Teens are in charge in Young Americans' Theatre Company

Stepping into the tiny Live Girls! Theatre in Ballard, the first thing you notice (on a very warm night) is the air conditioning. The second thing? A lad of about 15 is taking your ticket. And much of the audience, along with all the actors and stage hands, are teenagers, too.

That's expected from Seattle's Young Americans' Theatre Company.

What's not is the level of artistic ambition in this independent teen outfit, their eagerness to tackle a tough-minded drama like Deborah Gearing's "Burn" and their pride in handling all aspects of showbiz — acting and direction, ticket sales and publicity — with no adult guidance (or intervention).

This is the company's second summer season, and it's a bit smoother than last year's.

"We didn't know then how much work it would be to put on the show every night," admits Emma Kelley, a senior at the high-school program Running Start, at Bellevue Community College.

"It was eye-opening," agrees actor and budding playwright Sam Tilles, who heads to Boston University this fall to be a freshman drama major.

But the teen crew (most of them veterans of school shows and private drama lessons) pulled together impressively. Their initial bill of one-acts (staged at Washington Ensemble Theatre) won respect from their peers and kudos from significant adults.

"My English teacher came and sat in the front row, which was a little disconcerting. But he loved the show," says Chelsea Taylor, director of this year's "Burn" and soon to be a freshman at Northwestern University.

For Tilles, the best compliment came from some classmates at Overlake School.

"These people were not into theater, not at all. But they came up after the show to say, this is really good. That felt great, because part of our mission is turning on more teens to theater."

The company also made good as money managers. Their 2008 show was underwritten by a $2,000 grant from University Prep. But thanks to strong ticket sales and more donations, they ended up with a $2,000 surplus.

That cash has funded two productions at Live Girls! this summer: another bill of one-acts (which had a short run in July and included a piece by Tilles), and "Burn," a searing 90-minute drama that continues tonight through Sunday.

Taylor says they chose "Burn" because "it's got a lot of teenage roles, and a unique kind of writing that lets the characters be really honest. They aren't stereotypes."

The script delves into topics often deemed unsuitable for school shows — largely out of school officials' fear of "offending the parents, not the students," contends Kelley.

"Burn" might indeed be a hard sell in a high school, though it has no nudity and little profanity. Set in working-class England, the 2006 play zeros in on an alienated, skateboarding foster kid dubbed Birdman (played broodingly by Tilles). He's taunted by his snarky peers but develops a fragile crush on Linda (Sydney Tucker), a girl so sexually traumatized, she rarely leaves her home.

Teen peer-pressure, sex, bullying, rape and suicide are considered here, in interactions, monologues and Greek-chorus-style commentary slashed with black humor and street poetry.

Despite keeping the play's English slang ("nicked" for stolen, "fancy" for like, etc.), the cast forgoes British accents. That's probably a wise move for actors not yet trained in the intricacies of foreign dialects. But otherwise they throw themselves into the amusing, disturbing piece, easily holding the audience's attention.

And what of the future of the Young Americans' Theatre Company? Some original members hope to stay involved, during summer college breaks. But they're also keen to perpetuate a now 20-member collective proudly termed "the only teenage owned and operated theater company in Seattle."

Their transition plan? "Interns," says Kelley. "We have four of them this year. And we're training them with the idea that when we go, they'll take over."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com