ACT NOW! enhances girls' images by Katy Noone

Worcester Telegram and Gazette, June 16, 2003

Worcester-"I'm proud of you." These words, written in soap on a mirror at the end of "A Teen's Life," a movie conceived written and then viewed by a group of Latino girls, encompassed the feelings of the main characters as well as the young actresses themselves. The teenagers laughed and cheered as they watched their movie.

Improvisation and enthusiasm for an original script replaced traditional methods of movie making Saturday afternoon at Centro Las Americas. Fourteen girls, ages 12 to 17, wrote and acted in a movie produced by ACT NOW! The project aims to foster self-esteem in young girls. It was funded by the Greater Worcester Community Foundation.

Nancy Fletcher, executive director of ACT NOW!, coached the girls through inventing the story, casting the roles and improvising each scene. The movie was shot in eight hours on the premises of Centro Las Americas, 11 Sycamore St.

While the girls viewed their short movie Saturday, it wasn't the finished product. ACT NOW! will do some post production work on the film and give each of the participants a copy of the completed video.

" The girls in our intensive adolescent program are all facing real-life personal and family challenges. ACT NOW! superbly supports the program's overall objectives and more importantly exposes the youth to an alternative artistic expression," said Orlando Rodriguez, executive director of Centro.

During a three-hour brainstorming session, Joandra Arocha, Appolinia Gonzalez, Nemesis Pagan, Lesley Perez and Chriselly Vega devised a story in which they would play the main roles.

Joining them as players were Kayle Burgos, Zuleyka Vega, Vanessa Semidey, Vanessa Arocha, Carol Sepulveda, Caroline Delgado, Lury Pizarro, Alejandra Corona and Lora Ardino.

Orisbel Natera played a case manager, a role she is familiar with as a social worker at the organization. "Our main purpose is to keep families together," she said. Fellow case manager Michelle Rivera played a mother. She said the video and the organization offer young girls help with "self-esteem, school and communication at home."

Johanna Diaz of Centro said there are about 40 Spanish-speaking young adults in the adolescent program. Ms. Diaz said while most participants come from Worcester, some travel from Fitchburg, Clinton and Southbridge.

South High Community School sophomore and actress Nemesis Pagan has been involved in Centro for about two months. "I get a little nervous, but I'm having fun," she said. As the main character of the film, she plays a young girl affected by her turbulent life as a foster child.

Vanessa Velez joined her friends for the making of the movie. She said making the production girls-only helps her talk about what is going on. Camerawoman Lynn Nash said, "The production is going great and the girls are enthusiastic. The main subject is a nice but troubled girl and how others react to her."

After completing movies in Arizona, Iowa, Connecticut and Massachusetts, Ms. Fletcher said her goal is to provide youth organizations across the country with the tools of ACT NOW! in the hopes that girls utilize the medium of film. "In the long run, it holds the potential of getting more women into positions where they can have an impact on the way their stories are reflected in the media," Fletcher said.

Centro Las Americas, a non-profit organization, provides a variety of services for the Latino community. The agency recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. ACT NOW's MOVIExperience™ was founded in 2000. Ms. Fletcher said during the movie-making process that young girls "see their views as legitimate and their voices as worthy of attention, which helps them to take the lead in their own lives."

Ms. Fletcher said making the film showed the girls of Centro "they can cooperate together and make more than they could alone." She said she came up with the idea for ACT NOW! from professional improvisation expert David Shepherd. She also said young girls can learn a lot about self-image when they see themselves on screen. Saturday's film was fictional, but the content was taken from familiar situations in the girls' lives, she said.