TeenTix Blog

The critics are loving Beeswax, playing this week at Northwest Film Forum and our Pick of the Week.

Photo by Matthias Grunsky"an ingenious comic structure and a rich emotional subtext" - Seattle Times"Bujalski manages to do what most filmmakers of his generation can't—namely, turn hipsters into interesting film subjects...If Beeswax is part of the mumblecore movement...then it is one of its highest artistic achievements." - the Stranger"a near-perfect little film" - Jew-ish.com (note: link contains coarse language)BeeswaxNorthwest Film ForumDaily at 7 and 9 pmThrough Thursday, November 5thNote: this film contains sexual situations.

Emma M. spends an afternoon with Intiman's Rough EaglesSomewhere in the depths of Intiman Theatre a group of seven students have been rehearsing. Those seven students are called the Rough Eagles. They have been creating and cultivating their own piece of theatre. It’s called To Speak of a Dream.But who are the Rough Eagles? From the program: “Rough Eagles brings together diverse teens from Cleveland and Roosevelt High Schools ... Rough Eagles is about the collaborative process of making theatre as a way to explore big ideas and discover what unites the students, rather than what separates them.” For the Rough Eagles it’s been a long process to get to the stage. They started in August with a weeklong “retreat” where they saw art around the city. Then they took workshops about writing and acting, and then they actually wrote their play.The play is about heroes and change. The first thing you see in the play is a slide show of images of well known American and international heroes: JFK, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Amelia Earhart, Superman, and President Obama, to name just a few. The play then proceeds to quote some of these people and also to present the Rough Eagles’ personal heroes.I asked the Rough Eagles about the objective of this performance piece, To Speak of a Dream. “I would say it’s like just talking about personal experiences that maybe you wouldn’t usually tell a lot of people,” said Taylor Christensen, a junior at Roosevelt. “So I think our play, our goal is to try to project the views and perspectives of different people and just different topics and just trying to show people how it like for us, and the controversial issues that’s going on in America right now,” Vincent Nguyen, a senior at Roosevelt, added. “I say it’s showing you perspective. And letting other people walk in your shoes and giving them … a way of seeing what you did during your life,” offers Cleveland junior Ariel Torrey.Did the Rough Eagles meet their goals? The Rough Eagles say they aren’t actors. But their newness to the stage gives their words a certain honesty and power. The play is thought-provoking, and asks us to change, become better people, better neighbors, and better citizens. I would not be surprised if someday this play, or a version of it, made it onto a professional stage. It has a great deal of potential.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I have a dream.” The Rough Eagles have a dream too, for a better and brighter America. To Speak of a Dream is their step towards actualizing that vision.- Emma M.November 25th, 2009To Speak of a Dream was performed on Monday, November 26thThe production that inspired To Speak of a Dream, Abe Lincoln in Illinois runs through November 19th at Intiman Theatre. Photos, from top to bottom: Taylor and Vincent; Chantel and Rahel; Ariel, Tristan, and Wesley. Photos by Chris Bennion.

This just in from our friends at Seattle Musical TheatreSeattle Musical Theatre invites middle and high school students to join us for a free upcoming class on the second show in our season, Honk! The class will run Saturday, November 21 in our Magnuson Park theatre from 10-4:30 and includes a free ticket to the afternoon's matinee. Spaces are first-come, first-served. Please contact Jeremy Ehrlich at jeremy @ seattlemusicaltheatre . org for more information or to sign up.Information about the theater and a study guide to the production are available on our website, seattlemusicaltheatre.org. Upcoming classes include Sondheim's Company, after school the week of February 22-25.

"Mom at the enlarger, 1949" by Joey Harrison on flickr(search results is an art project. Everyday we search for and post a random flickr photo using the search term "passport".)The Teen Tix Passport to the Arts contest is still on!Here's how it works: - Download the passport- Take it with you and ask for a stamp at the box office every time you use your Teen Tix pass - Once you have 6 stamps, return your passport to us to be entered to win fabulous prizes like a $200 gift card to a retailer of your choosing (choose from Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, GAP, iTunes, Pagliacci, Starbucks, Target, or a pre-paid Visa card). The contest runs through December 29th, 2009, so you still have plenty of time to see art and win! Download your passport and all of the contest details here.

"Maybe not as fun as a camera, but extremely economical" by artist of mimicry on flickr(search results is an art project. Everyday we search for and post a random flickr photo using the search term "passport".)The Teen Tix Passport to the Arts contest is still on!Here's how it works: - Download the passport- Take it with you and ask for a stamp at the box office every time you use your Teen Tix pass - Once you have 6 stamps, return your passport to us to be entered to win fabulous prizes like a $200 gift card to a retailer of your choosing (choose from Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, GAP, iTunes, Pagliacci, Starbucks, Target, or a pre-paid Visa card). The contest runs through December 29th, 2009, so you still have plenty of time to see art and win! Download your passport and all of the contest details here.

"New Passport" by mexican 2000 on flickr(search results is an art project. Everyday we search for and post a random flickr photo using the search term "passport".)The Teen Tix Passport to the Arts contest is still on!Here's how it works: - Download the passport- Take it with you and ask for a stamp at the box office every time you use your Teen Tix pass - Once you have 6 stamps, return your passport to us to be entered to win fabulous prizes like a $200 gift card to a retailer of your choosing (choose from Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, GAP, iTunes, Pagliacci, Starbucks, Target, or a pre-paid Visa card). The contest runs through December 29th, 2009, so you still have plenty of time to see art and win! Download your passport and all of the contest details here.

The Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Program is calling for submissions of artworks by teen artists. Here's the press release:In partnership with the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club, Southwest Youth & Family Services and Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, the city of Seattle is calling on young artists to depict the violence prevention theme of the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative.Young artists are encouraged to submit original artwork showing young people in safe and positive environments or other images depicting the message of stopping youth violence. The artwork should include a tagline about preventing youth violence. The selected artwork will be used in communication materials for the initiative."This contest is an educational effort to share with children and young people that youth violence can be prevented and should not be tolerated," said Initiative Director Mariko Lockhart. "We want the artwork of this initiative to come directly from the youth in our community because we know they have an enormous capacity to portray simple and remarkable ideas through art and words in a straightforward way."Artists must be in grades seven through 12 or ages 12 to 17, attending Seattle Public Schools and/or engaged with Seattle Parks and Recreation community centers, or community-based youth organizations. Artwork must be submitted by Dec. 2 to a Seattle Parks and Recreation community center, a Seattle Public Schools art teacher, or to a community-based organization.For complete rules and drop-off locations, go to this websiteThe Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative is a community-based, multiagency strategy to prevent and address youth and gang-related violence in the city of Seattle.And there are prizes! First prize is $100 of art supplies and tickets to entertainment and sporting functions. Second place prize is $50 of art supplies, tickets to entertainment and sporting functions, and a boat ride/tour of the Seattle Police Harbor Patrol Facility.

Review of Michelangelo: Public and Private and Alexander Calder: A Balancing Act @ Seattle Art Museum by Michelle K.When one thinks of Michelangelo, they think of the crowded streets of Rome and the packed room of the Musei Vaticani, in which you can view the Sistine Chapel. However, now Seattle can proudly claim themselves as a city holding the beautiful works of the brilliant Italian artist. The Seattle Art Museum is now holding an exhibit in which one can view the works of Michelangelo and get a stunning view from personal pieces that represent the man he was throughout his lifetime.

Study of a man's face for the Flood in the Sistine ceiling, 1509–10, Michelangelo BuonarrotiSome of the most stunning work available to visitors includes his sketches figures present in the Sistine Chapel mural. Others are simple pieces that allow those attending the exhibit at SAM to see a personal side of Michelangelo: one in particular gathered my attention. It was a shopping list made by Michelangelo for one of his servants. However, servants in these times were often illiterate, so Michelangelo had to draw pictures of all the foods he needed. The simplicity and kindness of the list was touching, and didn’t only showcase Michelangelo’s talent applied to his everyday life, but his character.Polychrome Dots and Brass on Red, 1964, Alexander CalderAlthough this exhibit is a pulling factor for people to visit the museum, the other pieces are what truly made the visit to my museum an amazing experience. The Calder exhibit, showcasing his mobile-like art works were stunning, and the native African art exhibit was breathtaking: the most interesting of this section was an eight foot tall statue of an avant-garde human made completely of thrift shop sweaters.Perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon, or a lazy evening on a weekday, the Seattle Art Museum will certainly surprise and astound, and give Seattleites a new perspective on the art community that they so luckily inhabit.

As all you old school Teen Tixers know, Pacific Northwest Ballet's wildly popular Nutcracker ballet is the only PNB show all year that is not Teen Tix eligible. Sad face. However, every year, because they love us so much, PNB puts aside a little stash of Teen Tix tickets for one Nutcracker performance. Happy face! This year's Teen Tix-able Nutcracker show is Sunday, November 29th @ 5:30.Although this performance lands on a Sunday there are NO companion (2 for $10) tickets available, just regular Teen Tix tickets. These tickets will be available in person at PNB's McCaw Hall box office starting at 4:00 pm on the 29th only. There are a limited number of Teen Tix tickets available, and they always sell out, so plan to arrive early.We heart you, PNB. BFFs 4eva.For more information about the Nutcracker, please visit PNB's website.

Review of Act of God at SIFF Cinema by Tucker Cholvin This coming Friday, lightning will strike at SIFF Cinema. Act of God, a Canadian documentary film directed by Jennifer Baichwal, is a masterfully done introspection into the symbolism of lightning and storms in the human condition. In interviews with people struck by this awesome force of nature, relatives of those killed by it, storm chasers, musicians, and in forays that range to France, Mexico, and beyond, Act of God quickly fills you with a sense of awe at the sheer power of lightning. Baichwal uses sweeping panoramic shots of powerful storms set to the stories of victims to stress and illuminate the raw destructive force of lightning—images of twisted trees and mangled metal drive the point home. But Baichwal’s concern is not so much in the lightning itself, but in its metaphysical implications. Is a lightning strike a random occurrence in a purely mechanical universe? Or is it a fated, predestined strike by an omniscient God? In tearful interviews with victims and survivors, it becomes clear that there is no easy answer, but countless perspectives. Baichwal travels through religion, science, logic, and emotion in search of answers. Some in the film say that evolution has wired humans to look for and remember patterns; that looking for significance in a random lightning strike is only an uncivilized remnant of our former primitive selves. On the other hand, a televangelist who had a near-death experience following a lightning strike disagrees—in a near-death experience, he saw heaven and his soul in what he believes was an intentional act of God to change his ways. In the end, one bereaved mother expresses the common middle ground: “I can’t accept that there is a reason that [my son] died, but I can’t accept that there is no reason.” The pure power of lightning provokes differing reactions in people; when faced with such a force, Act of God shows how they will harness it, fear it, revere it, or deny it. And by the end of the film, you will be questioning your own worldview as well. Act of God marvelously takes something that we accept in life as commonplace, and in dissecting it allows us to question ourselves and the nature of life. An enriching and engaging film, Act of God is well worth the time—guaranteed to expand your mind and bring a new dimension to this winter’s coming storms. - Tucker C. Act of God October 30th - November 5th SIFF Cinema

"Mary Church Terrell 1919 - Passport Photo" by puzzlemaster on flickr(search results is an art project. Everyday we search for and post a random flickr photo using the search term "passport".)The Teen Tix Passport to the Arts contest is still on!Here's how it works: - Download the passport- Take it with you and ask for a stamp at the box office every time you use your Teen Tix pass - Once you have 6 stamps, return your passport to us to be entered to win fabulous prizes like a $200 gift card to a retailer of your choosing (choose from Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, GAP, iTunes, Pagliacci, Starbucks, Target, or a pre-paid Visa card). The contest runs through December 29th, 2009, so you still have plenty of time to see art and win! Download your passport and all of the contest details here.

Beeswax @ Northwest Film Forum

What is mumblecore? According to Filmmaker Magazine, these films are "severely naturalistic portraits of the life and loves of artistic twentysomethings" characterized by "improvised dialogue and naturalistic performances, often by non-actors. The films employ handheld, vérité-style digital camerawork and long takes. Budgets are tiny. The plots hinge on everyday events. The stories are often obvious reflections of the filmmakers’ lives...A lot of tension ensues over the answering or non-answering of cell-phone calls. Characters frequently attend and perform in sparsely populated weeknight music shows. There is an abundance of road trips."Director Joe Swanburg (Hannah Takes the Stairs) says it's much simpler than that: "The only rule is 'No jerks allowed.'"Either way, it's what's happening in indie cinema right now, and this weekend Northwest Film Forum is giving you the perfect opportunity to decide for yourself whether it's sheer genius or pretentious crap.Beeswax is the story of a couple of vintage clothing-store owners, a couple of sisters, a couple of boys, and a lot of ways you can complicate your life in your twenties. That's you pretty soon guys. Better study up.

The Seattle Times says that right now is a great time to explore "camera art" at the Henry (which we're pretty sure means, y'know...photography). We saw the show last week and we find them to be entirely correct. There are gorgeous, huge, color prints of sawmills and forests and the people who live and work in them in Eirik Johnson's Sawdust Mountain:Photos of the WTO riots that recall (very beautiful) YouTube stills in Allan Sekula's Waiting for Teargas:And, of course, the arresting, "irresistible" (says the Stranger's Jen Graves) show of early polaroids by the late, infamous stirrer of controversy Robert Mapplethorpe:The Henry is open from 11-9 Thursdays & Fridays, and 11-4 on Saturdays & Sundays. Go!Note: this show contains nudity and depictions of sexuality.

Review of Emma at Book-It Repertory Theatre by Delaney M.I saw the play Emma, which is running at Book-It Repertory Theatre until November 22nd 2009. The novel Emma was written by Jane Austen and Book-It’s version is directed by Marcus Goodwin and adapted by Rachel Atkins. Emma is played by Sylvie Davidson, Mr. Knightley is played by Dylan Chalfy, Harriet Smith is played by Ashley Marshall, and Mrs. Weston is played by Casi Nicole Wilkerson.Sylvie Davidson as Emma Woodhouse. Photo by Adam Smith.Emma is a classic Jane Austen novel that showcases the lives of early 19th century British gentry. Emma tells the story of a young girl, Emma Woodhouse, who is growing and developing in a small rural community in England. Emma struggles with vanity and her stubborn ideals of how she and people around her should live their lives. Along the course of Emma’s self discovery she runs into many little snags where her meddling in the affairs of others and outspokenness lead her into offending her friends and family.The Center House Theatre, where Emma is playing, is small and cozy, with only a few rows of seating and the actors roaming up and down the stairs next to your seat, the audience is drawn into the play, and the setting becomes a reality. The set remained the same throughout the entire play, a painted ballroom floor and blue walls, but as the scenes changed small props, such as a picnic blanket, a candelabra, and chairs, were brought in to help show the small changes in setting. Deane Middleton's costumes stayed very true to the time period and managed to effortlessly combine simplicity of style with beautiful colors and fits of the clothing.All of the actors did a very good job; however, three actors truly took their characters to heart and not only read the lines, but lived them. Dylan Chalfy who plays Mr. Knightley did an extraordinary job, he looks exactly like what I would have imagined and his mannerisms and emotions seemed to flow straight into what his character was like in Jane Austen’s novel. Brian Thompson, or Mr. Woodhouse as he is known in the play, manages to perfectly portray all of Mr. Woodhouse’s bumbling eccentricities without seeming over the top or overly comical. The shining gem of Emma though was Sylvie Davidson, who played Emma. Sylvie was only off of stage for a grand total of probably 2 minutes, and every moment that she was on stage she commanded the audience’s attention with her vivacity and perfect mimicry of Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse. All in all the cast is very cohesive and I can quite honestly say that every actor in Emma is highly skilled, and delightful to watch.I would highly recommend Emma to everyone, including Jane Austen fanatics, who will pleased by how alike the novel and the play are. While Emma is definitely an all ages show, in order to fully understand the play and draw as much as possible from the experience I would recommend that it is best for ages 14 and up.- Delaney M.October 23, 2009EmmaBook-It Repertory TheatreThrough November 22nd

To Speak of a Dream @ Intiman TheatreToday's cure for boredom: The Rough Eagles (students from Roosevelt and Cleveland High Schools...get it? Roosevelt Rough Riders and Cleveland Eagles?) present To Speak of a Dream, an original play inspired by Intiman's current production, Abe Lincoln in Illinois.The show is FREE, open to eveyone, and includes a post-show reception with the cast: Rahel Barnes, Tristan Campbell, Taylor Christensen, Chantel Goodwin, Wesley Nead, Vincent Nguyen and Ariel Torrey.Also, check the blog next week for Emma M's feature story about the Rough Eagles program.To Speak of a DreamTONIGHT, Monday, October 26th7 pmINTIMAN TheatreSpace is limited. RSVP to tickets@intiman.org or by calling the box office at 206.269.1900

Read Professor Kiley's review

"Passport to Adventure!" by Devpow on flickr(search results is an art project. Everyday we search for and post a random flickr photo using the search term "passport".)The Teen Tix Passport to the Arts contest is still on!Here's how it works: - Download the passport- Take it with you and ask for a stamp at the box office every time you use your Teen Tix pass - Once you have 6 stamps, return your passport to us to be entered to win fabulous prizes like a $200 gift card to a retailer of your choosing (choose from Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, GAP, iTunes, Pagliacci, Starbucks, Target, or a pre-paid Visa card). The contest runs through December 29th, 2009, so you still have plenty of time to see art and win! Download your passport and all of the contest details here.

"Passport 1948 page 4-5" by letterlust on flickr(search results is an art project. Everyday we search for and post a random flickr photo using the search term "passport".)The Teen Tix Passport to the Arts contest is still on!Here's how it works: - Download the passport- Take it with you and ask for a stamp at the box office every time you use your Teen Tix pass - Once you have 6 stamps, return your passport to us to be entered to win fabulous prizes like a $200 gift card to a retailer of your choosing (choose from Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, GAP, iTunes, Pagliacci, Starbucks, Target, or a pre-paid Visa card). The contest runs through December 29th, 2009, so you still have plenty of time to see art and win! Download your passport and all of the contest details here.

"Mom's passport photo about 1960" by aroid on flickr(search results is an art project. Everyday we search for and post a random flickr photo using the search term "passport".)The Teen Tix Passport to the Arts contest is still on!Here's how it works: - Download the passport- Take it with you and ask for a stamp at the box office every time you use your Teen Tix pass - Once you have 6 stamps, return your passport to us to be entered to win fabulous prizes like a $200 gift card to a retailer of your choosing (choose from Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, GAP, iTunes, Pagliacci, Starbucks, Target, or a pre-paid Visa card). The contest runs through December 29th, 2009, so you still have plenty of time to see art and win! Download your passport and all of the contest details here.

by Martín Espada

Never pretendto be a unicornby sticking a plunger on your head