TeenTix Blog

We sent a member of our Teen Press Corps, Fanny L., to interview composer/conductor Andy Brick about PLAY! A Video Game Symphony, which plays tonight and tomorrow at Seattle Symphony. Here's what she had to say about it:Whether you are a video game enthusiast or haven't touched a console before in your life, PLAY! A Video Game Symphony is definitely an event to check out. Symphonic arrangements of video game music will be played alongside corresponding videos and graphics to make the experience all the more complete; the inspiring venue of Benaroya Hall combined with the technical prowess of the performers will breathe new life into this performance. Principal conductor and music conductor Andy Brick said in his interview with me that while PLAY! certainly attracts those who are interested in video games, there are always a good number of people who come out of curiosity. "You hear so much about video games in the mass media; this leads to performances like PLAY! attracting people who've never played video games before." He hopes to expose people to the classical concert experience through such relevant media as video games, and pique their interest in future events by doing so. Newcomers should expect to be pleasantly surprised by the refreshing combination of classic, symphonic music and modern technology; however, previous attendees need not fret as Andy promises there will be some exciting and brand new pieces for you guys as well.PLAY! A Video Game SymphonyJune 21 & 22Seattle Symphony

Teen Tix is pleased to fling open its doors and hand you the keys. In other words: COME AND JOIN OUR TEEN STEERING COMMITTEE!Teen Tix’s Teen Steering Committee is a group of opinionated and highly dedicated individuals who are committed to making the arts accessible for young people.Here are a few of the things that we do:• Come up with innovate marketing techniques for promoting the arts to teenagers• Award our annual Teeny Awards, recognizing the best in teen-friendly local arts• Write and create content for the Teen Tix blog, website, and other media outlets• Meet with leaders from various arts organizations to share our ideas and learn about what they do• Serve as “watchdogs” by attending venues and checking up on the box office experience• Plan and help execute special events at Participating Organizations• Act as ambassadors for Teen Tix at our schools• Help set the course for the future of the Teen Tix program• See shows!If you believe that the arts are valuable, if you want to help make the arts accessible for everyone regardless of age or income, and if you want to be a leader in Seattle’s youth arts movement, we need your voice!• The Teen Steering Committee meets monthly from September to June of each year at Seattle Center.• Participation in the committee can qualify for Service Learning Credit at your school.• First Meeting for the 2011-12 school year will be held Wednesday, September 28th from 4:30 - 6:00 in the Center House at Seattle CenterReady to throw in your name?It’s easy! You must be nominated to join the committee. Simply have an adult (who is not your parent) or a fellow teen email us with a short explanation of why YOU should be part of our team. Make sure they include your name and email address, so we can follow up with you.

PLAY! A Video Game Symphony @ Seattle SymphonyFinal Fantasy, The Legend Of Zelda, HALO: Reach, Super Mario Bros., Chrono Cross, Kingdom Hearts, World of Warcraft, Sonic The Hedgehog. These are perhaps not names that you immediately associate with a night at the Symphony. But, for two nights next week, Benaroya Hall will transform itself into the world's poshest gaming room as composer/conductor Andy Brick (he's composed the music for such little-known titles as Sim City: Rush Hour, Stranglehold, Sims 2, Warhammer, Mafia II, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Final Fantasy) leads the Seattle Choral Company and vocalist Aubrey Ashburn in renditions of all-new arrangements of songs from video games while gameplay sequences zip by on the overhead screens. w00t!PLAY! A Video Game SymphonyTuesday, June 21 & Wednesday, June 22 @ 7:30 PMSeattle SymphonyTeen Tix: $5, day-of-performance onlySeattle Symphony Box Office: 206.215.4747

All kinds of summer education opportunities from our participating organizations and community partners are still available. So don’t be boring, get out there and participate in the arts!(NOTE: Most of these programs charge tuition. No Teen Tix discounts are available, though most organizations offer scholarships and tuition reductions to qualifying students. Follow the links provided for more information.)VISUAL ART- BELLEVUE ARTS MUSEUM'S Teen Docent Program is perfect for those looking to learn about working in a museum. In this program you will learn about art and presentation techniques, then put your knowledge to good use by leading real museum tours!Students ages 13-18 are eligible to participate. To learn more about this program, visit bellevuearts.org/education/teen.- Do you love making art? CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS has a wide variety of classes in Art and Design for its summer session including digital photography, comics studio, oil painting, game design and much more.Students who register must be between the ages of 15-18. Register by June 17th to ensure a spot in one of these amazing classes! For more info and to register, visit www.cornish.edu/summer/art_design.DANCE- SPECTRUM DANCE THEATER offers two Summer Youth Intensives that delve into the world of ballet and contemporary dance with daily technique classes. Then students are given the opportunity to explore many other kinds of dance such as choreography, lyrical, and Brazilian samba. Students ages 10-16 are eligible to participate in these intensives.Spectrum is also offering a three-weekend workshop, “Give My Regards to Broadway” for teens and adults who love to sing and dance, or would love to learn! No prior experience necessary.For more information, download the brochure at spectrumdance.org/school/docs/2011-summer-camp.pdf.FILM- If video production interests you, take a look at Reel Queer Youth this summer (sponsored by THREE DOLLAR BILL CINEMA & REEL GRRLS). Express yourself via a short film in a small group with professional equipment and with the help of mentors and teachers.For more information and to register, log on to threedollarbillcinema.org/programs/RQY. All genders welcome.- REEL GRRLS, Seattle's awesome filmmaking program for girls (and sometimes boys!), is offering a bunch of workshops this summer, including a co-ed Teen Video Camp and a Summer Animation Camp. Get more info at reelgrrls.org/programs- Ever wanted to be a filmmaker? Now’s your chance to learn how! NORTHWEST FILM FORUM is offering a two-week-long Filmmaking Camp where students will learn about film—story, characters, plot, storyboarding and planning--you name it! They will then get to use professional equipment to make their very own film that will be shown on the last day of class. Recommended for ages 11-14.Or, if you’re more into animation, NWFF is also offering a Mixed Animation Camp that will teach students about traditional animation techniques like those used in Coraline, Gumby, and classic Disney movies. At the end of the class each student will receive a DVD with the films they made to take home. Recommended for ages 14-17.For more information and to register for these classes, please visit nwfilmforum.org/live/page/workshops/1633.SCIENCE- We know what you’re thinking—science isn’t art! But it’s just as cool (unless you think that doing science with ACTUAL scientists from UW isn’t cool. Then we don’t know what to tell ya.) BURKE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY & CULTURE is offering a summer program called Girls in Science, where students will learn to perform real scientific procedures and about current science and what it means for our future.This class is for girls who will be entering 7th-9th grade next school year. For more information, visit washington.edu/burkemuseum/education/summer.php.MUSIC- CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS is offering a wide range of summer music classes for teens taught by their esteemed faculty. Classes range from Songwriting to Jazz Fundamentals to a Classical Guitar Seminar. It is suggested that students register by June 17th to ensure a spot in their chosen class.Students who are 12-19 may apply for classes based on specific qualifications. These and many more classes are listed on their website at cornish.edu/summer/music.- EMP|SFM is offering Teen Artist Workshops from June-August this summer. Classes include Rock Band, Science Fiction Writing, Vocal Performance, and many more. Now is your chance to get one-on-one training with industry professionals. Registration is now open!Students who will be entering grades 8-12 are invited to register. To find out more, visit www.empmuseum.org/education/index.asp.THEATRE- Do you love to act, sing and dance? CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS is offering both Theatre AND Musical Theatre classes this summer. There are various exciting programs to choose from, such as dialect study, a solo performance workshop, a college audition class, and many more.These classes are for ages 15-18. Register by June 17th to ensure a spot for yourself in one or more classes! For more information visit cornish.edu/summer/theater/courses and/or cornish.edu/summer/theater/courses/musical_theater_intensive.- The (rightly) revered SEATTLE CHILDREN'S THEATRE Drama School offers an avalanche of classes all summer long, from beginner basics to advanced, pre-professional training. There are day-long and weeks-long classes in improvisation, stage makeup, acting for the camera, puppetry, acting, musical theatre, and more. Visit sct.org/classes/sctdramaschool for more info.- Edmonds' DRIFTWOOD PLAYERS is putting on High School Musical this summer, and you have the chance to get in! Auditions are June 26th, and they even offer an audition workshop the day before so you can meet with the staff to know what to expect.There is no specified age limit for this program. For more information and to register, log onto driftwoodplayers.org/education/youth.- SEATTLE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY will be holding multiple sessions of Camp Bill this summer, providing students with an opportunity to work with local artists and get hands-on training in Shakespearean theatre and theatre production. Sessions range from 1-3 weeks each.The first registration deadline is June 20th. Ages 10-17 welcome in various classes. To find out which sessions you qualify for and to register, visit seattleshakespeare.org/educaiton/campbill.asp.- TAPROOT THEATRE presents a number of great opportunities this summer for those interested in theatre. Take a two-week intensive aptly dubbed “Musical Theatre Supercamp” or relax into a one-week study of the Bard (Shakespeare) and all his works. You can also take a class entirely devoted to the art of comedy!Grades 4th-12th are welcome to register. There are tons of classes being offered so look for the right one for you on this page: taproottheatre.org/2011-summer-camps.GENERAL- THE VERA PROJECT, Seattle's always-all-ages music venue, offers tons of opportunities for young people, including running shows, helping out in the silkscreen or recording studios, curating exhibitions in the gallery - pretty much whatever you can think of. Learn more at theveraproject.org/getinvolved.- LANGSTON HUGHES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER is offering a huge variety of classes and workshops this summer including a performance-based talent celebration called Art in the Park, dance classes like Hip Hop and Freestyle, a writing class called Evolutionary Words, and much more.Ages 5-18 welcome to sign up. To find out how to be a part of LHPAC’s Summer program, visit page 21 of this PDF: seattle.gov/parks.centers/Garfield/Summer11.pdf.- WHIDBEY ISLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS has something for you this summer if you like music, theatre, and production. Join WICA’s Summer Training Program for classes like Glee Club, Music Theory and Audition Song, or to be part of a play such as The Crucible. Many opportunities for many different interests.Ages 10-25 eligible to register. Registration opened on May 20th so hurry and fill out the form before classes fill up! More info and registration form here: wicaonline.com/WIFF/WIFF2011classes.html.

Photo by CeeDotA on flickr

The improvathon that's going on right now at the Market Theater is definitely a blast. Some of the performers had been going for a full 24 hours when I saw them, and a lot of them are pretty (totally, completely) zonked. As such, the improv that they're doing is a lot looser and freer-form than you usually see at Unexpected Productions. This means that they're willing to fly higher and try weird, crazy stuff, but sometimes in improv stuff does come crashing down to the ground. Such is occasionally the case with these skits. It's a different feel than usual in general, too--the audience and performers are constantly coming in and out, and new faces come to the stage frequently. In a lot of ways, it's like falling into some sort of weird improv dreamspace where very strange things happen and stuff is constantly changing around. And with improv, that can be pretty cool--it leads to sketches entitled "Cats Gone Wild" or "Mega-Death Yawwwrp," or frantic experiences with 20-pound zucchinis. As we all know, things like that should never, ever be missed. Above all though, it's a fundraiser for the Market Theatre, where some of the best and strangest weird stuff in the city arts-wise happens. So it's definitely worth the time and money to come down and kill a few hours seeing what improv, enthusiasm, and extreme exhaustion all team up to create in the final hours of the improvathon. The 50-Hour Improvathon is over, but you can catch TheatreSports every Friday & Saturday night at the Market Theatre. More info at unexpectedproductions.org.

We're so excited to be nominated for so many Teeny Awards this year. Thanks!

Photo by Angela Sterling

When the sun is shining and the thermometers around town finally crack 70 degrees, it may not seem entirely intuitive to go see a very dark ballet about betrayal, death, and supernatural vengeance. Sure, while you’re sitting in a dark, cool, enclosed space, you could be out water skiing or sunbathing. But the fact is that while summer comes only three months of the year in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Giselle is here for only two weeks, and it is not to be missed under any circumstances. The last show of their season and a completely new staging by Peter Boal of the classic work, Giselle is captivating and entrancing.

Review of Sense and Sensibility at Book-It Repertory Theatre by Allison C.Photo by Alan AlabastroWe’re all hoping for a happy ending, and for most of us, that entails falling in love. Growing up, Disney, Pixar, ABC Family, and other media have drilled in our heads exactly what it is and how it will happen. We are fully prepared to step out of our humdrum lives into a world with dragons, castles, evil villains, and most importantly, valiant, noble men and women who are willing to risk their lives for us. Even 200 years ago, Jane Austen recognized that what we have in reality can be so much better than this fairytale. She saw men and women that gave up more than their lives for each other. They committed their whole self, their soul and heart. In Sense and Sensibility Austen takes care to illuminate those constantly overlooked relationships that, in their own way, are “true” love. She eliminates the sugar-coated idealized view of love, and with a practical, yet delicate and graceful approach, leads the reader into a time of strict and precise expectations when it came to finding love.Photo by Alan AlabastroIn the on-stage production, Book-It Repertory Theatre introduces us to the Dashwood family, and especially, the two eldest daughters emerging into the rigid world of Regency England (early 1800s) courtship. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood represent two opposite outlooks on love. Elinor, played by Kjerstine Anderson, considered the “sense”, very practically looks for someone who is compatible and honorable. She is very concerned with properness of character and mutual affection. Jessica Martin, as Marianne, on the other hand, is concerned only with passion. She is the “sensibility” and the romantic. Her fantasized beliefs, especially that love is something that can only happen once, appall Elinor and set a much different tone for her relationships. Elinor is calm, calculated, and quiet, whereas Marianne is free, loud, and acts on her immediate emotions.Book-It brings this to life with much ease. The combination of Austen’s genius, the cast's eloquent expression of her characters, and director Makaela Pollock’s quest to provide “modern energy” results in a timeless reflection on love. As this was my first Book-It production, I can’t say if it is just the usual, but the organization really brought the point home. While Sense and Sensibility has compelling dialogue just like other plays, the characters also recite direct, third-person lines straight from Austen’s pen. The effect can be funny, interesting, informative, and/or emotional. An author’s words shape the story, and including them in the play controls the viewers’ emotions much more precisely than a regular format would. The modern energy comes partly from these little side notes, which reveal the relatable attributes of each character’s personality. The rest of this energy is radiated from the actors. They take their emotions, sometimes confusingly hidden under complex speech, and show them to the audience clearly and in a way that reminds the viewer that though the times were different, the feelings where much the same. Sense and Sensibility leads us to love on two very different journeys. In a signature of Austen’s, Elinor and Marianne both face and learn from their flaws. Together they grow and learn. Their experiences, though from a completely different time, are still relevant today. As the audience, we can learn from them to shed our magical, dreamt-up ideas of love and embrace the sweetly simple reality that will hopefully find us one day too.Sense and SensibilityBook-It Repertory TheatreThrough June 26

Voting is underway for this year's Teeny Awards, and it looks like it's gonna be a hum-dinger!If you haven't voted yet, be sure to go and fill out the survey ASAP: surveymonkey.com/s/TeenyAwards2011. It only takes a few minutes, and, once you do it, you'll be entered to win a $50 Amazon.com gift card!In addition to the general excellence categories (favorite venue, best bathrooms, best for a group, etc.) the Teeny Awards asks for your picks for the best arts events of the season. Here are the nominees (Don't see your favorite listed? Don't worry - you can write it in!):Best Art Exhibit of 2010-11Battlestar Gallactica at EMP|SFMNick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth at Seattle Art MuseumSuttonBeresCuller: Panoptos at Henry Art GalleryThe Mysterious Content of Softness at Bellevue Arts MuseumShadows of a Fleeting World at Henry Art GalleryBest Dance Performance of 2010-11All Tharp at Pacific Northwest BalletRalph Lemon: How Can You Stay in the House All Day and Not Go Anywhere? at On the BoardsA Midsummer Night's Dream at Pacific Northwest BalletPeering Into the Ballroom/Relationships at Spectrum Dance Theaterlingo dance: A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light at ACT TheatreCornish Dance Theater Spring 2010 Concert at Cornish College of the ArtsBest Play of 2010-11The K of D at Seattle Repertory TheatreLove Horse at Washington Ensemble TheatrePolaroid Stories at Young Americans' Theatre CompanyCymbeline at Seattle Shakespeare CompanyA Doctor in Spite of Himself at Intiman TheatreHamlet at Seattle Shakespeare CompanyOf Mice and Men at Seattle Repertory TheatreBest Musical or Opera of 2010-11The Barber of Seville at Seattle OperaDr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog at Balagan Theatre & Balagan Theatre at ACT TheatreChicago at Seattle Musical TheatreThreepenny Opera, Seattle Shakespeare Company at IntimanVanities at ACT Theatre (co-production with the 5th Avenue Theatre)The Magic Flute at Seattle OperaEvil Dead: The Musical at ArtsWestBest Film Event of 2010-11Willy Wonka in Smell-o-Vision at SIFF CinemaStrange Powers: Stephin Merrit and the Magnetic Fields at NW Film Forum9 Nation Animation at NW Film ForumRaiders of the Lost Ark & Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation at SIFF CinemaNFFTY: The National Film Festival for Talented YouthLouder Than a Bomb at SIFF CinemaBest Music Performance 2010-11Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue at Seattle SymphonyHandel's Messiah at Seattle SymphonyIn The Solitude of Cotton Fields at On the BoardsSound Off: 2011 at EMPMichael Nicolella at Cornish College of the ArtsThe Music Man in 60 Minutes with Marvin Hamlisch at Seattle SymphonyBest “Other” Performance 2010-11Joyce Carol Oates at Seattle Arts & LecturesDayna Hanson | Gloria's Cause at On the BoardsLaser Nirvana at Pacific Science Center's Laser DomeTheatreSports at Unexpected ProductionsRimini Protokol | Best Before at On The BoardsTracy Kidder at Seattle Arts & Lectures

There are bad movies. There are really bad movies. There are movies that you thought would be enjoyable, but turn out bad. Then there are movies that you had high hopes for, are actually so terrible that they slap you in the face for ever believing they might be worthwhile. Detention is one such film. What Detention aims to be and what it actually ends up being are two very different things. Billed as a witty sendup of nearly every teen movie being made, it promises to be both a quirky parody as well as a horror movie. True to form, the writers seem to have worked hard to mock every teenage movie known to man in less than an hour and a half. References to teen classics are both endless and heavy-handed. I could have saved the writers some time in developing Detention: rather than go to all the effort of actually writing a story, they could have simply loaded the screenplays of Freaky Friday, Ten Things I Hate About You, The Breakfast Club, and Friday the Thirteenth into a gun, fired the gun, and then picked up the pieces at random. They would have ended up with a script of about the same caliber of meaningless drivel. The simple fact is that Detention is prey to every imaginable pitfall in a teen movie. The acting is terrible, the direction is schizophrenic, the plot is simultaneously vapid, ridiculous, and convoluted, and the cliché is laid on so heavily that the actors appear to have actual difficulty standing up. While it is true that in teen movies these are all forgivable offenses, the biggest sin of Detention is that it simply does not have anything to say. As a film and a parody it is soulless; even spoofs need to offer their own insight and take on the world. All Detention does is merely giggle at and plagiarize other movies, without offering anything original. To be blunt, this movie can definitely be passed over in your forays through SIFF. There are some real gems in this year’s festival, and they are not to be missed. Detention is true to its title in that being there is certainly a punishment. My best advice is to do like the cool kids: cut Detention and go see something Swedish. (…That’s what cool kids do, right?) DETENTION Part of Seattle International Film Festival Playing at: Neptune Theatre, June 3 at 9:30 PM Egyptian Theatre, June 5 at 9:15 PM More info at siff.net Recommended for Ages 17+ (contains bloody violence, nudity, and strong language)

Did any of you see Shorecrests spring musical Les Mis!??? Best school musical I have EVER seen. Roosevelts close but les mid blew it out of the water

Review of To Be Heard at Seattle International Film Festival by Dana F.Opening with a long shot overlooking the Bronx, this documentary leaves no room for doubt when it comes to the often brutal environment in which its story takes shape. To Be Heard follows the lives of three teenagers living in the Bronx and struggling to empower themselves through a Power Writing poetry class at their high school. They are told that to rise above, and to claim their power as individuals, they must learn to write their own life story - or someone else will write it for them.Many of us may not be able to connect to the unique battles of the place, to the harrowing facts of life on the streets, but the people are the same. The three friends fight to achieve independence, their own voice, and freedom. They fight to follow their dreams, to succeed, whether that means college, fame, or just getting out of the house. They fight with themselves, with personal fears and self-restrictions, and with each other. They fight to stick together through thick and through thin.Set against the dramatic backdrop of life in the Bronx, the documentary traces the paths carved out by the young power writers working to throw off the shackles of their surroundings. Often cutting from the chronology of the story to shots of the writers performing in a studio, it lets the power of their poetry speak for itself, touching the audience in a way that only raw personal expression can. Though the friends strike out together, in the end each must find his or her own way in the world, and their individual transformations are no less surprising than they are powerful.Go to be astounded, to have your heart wrenched around by something real, to listen to the stories of other teenagers, ready to be heard.TO BE HEARDPart of Seattle International Film FestivalPlaying at:SIFF Cinema, June 9 at 7:00 PM & June 11 at 11:00 AMMore info at siff.net

Once a year, your Teen Steering Committee hands out the most prestigious arts awards in Seattle: The Teeny Awards. Like a Teen Choice Awards for Seattle arts and culture, the Teeny Awards give Teen Tix members a chance to reward those venues and experiences that have made their year great.Voting for this year's Teeny Awards opens at midnight, Wednesday June 1st. This year's categories are: BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSEBEST BOX OFFICE EXPERIENCEBEST BATHROOMSBEST DATE VENUEBEST VENUE FOR A GROUPVENUE I WANT TO ATTEND MOREFAVORITE ORGANIZATION (Large, Mid-Size, and Small)BEST ORGANIZATION: FILM, MUSEUM or ART GALLERY, PERFORMING ARTS, and MULTI-DISCIPLINARYAnd, last but certainly not least, TEEN PICKS! This year's PICKS categories are:BEST ART EXHIBITBEST DANCE PERFORMANCEBEST PLAYBEST MUSICAL OR OPERABEST FILM EVENTBEST MUSIC PERFORMANCEBEST "OTHER" PERFORMANCEAaaaand, CRUSH OF THE YEAR, wherein you get to vote for the most crush-worthy Crush of the Month.We hope that every Teen Tix member will vote for their favorites. Once you do, you'll be entered to win a $50 Amazon.com gift card. Ready to vote? Go!www.surveymonkey.com/s/TeenyAwards2011To see a list of last year's winners, as well as an awesome video of the awards "ceremony" go here!

True observation about the audience. Thanks for the great reviews!

The Talent Show @ Henry Art GalleryAmie Siegel. My Way 1.We are being watched. And we like it. Or do we? In our increasingly surveilled, digitally-documented world, there is a tension betwee the desire for privacy and the desire for fame (even short-lived, reality-TV-style "fame"). Talent Show examines this tension with works of art that exploit, in particular, images and video of people who didn't know they were being watched and recorded. This is art *of this exact moment in time* and it's fascinating, challenging, and voyeuristically fun. You'd be a fool to miss it.The Talent ShowHenry Art GalleryHours:11:00-4:00 Wednesday11:00-9:00 Thursday, Friday11:00-4:00 Saturday, SundayClosed Monday + TuesdayREMEMBER: The Henry Art Gallery is ALWAYS FREE for Teen Tix members, and you can ALWAYS bring a guest for $5.Image: Chris Burden. You’ll Never See My Face in Kansas City.

Review of Brownie Points at Taproot Theatre by Sidney A.Photo by Erik Stuhaug“Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.” That is the mission statement of the Girl Scouts of America, and it may apply to the girls...but what about to the moms? Brownie Points is the story of a girl scout troop on an overnight in a cabin in the woods. However, the audience never actually sees a single one of the girls, and the play becomes a drama about the five moms chaperoning the trip. It all starts when the two African-American mothers—the minority in a group of white women—are placed as cooks in the kitchen for the entire weekend. The play quickly becomes a high-pressured challenge on social issues, including religion, mothering and responsibilities, but above all, the presence of racism in a culture that may consider itself progressive.Brownie Points seeks to challenge the presumptions of our everyday society, and as far as effectiveness, it more than succeeds. The issues are ones true to life, ones that, because of the uncomfortable topics they bring up, often get studiously ignored. The five mothers are exceptionally well-developed characters. Each has her own issues and prejudices, faults and endearing qualities, and the actors who play the women (Casi Wilkerson, Nikki Visel, Amy Love, Karen Ann Daniels, and Faith Russell) fulfill their roles perfectly. The story is written and directed with care and precision, weaving an intricate web of intense emotion and energy, depicting the intersecting but very different lives of five women who believe they are very different from one another but are more alike than any of them will ever know.My advice: see this play. It challenges the issues that impact each and every person in our modern day society whether they acknowledge it or not. It is an unexpected find that comes across as lively and fresh amidst a theater culture that can be far too tentative in talking about race, prejudice, and the way we all ignore it.Teen note: you are the life of the audience. During the performance I attended, the adult-dominated audience laughed at all the funny parts, sighed at all the sad parts, but when words like racist and nigger were thrown around...dead silence. Feel free to react—that is what this play is for. Challenge yourself. Challenge the issues. And after it’s over, go on out and challenge the world.Brownie PointsThrough June 18Taproot Theatre

SHIFT: An Evening of Spoken WordTonight at Town Hall at 7:00 PMPresented by the Central District Forum for Arts & IdeasMore info at cdforum.orgPoetry-lovers: don't miss this! An amazing line-up of performers including Amontaine Aurore, Storme Webber, Amber Flame, and the ever-fabulous Soulchilde (aka okanomodé) perform an evening of poetry and music examining social issues.

Review of Circus Dreams at Seattle International Film Festival by Bethany B. What did you want to be when you were little? We all had that dream of who we were going to become that made our futures seem bright and promising. Me? I dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but my older brothers told me they were going to sell me to the circus. After watching Circus Dreams I almost wish they had. Circus Smirkus is every kid’s dream come true. It’s a traveling youth circus that has it all! Clowns, juggling, acrobats (and that’s only the beginning). The film follows a group of young performers and their various talents, showcasing both what they can do, and what it’s like to travel with the circus. The film starts out with auditions: hundreds of kids send in videos to show off their Circus arts, hoping to make it to the next level. Only thirty-six kids are invited to live audition, and of those twenty four are given spots. However, there are eighteen returning troupers which leaves six spots for seventeen rookies. Since so few are accepted, emotions run high at the audition. When the elite group is chosen, it’s a mix of every kind of performer from all across the US. After the group is chosen they head of to Greensbough, Vermont to the circus headquarters. The circus has six permanent employees, and seventy-five seasonal workers. A major part of the staff are the coaches who train the young troupers for their performance. The coaches come from all kinds of famous acts such as Cirque du Soleil and Ringling Brothers. The training is intense, but the kids are so excited they hardly care. They have sixteen days of training, and then seventy performances. Each day of rehearsals starts at 8:00 and goes until dinner at 6:00, with additional classes after dinner. With only sixteen days to prepare, it is rough to assign parts, get a show together, and make it amazing, so the pressure is on. Every show is incredibly important to the delicate Circus Smirkus budget. Accelerating expenses and a slow economy threaten their livelihood. Add that to the ever present worry of inclement weather, and the pressure is on. The film introduces different troupers, and you fall in love with each in turn. Have you ever heard of a Diabolo? Probably not, however this circus art is the use of two sticks with strings attached that are used with two circular objects. Jacob Stein-Sharpe and Nate Stein-Sharpe are brothers who are some of the best in the business. As brothers, they work together fantastically, and they make the calculated, complex movements seem easy. Another pair of favorite troupers is Maddy Hall and Joy Powers. Somehow, clowns have fallen out of vogue for our generation (I blame Dark Knight and Ronald McDonald). However, Hall and Powers are in a completely different group of clown. They are funny, cute, and defy the stereotype that teenage girls must look perfect and let the guy be the funny one. You are going to be amazed. The fear factor of the trapeze and lyra artists, the hilarity of the clowns, and the calculated complexities of the devil sticks and Diabolo will shock you. It’s beautiful, because instead of portraying the circus as weird or crazy, it shows you how beautiful the acts can be, and the aspiring art of youth. This documentary is definitely a winner. If you’re in the mood for a bright, inspiring film, or if you’re taking friends or siblings that’s new to film, or if you just appreciate a good documentary, you cannot miss Circus Dreams. We all had that dream of what we were going to become when we were little, and watching this film is like seeing all your dreams come true, even if you don’t run off and join the circus. CIRCUS DREAMS Part of Seattle International Film Festival Playing at SIFF Cinema: Saturday, June 4 at 11:00 AM More info at siff.net Recommended for Ages 8+

Review of A Thousand Times Stronger at Seattle International Film Festival by Chloe P.A Thousand Times Stronger provides an in-depth view of the social landscape of a Swedish high school. The students are all happy with – or at least resigned to – the way things are: the girls are firmly divided into typical cliques, and the boys rule the school. These norms are shaken up when Saga, a new, well-traveled student, arrives. Under Saga’s influence, the girls begin to speak out; however, the upset of order is not received kindly by the boys (or the teachers, for that matter.)The subtle changes wrought by Saga’s presence are fascinating to watch unfold. The girls’ attempts at rebellion against the school’s typical order are funny at first, but they also reveal a deeper drama that is not entirely resolved in the film. The blatant sexism at the high school is astounding and disheartening to watch. While the film concentrates on the fairly light-hearted interactions of a small-scale social landscape within a single high school, it reveals significant themes of injustice and the process of change. The teachers “assign” Saga to help empower the girls, but the resistance to change, even a positive one, prompts deeper thought about the power of the status quo and the challenges of social change. By portraying the process of the mini-rebellion of the girls, the film subtly shifts from comedy to drama, leading to a resolution that is faintly hopeful; there is a possibility of change, but it is not certain or simple.I found the similarities and differences between the cultures of Sweden and the United States very interesting, especially the fact that the same stereotypical cliques seem to exist internationally. I also admired the film’s subtle but effective way of portraying how one individual can reveal previously unquestioned injustices, and how that revelation plays out in society. On its surface, A Thousand Times Stronger is merely another story about high school social drama; however, looking back on the film surprisingly reveals the deeper themes previously mentioned. To sum it up succinctly, the film, while entertaining and seemingly light-hearted, subtly yet powerfully examines social justice and change.A THOUSAND TIMES STRONGERPart of Seattle International Film FestivalPlaying atEverett Performing Arts Center: Saturday, May 28 at 1:00 PMAMC Pacific Place 11: Monday, May 30 at 10:00 AMKirkland Performance Center: Saturday, June 11 at 1:00 PMMore info at siff.netIn Swedish with English subtitles

Review of Saigon Electric at Seattle International Film Festival by Sanigiah Y.“Do you know what the difference between us and them is? They have money… they dance because they have nothing better to do. We dance because we have to.”- Doboy, leader of Saigon FreshSaigon Electric, also known as Saigon YO!, is a movie about a young Mai adapting to a large and bustling Ho Chi Min City. After failing her dance audition for a dance academy, she meets Kim, a lively hip hop dancer from a dance crew known as Saigon Fresh. This sparks the beginning of the ups and downs that Mai, Kim, and Saigon Fresh go through to ultimately reach the goal of going to Korea. Before reaching Korea, however, they must beat the rival crew, North Killaz, at a dance competition known as the Samsung Challenge. In Saigon Electric, Saigon Fresh experience humiliation by the North Killaz, and the almost loss of a dancer and the youth center which they call home. Saigon Electric focuses on the rite of passing from young and naïve to wise and sophisticated, the art of dancing from the heart, the importance of friendship, and that dreaming is truly powerful.Saigon Electric is meant to show the incorporation of modern Hip Hop and culture with old fashioned tradition through the perspective of Vietnamese youth. As the today’s culture is increasing modernizing and growing, director Stephanie Gauger presents, through Saigon Electric, the power of dream and obstacles and struggles that one goes through to achieve their dreams.The film is as lively and energetic as the dancers in the film. With techno and hip hop music having a recurrent appearance in the movie, one can truly feel the energy put off by the film through dynamic dancing and powerful music. Dance, whether it is ribbon, break dancing, c-walking, popping and/or locking, is about expressing one’s feelings through movement. Doboy, the leader of Saigon Fresh, learned to dance from watching TV and forcefully exerts his emotions into freezes, windmills, and pop and locks. Aggressive Kim dances so passionately after experiencing a series of nasty embarrassments. Mai, who, after failing her first audition, gains back her passion of dancing and achieves her dream through the help of Kim, Doboy, Professor, Saigon Fresh, the kids of the youth center, and the social and bustling Ho Chi Minh City.SAIGON ELECTRICPart of Seattle International Film FestivalPlaying atNeptune Theatre: Saturday, May 28 at 7:15 PMAMC Pacific Place 11: Monday, May 30 at 3:00 PMEverett Performing Arts Center: Wednesday, June 1 at 6:30 PMMore info at siff.netRecommended for Ages 13+In Vietnamese with English subtitles