Local teens can audition to become new members of the Santa Barbara Teen News Network (sbTNN) cast.

Created and sponsored by the nonprofit Patricia Henley Foundation, sbTNN is a fast-paced, 30-minute weekly show, produced for and by local teens, creating an upbeat TV show reflecting current events, teen lifestyles, creative expression and the voice of teens.

Through the free sbTNN program, teens learn about finding and expressing their “voice,” an idea that was the founder’s vision in creating the Patricia Henley Foundation.

The Santa Barbara Teen News Network is for all youths interested in creative arts. Students in the program learn basic cinematography, familiarizing themselves with editing software, cameras and sound engineering, along with stage performance and interviewing techniques. Each segment features different students and stories from different schools.

The television program is directed by Peter McCorkle, former theater arts teacher at Laguna Blanca School. Doug Caines is sbTNN’s technical director as well as the video production teacher at Santa Barbara High School.

The student reporters rehearse and record live on Saturdays in the Channel 17/21 studios, with airings throughout the week on station 21. Programming can also be viewed from partner news website Noozhawk.com.

Topics of this upbeat TV show are as diversified as the schools and the teens themselves, ranging from performing arts, cooking segments, comedic spoofs, mock trials, sports, science, environment, community service and movie reviews to interviews on what’s happening around town.

The sbTNN program is sponsored by the Patricia Henley Foundation and is free of charge to all 30 teens who are involved in the program thanks to the support of donations from individuals and local business that sponsor a teen’s participation in sbTNN. 

Auditions for next season begin in May. For more information and to sign up for an audition spot, click here or call 805.568.3600 x114.

— Kelly Kapaun is a publicist.