TeenTix Blog

i love zac efron bcoz he have a good voice,he is cute like my boyfriend joshua rima.

Reviewed by Jonathan H. Age 15Taproot Theatre closes their 2008 season with “Susan and God”, a light comedy from playwright Rachel Crothers. It may not be very well known, but it was a huge off-Broadway success in 2006, with the New York times calling it “a rare gem”. Now, the questions is, does it work magic on the Taproot stage? Indeed, it does. It may not be the funniest thing to grace the stage, but it is fun just to watch, despite that one maybe not aching from laughter. Susan is an eccentric woman who returns from a visit to Europe. She comes back to her friends after being full reintroduced to God. Imagining herself as a godly person, she uses her new philosophy to influence and correct the errors of her friends, completely without seeing the flaws of her own. She has become totally self-centered, which has left her husband to drinking and her daughter to solitude, longing for attention from her mother. She eventually makes a deal with her husband to become a family once again, and eventually finds the errors of her ways. The cast, as with that of most shows found at the Taproot, is fantastic. Everyone slips into their roles and not only acts as their character, but actually are their character. Such is the case with Lisa Peretti, who plays Susan Trexel. She pulls you in with such conviction in her performance, and from the very beginning grabs your attention and puts a smile on your face. I especially loved how eccentric and joyous she was in the beginning, where she prances on stage, greeting everyone with a squeal and a big kiss. The final scene with her and her husband Barrie (played by Don Brady) is both captivating and touching. As for the rest of the splendid cast, some other notable performances are Austen Case (Blossom Trexel, Susan’s “ugly duckling” daughter, who we get to see transform throughout the show), Heather Hawkins (Irene Burrows, Susan’s elegant friend) and, as previously noted, Don Brady. All of these actors are fully believable and pull you into their story. I found it funny though how in the first act, Brady seemed to be walking awkwardly and acting strange, which made me begin to doubt his acting ability. After a moment, I fully realized they were mannerisms of a drunk, for which he was a believable one at that. Props to him for grabbing my attention in that way. As for the rest of the actors, they all play their characters to perfection. The only reason I don’t note them specifically is because there isn’t much depth to their characters, and the script doesn’t allow them to do much except be there to fill the stage, make jokes and start conversation. This perhaps, would be the only flaw I found in the play. The set is very elaborate, as it resembles an outdoor patio complete with wicker chairs, foliage, fancy french doors and drink bar in Act I. It then changes into an exquisite mansion for Act II, with a fancy couch (the one used in Act I with different fabric), desk, and drapes to cover the walls. Big props go to the set designer, for such an amazing transition between sets. You forget they are, in fact, the same sets between acts. Big props also go to the costumer, for all of the extravagant dresses and suits worn by the wealthy characters of the show. Very good staging on the director’s part as well. “Susan and God” is definitely not one to miss. Toss aside that you may not have heard of it, or that you think it may not appeal to you. It will. I recommend you check it out.Susan and God plays at Taproot Theatre Company, now through October 25thhttp://www.taproottheatre.org/206.781.9707photo credit: Lisa Peretti as Susan in Susan and God. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.

Teen Tix Seeks New Members for its Teen Steering CommitteeAre you a regular use Teen Tix member? Do you have strong thoughts and opinions? Looking for a new volunteer opportunity? Want to rule the world?If so, then we want YOU!Teen Tix is recruiting new members for its Teen Steering Committee. The committee meets once a month to discuss all issues Teen Tix. Help us shape the future of the program, find ways to improve things, recruit new members, and generally keep it real. Special perks are involved, and your presence valued. Come join us!If interested, email teentix@seattle.gov for more information.Here are profiles on a couple of our current members. You could find yourself here soon!Zoe Barker-Aderem is a senior at Garfield. She works at a local deli, earning money to travel after high school. She has been an active participant in Garfield's Drama Club and is co-captain of the school's Orca Bowl team. Before she began working, Zoe had been a member of the Stone Garden's Junior Climbing Team for three years. Zoe is also a Young Playwrights Program Alum, her play "The House on 46th and Holly" was performed as part of the 2005 Young Playwrights Festival. Jasmin Kwan is an ex-gymnast [just retired after 14 years!] residing in Ballard. She just graduated with the class of '08 from Ballard High School, and currently attends Cornish College of the Arts. Photography is Jasmin’s 'thang' and she hopes it takes her somewhere in the future. In her own words: I'm ultra involved with the Vera Project at Seattle Center, it's become my second home. I'm all about all ages everything seeing as I'm still 17, I love Teen Tix cause I've been using it for 5 years and . . . it's awesome! Now I'm part of the Steering Committee, could life get any better?!

Review of Eurydice at Act Theatre, by Emma K. Two young lovers race around the theatre, laughing, exhilarated, and carefree - this scene could easily be the start to a romantic comedy, the story of a summertime romp. Yet, Eurydice, currently playing at A Contemporary Theatre is much darker than that. Written by renowned author Sarah Ruhl, the drama is a new take on the Greek myth Orpheus. In the classic tale, Orpheus, the gifted musician, ventures to the Underworld in search of his lost love, and new bride, Eurydice, after she dies. It is from her point of view that this new version is told.The production is intricate, sensual, and very artistic in structure. The lighting, music, and set play the largest role in creating the show’s tone. Designed by Matthew Smucker, the space is made to look like an abandoned pool with a rusty diving board and pieces of worn paper scattered about. The stage is transformed from a lifelike beach to Hell itself by the use of light and sound alone. An especially nice touch is eight strings that are attached to the stage from above. Orpheus often plucks them to create music, and later they are used to make the sound of water drops falling into Hell.As Eurydice, Renata Friedman is in turns blithe, naïve, and brazen. Although she does not evoke as much of the audience’s sympathy as she could, she follows her character’s arc with precision. Her transformation from an innocent girl to an emotionally broken woman is believable, while her relationship with her father is particularly touching. It is that character, played so delicately by Mark Chamberlin that is the show’s center. Chamberlin gives the Father such a subtle tenderness, one cannot help but be immersed in his alternate joy or sorrow. Everything he does on stage has a gentleness, however small the action may be. This is particularly apparent when he builds Eurydice a room of string, taking care to make it as comfortable as possible even though it’s in Hell.As most talented musician in all of Greece, Trick Danneker is appropriately childlike – he plays the determined Orpheus with the quality of a teenager, experiencing life for the first time. Also effective is Paul Morgan Stetler as the Nasty Interesting Man/Child, both representations of the God of the Underworld. His character is perhaps the most intriguingly changed from the original Greek myth – his youthful, repulsive, and uneasy manner is very fascinating to watch, and Stetler plays it with an excellent sense of comedy.Finally, Tim Hyland, Tracy Hyland, and Ann Allgood play The Stones (who sit at the gates of Hell). Like the Nasty Interesting Man, their characters have been adapted into something very interesting – they almost resemble clowns, but all in grey and with a sense of foreboding. In certain sections their antics distract from the poignancy, but over all they are very entertaining and ironic.As director Allison Narver writes in her program note, the play expects much from the audience. They must be willing to accept and immerse themselves in the unique performance – if they don’t believe, nothing can be gained. The show itself is beautiful, and a testament to how much of an artistic experience the theatre can become, yet most of this comes from the show’s design rather than its writing. Sarah Ruhl’s style is very lyrical and thought-provoking, but what her intention was in rewriting this familiar myth is not clear. If she has a message, it doesn’t carry over to the audience, which leaves a sense of incompleteness come curtain call.The production is evocative, nostalgic, and moving for all ages - as it dwells on the naivety of youth and regret of the old - but ultimately offers more questions than answers.Eurydice plays at ACT Theatre through October 5, 2008.http://www.acttheatre.org/206.292.7660

A review by Kaitlin S. age 19Deep. Political. Philosophical. Nuanced. Although The Vertical Hour is well acted and thought provoking, it is not a very fun play.All five of The Vertical Hour’s actors deliver their lines with tasteful realism. Their dialogue gives the audience the feeling that it is eavesdropping on the discussions of real people. These conversations are also realistic in the sense that they are peppered with expletives and contained some sexual references.The Vertical Hour is almost entirely made up of conversations between the five actors. This discourse presents different views on a broad range of political and social themes including love, the American War in Iraq, and American ethnocentrism.A common thread running through the topics is, “Politics is about the reconciliation of the irreconcilable.” Because this theme is rather complex, understanding The Vertical Hour takes a bit of work. The characters disagree with each other eloquently, articulately, and often. The play forces its audience to do a bit of “reconciling of the irreconcilable” on more than one occasion.The Vertical Hour contains quite a bit of substance that is not always easily accessible; it is anything but lighthearted entertainment.The Vertical Hour plays at Artswest Sept 10 thru October 4, 2008www.artwest.or206.938.0963Photo Credits:Annie Lareau and John Ulman in The Vertical Hour atArtsWest. Photo by Matthew Durham.Annie Lareau and Kevin McKeon in The Vertical Hour atArtsWest. Photo by Matthew Durham.

An interview with Eurydice's Trick Danneker by Bianca G, age 18Trick is a lanky hunk, more commonly known as a lunk, from Minnesota. He has a small hint of an accent and a knack for throwing out statistics. In this interview, he discusses what it’s like to be a member of your own fan club, how he joined facebook, and his thinking about being a nerdy gay alcoholic.BG Your name is Trick. Are you for real?TD It’s short for Patrick. I love the name Patrick, it’s not a rebellion against my parents, but what I hate is the name Pat. And my parents hate the name Pat too. People would call up on the phone and they would say “Is Pat there?” and my dad would say “Nope.” He wouldn’t hang up though. I went by Patrick all through grade school and high school and then one day I was talking to my friends and they said why don’t you go by Trick and I said yyyyyyeeeaaahhhh, that’s a good idea.BG What about Patty?TD Nobody ever calls me Patty. Patty is my aunt’s name.BG In your play you play Orpheus. Do you have to sing?TD Sort of. I open my mouth and the music exudes from me. Because Orpheus is the son of a muse, music flows out of him, and he can pluck music out of the air. He can raise his hand and play you a symphony. I think that’s a really neat idea.BG Do you have to do a lot of research?TD I did a little.BG Like Wikipedia?TD There’s a dramaturg named Anita, and she did a lot of research. And then there’s your imagination.Trick as Orpheus and Renata Friedman as Eurydice in Eurydice at ACT TheatrePhoto by Chris BennionBG How does getting in a play work?TD You find out a theatre is doing something, you get a call or make a call, and you prepare something to audition. In order to be a working actor you have to have your fingers to the pulse all the time.BG Sometimes you can’t even get an audition?TD Oh yeah. Sometimes you don’t even know quite who to call. I’ve made phone calls that haven’t been returned. You send out resumes and headshots and things like that. I’ve been here for three years, and the casting director back in April asked me if I was new to town.BG I think I saw you in The Sweetest Swing in Baseball [at ArtsWest].TD Yeah, we did that for 2 months. That was good because it was a good cast, and you could be stuck with worse people for 2 months, almost 3 after rehearsals.BG You were kind of like the nerdy guy, right?TD Yeah, sure. The character Michael was a computer programmer, and computer programmers are usually nerds. But he had a lot of other quirks: nerdy gay alcoholic.BG So how do you prepare to be a nerdy gay alcoholic?TD Sometimes you take characters and you base them on people you know. Not that I necessarily know any nerdy gay alcoholics. I tried to think, there’s a gesture my friend does, and you try to make it your own. I try to change my physicality, vocal patterns and tones. How is this person like me, and how are they different from me? I try never to recycle things. The 3 years I’ve been out of college, I haven’t done enough to get to that end point where I’ve used everything.BG Are you scared you’ll run out?TD Yeah. I’m gonna have to recycle or have to stop acting.BG Do you think you’ll be an actor forever?TD I hope. My father builds sets, and was designing a set for A Christmas Carol. I was the 7 year old that played Tiny Tim, and I was doomed from there. Doomed to be an actor. My older brother is also a technical director. Until I was a junior in high school, I thought that I was going to be a professional baseball player. When I realized that wasn’t going to happen, it was the first time I ever thought I could do theatre more. I was very lucky to have supportive parents. I certainly went to college with people whose parents said if you want to study theatre, we’re not paying for it. Because at least 75% of people who graduate with a threatre degree never act again. I would say 90% go to the Twin Cities or Chicago to act. I had visited seattle before my senior year of college, and I had picked up The Stranger, and I went to the arts section and there were 7 reviews of different shows that had opened within four weeks.BG Are film and theatre acting completely different?TD I’ve done a little film that nobody would have ever seen unless they went to college with me. I would love to explore that side of acting. On stage, they don’t see the little things that you do. And maybe they’re not even looking at you. Film directors tell the audience where they’re looking.BG Do you find yourself exaggerating in real life they way you would in a play?TD No. I think I’m a pretty private person. I like to spend a lot of time at home. But when I’m out with a group of people I’m not a storyteller, I like to listen to people talk. There’s certainly actors / actresses that can be overdramatic. Everybody knows one.BG The one little piece of research I did was your fan club on Facebook.TD Oh, for cryin out loud! Ben will be happy to hear that you’ve seen this. The group was started by Ben, a gentleman that I knew in college. He just decided one day to start a Trick Danneker Fan Club. And it was kind of hot for awhile and a lot of people were joining up and sharing info about Trick Danneker and telling Trick Danneker stories and writing fan fiction. I’m a member because you can’t look at the stuff unless you’re a member, so I am a member of my own fan club. But I don’t contribute, I’m not trying to feed it and say look how great I am. But if they want to know what I’m up to I’ll certainly tell them. It’s flattering, and fun, because I know that it was done by a friend who just wanted to make me smile. And it does make me smile every time I look at it because it can be so ridiculous, to have a fan club.Trick with his girlfriend, Ellen Page. This is totally real.BG There's 130 members.TD They’re all friends, ex-girlfriends, which is a good sign, means theres no hard feelings. And 130, it’s gonna stick at that for awhile. I pretty much have no more friends. Because Ben lives in South Dakota, or somewhere in Nebraska, he needed an insider so he tapped into my roommate Jason. He’d get information like what did Trick have for breakfast today?BG How often do you check it?TD Its been a long time, it really has. I joined facebook to keep in touch with a friend of mine who moved to Australia and then it all blew up from there. It’s been so many years since that’s been in existence. Apparently I’ve got some sort of running feud with Adrian Brody because we’re both tall and lanky.BG Lunks?TD Yeah, lanky hunks.BG Whose your favorite actor?TD Kevin Spacey, and I really like Matt Damon’s work as well. But I also think that some of the most talented people I know are those I decided to hang around with in college and in Seattle. I wanted to be around them and talk about theatre and talk about acting with them or just sit and go to Perkins at 2 in the morning on a Saturday after a party and eat pancakes and talk about girls.BG What do they have you do in acting school anyway? Four years seems like a really long time.TD Sometimes, you just walk around like a dog. You become an eagle, or become a tree. Then they’ll say what if the tree were an animal. Now you’re a tree and a polar bear at the same time. And you don’t know what any of it means. But it’s also about picking the words, techniques, and vocabulary that meant something to me and using it in my own process.BG Do you hae any pre-show rituals or superstitions?TD Nope. I try to buy into the ones that are pretty serious, like saying “break a leg” or saying the name of the Scottish play in the theatre, or whistling in the threatre.BG If you did that, would other actors get actually angry?TD Sometimes they do. Angry, or anxious, or they’ll let you know that upset them. Sometimes someone will accidentally say the M- word, and I’ll say ok and spin around in circles and silently swear under my breath to ward off the whatever.BG Whats the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you onstage?TD When I was a junior in high school.BG Is this a vomit story?TD No, nerves stopped affecting me when I was a sophomore about 16. I was playing Prince Dauntless in a production of Once Upon a Mattress, and Princess Lark or Larkin is supposed to come interrupt the scene where I’m telling the history of our country. I had to make up things about slavery, and princes being executed. When I got offstage everyone’s patting me on the back for getting through those tough 30 seconds of life.BG Any parting advice for the theatre wannabes?TD If you can see yourself doing something else, go do that. If you can’t live without it, keep going.- Bianca GSeptember 4th, 2008__________________________________________________You can see Trick exude music and perform other feats this month in Eurydice at ACT Theatre, September 10th - October 5th. Teen Tix tickets are always $5 on the day of show. For more info and showtimes, visit acttheatre.org. For more Trick, check out The Official Trick Danneker Fan Club / E-Zine.

Eurydice @ ACT TheatreOne minute you’re madly in love, as only a couple of kids can be. The next minute, you’re – well, dead. Cross the River of Forgetting on a one-way cruise to the Underworld in this fantastic and original retelling of a classic Greek myth. With its express elevator to Hades, a chorus of snarky talking stones, and the Lord of the Underworld holding court from the seat of his red tricycle, Eurydice is as achingly vivid as your best dreams – and just as surreal.Previews September 5th – 9thRegular Performances September 10th – October 5thMore information and show times: www.acttheatre.orgACT's Ticket Office: 206-292-7676Ticket office hours: Tuesday - Sunday noon - show timeACT Theatre is located at 7th & Union in downtown Seattle. It is served by a whole bunch of buses. For bus routes and schedules, visit tripplanner.metrokc.gov. MAP

Hey there Teen Tixers, I’ve got some news: I’m running off to join the circus. And, by “running off” I mean “going to France” and by “join the circus” I mean “teach English.” Here’s a little public service announcement, from me to you: Studying abroad is a really good thing to do, especially when you are young and poor anyway and you don’t have a lot of obligations. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience here: I never got around to studying abroad when I was in college, so I have to do it now, when I’m old and, um…obligated. And I’m going to be teaching, not studying (unless cheese counts as a research subject, in which case, I’m going to be doing some HEAVY studying). Anyway, my point is, if you’re getting this newsletter you probably haven’t gotten to college yet, and so there’s still hope for you. Study abroad. Go somewhere weird and foreign and eat weird foreign food and meet weird foreign people and see weird foreign art and when you get back you can do the annoying things that people who study abroad always do, like affecting an accent (even though you were only there for 3 months) and constantly saying “Well, when I was living in such and such…”. It’ll be awesome. I do plan on seeing a bunch of art while I’m over there, and I’ll be blogging my adventures right here on the tt blog, so be sure to check in from time to time (and leave comments! I’m going to be lonely!) And I’ll be back in May. In the meantime, I am leaving you in the capable care of Pete, who is going to be the Interim Teen Tix Program Manager, and Montana, The Duchess of Teen Tix. So, never fear. Teen Tix will go on without me, and, hopefully, I will return from my time abroad a more interesting, well-rounded individual (with a fake accent and an obnoxious tendency to say “Well, when I was living in France…” YES! I’m so excited.) Have a great year. See lots of art, and, y’know, do your homework and stuff, and dream about where in the world you might want to someday live. Do it for me. À bientôt! Holly

Remember kids, it's good to laugh at yourself. Also, I, like, invented high school theatre nerdery, so I'm laughing with you, not at you. But I am laughing. Hard.Thanks, as usual, to Dan on Slog.

There's an interesting conversation going on over on the Slog right now between our own Professor Kiley, a sad letter writer, and a bunch of commenters with varying levels of actual interest in the topic at hand. They're talking about arts criticism (what is it good for?) and the "Stranger style" (if such a thing exists). Anyway, over here on the teen tix blog this is the kind of thing we get up for, so I'm reposting the entirety of the Slog post, edited very (very very) slightly for content. If you'd like to see the original post and follow along with the comments, go here, but please be forewarned that the comments may contain coarse language.

Arts Letter of the Dayposted by Brendan Kiley on August 28 at 11:56 AM

What with school looming on the horizon, I thought today would be a good day to share my new favorite thing: yearboookyourself.com, where you can paste yourself into yearbook photos from bygone eras.Since my true identity is a closely-guarded secret, and since I'm trying to find some way to construe this as arts news, I'm going to post the yearbooked photos of of local playwright, actor, director, all around talented gal, Darian Lindle:Darian is one of the playwrights whose work is being performed in September as part of the June Carter Cash Project at Live Girls! Theater in Ballard. The show features three short plays inspired by the legendary singer, and it runs at LG! September 12th - October 4th. Live Girls! is a theater company dedicated to developing and producing new work by women, and their tickets, incidentally, are always free at the door for people 18 and under. See how I made that about art? I'm awesome.

REVELING IN THE ANGST OF LIFE WITH MS. LEDA review of Seattle Center's KEXP Summer Concerts at the Mural by Michelle K., age 17Ms. Led is a band composed of characters that your mom wouldn’t approve of on first glance. With an intimidating image, the foursome of musicians may purvey a message that doesn’t exactly speak “relatable.” Lesli, the lead singer and talented strummer of a cherry sunburst Les Paul guitar, has short black hair with an elongated dyed piece splaying across her face. Peg, the crazy-good guitarist whom backed up each song with astronomical rifts, managed to sport fire red dreads in pigtails. Steph, with cropped black hair and blondish/grey highlights, mightily banged her drum with not only skill, but passion. And, the surprisingly coiffed Matt, picking his bass, wore a slick black suit with a red tie. I wasn’t sure what to believe of these musicians before they took center stage, so I waited to judge what they had to give the crowd musically. To say the least, their music was not only relatable… it was deep.Ms. Led at the Mural Amphitheatre, August 23rd, 2008Originally uploaded by Zee GregaSeattle Center presented KEXP 90.3 Concerts at The Mural on August 23rd, starring Ms. Led, for one core purpose. Promote and support independent radio and local artists! On the grass devoted fans of Ms. Led sat and many sung every word off her new album, “Shake Yourself Awake” and some oldies off previous albums. Ms. Led’s sound offered some innovations that are hardly experienced in the current music world. Their genre was concrete, and their infusion of harmonious varieties is definitely a rare jewel. Their act was like an onion, without the crying. I had to peel the layers off of their music to hear everything in its simple essence, which when blended made a delightful concoction. There seemed to be influences from metal, latin music, and even pop. Lesli Wood, the lovely songstress, ripped her vocals to shred with ease by embellishing every word that came out of her mouth in a unique technique. I would not have predicted that her sugar-sweet voice could mesh well with their hard-core sound, however it added to the unexpected yet delightful irony of the show. Wood sometimes employed whispering, she sometimes screamed. It was a little like she was living her emotion while singing; a monotonous tone wasn’t always kept, but whatever was in sync with the emotion of the song. This made the words feel real, not just past recollections. The scintillating lyrics made you want to grab them and eat them they were so delicious, “You’re asking all these questions to sort out my intentions I can’t even sort out myself.” I was literally reveling in the angst of life while listening, but hey: it was okay because we were angsting together. Michelle K.August 23rd, 2008

KEXP Summer Concerts at the MuralSEATTLE CENTERFREE. All Ages. Outside. Awesome.FRIDAY, August 22nd:SPECIAL KEXP VOLUME IV CD RELEASE PARTY5 pm: DJ El Toro6:15 pm: Carter Tanton7 pm: PelaSATURDAY, August 23rd:5 pm: DJ Lisa Wood6 pm: Ms. Led7 pm: GoodnessThese concerts take place at the Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center

Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director (and all around cool dude) Peter Boal has a blog up about the legendary Twyla Tharp, who is at PNB right now, like, as we speak working on two new commissions for their All Tharp season opener, which opens September 25th. Here's a bit:Twyla was not afraid of jumping up to further articulate a movement. Later in the week, she would leap onto Charlie and clutch like a koala as Charlie maneuvered her around his body like a baton. We tensed as Twyla’s head swung inches from the floor―an introduction to the thrill and potential peril of contact improv.Photo by Marc Von BorstelFollow along on Boal's blog and get psyched for what will surely be one of the more exciting dance performances of the year.

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center PresentsSnow White and the 7 At the Moore TheatreInspired by the re-telling of Snow White by Marilyn Joshua Shearer, Snow White and the 7; Each One Teach One, is set in both America and Africa and follows the journey of discovery experienced by young people who are strengthened by their re-connection to the African culture and African American traditions. As Snow White discovers her roots, her self-confidence and capability to share this rich culture is enhanced by her trusty companions, The 7, inspired by the 7 principles of Kwanzaa. An original piece written and directed by Isiah Anderson, Jr., Snow White and the 7 , is filled with original music, contemporary story lines and traditional rhythms.Performed by 60 youth ages 8-18, the Summer Musical program is a full theatre experience including personal and professional development, culminating in a series of public performances in a downtown venue.Performance Schedule:Thursday, August 14 | 7 PMFriday, August 15 | 7 PMSaturday, August 16 | 7 PMSunday, August 17 | 3 PMThe Moore Theatre is located at 1932 Second Avenue in downtown Seattle.

I'm glad you liked the show! We had a lot of fun preforming for you.~Emma

Review of Women and Wallace by Michelle K., age 17It’s hard for me to talk about something I love because I’m afraid I won’t do it justice. That’s why I’m a little hesitant to write about this play. I would never be able to describe the emotions and sense of familiarity the production gave me. However, I will say, understatedly so, Women and Wallace astounded me. I wasn’t expecting something so remarkable; I was expecting an amateur performance by a bunch of riled up teen actors, not an experience that would actually alter my opinion of theatre. I wanted to jump up during the duration of the play and shout, “That’s me.” I wanted to hug the characters, they mirrored everyone I loved and everyone I wish I knew. They were endearing, they were poignant. I wanted to put the play on film and distribute it to every high school in America; it was that mind-blowing.Sydney Tucker, Olivia Zech, Sarah Youssefi and Sam Tilles in YATC's Women and Wallace. Photo by Johnny Valencia.This play, aside from being particularly relatable to a teen, offered up bounties of wisdom that seemed astounding to even the most intelligible adults in the room. The actors felt like people, not like characters for the sake of having characters. Wallace Kirkman (Sam Tilles) felt so real in his performance. He wasn’t a two dimensional creation of Jonathan Kare Sherman, the author of this play, but a real person who happened to be living his life on stage in front of fifty people. Wallace, at the mere age of six, found his mother lying dead on the kitchen floor: she had committed suicide. From then on, the audience observed Wallace grow into a young man of eighteen, with intervals of age thirteen and sixteen. Each age was introduced by Wallace with the vocalization of his name, age and a poem that essentially summed up his feelings at that moment in life. Throughout his adolescence, most of his issues were stemmed back to his mother’s death: every problem he seemed to have with women, even from age six, was extraneously blamed on his mother. Although the play revolved around some obviously heavy topics, it was mixed with an amount of light-hearted humor that perfectly suited the mood. Grandmother, played by Annie Loggins, allowed the audience to laugh at her quirky character: she had the habit of collecting the most recent photograph of her deceased friends. She also was what every grandmother should be-offer love for a confused teenage grandchild, or cookies when love isn’t enough. The dialogue further enhanced my appreciation for the performance. It was endearing, and it was what teenagers would actually say in real life, swearing and all. Wallace, when asked to clarify what he meant about a statement, replied, “I don’t know what I mean, I’m sixteen.” This truly struck a chord with me; it’s difficult for teenagers to know what they mean in general when they hardly know where they stand in the force field of life. Of all the women Wallace encountered: Sarah (Olivia Zech), Lili (Sydney Tucker), Wendy (Rebecca Mostow), and Victoria (Sarah Youssefi), only one truly caught Wallace’s heart: Nina (Chelsea Taylor).Sarah Youssefi and Sam Tilles in YATC's Women and Wallace.Photo by Johnny Valencia.However, during Wallace and Nina’s relationship, he was faced with the cruel effects and consequences of infidelity. Through these tribulations, he grew and learned that women don’t always abandon and leave when living becomes hard, and that true love is difficult to come by. But even when true love does arise between those two people, Wallace discovers that the willingness to take the blows that inevitably come with any relationship is fundamental to a successful love life. He learns to accept that he will be hurt while involved with a woman, but you must love despite that knowledge.Women and WallaceYoung Americans' Theatre Company at the Little TheatreThrough Sunday, August 17thYATC's facebook

Reviews of Medieval Farces and High School Hamlet by Nur L.MEDIEVAL FARCES A lighthearted romp that seemed to channel Monty Python, Medieval Farces was an Olde English Pleasure. The play featured three skits, set up by thesps playing thesps dying to put up their productions at a theater with a very anxious house manager. The skits, “The Very Good and Extremely Merry Joke of the Washtub,” “The Second Tale of the Shepherd,” and “The Troublesome Olive,” were performed by very skilled upcoming youth actors and highlighted their adeptness at physical comedy and perfect comedic timing. As the play begins, the house manager is very hesitant to allow this seemingly troublesome troupe perform at his theater. Soon, however, the persuasive actors finally manage to sway him; he allows each skit until finally, in Olive, he joins in the fun. Farces, a part of the Seattle Drama School productions, was composed entirely of exceptional young actors who worked tirelessly over the summer to put up the play. While the actors were clearly enjoying themselves in the breezy comedy—which, really, can never a bad thing—the audience, too, was in stitches as the three shepherds searched high and low for a sheep disguised as a new born baby in “Shepherd,” and as family members paraded around the room arguing about a not-yet-existent olive tree in “Olive.” Every moment of the play seemed to up the laughs as the actors frolicked around the stage, decked up in medieval costumes. It was a phenomenal display of their physical comedy skills and their knack for comedic timing. I’m sure we’ll see these promising young actors going on to do great things in the very near future. HIGH SCHOOL HAMLET“To be or not to be, that is the question,” Prompts self-appointed director Claudia. “I think you mean that is the line.” Quips an aspiring Hamlet actor. Thus begins one of the opening scenes of The Seattle Children’s Theater’s production of High School Hamlet. The premise seemed to guarantee an instant success, featuring a flavoring from Disney’s cult phenomenon High School Musical and a dash of what is arguably Shakespeare’s greatest work, Hamlet. The play did not disappoint. The perfect blend of Hamlet’s gravity, and High School Musical’s brevity created a truly delectable and extremely watchable concoction. A high school production of Hamlet is underway when, suddenly, the then director Helen disappears to parts unknown. Enter Claudia, Helen’s “best-friend” who takes over the post and determines that a re-casting is in order. Then, by way of an apparition, an almost ghost-like Helen appears and informs her sister Haley, who was to play Hamlet in Helen’s version of the production, of the wrongs Claudia has done by her. Claudia, it seems, has stolen Helen’s boyfriend and gotten her suspended from school. It’s up to Haley now to get Claudia to confess. The play reads like a real-life Hamlet story as Haley must pretend her sanity is in question in her quest to catch Claudia. All the while, a lovelorn Zack frequents the stage, warbling some of High School Musical's popular songs in a hilariously off-pitched fashion. High School Hamlet was a true enjoyment to watch. The actors were extremely talented and played off their roles seamlessly. And, this production one-upped Shakespeare’s Hamlet: It had a happy ending. - Nur L.August 9th, 2008Medieval Farces and High School Hamlet are closed, but you can still catch the last show in SCT's Summer Season:Urinetown, The Musical | August 15th - 23rdwww.sct.orgDid you see one of these shows? Leave a comment and tell everybody what you thought!

So, there's this website ("So there's this website" is the "once-upon-a-time" of blogging, btw). So, there's this website where you can plug in your blog's URL and it tells you what level of education is required to read your blog. Here's what we got:

Pretty good, I'd say, for a blog written almost entirely by high school students. Heh.

Hey kids!New blog feature - we'll be posting each week's pick here every Thursday morning. And, if we get really ambitious, maybe we'll even start doing picks of the day. So, check back regularly to see what we're lovin' on.This week's pick of the week is (drumroll please):WOMEN AND WALLACE, presented by the Young Americans Theatre Company at the Little Theatre on Capitol Hill.Women and Wallace is the premiere show by The Young Americans’ Theatre Company, a completely youth-run outfit. It is the darkly funny story of a boy’s journey to adulthood as he copes with his mother’s suicide and her impact on his relationship with women. The Young Americans’ Theatre Company provides opportunities for young artists to be involved with theatre outside the influence of traditional educational environments. Its goal is to create theatre that will speak to, inspire, and authentically provoke discussion within the young Seattle community. So, get out there and support your fellows! Women and Wallace only runs for two weeks!August 7 - 17Thursdays - Sundays at 8:00 pmFind out more about YATC here.Read YATC ensemble member Zoey B’s blog posts about the trials and triumphs of starting your own theatre company on the teen tix blog.

Buy advance tickets here