Dawn Natalia
SceneTeens
| Click HERE to hear how Scene:Teens started. Scene:Teens is a non-profit organization I founded to mentor "at risk" and "gifted" teens at movie making. I was working in South Providence with a group of teenagers on the comedy HOPE HIGH. Some of these creative young men and women were going through difficult times with school, family and peers, and the movie project was a way for them to channel their energy in a positive direction. When the movie was completed, the father of one of the teens told me, " You gave my son a reason to get up in the morning." That was profound, and inspired me to officially incorporate Scene:Teens as a non-profit with the goal of mentoring more teens around the country. Since HOPE HIGH, we've made another feature teen comedy called EXTRA CREDIT, where some of the original kids came back and helped to mentor new ones. The program also expanded to include a PSA program, where the teens produced a PSA for a local non-profit. Since 2001 Scene:Teens has helped many teens learn about commitment, responsibility and teamwork, and has given them a real sense of accomplishment, seeing their work displayed on the big screen. (Thank you to National Amusements for donating screens to us.) |
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| As for that kid we helped get up in the morning, well he went on to become an award-winning filmmaker himself. He won the 2006 Providence 48 Hour Film Project. Way to go, Sam. Today, we have completed our first dramatic web series called Wise Boyz, and have expanded from Providence to the Boston area. For more details on sceneteens, visit our website at www.sceneteens.org. |
