THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 8, 1995 TAG: 9512060171
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 219 lines
``Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength. .
- from the Book of Psalms
THE SCENE IS a teen party, complete with underage carousers drinking alcohol and smoking pot.
A boy is poised to join the revelry. But his date doesn't want to be at the party, and is dead set against drinking of any kind.
The boyfriend is persistent, however, using all his powers of persuasion to convince her to relax and have some fun.
Finally, she's worn down. Her entreaties to leave have fallen on deaf ears. She gives in. She begins to drink.
Later, the tipsy girl leaves the party with her drunk and high boyfriend. They climb into a car, with the boyfriend driving, and the inevitable happens: an accident, caused by his intoxication. He escapes injury. She dies.
At her funeral, a friend consoles the boyfriend, but he knows it was his fault.
The scene sounds like something out of a slick video produced by adults, preaching to teens about the dangers of such behavior.
But this time, the message came from the kids themselves.
Lessons about peer pressure and other hot topics, including sexuality, effective and responsible communication with parents, relationships and the right way to get a job, are part of a video produced by the Chesapeake Teen Council.
The video, called ``Decisions: A Teen's Way of Life,'' is the council's first community service project. The council is sponsored by the Chesapeake Department of Parks and Recreation.
The nearly half-hour video debuted Monday, Nov. 27, at the Chesapeake Central Library. More than 100 city officials, teachers, school administrators, parents and youngsters attended the event.
``Everyone there was very, very impressed,'' said Kenny Stuart, recreation specialist with the Parks and Recreation Department and Teen Council adult supervisor. ``We had a lot of experts on teen behavior and community leaders at the premier. People were impressed with the professionalism of the project.''
``They did a marvelous job,'' said Ann Myers, Drug Education Supervisor for the Chesapeake public school system. ``The Virginia state Department of Education made a video of its own using teen recruits, but mainly developed by adults. The one produced by the Teen Council is comparable and stacks up well.''
``When I saw the final result, I was ecstatic,'' said Judy Alexander, recreation superintendent with Parks and Recreation. ``They (the teens) were amazing. I enjoyed the energy and creativity they put into it.''
``I was impressed,'' said Nancy Welch, director of the Chesapeake Health Department. ``It's hard to believe how it came out. You'd have thought all of these youngsters were serious drama students. It was high quality.''
The Chesapeake Teen Council is made up of kids from all areas of the city. The group was formed in 1994 as a way for the city's teens to express their opinions and ideas, and find ways to work together to help improve their community and city, Stuart explained.
``We had 21 kids from all over the city at our first meeting,'' Stuart said. ``It was and still is a good cross-section of teens.''
Stuart said it took about four meetings to get the group organized.
``We began to discuss various ideas for a community service project, but it was Judy (Alexander) who suggested that they make a video addressing concerns that Chesapeake teens feel are important in their lives. With that idea, the room lit up. I think kids today identify with videos, and they quickly adopted the idea.''
The brainstorm was just the beginning. From idea to reality, the teen video took a little over a year and a half, Stuart said.
First, the council had to choose which topics, or teen problems, would be addressed.
``During the discussions, it was interesting to listen to their generational dialogue,'' Stuart said. ``But the kids were all in sync and all agreed on the issues they thought were important. The energy level was high. They wanted to do this right, and make this their statement to their generation and the adult generation.''
The list was large, but eventually the topics were whittled to five.
``It was a good combination of practical concepts facing teens,'' Welch said. ``I think they extracted very clearly the most poignant issues facing them today.''
Adult experts from the Chesapeake Health Department and other agencies were consulted to make sure the content was accurate. Karen Washington, a drama specialist with Parks and Recreation, was recruited to help the crews with their acting skills.
``I think it was good that they included viewpoints of both the teens and adults,'' Welch explained. ``It gave their video a very good balance.''
Finally, the teens began to form smaller groups to handle specific video production jobs. Some volunteered to act, others wrote scripts and took on behind-the-scenes production jobs.
One teen - Thomas A. Gay II, a 17-year-old junior at Oscar Smith High - said he joined the Teen Council because of the video project. He wrote and directed two of the vignettes, co-wrote and acted in another and provided other behind-the-scenes help.
``I'm a member of Chesapeake Pride and am very interested in issues concerning drugs, alcohol and teen responsibility,'' he said. ``I thought the idea of making a video was great.''
Gay said he's been acting in plays, television productions and other performances since he was three; he's been keenly interested in writing and shooting his own productions since he was in elementary school.
He's written, directed and filmed his own horror shorts using friends as cast members. He wrote and directed, ``Raiders of the Lost Art,'' a Chesapeake student production staged at the Rena B. Wright School during the summer of 1990.
``I came home after one of the meetings, sat down at the computer and wrote my two scripts in one sitting,'' he said. ``I was so inspired. I felt so strongly about it. I really did feel it, I had such motivation.''
Gay and students Michael Baxter, Kristine Strassburg and Summer Wilson, along with help from drama coach Karen Washington, wrote scripts.
Gay said he wanted his scripts to be as real as possible.
``I wanted to show that alcohol and drugs are not something to be messed with,'' he said. ``I wanted to make the harshest scenes possible using realistic dialogue. To reach other teens, you have to show a real situation, you have to go all the way and show reality. This type of thing happens every day and if you make it real, other teens will be able to relate to it.''
``We felt the dialogue was natural and was the kind of thing that would come up in any conversation,'' said Ellica P. Church, a Teen Council member who appeared in the video. ``The language was real. What a teen would say.''
Rehearsals took place under Washington's supervision and filming locations were found throughout the city.
Cast members were recruited from the Teen Council to act in each vignette.
Church, a 15-year-old sophomore at Norfolk Collegiate School and a member of the Teen Council since she was 13, was tapped to help introduce the video along with another council member, Jim DeMarco.
``I thought that the idea of a video was really neat,'' Church said. ``We felt if we reach just one teen and can prompt a change, then this was well worth the effort.
``I had never done any type of video before, but I have had photos taken of me all the time so it didn't bother me. I was ready to do it.''
After the filming and editing, the video was complete, Stuart said. One more thing had to be created to make the project complete.
``We then went to the same experts who helped us with the video and came up with a facilitator guide to be used by parents, teachers, youth leaders and administrators to help drive the lessons of the video home,'' Stuart said. ``Each professional submitted ideas, exercises and information to make it easier to talk about the video's many issues.''
And to make the video even more useful, Stuart said, the teens insisted that help-line phone numbers be offered so viewers could get additional guidance.
The videos now have been distributed to all Chesapeake high schools. Copies also are available at each public library branch and can be purchased for $10 from the Parks and Recreation Department.
With the videos now out, Teen Council members who participated in the project are proud of their work. They now point to it as a tool for the city's troubled youth.
``Most people we've talked to think this is the most effective way to reach teens,'' Church said. ``It's different because we are offering our own views and giving options and help to people who may need it.''
``I think the video will be one hundred percent effective,'' Gay said.
``We took a totally different initiative and came up with this awesome video that will get into people's hearts.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
ON THE COVER
Thom Gay and Ellica Church worked on the video. They were
photographed by Steve Earley.
VIDEO FOR SALE
Copies of the Chesapeake Teen Council's video ``Decisions: A
Teen's Way of Life,'' along with a facilitator guide for parents and
educators, are available from the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation
Department for $10 each. Call Kenny Stuart at 436-8467.
Proceeds from the tape sales will be used to benefit the Teen
Council's future community service projects.
VIDEO CREDITS
Here is a list of the students who worked on the video,
``Decisions: A Teen's Way of Life,'' produced by the Chesapeake Teen
Council:
Introductions by Ellica Church and Jim DeMarco.
``Peers: Under Pressure,'' written and directed by Thomas A. Gay
II, and featuring TeeJay Benson and Nikki Lynch.
``Substance Abuse: Only the Good Die Young,'' written and
directed by Thom Gay, and featuring Kevin Holmes and Tiffany Quash
along with Andrea Strassburg, Jamie Strassburg, Danielle Boone,
Briana Billups, Robert Grant, Megan Halstead, Paul Newman, John
Hoskin, Jessica Liane Carver, Andrea Brooks, Michael Baxter and
Daniel Brenner.
``Teen Relationships: The Choice Is Yours,'' written by Michael
Baxter and featuring Thom Gay, Heather Roy and Kelly Recklehoff.
``Job Opportunities: The Right Image,'' written by Michael
Baxter, Thom Gay and Karen Washington and featuring Michael Baxter,
Thom Gay, Derrick Moseley, Johnny Moore and Karen Washington.
``Communicating with Parents: Keep In Touch,'' written by
Kristine Strassburg and Summer Wilson and featuring Judy Alexander,
Kristine Strassburg and Summer Wilson along with Danielle Boone,
Andrea Strassburg, Nancy Dixon and Shelly Hartsook.
OOPS! PARDON THE BLOOPERS
As is the case with many of today's network television shows, the
Chesapeake Teen Council video features out-takes of scenes, botched
lines, ad libbed dialogue and general unrehearsed silliness,
commonly known as bloopers.
``The kids insisted we have them at the end of the video,'' said
Kenny Stuart, recreation specialist with the Parks and Recreation
Department and the Teen Council's supervisor. ``It puts a nice
upbeat flavor to the serious nature of the video. So when the video
is over, don't rewind it yet. Catch those bloopers, they're
great.''
Kristine Strassburg and Summer Wilson perform in a scene from
``Decisions: A Teen's Way of Life.''
This poster advertises the new video produced by the Chesapeake Teen
Council.
Ellica Church and Jim DeMarco introduce the video, ``Decisions: A
Teen's Way of Life.''
Judy Alexander, left, and Summer Wilson star in a segment of the
video.
by CNB