The Coterie and UMKC Theatre Present BRAINSTORM: THE INSIDE LIFE OF THE TEENAGE MIND

The Coterie and UMKC Theatre present BRAINSTORM: The Inside Life of the Teenage Mind, a virtual co-production that combines theatre, scientific research, and the true personal experiences of local teens to create a fun and thought-provoking performance offering a unique look at why the teen mind works the way it does.

Directed by Amanda Kibler and written by Ned Glasier, Emily Lim, and Company Three, along with input from students at nine Kansas City area schools, BRAINSTORM is available to stream online for families and virtual field trips for Grades 6-12, January 21 - February 7, 2021.

To create the virtual production of BRAINSTORM: The Inside Life of the Teenage Mind, The Coterie joined with UMKC Theatre and middle and high school students all over the Kansas City area. Now available to stream on demand for Grades 6-12, BRAINSTORM is a completely unique mix of theatre, science, and personal stories from local teens that transforms into an honest discussion about how teens think, feel, and experience the world as well as their relationship to their parents -- all from the teens' points of view.

"The script of BRAINSTORM has a framework that explains the science of the brain," explains Amanda Kibler, production director and The Coterie's director of education, "and the authors include personal stories to demonstrate how the science works. Those of us in The Coterie's BRAINSTORM company then took that script and turned to local high school and middle school theatre students all over K.C., asking them to share their own, true experiences that were then written into our production. Everything our characters discuss about their lives comes directly from the personal stories of Kanas City teens." BRAINSTORM incorporates stories from teens currently attending Accelerated School of Overland Park, Arrowhead Middle School, De Soto High School, North Kansas City High School, Paseo Academy, Pembroke Hill School, Platte County High School, Rockhurst High School, and Shawnee Mission Northwest High School.

Created in collaboration with neuroscientists, BRAINSTORM includes scientific context that helps explain how the teen mind responds, questions, risks, and experiments. Featuring lively animation and the talented acting of UMKC Theatre's MFA students, BRAINSTORM is a cross between an uplifting TEDTalk and a Zoom meeting that explodes off the screen into the real world, offering a look at the lives of young people who are quickly approaching adulthood, but who do not act or think as adults yet.

The Coterie and UMKC Theatre's BRAINSTORM: The Inside Life of the Teenage Mind will run approximately 50 minutes and is recommended for families with ages eleven and older. The Coterie is funded in part by Missouri Arts Council, ArtsKC Fund, and Theater League.

BRAINSTORM: The Inside Life of the Teenage Mind will be presented as a co-production between The Coterie and UMKC Theatre, a collaborative relationship that has become an annual tradition for The Coterie since it began in 1992, with The Red Badge of Courage, and continued most recently with The White Rose: We Defied Hitler in 2020. Originally founded as a program that offered MFA actors the chance to work alongside established theatre professionals, the co-productions have since grown to feature both student actors as well as MFA designers and coaches from nearly every area of University of Missouri-Kansas City's Department of Theatre. The Coterie is proud to continue its long-standing relationship with UMKC Theatre, which benefits up-and-coming young professionals by providing practical, professional work experience, both on stage and behind the scenes.

Directed by Amanda Kibler, the cast of BRAINSTORM: The Inside Life of the Teenage Mind features Marisa B. Tejeda (as LK), Declan Franey (Jude), Jessica Andrews (Jack), Meredith Noël (Tyler), Franklin Wagner (Michael), JT Nagle (Clint), Sarah Ann Leahy (Samantha), Erdin Schultz-Bever (Nicole), Hieu Ngoc Bui (Spencer), and Shannon Mastel (Isabella). The artistic and production company also includes Bailey Kirk (stage manager), Gabby Roney (visual & props designer/animation), Selena Gonzalez-Lopez (director of photography & lighting/editing), Thomas Newby (sound designer/composer), Scott Hobart (technical coordination), Joel Kipper (UMKC production management), Sadie DeSantis (UMKC production management), and Tian Hao (assistant stage manager).

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