DATE: Thursday, August 14, 1997             TAG: 9708140394
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEWIS KRAUSKOPF, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   84 lines

TEEN VIDEO PROVES TO BE A BLOCKBUSTER CHESAPEAKE TAPE GARNERS ACCOLADES FROM NEAR AND FAR.

When the Chesapeake Teen Council premiered its video about teen-age problems, Kristine Strassburg was prepared for a thumbs down.

The past president of the group didn't think the short film would play well in the 'Peake, especially among her peers.

``I think we thought more people would think it was really cheesy or corny,'' said Strassburg, 17.

The critics were wrong.

Nearly two years after it debuted, the video - written and directed by teen-agers - has drawn raves from teens, parents and administrators alike.

Requests for the tape have come from civic and educational groups in California, Texas, Illinois, Utah and Ohio, in addition to many cities throughout Virginia. It was showcased at an international conference last year - not only for its messages, but also as an example of a positive youth activity.

``This seems to be an educational and fun project which has gone a long way,'' said teen council adviser Kenny Stuart, a city recreation supervisor.

The Parks and Recreation Department - which sponsored the video titled ``Decisions: A Teen's Way of Life'' - has distributed more than 120 of the tapes at $10 apiece. The 27-minute video - which shows skits that explore issues such as peer pressure, sexuality and communication with parents - has shined a national and international spotlight on Chesapeake for its work with teens.

John Crossley, an administrator at the University of Utah, trains his students to become managers in parks and recreation departments. Classes at the Salt Lake City university use the video, he says, to show what teens are capable of doing.

``I thought that this was a good example of how teen-agers. . . can show their initiative and creativity and create a useful product,'' said Crossley, a former recreation supervisor for Chesapeake.

City administrators in Lampeter-Strasberg, Pa., are using the video as an example of the benefits of starting a similar council there, said Paul Kadel, executive director of the Pennsylvania municipality's Recreation Commission.

Last September, the video was chosen at the International Congress of International Cities conference in Chicago as an example of arts and humanities as agents for social change, said Judy N. Alexander, recreation superintendent for the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation Department. The video was put on exhibit at the conference, which was attended by thousands of people from around the world, Alexander said.

In Chesapeake, some family-life classes use the tape to spark student discussion, said Ann W. Myers, drug education supervisor for Chesapeake Public Schools.

``When I first previewed it, we were looking at a program done (professionally) at a state level,'' Myers said. ``Ours was comparable. . . . I was extremely pleased.''

Before gaining national exposure, the video was designed to be available primarily through the public library, where it's also had some success, Stuart said. The library - where 11 copies of the tape are available at various branches - has loaned out the tape 75 times since November 1995.

That was when the tape premiered - the culmination of a 1 1/2-year effort by 38 teens, Stuart said.

Originally an idea by Alexander - who has a cameo as a mother - the video spends about five minutes each on five topics. The teens first act out a skit on the topic, then a professional gives tips on how to solve problems.

For example, one skit shows an inebriated teen trying to get his girlfriend to loosen up at a party while she's concerned about his drinking. The two decide to drive to another party, with the boyfriend behind the wheel. They get in a wreck. He survives; she is killed.

The teens chose the topics, wrote the dialogue and directed the scenes.

``We just kind of got creative, got inspired,'' said Jim DeMarco, a teen council officer, who narrated the video.

After exploring serious topics in their skits, the teens tried to lighten the mood by running a series of ``bloopers'' during the credits at the end.

``We wanted to show that we did not expect people to take this as a super production,'' DeMarco said. ``We wanted to show we're just normal teen-agers trying to make a difference.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MORT FRYMAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Chesapeake Teen Council members, from left, Jim DeMarco, Kristine

Strassburg and Shelly Hartsook helped make a video focusing on teen

problems. ``We just kind of got creative, got inspired,'' said

DeMarco.

Color photo of video cover

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu