TeenTix Logo
Login
Sign Up

Pick of the Week

To Haiti with Love @ Seattle Art MuseumThere's a teensy little exhibition hiding out on Seattle Art Museum's third floor right now that you should go check out this weekend. It's called To Haiti With Love, and it features a few rarely-seen Haitian paintings from SAM's collection. It's not even listed on SAM's website (so thank you to Jen Graves at Slog for alerting us to it.)While you're there, write a love letter to Haiti. SAM will mail it for you.Here are some photos (presumably taken by Ms. Graves. Thanks again!)S. Bernadel, Serpent Ritual (ca 1950), oil on boardFernand Pierre, Man Chasing Rats in a Cashew Tree (ca 1950), oil on boardHector Hyppolite, Clermelle: Sea God (ca 1945-48), oil on boardSeattle Art MuseumHoursWednesday–Sunday: 10 am–5 pmThursday & Friday: 10 am–9 pmMonday & Tuesday: closed

Read More

Film Forum Friday

On August 31, 1970, 35-year-old Leonard Cohen was awakened at 2am and brought onstage to perform at the third annual Isle of Wight Music Festival. An estimated 600,000 people were waiting, energized by a legendary set by Jimi Hendrix. As fellow festival headliners Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Judy Collins and others looked on, the Canadian folksinger-songwriter-poet-novelist quietly tamed the crowd with an equally spellbinding mix of songs and stories. Interwoven with Murray Lerner’s (Festival!From Mao To Mozart, Message To Love) live footage, never before shown, are brand-new interviews with Baez, Collins, Kristofferson and others, fashioning a fascinating and timely portrait of the artist as a young man.

Watch the trailer:Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight, 1970Northwest Film ForumFriday, Mar 12 at 9:00PMSaturday, Mar 13 at 9:00PM

Read More

The Gray Area

Review of Sunlight at ArtsWest by Renee A.If you are looking for a morally provoking play that will truly cause you to think, then I urge you to go see the Seattle premiere of Sunlight playing March 10th through April 3rd 2010 at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery.John Ulman, Karen Nelsen, John Wray, and Peggy Gannon in Sunlight at ArtsWest. Photo by Matt Durham.This modernly set play focuses in on four people in the midst of a crisis. Matthew Gibbon (John Wray), a college president whose political antics have him well known all over campus, has recently been caught destructing and debauching the office of the college Dean. As a result, Gibbon’s daughter Charlotte, played by Peggy Gannon, finds herself in a tricky situation as she happens to be married to the Dean (John Ulman) and has been caught in the crossfire. Rounding out the cast, and providing this intense play with some needed comic relief, is Gibbon’s assistant, fondly called "Mimi" and played by Karen Nelsen. As the characters deal with the repercussions of Gibbon’s actions and the conflicts it has caused on campus, the audience is faced with the reality that it is never as simple as categorizing everyone as either good or bad, but that there is a little bit of both in each of us.It was very apparent as I watched this play that each actor had put in a tremendous amount of work into defining and shaping their character. What I loved about this ensemble piece was that nobody stood out individually, that each actor played their part extremely well and at the same time supported the other actors too. Having said that though, I do want to say that if you needed just one reason to go see this play, it would be Karen Nelsen whose performance of her character Mimi was flawless and a delight to watch.All in all, I felt the drive down to ArtsWest was really worth it. The theatre is located in a great area of West Seattle right by Easy Street Records and across the street from Cupcake Royale (yes I did manage to grab a cupcake right before the show). So if you are in the mood for some thought provoking themes and great acting, don’t miss this performance. It’s been pretty gray outside lately, so don’t miss this opportunity to go get some Sunlight, playing now at ArtsWest.- Renee A.March 10th, 2010SunlightArtsWestThrough April 3rd

Read More

How to Get Revenge on Your Sixth-Grade Tormentors and Other Topics of Interest (Including Reincarnation)

Review of Michael Chabon at Seattle Arts & Lectures by Leah S.“Wow,” he greets the audience, to much laughter and a few catcalls. Michael Chabon, Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and other critically acclaimed work, grins, bespectacled and shaggy-haired but comfortable in his charcoal suit, at the hundreds of welcoming readers that fill Benaroya Hall.Michael Chabon by merkley??? on flickrFor the next hour and a half, he captivates the audience with lengthy strings of words, melodically lilting sentences and flowing precision. His intelligence is as obvious as his charisma and humor.Chabon (pronounced SHAY-bon) describes his pre–teenaged self as “bookish, homely, clumsy, bright, friendless, arrogant and self–pitying.” Young Chabon developed an unshakable conviction that he himself was the 20th century reincarnation of Edgar Allen Poe, whom he thought to also contain such qualities. This led to an obsessive worship of Poe and all his written work. He compares his sixth grade bullies to the character of Fortunado from Poe's The Cask of Amontillado. Unable to seek such vengeance as was sought in Amontillado, he retaliates decades later by exposing his grade school bullies. By name.As an adult, he eschews the idea of reincarnation, claiming it “stinks too sweetly of human wishes.” But Chabon is not completely isolated from the human folly of wishful thinking. He and his wife take sole credit for the feat of Barack Obama’s election in 2008, via the “ripple effect.”Chabon’s lecture is surely compelling, especially for fans of the author, but young children will find it difficult to stay awake. His words are projected live in large letters on a screen in the bottom corner of the stage for the hard of hearing and to help the audience follow Chabon’s rapid speech.Question cards are made available to the audience, and a few selected questions are answered by Chabon following the lecture.Chabon is currently working on a novel set in present day California, where he lives with his wife and four children.- Leah S.March 10th, 2010Next up at Seattle Arts and Lectures: Poet Linda Gregg, Thursday, March 25th, 2010. More info at lectures.org

Read More

Anna’s Glimmer Journal

Post #1: exciting but also terrifying(Wait! What is this? Skip to the bottom for an explanation.)I’m one of those people who really doesn’t see dance outside of PNB and classical ballet and all. It’s not something I’m exposed to at all, which is why I’m so excited about A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light, this dance project I’m now a part of. I’ve been chosen as a 1 to 1 solo recipient—basically, each of the dancers in the project is choreographing and performing a dance based on a normal person’s life. Kelly Sullivan is my dancer, and we’ve been corresponding so that she has a chance to get to know me. I filled out a survey with many quirky questions (and I gave quirky answers. After all, she’s supposed to get to know me…) and then we’ve talked about my favorite books and classical music and time of day and such interesting things as that. My dance will be performed on a dock behind Spectrum Dance Theater at 7:15 AM Friday the 19th. It’s exciting—but also terrifying. Some girl I’ve never met is dancing based on nothing more than random answers to a survey and a few brief emails? I’m letting a stranger interpret me, and I have to watch it. But I’m thrilled to give someone a chance to wreak havoc with their take on me. I’ll post again after the experience is all over.

Anna B, ready for the havoc to wreakA Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light is an innovative, interactive new work from Seattle Magazine's 2007 Dance Artist of the Year, KT Niehoff and her company, Lingo Dance. 30 people, including two members of the Teen Tix reviewer corps, Anna B and Mykaila O, have been chosen to receive a custom made solo from one of the Glimmer cast. They have all filled out a questionnaire designed to find out who they are: driver or passenger? sweet or savory? what items are currently in your pocket? what is the last thing you lost? what is a Seattle location you love? Glimmer cast members are using the answers to tailor-make a performance for each person to watch. The dances are personal but performed in public locations throughout the city, available for any and all to see. See Anna's performance at 7:05 in the morning on Friday March 19th on the dock behind Spectrum Dance Theater. directions hereFind out more about Lingo Dance Theater at lingodance.comThe culminating performances of A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light run April 22nd - May 15th at ACT Theatre.

Read More

An Afternoon of Bliss Even a Curmudgeon Could Love

Review of Jean-Yves Thibaudet plays Ravel and Brahms at Seattle Symphony by Marissa B-TA single shining piano graced the stage at Benaroya Hall. The crowd murmured in anticipation, though a few curmudgeons could be heard complaining about the program, which they had thought would contain works by Liszt. The selection had been altered beforehand. It was, in fact, an afternoon of bliss composed by Ravel and Brahms. As beautiful as their music is, the quality of this recital certainly cannot be decided solely by the chosen pieces, but by who played them.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Photo by Decca Kasskara.

When the lights dimmed and Jean-Yves Thibaudet strode energetically across the stage, the mumbling ceased. This is a pianist with a magnificent stage presence. He sat down at the piano, and remained still for a long moment, his hands poised over the keys; then he began softly with Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899). Monsieur Thibaudet, a Frenchman who began playing the piano at the age of five, has won numerous awards for his astounding artistry. It is easy to see (or rather, hear) why. His Pavane was filled with shifting emotion -- sometimes solemn, sometimes uplifting; he brought a depth to the piece that is not present in the original, rather choppy recording by the composer himself. In yet other interpretations, the tone can be too ponderous; here, however, was a perfect balance.Thibaudet’s interpretation of Miroirs (Mirrors) was my favorite of all that he played. The pianist’s hands danced over the keys with amazing grace and fluidity, lending to the hypnotism of the melodies themselves. It is impossible to describe the array of images called up by these varying “scenes” -- the delicate, excited quivering of Noctuelles “Night moths,” for example, and the brisk sunniness of Alborada del Gracioso “Gracioso’s Aubade.”By the intermission, it is doubtful that anyone was disappointed in the selection, nor in how it was performed. The second half of the performance consisted of Johannes Brahms‘ Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5. The movements ranged from the tumultuous and crescendo-filled (Allegro maestoso) to the calmly reflective. In each, however, the audience was always drawn into an intricate path of notes. There is plenty of suspenseful contrast throughout. I loved the rapid note sequences in the fourth movement (I am not sure of technical terms, but I believe these are called arpeggios.)The entire performance was so stirring and gorgeous; if you have the chance you absolutely must hear Jean-Yves Thibaudet in concert. Consider that this was the first piano recital I have ever attended; and to be honest, I am often bored by piano music. So even if you are not a big fan of classical piano, you may be pleasantly surprised. At the very least check out some of Thibaudet’s recorded music (such as the Gymnopedies composed by Satie or a collection of works by Debussy), which can be found at the Seattle Public Library.- Marissa B-TMarch 7th, 2010The Jean-Yves Thibaudet concert was one night only, but pianist Ingrid Filter will take the stage at Benaroya March 11th & 13th with a concerto by Haydn. More info at seattlesymphony.org.

Read More

video of the day

Trailer for Prodigal Sons, playing March 5 - 11 at SIFF Cinema. Early on in this very personal film, the audience learns that the director, Kimberly Reed, was once known as Paul, a star quarterback in high school before her sex-change operation. Reed’s gender reassignment, however, turns out to be a mere side note—and hardly the most surprising one—in this exploration of her family’s past."SUPERB. No one could make this believable if it were fiction." - SF ChronicleProdigal SonsMarch 5 - 11SIFF Cinema

Read More

Captivating Great Waves takes Sound Off! Semifinal #3

Review of Sound Off! Semifinal #3 by Jennifer E.The young quintet, Seacats, opened the 3rd night of Sound-Off Semifinals with an upbeat performance that can only be described as fun. With impressive music than cannot be written off as simple “bubblegum pop”, they energized the crowd and started the night off right. It’s no wonder why the Youth Advisory Board chose them as the “Wild Card” band for the Sound-Off Finals next weekend.

Seacats Photo by Brady HarveyNext up, Subtle Like A T-Rex took the stage with an intense progressive-rock show. A diverse range of music influences their heavy metal, and their long songs and unique sound is meant for true music fans.After, Great Waves commanded the stage with a phenomenal performance that deserved the first place prize and Finals spot that it won. As the only female singer of the night, lead-singer Ashley Bullock captivated the crowd with a voice powerful enough to silence the room. With a diverse mix of soulful blues and more upbeat sounds, their music does the talking for them and has as much personality as the band members. They have the potential to make it big, which is why they also won the audience response award for the night.

Great Waves Photo by Brady Harvey

With big shoes to fill, Us On Roofs ended the night with such energy that some crowd-members were surprised they didn’t receive an award. As the smallest band, they had the largest stage presence and truly connected with the audience. They evoked such happiness in both their music and body language that the crowd couldn’t help but love them. They were a fantastic finale to an incredible night of music! Congratulations to the winners of the night, we will see both Great Waves and Seacats at the Sound-Off Finals on March 6th at the EMP Sky Church.

Us on Roofs Photo by Brady Harvey- Jennifer E.February 27th, 2010The Sound Off! Final competition is this Saturday, March 6th at 8:00 PM at EMPSFM. For more info, visit the Sound Off! page.

Read More

flotsam and jetsam

This is little too much fun:It's called Art Thief, and it's a video game wherein you pilfer expensive works of art from the "Muggenheim" (ha ha) museum and then party down in your sweet Jetsons-chic pad with your new hover sofa. Teen Tix officially does not support the playing of video games, even art-related ones, when you should be doing something productive with your life.Okay, uh...gotta go...do some work. Yeah, that's it. Work. (h/t to Jen Graves on slog.)

Read More

No Pre-Studying Necessary

Review of Farewell at Spectrum Dance Theater by Kaya P.Going in, I had no idea what to expect, all I knew was the dance was supposed to be about the relationship between China and the United States. I was expecting not to get the dance but, I was pleasantly surprised to find the performance to be meaningful even with no prior understanding. The choreography and music tells the story sufficiently, no pre-studying necessary. The venue is very intimate with audience on three sides of the stage. Often, the dancers come within inches of you so no stretching your legs! Be prepared for a bit of stiffness after sitting in metal bleachers for ninety minutes straight.

Meaghan Sanford. Photo by Gabriel Bienczycki, Zebra VisualThe music alone is well worth it. Melodies are layered with live percussion, speech and bicycle wheels, punctuated by the sounds of the dancers. Each performer plays a character and I enjoyed watching the relationships develop as the dance progressed. A lot of the partner work confused me I didn’t feel it conveyed as strong or as clear of a message as the group segments did. At times I was overwhelmed with how much was going on onstage I had to force myself to relax and accept that I could not see everything, and maybe that was the point. Overall I enjoyed the intensity of the piece. I liked walking out feeling like I had learned something. I would definitely recommend staying for the discussion afterwards. Even if you are too shy to ask questions its cool to learn some of the motivations behind the creative decisions. Anyone is fair game to ask questions to the choreographer, musicians, and dancers so go for it!

Tory Peil, Geneva Jenkins, Amber Mayberry & Joel Myers Photo by Gabriel Bienczycki, Zebra Visual- Kaya PFebruary 20th, 2010Farewell is closed. For more information about Spectrum Dance Theater's upcoming performances and workshops, visit spectrumdance.org

Read More

Login

Create an account | Reset your password