Shout out to TeenTix!

Have you heard about TeenTix? This is a great program that offers teens aged 13 to 18 access to $5 day-of-show tickets to local theatre, dance, music and visual arts.

Not only are these fine folks cultivating the next generation of arts patrons (something we believe we do here at SCT, as well), but they also run this fantastic blog of reviews written by their interpid team of teen reviewers. TeenTix has been very supportive of our programming this season, posting reviews of High School Musical, The Big Friendly Giant and The Neverending Story.

TeenTix deserves a big shout out for the work they do, and Behind the Curtain is going to give them just that.

We love you, TeenTix!

The season of giving and getting

In this case, it was SCT doing the getting, which, frankly, we just love. And the giving? Well, Steven Vande Griend's 6th grade class teamed up with Al Lyon's 2nd grade class, both from Lynnwood Elementary, to create this incredible life-size Big Friendly Giant.



They presented SCT with this truly giant (notice the tiny SCT staffer in the background) gift when they came to see The Big Friendly Giant this week.

GIANT thanks to both classes for our new large friend!

10 Questions for... Caety Sagoian

Caety Sagoian currently appears in The Big Friendly Giant at SCT. The Seattle Weekly said "it’s an exuberant Caety Sagoian who really steals this show with the hilarity she evokes as, among several small roles, a superstitious maid and berating Swedish queen."


How did you get cast in this show?

Well, I was asked to come in and audition for this show and I have to admit I was beyond nervous while I was waiting to go in for a callback! Although intimidating, it was one of the funnest auditions I've ever been to. Rita Giomi is an incredible director who really encourages her actors to play, and I ended up reading with Morgan Rowe and Jenny Sue Johnson, and we all ultimately got cast in the roles we read for. This is by far one of the most dreamy cast/crew experiences I've ever had!

What kind of artistic training & experience have you had?

I am a 2006 graduate from Cornish College of the Arts with a BFA in theater and an emphasis is jazz vocals. It is an amazing school that has really prepared me for the rigors of the theater world!

Who are you in this play? Tell us about your character(s).

I play Bonecruncher, one of the goofy mean giants, Rebecca, the little girl who has the golden phizzwizard dream, Mary, the Queen of England's maid, and the Queen of Sweden!

Are there particular challenges working with large costumes and puppets?

It takes some getting used to at first with our giant heads - what with focusing through the mesh and all, but our costumers are awesome and they've worked SO hard to make our costumes and giant heads comfortable, so we owe them a huge round of applause for making us look and feel as pretty as we do!

Do you identify with any particular aspects of the story?

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the language in this story! Roald Dahl is an absolute wordsmith! His language is so much fun, and totally engaging - we know we're going to have a good audience when the BFG says 'crocodowndillies' and all the kiddies start to giggle!

What dream would the BFG deliver to you?

I love the idea that someone somewhere out there is giving me lovely golden dreams, so I think the BFG would give me something incredibly funny and silly to keep me laughing!

Why do you do what you do?

I don't know exactly why I do what I do, but I remember the first time I wanted to do it. It was my first time seeing a play, and it was Charlotte's Web at SCT. At that time, I wasn't aware of what it was to be in actor in a play, but whatever it was that I witnessed that day, I loved it. This feeling grew even stronger when I saw Romeo and Juliet just a few years later. I was about 10 years old and I knew at the end of that show what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I remember going down to the front of the stage and getting autographs and how exciting that was and how special it made me feel getting to talk to the actors. I feel absolutely, and unbelievably honored to be working with the same theater that forever changed my life as a child.

When you aren’t at SCT, what other jobs do you work or have you worked?

When I'm not doing theater, I do voiceovers. I'm the voice of a lot of video game characters on games like the Mario Nintendo games, Backyard Baseball, and I also voice and do on camera work for a national PBS show called The Biz Kids!

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Ohmygosh. I have NO clue! Hopefully Happy, and doing fun things!

You have the audience’s ear – what would you ask them?

If you could give a dream to anyone in the world- who would it be, what would it be about, and why would you give it to them?

Activity: I'm not the giant you think I am

This activity was originally designed by the fine folks in our Education department for classrooms, but it is appropriate to any fairly large group (you probably want at least six to eight participants to make the activity work).

I'M NOT THE GIANT YOU THINK I AM

In The Big Friendly Giant, several actors play multiple roles, and they change their voices to show that they have become a different character. Try your hand, or rather mouth, at becoming a different person by changing your voice.

1. As a warm up, sit in a circle and talk about vocal disguises - ways to disguise yourself by changing your voice. Each participant should try experimenting with different voices before you begin.

2. Once everyone has warmed up and stretched out their voices, choose one participant to be the guesser and have them sit in a chair facing away from the rest of the group.

3. Choose one participant to disguise his/her voice and say the sentence "I'm not the ginat you think I am!"

4. Have all of the participants say to the guesser, "Come on back!" The guesser then rejoins the group and has three tries to guess who the disguised speaker was.


This activity helps develop listening, focus and concentration skills, and encourages vocal participation. For those interested in performance, the activity helps to teach them to make strong and specific vocal choices.

Activity: The Dream Jar

In The Big Friendly Giant, the BFG has an interesting hobby: he collects pleasant dreams in jars to deliver to sleeping children. SCT's Education department has developed the following activity, The Dream Jar, based on The BFG and his favorite pastime - perfect for family game night.

The Dream Jar

Part 1 - Create a Dream Jar

Take a clean, empty jar and decorate it in a way that reminds you of a dream

Write the following words on small slips of paper and put them in your dream jar. Some of these words might seem a little out of the ordinary, but they are the BFG's favorites.

friendship
scuddling
giant
hero
snozzcumbers
dream
moonbeam
yodelling
twinkling
frobscottle
adventure
escape

Then, add some words of your own!


Part 2 - Create a Story

Roll a die. The number that you roll is the number of words that you should pull out of your jar.

Create a story using the words from your jar and some of your own words. For a different challenge, act your story out or write it down. Be sure to include all the words you drew from the dream jar!


If you'd like, you can download a pdf of this activity.