Young Tseng
Young Tseng is a mime who makes work in movement, and installation. He is curious about the shifting of perspectives that can occur when one is paying close attention to human and non-human presences in space, time, movement, and stillness. His work seeks to share this experience of listening closely in moments of time. Young Tseng’s interest in movement and attention comes to him through training and practice in the techniques of Marcel Marceau by way of director Christina Sergeant in Singapore beginning in 1995, and in Etienne Decroux's Corporeal Mime with Thomas Leabhart in Claremont, California since 2000.
Sophie
WVS
Sophie Willard Van Sistine (she/they) is a multimedia artist, writer, and teacher based in Los Angeles, CA. Her work takes the form of illustration/cartooning, zines and collages, installation and sculpture, puppetry, and devised theatre. She sees storytelling with words and images as an educational, accessible tool for bringing important, untold stories and perspectives into the mainstream. She recently worked with the Dr. Seuss Youtube channel to produce a series of How to Draw videos for kids. Her work has been published in newspapers including The Claremont Courier and The Daily Hampshire Gazette, and her comics have been featured in anthologies including Little Toller’s The Clearing, The Oakland Arts Review, and Emanate. She works at an arts nonprofit in Southern California where she teaches kids yoga, art and theatre, and devises and performs kids puppet shows centered on social justice issues affecting the local community. Sophie received a BA in Studio Art from Smith College in 2022. She is currently pursuing an MA in Creative Writing through the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David. Her in-progress thesis project is a full length graphic novel-style biography of the Welsh poet and activist Menna Elfyn.
Xavier
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If I was a painter, I would use my easel and palette to paint the sun and the stars and everything in between. I would try my hardest to express that which words can’t capture and how beautiful it feels to be. But as a composer, my easel is time and my palette is invisible. I use tones and the spaces in between to color the world as I know it, for myself and others. I’ve had the amazing privilege of studying my craft under guitarist Dr. Seth Greenberg and composer Dr. Marcus Wilcher.
Veronica
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Art is life. It is as essential as breathing. It brings color, excitement, discipline, and humanity into our lives. Most importantly, art is for EVERYONE, it is not exclusive to kids, or to the individuals who can make a profit from it. Everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves in ways that words alone cannot describe. I’m so tired of the mentality that art is childish and unimportant. Work is important, yes, but it only pays for my existence in the world. Art is what makes the stress of working worthwhile (aside from friends and family). Think of it like a garden: getting the soil ready and planting the seeds and tending to them is all essential, but without the flowers blooming, the labor is pointless and you’re left with a plot of dirt. When was the last time you had the satisfaction of creating something out of nothing?
Simone
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I've always been most drawn to art that deals with loneliness. It's such a poignant and universal emotion. I believe art's job is to mitigate that feeling a bit. To connect people and make them feel like they're not alone, to give them something to bond over, to give them something to discuss, to allow them to create to fill the void and dig themselves out of it.
I'm trained as a Corporeal Mime in the Decroux technique, and spent 8 years working with Thomas Leabhart. I identify as a mime, performer, Movement Artist, and Artist. You can find out more about me at my personal website linked below.
