TeenTix Blog

I really enjoyed this production. I believed that teens doing RENT would be positively awful, but I was pleasantly surprised. I felt all of the leads had something great to offer. Mark was perfectly cast. He is born to play that role. He even looks like Mark. I thought he was a great actor and had a good connection to his part. Roger did a great job of showing how tormented his character was and the pain that he went through when he lost April and almost lost Mimi. Angel was a delight to watch, and he really encapsulated what I believe the character Angel should be like. He was full of love and joy, and showed how he wanted everyone to be happy and accept others. Maureen was a riot. Her version of "over the moon" had the whole audience hooked, and I also thought the backup singers really added a level of humor to that song. I couldn't stop laughing. Benny was decent, I just wish his mic would have been a little louder, I could tell that he had a nice voice. Collins was fantastic. His love for Angel seemed so real, and he captured the sadness one would feel if his or her lover died. Joanne's voice was clear and soulful, and even though it may have been better if she were a black teen, she was the next best thing to it. The Tango was so fun to watch, and Mark and Joanne's voices blended together really nicely. I also thought Maureen and Joanne had a fabulous rendition of Take Me Or Leave Me, they really pulled it off. I was really impressed with Mimi, doing high-kicks and singing a difficult belty song while still maintaining the sex appeal can't be easy, though she and Roger lacked chemistry. All of the voicemails were hilarious, and the ensemble had great presence and made the most of the solos they were given. I think everyone who wrote bad comments should cut the cast a bit of slack. For doing RENT as teenagers, they did a great job.

Here is the deal, I am a 14 year old working actor in Seattle. I've been in all teen shows that have only had two weeks of rehearsal time, big musicals like RENT and we've done better. I was just expecting more from SCT. Don't give me this "drama school" crap. Botton line, it could have been better.

I was one of the lucky few to see the show and I was quite impressed with this "school edition" version of a very well known musical. I have to applaud SCT partially because they are very 'processes' over 'performance', and with that, they did a fantastic job. I feel as though "Rent" will set the bar for the remainder two shows and for the future of the SCT Drama School. Well done guys.

Two comments above me: back off. It's called a "drama school" for a reason - those kids worked their asses off to put up a show in 5 weeks and did everything asked of them. It's unfortunate that people like yourself feel it is your duty to downplay the creative outlets for young artists today. Sadly, some of the young actors will read comments like this and be turned off completely from the arts because of comments like this. No one said you had to see the show, you went there of your own volition I'm sure. Got a problem? Do something about it and give those kids a place where YOU can "obviously" do something that SCT, in your opinion, hasn't been able to do.

I thought it strange as well to see no mention of Tom Collins (Jon Llarenas). The actor's voice was amazing. Collins and Angel (Zane Cimino) were possibly the two characters that felt like real people on stage. Mark (Matt Lang) fell in to that catagory as well. But the duo of Llarenas and Cimino seemed to have spent the most time trying to understand their characters' relationship. I think that Roger (Camden Morris) and Mimi (Kelsey Schergen) could have benefited a bit from that same sort of connection. I think the cast did a fantastic job overall and they ought to be proud of what they produced.

I thought this prodution was pretty mediocre. I knew that the lyrics would be beeped and what-not, but most these kids could niether act nor sing. The singing was dreadful and I was surprized that no one help these kids out by changing the key for them. It seemed like the director didn't care if the kids could hit the notes or understand the script. All the actors seemed to think that ment being a druggie was all about folding your arms,shivering, ratting your hair and wearing fishnets. I could see that these kids never came close to any sort of adversity. On a positive note: The young man who played Angel was delightful and showed extreme courage in playing his role. Also, Seasons of Love soloist Adrian Slade brought the house down when she belted that high C (even though she was less soulful and more Miley Cyrus), She was the only one that could really sing. Mark, Maureen and Collins were pretty good and only hit a few sour notes. Mimi's Out Tonight was painful, but vocally she got better thoughout the show (acting-wise, not to much) However Joanne and Roger were pretty difficult to sit through and I almost was embarrassed for them. They were both terribly mis-cast Overall, they all tried their best, you could sense that, but there were still some really bad moments.

totally agree collins has an incredibly soulful voice,no mention of joanne, maureen or benny????? the telephone bits, especially the MOMs were a riot! i think judging/reviewing any of MTI's jr musicals against the adult versions is ridculous, this was a phenomal cast, with incredible voices and stage presence!!!It's incredible to see summer by summer the growth in returning performers: Matt Lang, Moriel Behar, Jeremy Weizenbaum (Honest Living, Honest Living!!), Hattie Andres,Ella Mora (Wicked Witch of the West!!) and Zane Cimino!!! perhaps SCT's best summer season to date, Hats off to the director,Eric Jensen. then all the new faces, wow!!, Seattle has a deep talent pool, amazing, thanks each and everyone of you ( all the musicans and backstage crew, major kudos) for an incredible evening of theatre!!! SCT what are you going to do to top this next summer?????????????

ouch...no mention of collins...i personally enjoyed the young man's portrayal of a character who most grown men dream to be able to sing like.

I can understand the impulse to skip through museums and exhibits, sometimes it isn't all that captivating. I don't think cameras have all that much to do with the stereotypical teenager's art experience, more likely it is being asked to walk around with a bunch of other teenagers who are bored out of their minds and don't really try to enjoy the art. Cameras aren't bad, it's our attitude. I think its fine for people to take pictures of art they've seen, but if it's getting in the way of enjoying the art then it means nothing.

I would say that I'm part of the trend of "capturing the experience".But the idea behind it isn't really all that new.People have been saying they've been there and done that for ages.Its just that now we can provide extra proof. This probably started as documenting adventures or sharing an experience with others. And like so many other things morphed into something not so great.Take away the phones, cameras, and video recorders, who knows maybe this generation would apprectiate art more. Or maybe they wouldn't be taking it in at all.

Last night I had dinner with a friend who was talking about looking around at the Sonic Youth concert at the Capitol Hill Block party last week and being saddened to realize that she was standing in a sea of phone cameras pointed at the stage. Then today, this article came out in the New York Times. The author, Michael Kimmelman, wonders about our modern tendancy to sprint through museums snapping pictures of only the "important" works housed in them, without ever pausing to actually look at the art. Cameras replaced sketching by the last century; convenience trumped engagement, the viewfinder afforded emotional distance and many people no longer felt the same urgency to look. It became possible to imagine that because a reproduction of an image was safely squirreled away in a camera or cell phone, or because it was eternally available on the Web, dawdling before an original was a waste of time, especially with so much ground to cover.

Photo by Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York Times Kimmelman's article incited this interesting blog post on the Brooklyn Museum's blog called "Does tech engage or distract?" From the comments on that post:

Review of Burn by Jenny B.The Young Americans’ Theatre Company is charming theatre company that is for your youth and made by our youth. Burn, by Deborah Gearing, is a simple story about how what we do to others can make anyone capable of violence. A town comes together to tell a story about “a boy.” Focusing on relationships and how we affect one another knowingly and unknowingly. Though he used to be a thriving member of this small society you will have to see what makes him just “a boy.”Overall the set was well placed and well designed to have maximum use of the space. The costumes fit and expressed all the characters. Though there were some rocky moments the cast worked extremely well as an ensemble. Sydney Tucker had a nice solid performance and the scene with birdman was one of the best that I have ever seen youth theatre perform. Birdman showed great empathy and passion, though the show could have been bumped up a few notches if the build-up to his anger was used. It made every moment less meaningful since he was just as angry from beginning to end. The show had all the classic pop teen characters, so I would have liked to see them expanded a bit more, with the use of moments before and after. The show would have been much better through a use of build, as it was it made the climax lose surprise and meaning.Over all it was a good show with some really gleaming moments. The theatre had a bustling family feel with the friendliness of staff and patrons. I especially liked the couches that lined the front row. There were a couple things that needed tweaking though overall I would recommend it for teenagers. Jenny B.July 30th, 2009Burn runs through August 9th @ Live Girls! Theater in Ballard. More info here.

Review of RENT: School Edition by Jenny S.One would expect RENT: School Edition to be comprised of a fifteen-minute performance of disembodied scenes with most lyrics bleeped out, culminating in a soggy rendition of the show’s most celebrated tune, “Seasons of Love.” Like other notorious productions attempting to depict teenagers, (see Hair: High School Cut, Grease: For Middle School, and the musical version of Spring Awakening) RENT is an ironically taboo show for youthful performers. Like the aforementioned kid-friendly versions of hit shows, RENT: School Edition (as we must learn to refer to it) is creative in its excising of certain curse words. The F-bomb becomes unexpectedly versatile, being replaced in turn by “CRAP”, “NO”, “STINKING”, “HELL”, “JERK” and even, “SELF RIGHTEOUS!!” Other words appear in various incarnations always maintaining the rhyme scheme of a song, including “gritty” “spitty” and “it.” Memorable examples include “He is so full of…IT!” And, “This is weird. It’s weird. Really weird. fffrEALLY weird.”The clutching, shivering, fantastic cast of RENT: School Edition.Photo by Chris BennionHowever, once the average Renthead overcomes their aversions to these hackings of Jonathan Larsen’s brilliant work, they are able to enjoy a quality teen production of a fantastic musical. RENT, which depicts the struggles of a group of friends living in the East Village during the AIDS epidemic in the 90s, is a two-hour exhibition of those prevalent themes: life, death, friendship, and love. Over a decade after its smash hit run on Broadway it is still relevant, heartbreaking, and breathtaking. Jonathan Larsen’s rock opera tunes are more than beautiful, they are rip-your-heart-out, clutching, shivering, fantastic.And, strangely, The Seattle Children’s Theatre’s summer cast of dedicated, hard-working teens do the piece justice. The cast does its best work when it sings as an ensemble, delicate harmonies interweaving within the fiercely belted melody. Each character, including the eight leads and twenty fabulous ensemble members, stands out, most memorably Zane Cimino as hands down the most adorable cross-dressing, sweet-singing, table-top dancing Angel Dumont Schunard ever to wear zebra-striped tights. Matt Lang looks appropriately Mark-ish in his scruffy plaid blazer, and Kelsey Schergen displays her ability to shake her striptease upside down while singing rather appealingly, a skill always valued in teenage girls. Camden Morris, like all other portrayers of Roger Davis, has a hard time living up to Adam Pascal’s innate sexiness, but he does well at his character’s angsty screams of “MIMIIIIIIIIII!” And Hattie Andres redirects the spotlight in her show-stealing portrayal of the chirping, snarling, sleazy Alexi Darling.Through male voice breakage, strained high notes, crayola drawn tattoos, (is that male genitalia, or a dinosaur?) and one memorable incident of an actor spitting all over the face of another, the cast of RENT: School Edition perseveres. In ratted hair and ripped fishnets, leaning seductively on planks of wood and draped around poles, the inhabitants of the lower east side disabuse us of the playing dress-up feeling that accompanies other censored productions. Backed by a rocking live band, exchanging AZT pills like tic-tacs, the cast does, in its own way, push boundaries. RENT lives and breathes, and each production brings something new. This one brings RENT to the present day, softening, hardening, bringing on a new season of love.Jenny SAugust 1st, 2009RENT: School Edition is closed, but check out the rest of SCT's summer season.Did you see this show? Leave a comment and tell everybody what you thought!

As a theatre person who sometimes feels that conceptual art belongs to a world that I can't quite access, I am totally psyched to see this. Who's with me?Herb and DorothyNorthwest Film ForumFriday, July 31st @ 7pm & 9pmSaturday, August 1st @ 5pm, 7pm & 9pmSunday, August 2nd @ 5pm, 7pm & 9pmmore info

FREE music and movies at the Mural!KEXP Summer Concert Series AND Movies @ The Mural Ampitheatre, Seattle Centerfree, local, all ages, outside, perfectFriday, July 31st @ 5pm: DJ El Toro, Blitzen Trapper & Throw Me A StatueMore infophoto by Rakka on flickrSeattle Center's Movies at the Mural presents The Princess Bride on the big screen + a short film from NFFTY (the National Film Festival for Talented Youth)Saturday, August 1st @ 9pmMore infoThere arefreeconcerts and movies happening every weekend in August at the Mural. Here's the whole lineup:KEXP Summer Concerts at the MuralFriday, July 31st 5-8 pm: DJ El Toro, Blitzen Trapper & Throw Me a StatueFriday, August 7th 5-8 pm: DJ Chilly, Dyme Def & Fresh EspressoSaturday, August 8th 2-9 pm: 7th Annual KEXP BBQ! DJ John Richards, Dinosaur Jr, Viva Voce, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Japandroids, Born Anchors & Champagne ChampagneFriday, August 14th 5-8 pm: DJ Troy Nelson, The Dodos & Army NavyFriday, August 21st 5-8 pm: DJ Hannah Levin, Fruit Bats, The Moondoggies & Johnny and the MoonSEATTLE CENTER'S Movies at the MuralSaturday, August 1st: The Princess BrideSaturday, August 15th: GreaseSaturday, August 22nd: Iron ManFriday, August 28th: Kung Fu PandaSaturday, August 29th: Mamma Mia!All movies start at 9pm

It's a timelapse video of lighting focus day for Das Barbecü at ACT Theatre. Just 'cause you're our favorite kind of nerd. Enjoy.Das Barbecü starts previews July 31st @ ACT Theatre

Review of Past Curfew at Young Americans' Theatre Company by Spencer T.Unbeknownst to me, and perhaps 99% of Seattle’s population, on Market Street in Ballard - just a block away from the Majestic Bay - lies a subterranean theatre called Live Girls! Marked by a pink banner outside the entrance during shows, this unassuming venue is a cozy and comfortable place to see some of Seattle theatre off the beaten track.Past Curfew, an amalgamation of four approximately 20 minute one-act plays presented by the Young Americans' Theatre Company (a troop self-described on their brochure as “provid[ing] opportunities for young artists to be involved with theatre”), is, as a collection, somewhat uneven but features strong performances all around.Thomas Moore and Zoey Belyea in Rosie in the Shadow of the MelroseStarting off is “Incognito”, an amusing portrayal of a girl (Emma Kelley, worrisomely convincing as an obsessive stalker), and her friend (Tommy Fleming, utilizing excellent comic timing) who aim to be more than just friends. Then, in “A Whole House Full of Babies”, Alberta Bleck and her acting partner Leigh Huggins give fantastic and emotionally believable performances as two teenagers dealing with the aftermath of an unplanned pregnancy, but the play felt like an odd choice for the collection.“Dissonance” has an intriguing premise and starts out very funny and strong as the story of odd-couple pair Robert (Karl Divoky) and Frederick (Tallis Moore), a devout Christian and an equally adamant Atheist hiding together in a church during what appears to be the final hours of the United States. The acting was very good, and for the first half contains an immersing script, but then begins to drag, and eventually takes a dark and not entirely convincing turn that left me feeling unsatisfied.The Young AmericansThat said, perfectly culminating the show is “Rosie in the Shadow of the Melrose”, a hilarious, sweet, and ultimately very touching one-act that takes place on a train platform in New Jersey. Frances, played by Zoey Belyea, is an incessantly talking girl from Philly, severely lacking any sense of propriety or boundaries, who begins spilling the most intimate details of her life to a quiet and apprehensive stranger. That stranger, Thomas Moore, spends the first half of the play doing an excellent job of being silent while looking handsome and uncomfortable as Frances continues to pry. But then, when he too begins to speak, Moore shows himself to be a very adept actor as well. Alas, he is ultimately overshadowed by Belyea, whose portrayal of Frances is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a very long time, however, together they create a nearly flawless piece with the perfect balance of emotional resonance and humor that the other plays reached for but never quite achieved. Overall, Past Curfew was a great way to see some young and talented local actors in action.Spencer T.July 23rd, 2009Past Curfew is closed, but YATC's next show, Burn opens July 30th! More info here

Ah yes, well, true. Link is the official name. But branding like that so rarely sticks (BART for Bay Area Rapid Transit being a notable exception). New Yorkers don't call their subway MTA NYC Transit Subway, they just say "the train", Boston's elevated Orange Line was always referred to as "the el" (and I think that nickname is still used, even though it's now underground). Have you ever EVER referred to the area between 3rd Ave and the downtown waterfront "The West Edge"? 'Cause that's it's official(ly lame) name. So, maybe Link will stick, maybe not...we'll see.

Ok first off, I tweet. So maybe there aren't that many people who follow me on Twitter, but it do have followers. It's mostly my friends and family, and they all appreciate the effort I give to update my Twitter.Also, there are a few different uses of Twitter. I'd say a fair chunk of teens who Tweet use it mostly to chat with their buddies who also use Twitter (or just for the sake of saying they have a Twitter account.) There's also the people who don't tweet, but follow famous people who have Twitter accounts. And lastly there are the people who tweet. All of those people, whether they tweet or not, make up the growing twitter community.