The trials of being a teenager will be center stage at the Tutti and Tommy Show which premiered at The Hill School on January 16 and will be presented every following Sunday in January and on February 13 and 27.

As most adults know, life is complicated by responsibilities that have to be met, time that must be managed and a fine balance must be created between work and family. But teenagers struggle with peer pressure, body image, loneliness and fear.

Tom Sweitzer, founder of Creative Youth Theater Foundation, and Tutti Perricone, owner of Backstreet Café are friends who have paired up to bring the Tutti and Tommy Show to the Middleburg community.

Sweitzer, who has also been a theater teacher at The Hill School in Middleburg for 10 years, describes the talk show as, "An hour and 15 minutes of positive talk with humor and a lot of information that teens and their parents can use."

According to Sweitzer, each show will focus on a different central issue. The issues will include peer pressure, body image, being a hero, Black History Month and more.

"The teens involved in the [Creative Youth Theater Foundation] program have developed the stories, format, commercials and substance of the show," said Sweitzer, "Tutti and I are really nothing more that a conduit."

Perricone explained that the Tutti and Tommy Show is not a play, it's an actual talk show like a teen version of Oprah, but funnier and totally focused on teen issues.

"Tom and I thought it would be a really good idea to play off each other," said Perricone, "We bring different points of view about teens–Tom works with teens everyday, and then there's my view as an older woman."

"We want to explore the issues of the teens in our area," said Sweitzer, "What is there for them to do, how do they stay entertained, with the nearest friend maybe 25 miles away and the closest mall 35 miles away? Especially the non-driving teens, say 14-16 years old, what is their outlet?"

Sweitzer encourages parents to attend the show with their teens, as the show is intended to contribute to the entire family dynamic as they make their way through the teen years.

All of the proceeds of the show, said Sweitzer, are earmarked for the Creative Youth Theater Foundation's Scholarship Fund. The scholarships offered by the foundation, said Sweitzer, are given to students who want to further their education in the arts.

"At the Foundation, we want to offer opportunities and experiences for kids, while raising money to help them further their arts education," said Sweitzer.

Sweitzer and his Associate Artistic Director, Kim Tapper, established the Creative Youth Theater Foundation last fall. The mission of the organization is, "to discover, inspire and nurture the talent, potential and imagination of youth who are ready to explore their world and themselves through performing arts."

"Our goal," said Sweitzer, "is to be there as a resource for families with an artistic child. We want to challenge children with the exploration of self-expression and hands-on creation."

According to Sweitzer, the Foundation specializes in improvisational performance and meets twice a month, during the school year, in Middleburg.

Creative Youth has also partnered with a sister program in Sweitzer's hometown of Altoona, Pennsylvania, where they also meet once a month "for an intensive three-day program." The program in Altoona includes the youths giving a live performance each month at The Church in the Middle of the Block, a studio for the arts. These monthly performances take place during the school year only.

Since its inception last September, Sweitzer's foundation has enrolled 38 youths, all of whom have worked hard to put together material for the Tutti and Tommy Show. Each presentation of the show will be unique and offer valuable information, while being highly entertaining and appropriate for family members of any age.

The show will begin at 6:30 pm each performance date at the Sheila C. Johnson Performing Arts Center at the Hill School, located at 130 South Madison Street in Middleburg. The cost of attending the show is $10 per adult and $5 per child/student at the door.

For more information about the Tutti and Tommy Show, call 540-687-5897. To find out more about the Creative Youth Theater Foundation, call 703-506-0541.