Youth theater delivers message
By Angela G. King
When these young thespians perform, they're not just looking to entertain. They're endeavoring to provide
insight that will help other youths
safely navigate one of the leading
health issues complicating modern
adolescence - HIV/AIDS.
They are members of Teatro El
Puente, a Brooklyn-based theater
group that travels all over the city
tackling HIV prevention in their shows
and related topics ranging from domestic violence to substance abuse.
Comprising of eight members ages
16 to 25, Teatro El Puente performs
for free at high schools, health fairs,
community centers, shelters and
detention centers throughout the city.
To drive the performances home, all
the shows are interactive and followed
by discussions with the actors.
"We are extremely in demand, and
overextend ourselves because we're
not a big company. But we do our best
to go all over the city," said Gloria
Zelaya, director of Teatro El Puente.
Most of the members of the group
10 hours a week all year long
working with the company, and
Members of Teatro El Puente, a group that Is geared to the major social issues of the day.
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one member works 15 hours a week. Keep
in mind these are primarily young
people who already have their hands full attending high school or college.
"We write our own scripts and we
train [the members]in voice projection
and drama techniques," said Zelaya,
who has overseen Teatro El Puente for
three years. "We also give them workshops in STDs, HIV, domestic violence
and homophobia.
"We try to give them a very rounded
training so that they can become
leaders. That's almost a fulltime job,
because when they go out, they also
educate their friends and families."
Going full-time
Dominic Colon, a theater graduate
of New York University, joined Teatro El
Puente after working two years ago
with Zelaya on a production she directed called "At Risk."
Now Colon works full-time as the
primary liaison between Zelaya and her
assistant, Peter Miranda, and the
young people in Teatro El Puente who
use acting to teach their peers HIV
prevention. Colon even wrote one of
the shows that Teatro El Puente performed, "The Mandigo Show," a spoof
of a public access TV show that examines STD transmission and gender
stereotypes.
"It's been great, in all honesty,"
Colon, a 25-year-old Bronx resident
said of working with the theater group.
"It totally makes you face your own
behavior, and that's good. It's very
scary, but once you know the information, it's empowering to go and share it
with other young people."
Funded by the New York State
Department of Health AIDS Institute,
Teatro El Puente has been using
drama since 1987 to encourage
youths to
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protect themselves against
the threat of HIV/AIDS.
Longtime community activist Luis
Garden Acosta started El Puente -
"The Bridge" in Spanish - 17 years
ago to offer art classes, leadership
workshops and health care in
Williamsburg. The center now includes
two after-school programs and El
Puente Academy for Peace and Jus
tice, a public high school run by Acosta's wife, Frances Lucerna, that combines education with human rights and
community activism.
Zelaya said Teatro El Puente is
developing a Web site so that people
from across the country can access
information about Teatro El Puente and
how to avoid getting HIV and AIDS.
For more information on Teatro El
Puente, call (718) 387-0404, ext. 14,
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