Press Corps Update!
In case you missed it, the TeenTix Press Corps is back in action! We’ve had a busy relaunch this spring—we held two Arts Criticism 101 workshops at Franklin High School and Cleveland High School, and held a 5-week intensive arts-writing course called Adventures in Contemporary American Culture. Read on for the full updates on each workshop!
ARTS CRITICISM 101
Franklin High School
Our workshop covered the basics of arts criticism for visual and performing arts. Teaching artist and visual arts critic Gayle Clemans led the class on a field trip to The Frye Art Museum where we reviewed the Tavares Strachan and Ko Kirk Yamahira exhibits. Melody Datz Hansen, a performance critic and teaching artist, taught us about the three most important questions in arts criticism. We watched some Hamilton clips, sampled Pina Bausch and the Royal Ballet, and wrote reviews of a film on OntheBoards.tv.
You can read Gayle’s writing for the Seattle Times HERE.
You can read Melody’s writing for the Seattle Times HERE and for City Arts HERE.
Cleveland High School
We hosted a discussion of the play Familiar at Seattle Rep with several classes at Cleveland. Hatlo—a theater artist, playwright, and Press Corps teaching artist—guided students through a critical discussion of the play and strategized ways to incorporate opinion and evaluation into reviews. Stay tuned on the blog for student reviews of Familiar coming soon!
You can learn more about Hatlo’s work HERE.
If you're interested in bringing the Arts Criticism 101 workshop to your school or group of teens, email Mariko, TeenTix Press Corps Manager: mariko@teentix.org.
ADVENTURES IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN CULTURE
This workshop was an intensive, crash course in arts criticism. Over five weeks, eight teens worked with three professional arts critics, to experience and write reviews of five different art events. Teens reviewed each art event they saw and then met to discuss the art, edit their reviews, and receive feedback on their writing from their peers and the teaching artists. Discussion topics included the four elements of criticism, critical inference, rhetoric, how to structure a review, and an in-depth look at the elements of each particular art form we experienced.
Over the course of five weeks we saw two theater and one dance performance at On the Boards, a film at the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, and the “Figuring History” exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum.
Huge thank yous to these awesome TeenTix Arts Partners for hosting the Press Corps! And many thanks to the teaching artists involved: Gayle Clemans (visual arts critic), Kathy Fennessy (film critic), and Omar Willey (performance critic).
Read the Press Corps’ reviews here:
Reviews of Patti & the Kid at On the Boards:
Expect the Unexpected by Emily B.
Carpets Are Unrolled. Nerf Guns Are Shot. by Anya S.
La Vie de Magnifique du Charlie at Langston Hughes African American Film Festival
La Vie Magnifique de Charlie, le Film Très Magnifique by Jessie B.
Reviews of Black Bois at On the Boards
Rarely Shown Complexities of Black Men by Jocelyn A.
Individuality and Uniqueness by Mayyadah Z.
“Figuring History” at SAM
Strategically Highlighted in Glitter by Lily W.
Forgotten Black Brilliance by Will S.
JACK & at On the Boards
Confusing in All the Right Ways by Juneaux L.
Stay tuned on the blog for updates about the next intensive workshop!
You can read Omar’s writing for the Seattle Star HERE.
You can read Gayle’s writing for the Seattle Times HERE.
You can read Kathy’s writing for The Stranger HERE.
A big thanks to the following organizations for their support of The TeenTix Press Corps!
If you love arts criticism and want to see this program soar—consider donating now to TeenTix or email us to discuss how your gift can make an impact on the Press Corps.
