My Fake ID: Teens Creating Art as Invented Characters

A Teen Program Inspired Facilitated by Rebecca Goyette

Drawing inspiration from MoMA’s Cindy Sherman retrospective, My Fake ID invited teens to explore the construction of identity through performance, photography, and character development. Led by teaching artist Rebecca Goyette, this 10-week program challenged participants to invent personas—some rooted in realism, others drifting toward the surreal—as a way to examine the mutable nature of self-image.

The course began with a provocative question: What does your “shadow self” look like? Teens were asked to create alter egos—personas who might differ from them in ideology, gender, age, or ethnicity. Through this lens, students developed performance pieces that embodied these invented identities. In one piece, two performers faced one another through a two-sided mirror and vocalized their self-criticisms, gradually adopting one another’s insecurities in a shared, cathartic purge. The vulnerability was real, the performance raw, and the laughter in the room underscored the absurdity and familiarity of self-loathing made public.

As the workshop progressed, students deepened their characters through costuming, photography, and set design. Materials ranged from discarded objects to beloved trinkets. Wigs, makeup, and hand-sewn garments blurred lines of gender, time period, and emotional intent. One teen described her character as an embodiment of emotions she couldn’t admit to in everyday life—especially her inability to grieve someone she didn’t know. Through her tribute performance, she gave voice to both disconnection and the social expectations of mourning.

Another student constructed a hybrid persona—part Kabuki actor, part reality TV star—who staged a rebellious scene in a public restroom, pulling down a roll of toilet paper in a symbolic act of resistance. The moment was so striking that even a passerby was compelled to comment, recognizing the theatrical power of the transformation.

My Fake ID became more than a creative exercise; it became a container for complexity, where humor and discomfort coexisted. Through character creation and role-play, the teens were able to confront social expectations, unspoken feelings, and the elasticity of identity itself.