January
30,
2004
Minelly
Mercado '04 Helps City Youths Explore Theme of Community
in Mi Voz
Six youths from Springfield's
North End will explore the theme of community in Mi
Voz, a multimedia
production featuring storytelling, video, salsa dancing, poetry,
and rap scheduled for Saturday, February 7 at 7 pm and Sunday,
February 8 at 2 pm in Rooke Theatre.
Mi Voz (My Voice) is written and performed by four girls and two boys, ages 11
to 17, none of whom has appeared onstage before. "We're helping them
to retell events in their lives, so that people can see it from their point of
view," said Minelly Mercado '04, who has put the production together
as her senior thesis. "We're giving them a voice and the opportunity
to tell their stories." All the children are of Puerto Rican descent, Mercado
said, and the production will be primarily in English, sprinkled with a bit of
Spanish.
When Mercado approached Luis Manzi, the director of the North End Youth Center
Branch YMCA, in September 2002 and began working with the students there one
year later, she had intended to do a project on Latinas and body image. But after
spending a month getting to know the youths at the center, she came to realize
that the issue of community was far more important in their lives.
Mercado said she learned that, although the teens recognize that the North End
has a reputation among outsiders as a dangerous place, they feel secure in their
community. "They're all looking out for each other, in one way or
another," said Ivelise Sanabria '04, the stage manager for the production.
While the teens are realistic, they're optimistic as well, Sanabria said. "They're
saying, 'If I could change the world, it would be a lot better than this.' " Mercado
agreed. "They believe that there's always a way, you've just
got to find it."
For example, in "The Birthday," one of the show's ten segments, "they
started talking about how they have to cut corners to make the birthday work," Mercado
said, crediting the children for their mature perspective in writing the piece.
Mercado said she is excited that Mi Voz is giving the
youths a rare opportunity to voice their opinions to the larger
community. Her primary hope for the production is that each participant
leaves feeling that "somebody wanted to hear what
I have to say." She added, "By bringing these young artists to Mount
Holyoke, I hope to give voice to the youth while expanding the definitions of
theater itself—both who can make it and how it is made. By seeing their
own work and lives being appreciated and respected, the North End students will
develop self-worth while having the opportunity to learn the basics of theater."
Mi Voz is presented by the Mount Holyoke College Department of Theatre Arts,
with financial
support from the Five College Multicultural Theater Committee. Admission is free
but donations are welcome to support the North End Youth Center Branch YMCA in
Springfield. Reservations, which are recommended, can be made at 413-538-2406.
The North End Youth Center, a branch of the YMCA of Greater Springfield, was
conceived in 1995 to offer a safe place in the North End where teens could go
to be involved in safe, structured after-school activities. The center opened
its doors in January 1997 and has seen great success in the seven years since.
he
un
he
counter is
1,427
|
