#flynnarts

[minkschasijasi]

MY BAE’S SONA ‼️‼️🔥🔥🔥🔥

@flynnarts

The hair was so satisfying to draw you srsly cannot expect me NOT to draw that

[flynncorvus]

Take a Break

Take a Break Tell in the Comments how you’re feeling and where you are in life Reblog to spread the calm~ We don’t judge here

[tokintormin]

I have nothing to do with my day and I like your art so…

Boops coming your way!

I think you have defeated me

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"Carrie, the Musical": High School Torment in the Social Media Age

by Christina Weakland, Education Director See FlynnArts' "Carrie, the Musical" in FlynnSpace from July 17-20, 2014. GET TICKETS. When Carrie, the Musical first premiered on Broadway in 1988, it quickly gained notoriety as one of the biggest flops in the history of musical theater, closing after only 16 performances, even earning pride of place in the title of a book about Broadway flops: “Not Since Carrie…” by Ken Mandelbaum. Since then the authors put a moratorium on performance rights – nobody could produce this show, presumably because it was so broken. Why did the ’88 production fail? Maybe it was the sexy chorus girls looking closer to 35 than 16, maybe it was their miniature togas (a miscommunication between authors and costumers – they were supposed to be inspired by Grease, not Greece!) Or maybe it was the fact that the physical production never quite found the heart of the story. Yes, Carrie is traumatized at school and at home, and yes telekinesis yields a fascinating and horrific revenge. But revenge is not what this story is about. It’s about kids, and why they do the hurtful, derisive things they do to one another…and how it’s possible to get beyond the need to fit in, and really see the commonality, really see each other. (As Sue Snell puts it in the show, “Once you see, you can’t unsee.” The lyric refers not to the horror of Carrie covered in blood on prom night, but to the fact that once our eyes are opened to injustice, once we recognize our unity with others, regardless of surface differences, we can’t go back to thoughtless victimization.) Enter Stafford Arima, NYC director who posed a reconceived version of the tale to the show’s original creators. They liked his vision, signed on, and re-wrote the bulk of the show to achieve new ends. It became darker, more serious. The “kids” were more clearly drawn as normal young adults, wrestling with the same insecurities and united in their desire to belong. We see the whole drama through the eyes of the one teen who survived (Sue Snell) and take her emotional journey from thoughtlessly unkind to regretful, to reparative, to horror-stricken, to grieving, to reflective.  The revival, produced at Manhattan Theatre Club, received rave reviews. Carrie was rescued from oblivion, and is now, finally, available to be produced by companies around the world. Our production is the Vermont premiere, and we are so excited to bring this important story to the Vermont community. Even more, we’re thrilled that Mr. Arima himself is coming up to Vermont to watch a rehearsal and work with our young actors on their approach to the piece. Carrie’s story, while complicated by the telekinesis factor, is sadly very relevant to today’s young people. Humiliation and ridicule are all too common elements of growing up in our society, and the implications can range from damaged self-esteem that impacts lifelong relationship patterns, to full-scale horror, like the massacres at Columbine and Newtown. School shootings have, in fact, become a norm in America; there have been over 74 instances in the past 18 months alone. Harassment and bullying are linked to 7 out of 10 of these violent events, and then of course there are those who turn their pain inward instead of outward, making suicide the second leading cause of death for middle and high school students. In our cast, more than one student has lost a classmate/close friend to suicide in the past year. The perils of adolescence are indeed high-stakes. Furthermore, today’s kids bully each other in ways that we could never have dreamed. Since the revival of Carrie is set in the present, we have decided to incorporate web and social media use as the tools of torture they can so easily become. A young person’s entire world closes in around them terrifyingly fast when Facebook and Snapchat deliver instantaneous public humiliation. When the derision of her peers starts to build up for Carrie, the social media landscape will explode around her, via projection. The tampon-attack will be filmed and streamed to YouTube. Queen Bee Chris Hargensen’s party will be promoted on Facebook but will be clearly (and publicly) only open to the cool crowd. Depressing stuff, huh? But I think what audiences will take from this production is the inspiration to do better, to affirm their humanity, to respect the dignity in each soul. I know that some of our youth actors are already making changes in their actions have come clean to one another about times they’ve behaved less than kindly, are recognizing their impact upon one another, and seeing their potential anew. I am hopeful that our students AND our audiences will take away that serving our own ends by hurting others, no matter how powerful those ends seem (belonging, eternal redemption), is never the right choice. I am hopeful that we all have room to grow in kindness. As Sue so pointedly asks, “What does it cost to be kind?” The FlynnArts Summer Youth Theater Program is a hidden gem. Drawing top talent from schools around the state, our students are so eager to grow, not just as people but also as artists, and their hunger is inspiring. Consequently, we teach them not just the music and the steps but also how to analyze the text, how to assess the stakes, how to pursue objectives with varied strategies and moment to moment tactics, etc. We are graduating seniors every year who are going on to the best musical theater and classical voice programs in the country, and although our program is young, I have no doubt that in a few years we will have some big stars to invite back to share their successes and tips with the next crop of young actors. In addition we want our physical productions to support the strong, authentic, acting work our young performers are demonstrating onstage. Artistry and innovation and challenge are important to our team; our productions are usually re-imagined reinventions of chamber musicals; last year’s Into the Woods was set in an attic, framed as a young child’s effort to come to terms with her mother’s death. Carrie will be no exception to our efforts not to merely replicate the original productions, but to find our own approach, and teach our young people about what it means to have something to say as an artist. Quality aside, what I love most about the program is the community these young people have built. Often theater kids can be the odd ones out in their own schools, but here they have found their people and have learned how to eschew jealousy of each other’s skills, to instead support one another with joyful mutual admiration. The impact on their self-esteem is enormous. It gives me incredible pleasure to see them travel sometimes as far as two hours away to see one another’s high school shows during the school year, and I chuckled with delight when I found that the boys had created a facebook group entitled “Show Bros.” We as a team choose to work with young people because we have great respect for the perils of adolescence (as Carrie so viscerally demonstrates) and we foster community because we know it makes a huge difference. We know that the powerful bonds formed in youth theater programs help young people to weather their own personal storms as they journey toward self-acceptance, self-confidence, and self-actualization. We invite you to join us this summer, and see what we mean!

[flynncenter]

Behind the Scenes of "Carrie, The Musical"

The first FlynnArts theater production of the summer, Carrie, the Musical, premieres tomorrow, July 17 in FlynnSpace at 7 pm (TICKETS). The cast, crew, and director Christina Weakland are working feverishly to get every detail finalized by show time. We thought you'd enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the production process via the memo below, sent to the crew by Christina in the wee hours of the morning. The "Carrie" lighting and production team. Hi Team, updates and new items of importance.  Have bolded your names for important items, but please read through all. RIGGING 1. Prom curtain frame looks like it will work, once eye bolt and hooks are set.  Unfortunately we discovered that the curtain cannot be onstage when the fire starts (projection focus issue), which means it needs to go sooner in destruction, possible right at the end of part 1/start of part 2.  May cause slight shift to destruction staging at start.  Danielle and I to discuss. 2. Five downstage curtains look great with projection.  They are drooping though,Jeff, the webbing does not seem to hold them out, would you to look at this and see if you have any ideas?  More velcro perhaps, or stiffening of some sort?  We hung a teaser to hide it, but can still see some of the worst droops. Danielle, we need to look at when those are struck by actors during fire sequence, let's do that in a down moment tomorrow. 3. Rigging for end of destruction means cast must be very careful upstage of various wires.  Piero, band will need warning too, in general the area upstage of band is a danger zone for invisible tripping hazards of several different kinds.   4. We need to figure out Billy's rope rigging.  Simple, but one vs two ropes, do they stay or go, how they impact ensuing scenes, etc.  Danielle, let's confer tomorrow - Cathie and I talked it through today but want to make sure thoughts make sense with your plans for those scenes. 5. Windows work incredibly well.  Thanks guys, and Gina, for figuring that out. 6. We need to look at the levitations.  Will try to do what we can on Sunday, Lesley let us know when you think those statues might come back.  Would love to have one, even unpainted on Monday, but don't make a special trip. OTHER SETS/PROPS 1. Floor is fully laid and looks great, need to add the small corner pieces around the poles. Any of us can hammer those in when they arrive.  Jeff is planning to come in Monday or Tuesday morning at 8:45 or 9ish to line the floor with marker. 2. We tested the curtain frame today many many times.  Fell over at first.  Added weights on one side, still tipping, added weight on both sides and finessed placement of the string to pull, replaced the connector pipe with a smaller pipe and gaffed it in so that it neither caught and stuck like the original, nor fell out and bonked Carrie on the head.  Seem to have found a sweet spot where it is stable. However the weights look ugly on the base now.  If props folk and Jeff could confer on how to conceal the rigging of it, that would be lovely. Also we need to drill a hole for an eye-bolt on each side of it, at a specified height, and attach a hook to the tieline offstage so that tieline can be brought onstage and hooked FAST.  We looked at both scenarios at length (hooking onstage vs rigging offstage) and this one seems best for a variety of reasons.  If this could happen before Tuesday morning tech of act 2, this would be great.  Jeff/Tim/Michael, let us know what's possible.   3.  One wall of the prayer closet lifted entirely off the platform upon moving it, so prayer closet is currently un-pushable.  Jeff/Tim/Michael, will you let us know which of you can fix this, and when?  Ideally before the kids need to tech those transitions on Monday?  Also Jeff is going to do some aging and abstractifying of the outside walls, and add scratches to the inside walls.  4. The chaos wall looks great.  We need to tweak placement of some items (raise door a tad, tweak the desk) to help the projections work.  We also need to add shades to the windows, partially open shades so we can still see that the windows are open, but to serve as projection surfaces. Measurements 25.5" across by 22 down.  if anyone has something like this at home, the sooner we can get it the better.  (Hard to tech the video without being able to focus on the correct surface.) 5. Chairs - Soyo agreed to trade us 4 chairs so that we will have 11 completely the same, and the 12th is almost the same - same color, but slightly different back.  It's fine, so we are good to go.  Lesley will make the trade on Wednesday evening.  Lesley will you also call to let Hans know the time? COSTUMES/VIDEO 1.  Prom photoshoot can happen Monday morning at 10 am.  Kerry or Olivia - please connect with kids via Facebook AND email yourselves on Sunday to make sure they have what you need.  Will work out a call schedule tomorrow for the Monday sound EQ check from 10-11:30, and this.  They can happen simultaneously but photoshoot has to be  completely silent.  We can use Flynn camera.  Richie, help remind me to  find camera charger tomorrow as it was low on batteries on Friday.   Jamien, we need to have a good light cue for the prom photoshoot ready for monday morning. 2. We also may need a photo of Carrie's face, Tommy's face, and Chris's face for Epilogue. Let's get that on Monday too Richie. 3. Video stuff is looking good, some kinks to work out with software that Dom and Richie are working on tonight, connected to making the images fit on the skewed angles of the chaos wall.  We are going to dry tech video tomorrow morning, and lights tomorrow afternoon through late night. That's all I can think of for now, but it's late, I'm sure I'm forgetting something vital.  ;-) Please reply with any concerns or unfinished items you have on your list that I have left off. Thanks all - this is a great team effort.  Good work today.

[flynncenter]

Broadway World Reviews FlynnArts' Chilling "Carrie, the Musical"

by Erin McIntyre

This review appears on the Broadway World website.

FlynnArts Summer Youth Theater opened CARRIE, THE MUSICAL on Thursday, July 18 at Burlington's FlynnSpace at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts.

Based on Stephen King's novel, CARRIE is a musical with a turbulent history. The 1984 New York City workshop and the 1988 Stratford-upon-Avon tryout met with mixed reviews, and the Broadway production flopped in May of 1988 after just a handful of performances.

2009 saw a major revamp of CARRIE by its creators, composerMichael Gore, lyricist Dean Pitchford, and bookwriter Lawrence D. Cohen, along with director Stafford Arima. The revision met with critical acclaim in a 2012 off-Broadway revival featuring Molly Ranson as Carrie White and Marin Mazzie as Margaret White. With the success of the re-imagined show, performance rights were made available and productions have sprung up across the country. The FlynnArts production marks the Vermont premiere of CARRIE, THE MUSICAL.

The storyline follows a group of high school students in the small town of Chamberlain, Maine. Carrie White, the awkward social outcast and daughter of religious zealot Margaret White, is taunted mercilessly by her peers. If you've read the Stephen King novel, you've got the gist of the plot - religious fanaticism, teenage rage, and eerie telekinetic powers collide, culminating in a prom night that turns tragic.

The fact that the FlynnArts production is a youth musical, with no cast member over the age of 19, is remarkably irrelevant. There are no weak links in this cast, and many of the young actors display near-professional ability.

Zoë Olson is riveting as the painfully shy Carrie White. Her journey from silent victimhood to empowerment is uncanny and terrifying, and Olson uses both voice and physicality to truly inhabit this role.

Cassidy Thompson's portrayal of Carrie's mother is extraordinary. It's rare for a teenager to possess the maturity to be convincing in an adult role (particularly one as complicated as Margaret White), and Thompson doesn't just manage it - she delivers a level of nuance that many seasoned adult actors never achieve.

Bonnie Currie is perfect as Sue Snell, the one female student who treats Carrie with kindness. Sue is the primary witness to the horrid events that transpire on prom night, and her testimony guides the audience through the story. Currie does an especially fine job of navigating Sue's struggle to find the balance between being popular and being kind.

Chiara Hollender is Chris Hargensen, Sue's best friend and Carrie's chief tormentor. Hollender's portrayal is wonderfully devilish, and she also manages to find the character's undercurrent of loneliness. Charlie Aldrich hits all the right comedic moments as the swaggering bad boy, Billy Nolan, and Adam Brewer is charming as Sue's kind, level-headed boyfriend who agrees to take Carrie to the prom. Evan Cohen is hilarious as Mr. Stephens, the English teacher, and Olivia Christie delivers some lovely moments as Miss Gardner, Carrie's sympathetic gym teacher.

The cast is vocally strong throughout, and the principals are backed by a fantastic-sounding group of supporting and ensemble characters, played by Audrey Teague, Pearl Guerriere, Kira Johnson, Seamus Buxton, Jackson Bisaccia, Max Chlumecky, Shea Dunlop, Zelda Ferris, Olivia Peltier, Maddy Smith, Arlo Cohen, Seth Jolles, Nathaniel Miller, and Alec Rutherford.

The staging is excellent, and lighting design (Jamien Lundy Forrest), costume design (Olivia Hern), and video/projection design (Dom Wood) are especially effective. The ensemble of guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard is top-notch. This production clearly benefits from a skilled creative team, including directors Christina Weakland, Gina Fearn, and Danielle Sertz, and musical director Piero Bonamico. The team has worked with the cast to examine the elements of school culture at play in this plot, and an excerpt from the directors' note in the program captures the heart of the story:

"Humiliation and ridicule are all too common elements of growing up in our society, and the implications range from damaged self-esteem that impacts lifelong relationships patterns, to full-scale horror, like the massacres at Columbine and Newtown. School shooting have, in fact, become a norm in America; there have been over 74 instances in the past 18 months alone, and bullying is linked to 7 out of 10 of these violent events. [...] We hope audiences (teen or not) will take away from CARRIE the inspiration to do better, to affirm each others' humanity, to respect the dignity in each soul."

Stafford Arima, director of the 2012 off-Broadway revival of CARRIE, spent a day with the FlynnArts cast, deepening their understanding of the piece. "The team at CARRIE in Burlington, Vermont have put together an impressive production [...] that tells this story with clarity, horror, and heart," says Arima. "Congratulations to the entire cast, creative team, and musicians on a successful run."

FlynnArts provides this age advisory for CARRIE, THE MUSICAL: Although bloody, Carrie is not actually gory. (The blood is a cruel prank meant to humiliate Carrie about the onset of her period.) Overall this is a tale of bullying and supernatural revenge (which will take an abstract form in this production - no gruesome violence.) Carrie's mother also demonstrates an abusive parenting style that some children (and adults!) might find disturbing to experience in close proximity. That said, we think most youth aged 11+ can handle the content with a parent or guardian present to field questions, and the ultimate anti-bullying message of the piece is a vital one for middle- and high-schoolers to grasp.

[flynncenter]

Looking Deeper: Intensives for Contemporary Dancers

by Hannah Dennison, dancer and choreographer Led by a different guest artist each month, Flynn dance intensives are designed specifically for practicing contemporary dancers and dance-makers in our region. Sign up at www.flynnarts.org. Samuel Wentz, teacher of October 12 intensive. A bit of background – I have been making work, developing ensembles for the projects, and performing in the area for almost 40 years. After a long hiatus, I returned to creating with the tribute dance/theater piece in 2012, Dear Pina. I had the pleasure to work with many of the region’s best dancers and was excited to continue our explorations into what makes a strong and compelling performer. For 2013/14, I organized a regular laboratory, led by various dance artists, to address that exploration. I am grateful to the Flynn for picking up where we left off and giving us more opportunities to train and hone our skills. This year, the Flynn is addressing what has been a gap for contemporary dance artists in the Burlington area. Along with a strong line-up of weekly technique classes geared towards contemporary technique, the year-long series of intensive workshops on Sundays will focus on the ingredients central to successful contemporary dance creators and performers alike. The last period I recall there being a thriving dance community in the Queen City was during the 1980’s and early 90’s. I remember Sara McMahon’s classes in the Loft, full to capacity and vibrant with energetic focus, a true place of practice.  (You can dance with Sara at the Flynn on Tuesday mornings, Wednesday mornings, or Friday evenings. Click here for class listings.)  During that time, the Flynn put its young institutional clout and resources into the contemporary dance community with summer workshops on the main stage. We came together with teachers Peter Schmitz, Penny Campbell and Susan Sgorbati where we focused on constructing/deconstructing dances and moving together for both the study and joy of our shared passion. In the same time frame, the Flynn partnered with Vermont choreographers two times to present Vermont Dance at the Flynn, where dance-makers from around the state presented their work on the main stage to full houses. The ensuing years saw a dearth of high quality performing and training opportunities and that had a dampening effect on Burlington’s dance community. The re-focusing on the part of the Flynn is welcome and very much needed. So far, the line-up of leaders for these workshops is very exciting, most of them hailing from New York, and in residence or on staff this year at Bennington and Middlebury Colleges. Lucky us! October 12 is led by Samuel Wentz who is based at Bennington. Wentz has been a New York-based dancer and teacher for the past eight years. He has worked with the Trisha Brown Dance Company (09-14), Wally Cardona and Jennifer Lacey, Mark Morris, Gerald Casel, and Christopher Williams. In addition to performing, he has taught master classes, nationally and internationally, in contemporary technique. He has taught at: P.A.R.T.S.(BE), University of Washington - Seattle, University of Milwaukee - Wisconsin, UC Berkeley, University of Arizona - Tucson, as well as teaching regular classes for the Trisha Brown Dance Company. His class is influenced by his studies with Barbara Mahler, Gerald Casel, and the work of Trisha Brown. Wentz is currently pursuing his MFA from Bennington under the supervision of faculty member Terry Creach. November 9 is led by Dai Jian who is also at Bennington for the year. New York-based Dai is an artist from China with roots in contemporary dance, classical dance and martial arts. He creates improvisations, performance installations and visual art, and collaborates across disciplines. Dai graduated from Madam Yang MeiQi's program at the Beijing Dance Academy. She was deeply influential in his career path.  He has received numerous prizes and awards in China for his excellence, and was invited by Shen Wei Dance Arts to dance in the USA from 2005 to 2008, during which time he assisted Shen Wei in the choreography for the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies. In the USA, he has performed with Trisha Brown Dance Company and choreographer/ dancers Yin Mei  and Hou Ying. He has taught at Arizona State University and Pomono College, CA. December 14 is led by Scotty Hardwig who is currently the 2014-15 Artist-in-Residence and faculty member at the Middlebury College Dance Program.  Scotty is a dancer, choreographer, and digital media artist originally from the Appalachian mountains of southwest Virginia.  His installations, dance-for-camera films, and stage works have been shown nationally and internationally, with a focus on an interdisciplinary creative processes that involve techniques as wide-ranging as architecture, musical composition, computer programming, poetry, sculpture, fashion design, film, and a physical performance technique based heavily in contact and performance improvisation. Using the body as a medium and various technologies as mediators, his work explores the relationship between the flesh and the digital, and seeks to find the boundaries of the human spirit in an increasingly fragmented time. He received is MFA in dance from the University of Utah, and has received critical accolades for his dance films from the International Screendance Festival, and recently received a 2014 ACDFA/DANCE MAGAZINE award. January 11 is led by Polly Motley from Stowe. Polly is a choreographer, performer, collaborator and teacher.  She trained in classical and contemporary dance forms—ballet, jazz, tap, modern and post-modern styles—as well as Contemplative Dance Practice, dance ethnology, and improvisation. Her collaborators include dancers Barbara Dilley, Steve Paxton, Dana Reitz, Simone Forti; musicians  Sean Clute, Charles Amirkhanian, Takehisa Kosugi, Fred Frith; filmmaker Molly Davies, and poets Anne Carson and Jack Collom. Her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Colorado regarded the interactive relationships of video and performance. February 22 is led by Tzveta Kassabova who is a member of the dance department faculty at Middlebury College. Tzveta is an Bulgarian born choreographer, costume designer and installation artist, named one of the '25 to watch' in 2012 by Dance Magazine. At different times she has been a gymnast, physicist, and meteorologist and has danced with many wonderful artists including David Dorfman Dance, PearsonWidrig DanceTheater, Shua Group and Ed Tyler companies. Her work as a choreographer has been presented both in the US and Europe and she has been the recipient of numerous awards. She holds three Masters degrees, has been on the faculty of University of Florida, University of Maryland Baltimore County, George Washington University and Montgomery College. Tzveta believes that dance is a visual art form. She has always been fascinated by the concept of space, and is constantly trying to address it, both in her choreography and design. March 22 is led by Susuan Sgorbati from Bennington. Susan has been seriously investigating improvisation as a method for teaching and performance for twenty years. For the last ten years in collaboration with scientists, she has been exploring the relationship between dance and music improvisation and complex systems.  Her work has led her to three residencies at The Neurosciences Insititute in La Jolla, California under the tutelage of Dr. Gerald Edelman and an going dialogue with Dr. Stuart Kauffman, who was in residence at Bennington College in the fall of 2004.  In 2006, she went on a national tour with her “Emergent Improvisation Project”. Her book was recently published, "Emergent Improvisation: Where Dance Meets Science on Spontaneous Composition". She has been on the faculty at Bennington College for twenty-five years and is also a professional mediator. April 26 is led by choreographer, educator, performer, writer, and activist Christal Brown. Christal has toured nationally with Chuck Davis' African-American Dance Ensemble and internationally with Andrea E. Woods/Souloworks, performed with and managed Gesel Mason Performance Projects while apprenticing with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in Takoma Park, Maryland. She also apprenticed with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company before finding a home with Urban Bush Women, where she spent three seasons as a principal performer, community specialist and apprentice program coordinator.  Brown is the Founding Artistic Director of INSPIRIT, a performance ensemble and educational conglomerate dedicated to bringing female choreographers together to collaborate and show new work, expanding the views of women of all ages, and being a constant source of inspiration to its audience as well as members. Founded in 2000, INSPIRIT has been honored to show work at Aaron Davis Hall, St. Mark's Church, Joyce Soho, The Lincoln Theater of Washington, D.C., and various other venues across the country.  Combining her athleticism, creativity, love for people, and knack for teaching, Brown continues to teach and create works that redefine the art of dance and the structure of the field. May 24 is led by Elena Demyanenko who is at Bennington. Elena is a Russian-born graduate of the Academy of Theatrical Arts in Moscow. Since Elena’s relocation to New York City in 1998, she has had the honor of working with Stephen Petronio, Trisha Brown, and Martha Clarke; in addition to creating work with Joe Poulson, Jimena Paz, Dai Jian, Lindsey Dietz Merchant, and many other downtown artists. Her latest work is built around the intricacies of relationships; where mind-bodies with unique backgrounds, behaviors, languages, and cultures sutured together to provoke a third presence unique to each performance. We very much hope you join us at this brand-new venture, and be a part of this effort to meet the needs of the contemporary dance community!

[flynncenter]

Teenagers

Flynn supporter John Canning delivered this humorous speech on October 22 at the 2014 award ceremony for the Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community. The Flynn received the Youth & Families Award for its Flynn Youth Programs. Education Director Christina Weakland and John Canning with the award. Teenagers are the biggest mistake our society has ever made. When we ended child labor practices, raised the drinking age, and extended college from two to four years, we had hoped to extend the period of time when kids were cute and cuddly. Instead, we ended up with teenagers. They smell bad. They pay more attention to their phones than the wiser adults in the room. They’re self centered. They’re lazy. They eat their own weight in food every day and would spend just as much money if there was sufficient room on their parents' credit cards. More importantly, they scare the hell out of adults. We don’t know what to make of them, what do with them, or how to control them. The folks at the Flynn Center, bless their hearts, have developed a set of programs that take these “creatures” and put them to work. This past summer, they presented the Broadway musical “Carrie.” Yeah, the one based on the Steven King novel - I didn’t know it was a musical either. This show lasted a bit over two hours. It featured over a dozen different musical numbers. There were live special effects that sent books flying across the stage and blood spattering everywhere but without anyone’s clothing getting stained. The acting was superb! You’d never know that the middle-aged housewife or the school faculty were all played by students. They performed it six times and the audience was in shock and in tears at the end of each and every show. And the students had their hands in everything - from the special effects, to the costumes, makeup, set, and props, as well as the singing, dancing and acting! By producing this show, the Flynn staff set a very high bar and challenged the students to rise to the occasion. This was a serious show with some heavy messages about growing up, accepting people for who they are, and supporting your peers and not just your friends. The Flynn Staff created that magical uncomfortable safe space. The students were outside their comfort zone, which encourages learning. Yet they were in a safe environment so they knew they would not be ridiculed if they failed. Several times throughout the rehearsal process, the entire cast and crew would sit in a large circle and share their thoughts about the experience. Over the course of the three weeks, they talked about finding their tribe, their voice, their home, their family. In the middle of preparing this show, the man who directed this on Broadway was able to spend a day with the student cast and crew. He watched their rehearsals, talked with them about the different themes in the show, and then helped them recreate the final scene just as the adult cast had done on the Broadway stage. At the end of this visit, he congratulated the students…, no, he congratulated the artists, telling them “You’ve all been put on this earth for one reason - to tell stories. That’s the job of the artist… the crazy one. You’ve been born with a gift, something that most people can’t do.” The Flynn’s programs empower students to find themselves and their voices, and to become artists. Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself, "I have one of those teenage “artists” in my very own home. And when I asked for help after dinner with the dishes, he did a disappearing act more fluid than that Angel guy on TV. Or when I asked her about why she was out so late the other night, she told a story worthy of a Tony award!” And that’s got you wondering “Why did the Flynn win this award instead of me?” Well, remember those child labor laws we were talking about a few minutes ago? They make it illegal to pay a kid to do more than an hour or two of work each day. And this is where the Flynn is absolutely brilliant. Instead of paying these students to sing and dance and act, they get the students to pay them! It’s like Tom Sawyer on steroids. Wait, no, that’s not a good analogy at this event. It like Tom Sawyer with that fence, only this time the fence runs the entire length of the Mississippi River. So, thank you and congratulations to the Flynn Center for providing our students a safe and empowering place where they can work together, find their tribe, and give back to the community - all at the same time!