laureate.

The event began with a reading of “Dear Spanish” by Seattle’s Youth Poet Laureate Mateo Acuña. His poem reflected the frustrations and struggles of multicultural people like himself. The poem artfully moves from a bitter tone to an unending longing and desire to understand Spanish, to reconnect with what he loves and his Peruvian roots. His words and reading truly spoke to my experience as an American-born Chinese person, specifically with his reflections on accent, demonstrating a unique command of the poetic form. Acuña’s reading immediately set up a more intimate, almost conversational atmosphere, like he was sharing secrets that could either resonate with the audience or prime them with a mindset of understanding.

This year’s Teeny Awards were nothing short of spectacular, in no small part thanks to the partnership between foundry10 and TeenTix. foundry10 is an education research organization with a philanthropic focus on expanding ideas about learning and creating direct value for youth. This year, foundry10 came together with TeenTix to sponsor the 2024 Teeny Awards. I recently had the opportunity to connect with Rachel Gaudry, the Creativity, Design, and Play Team Lead at foundry10, and TeenTix’s own Deputy Director, Austin Sargent. We chatted about this year’s Teeny Awards, the partnership between their organizations, and their hopes for the future of teen arts opportunities in our communities.

During this magical event, Outstanding Teens were recognized by Arts and Culture organizations in a “20 Under 20” cohort. Guadry described the recognition of these dynamic youth as the biggest highlight of the event. She explained that “Too often, teens aren’t recognized for their contributions to the arts, and it felt meaningful to witness TeenTix’s partners honoring them on stage. And speaking of joy, it was uplifting to hear from the honorees themselves, see their short films, watch them dance, and listen to their songs. It was a privilege to attend on behalf of foundry10, and I can’t wait to see what these teens do next!” Teens from Three Dollar Bill Cinema's Reel Queer Youth program who created Light, screened at the 2024 Teeny Awards. Photo by Brenda Palma.

The arts are life-changing.

As children, we often experience them through the lens of obligation; from ballet classes as toddlers to the arbitrary violin or piano lessons in elementary school, our childhoods are riddled with the arts. Sometimes fun, but often not. And yet, art sticks with us. We branch out, perhaps leaving music for debate, or dance for film. We stick with them even if we have bad memories, because the arts are our opportunities to explore.

“We are a nation trapped inside a nation. We are a nation dying to be born,” Malcolm X sings, and thus begins a tale of freedom, hatred, and martyrdom, all performed by the talented and dynamic performers of Seattle Opera at McCaw Hall. X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X is a three-hour-long journey, taking audiences through the 1900s from the perspective of the marginalized Black community, facing crushing oppression and horrific violence. It stars Kenneth Kellogg in the titular role of a complex leader during the Civil Rights Movement. The opera tells an intricate story that everybody needs to hear.

Act one opens with the characters waiting for Reverend Earl Little, Malcolm’s father. While they wait under high stress, the characters inform us of their constant fears of violence and murder by white supremacist groups as the names of people who had to pay for this hatred and racism with their lives are projected on the ceiling, scrolling quickly to showcase the immense scale of this tragedy with a powerful impact. In this act, Leah Hawkins, who plays Malcolm’s mother, Louise, is featured in a stunning aria about the haunting attacks she fears. After this, it is revealed that Earl Little was killed, leading to the mental ruination of Louise. Malcolm is subsequently brought to Boston by his older sister, where he gets involved in a robbery and is arrested.

The sun’s coming up in Seattle. As the evenings grow lighter, cherry blossoms bloom, and March brings us closer and closer to the equinox, now is the perfect time to step out into the near-spring air and go see some art with your TeenTix pass. This month, the Newsroom’s slate of reviews covers gothic theater, pluralistic choreography, classic musicals, and local comedy: a plentiful and varied spring spread!

Over at Dacha Theatre, Mikhail Bulkakov’s “gothic Soviet fairytale” Master and the Margarita is coming to the stage. Opening on March 22 and running at 12th Avenue Arts on Capitol Hill, the play is perfect for audiences who want to be entranced by magical realism and pulled into hilarious satire. A perfect partner to Dacha’s production is The Moors at Seattle Public Theater. This play, running from March 22 to April 14, promises even more gothic goodness, this time entrenched in the mystery of the English moors. Between unexpected arrivals and the secrets of old houses, The Moors will bring a rush of intrigue into your month.

“Who are we to pity the dead? We don’t even pity the living.” The Seagull Project and Intiman’s production of Maxim Gorky’s The Lower Depths highlight the disregard for human life and the tendency to separate ourselves from struggle. Its' raw portrayal of poverty seeks to challenge the viewer to see beyond themselves to ignore issues in society.

This discomfort begins immediately. As the lights fade in, cramped bunk beds and trash are seen littering the stage as the flophouse inhabitants live in semi-darkness. Illness, death, and hopelessness call this basement a home more so than the characters. The play attempts to welcome the audience in, to fully immerse in this nightmarish housing, empathizing with those who have spent their entire lives in such poverty. The majority of the play is set in this one-room home. I quickly grew weary of the littered and cramped set, and I craved something to bring me out of the horrific storyline. For me, the despair it evoked demonstrated that the play was dedicated to sharing the life-long experiences of mistreatment and poverty.

TeenTix is an organization known for its celebration of teen leadership and local art, and on January 28, 2024, they hosted the Teeny Awards, an event meant to commemorate twenty outstanding teens from the area—a group now known as the “20 Under 20.” Yet while the function centered around the awards, it also featured several live performances by other talented teenagers from the Greater Seattle Area, including live poetry, singing, dancing, and more.

I was lucky enough to attend the Teeny Awards at On the Boards, a theater in Downtown Seattle, with my friend and TeenTix Arts Podcast member Ashwari Shende. The event itself was full of glittering outfits and bright lights, aligning with the theme, Mirrorball, and the audience seats were packed full of Washingtonians from various backgrounds. And though I barely recognized any other attendees, I felt an unfamiliar—yet not unwelcome—feeling of… belonging. It was easy to tell that all of us, regardless of age, gender, race, and ability, were connected by a shared enthusiasm for the arts and appreciation of the amazingly accomplished youth around us.

How many museums not only tell grounded stories with honesty and celebration but welcome their visitors with a community living room and a book vending machine? The Northwest African American Museum is advertised as a “museum that uses Black heritage to cultivate healing and hope for all,” and I sensed that as soon as I walked in. In the main exhibit, screens flash with students and community members naming their heroes, claiming the museum as “ours,” and offering it to all as “yours.” Plaques, posters, and art document Black Americans’ victories, setbacks, injustices, pain, joy, and resilience with respect and love. NAAM is a welcoming, celebratory, healing space, and the art and artists of the exhibit Positive Frequencies embody that.

Positive Frequencies features “iconic Neo-POP artist” C. Bennett, along with local artists Eric D. Salisbury, Myron Curry, and Samuel Blackwell. Bennett’s mixed media pieces line half the gallery, while paintings by Salisbury, Curry, and Blackwell line the other half. Music by artists like Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Nina Simone plays, immersing the viewer in the exhibit’s thesis: music can heal by “transcending societal and cultural boundaries.” All four featured visual artists approached that theme differently, but when all the pieces are viewed as a collection, with the music they sought to capture and elevate playing around them, their connection and power are deep and palpable. Photo courtesy of Elite Collective

In the many centuries it has existed, Western classical music has taken on a set of firm conventions that permeate mainstream classical culture. This is what makes classical music intimidating for inexperienced listeners. They are expected to act in a way that they are not accustomed to, keeping them from engaging with it. This strict culture hasn’t always been the norm, and it doesn’t have to be today. There is an increasing prevalence of classical venues that seek to establish a more open and inclusive environment.

I got to experience this when I saw Inspired by Gamelan, a unique collection of modern classical music that draws inspiration from Indonesian gamelan, at Emerald City Music. ECM is a non-profit chamber music organization that presents an eclectic range of classical music in a laid-back, intimate environment.

The Kingdom of Bohemia, now known as Czechia, was located in central Europe for more than a millennium and was a melting pot of cultural influences. Musicians would travel to and through this land-locked country, bringing with them musical influences from other countries such as Italy and Germany where Vivaldi and Bach reigned. Party Bohemienne, presented by Early Music Seattle and featuring the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, seeks to spotlight the compositions that came out of this rich musical society. Nate Hegelson, the director and bassoonist in the event, describes the musical event’s aim to highlight lesser-known Czech composers from the Baroque period. The pieces Hegelson chose for this event contain several elements typical of the classic Baroque style, but they elaborate on all of these elements to create a unique, truly Bohemian style.

The performance I attended was at the Bastyr University Chapel, a gorgeous chapel with tiled mosaics on the walls and a St. Petersburg-reminiscent frieze at the altar. The weathered wooden paneling created a gothic aesthetic and also lent a hand to mimic the original sound of Baroque Era performances, in great halls and estates. The chapel’s uncomfortable pews added a layer of authenticity to the performance. Looking at the program, I didn’t recognize any of the names there—the director was right about the little-known status of the composers.

This February, in honor of Groundhog Day, the events that the newsroom is reviewing shed light on the dilemmas that have come to define the human experience: Who am I? Does joy come from continuity or change? Will there be another six weeks of winter? Though the fact that we continue to struggle with these questions can feel disheartening, we can also relish the fact that we, like so many of our ancestors, have the opportunity to untangle the complicated web of human existence.

Joy Harjo will be at Seattle Town Hall on February 27, a poet known for her writings on reconciling the past with the future as we all ask ourselves, how do we remember the past and our heritage without idealizing the pain in our history? Also taking inspiration from history, ArtsWest is running Born With Teeth from February 1 through 25. The play depicts queer, fictionalized depictions of William Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe, capturing the conflict experienced by all queer people and the erasure of their history while celebrating queer joy and excellence.

“A window to the see, a spirit star chiming in the wind of wonder as you crown me with your iron, aid me on my flight…” it began. It felt like eavesdropping as I listened to the poem be read aloud by the artist himself, Raúl de Nieves, just as I had wandered into the gallery. It was a perfect illustration of de Nieves’ theology: an eclectic blend of spiritualism, Catholicism, self-expression, the cycle of rebirth, life, and death, and the belief that there is wonder to be found in the everyday. I was entirely enchanted by the small fragment that I had seen of de Nieves’ world, enamored by how exuberant it all seemed. The gallery demands that you see it in its entirety for you to see “a glimpse of infinity,” the “foliage of the light,” and “the unreality of the unseen” as the poem outlines.

A Window to the See prompts you to walk through the gallery circularly. Following the 21 stanzas lining the walls leads you in a full circle encompassing the gallery, past each of the three sculptures, beneath the arches of stained glass, with the final stanza leading back into the first seamlessly. The way that the curation plays into the themes becomes even more clear when considering the placement of the three sculptures. Following the poems in order takes you past “Deaths of the Everyday” first, followed by “The Gift” in the middle and “Celebration (Mother)” on the opposite end, nearing the last stanza. The three sculptures are representative of the three stages of life that de Nieves has identified: rebirth, life, and death, and they are presented in that order. This is yet another subversion of commonly held beliefs in Western canon. De Nieves skews this idea by presenting a nonlinear journey through the stages of life, beginning with rebirth and ending in death. Raúl de Nieves: A window to the see, a spirit star chiming in the wind of wonder… [Installation view, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle. 2023]. Photo: Jonathan Vanderweit.

Let me welcome you, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say hello, Are you ready for some entertainment? Are you ready for a show?

The screen is dark. A faint glow stretches from the corner of the screen.

When second-year UW graduate student Nick O’Leary pitched a show for the UW School of Drama’s 2023-2024 ticketed season almost a year ago, he was looking for a play with a unique form and relationship between performers and audience, and he found that in A Thick Description of Harry Smith (Vol. 1). To explain the show, O’Leary quotes the notes of playwright Carlos Murillo, with whom the cast was able to work during the first week of rehearsals: “This is less of a play, and more of a performance.” The play—or, rather, performance—is part of Murillo’s trilogy of Javier Plays, three scripts that draw from the work of little-known Colombian-American playwright Javier C.

The show, which incorporates live music and a chaotic, omni-surprising set, is difficult to describe, says O’Leary. “This script has its own rules, and Carlos has not followed any kind of template.” To bring a semblance of unity to this inherently unstructured show, he took inspiration from the medium of collage. When watching, audience members get the sense that there is no real end, and new pieces are added on, complicating the image.Photos by Sunny Martini, permission granted to use by the University of Washington, School of Drama.

Tsai Ming-liang has a knack for filmmaking. The Taiwanese film director knows just where to place the camera to get the perfect frame. He knows when to cut a clip to achieve the maximum effect of its weight and emotion. But most of all, he understands how to craft a compelling story with engrossing characters and little to no dialogue or music. He sets his films to a backdrop of ambient rain and city noises, achieving a feeling that is sometimes calming and sometimes tense the whole way through.

Rebels of the Neon God, which screened at Northwest Film Forum from January 10 to January 14, has some of the best-composed shots of the past few decades. It is both minimalist in its plot, characters, and sound design, and complex in its depiction of the ambiance of the city. The title of the film translated means: “Adolescent Nezha,” referring to the Chinese deity. At the beginning of the film, young student Hsaio Kang’s mother decides that her son is a reincarnation of Nezha, the “Neon God.” Throughout the film, we see Hsaio Kang through the lens of his relationship with this deity. Hsaio Kang, portrayed by the talented Lee Kang-sheng, does not think quite so highly of himself. Instead, after quitting cram school to collect the refund, he slinks around the city, stalking the petty crimes and romances of Ah Tze and his friend Ping. He never directly intervenes with any of the people he is trailing, but their interactions (either subtle or overt) leave lasting emotional effects on him. Still from Tsai Ming-liang's Rebels of the Neon God (1992), courtesy of Big World Pictures.