YCW Grads: Where Are They Now?
For part five in our series, Young Critics Workshop grad Leah Menzer supplies hyperbolic ad copy for YCW. And it's all true. Leah, take it away!I see you, Seattle high-schooler, wearing that flannel shirt, a pair of wayfarers, and listening to KEXP podcasts. If you really want keys to the hipster castle, look no further than the Young Critics Workshop. Nothing is cooler than Seattle’s outrageously large art scene, and nothing will get you more involved with it than YCW. I bleed obscure art references now, (an oddly useful college skill) and I’d say most of it stems from this class. Also if you tell your parents you are going to see a play they will probably start crying with joy, and maybe not be so angry when you get a C on that chem test or whatever.
Honestly, the only relevant things I still have on my resume from high school are this class and a fictional company I was CEO of. Don’t waste your time thinking that being Co-Secretary of Japanese club is really going to help you later in life, I promise you it will not. INSTEAD why not find out about mysterious avant-garde warehouse plays and underground art tours while improving your writing with a REAL LIVE (charming) newspaper editor from the best paper in town?
I cannot stress enough how much I looked forward to every class. In my fake-wood college desk drawer I still have some handouts from the class I look at if I need inspiration.
- I’m a sophomore at American University in Washington DC, waffling between sticking with a Political Science major or switching into something radio-related I would actually love that probably won’t get me a job.
The Young Critics Workshop is a 5-month-long critical writing seminar for 11th & 12th graders and college freshmen who are interested in learning about arts criticism and journalism. It's taught by Brendan Kiley, Arts Editor at the Stranger. Applications for this year's workshop are due October 15th. Download more info here. Download the application here. Email questions to teentix@seattle.gov
