Thirteen-year-old Evan appears to have it all the perfect family, living in the greatest city in the world until his parents get divorced and he’s forced to move with his mom from New York to rural Indiana. Uprooted, the youngster must restart his life and negotiate his way through the deadly minefield known as high school.
That’s the setup for “13: The Musical,” a prize-winning look at growing up and finding cool that featured the first all-teenage cast ever to perform on Broadway.
Now, “13” has made its way to Portland, where Staged! Musical Theater held auditions and cast two Clark County kids in key roles two particularly nasty roles, that is.
Jacob Williams, who attends Battle Ground’s CAM Junior High School, plays Ricky, “one of the cool kids who isn’t really nice to anyone,” he said.
And Aimee Martin, a freshman at Skyview High School, is Molly, a stereotypical “mean girl” cheerleader. “She is constantly texting on her phone and she spreads gossip around everywhere,” Martin said. “She is so fun. I love playing Molly. I know some Mollies.”
Martin said she loves how the play is relevant to the real lives of young teenagers. Sometimes she’s hanging out with friends, she said, when she realizes that their conversation sounds just like dialog from the play.
“People can be saying things and I mumble to myself, ‘I know that line,’” she said.
Both students said the show is chock full of sophisticated music and a great script. This weekend is the end of its run, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, 1785 N.E. Sandy Blvd. Tickets are $18 for students and $24 for adults. Take a look at http://stagedpdx.org to learn more.Scott Hewitt
The view from Lillie Meyer’s camera
Vancouver photographer Lillie Meyer has been taking photos since she received her first camera at age 5. Although she owns a digital camera, today her favorite camera is her iPhone.
Earlier this month, the 15-year-old sophomore at St. Mary’s Academy in Portland was recognized for eight of her photos in the 2012 Portland Metro Scholastic Art Awards. Her photos, which received three Gold Keys, the top award, one Silver Key and four honorable mentions, are on display through Friday at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, 1241 N.W. Johnson St., Portland.
Meyer’s Gold Key award photos are “Black Haired Girl,” which captures the swing of her sister Alyssa’s long ponytail; “Top Side,” an aerial shot of an expansive landscape glimpsed through clouds, and “Tangled,” a black and white perspective of a jumble of parked bicycles. “Tangled” became her first sale when a professor emeritus from Oregon State University saw it on display at PNCA and ordered a copy for his own collection. In March, her three top photos will be judged at the national level in New York.
Meyer’s advice to novice photographers: “Experiment. Take pictures of everyday life.”Susan Parrish
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