Pregnancy: An Adolescent Story

Teen Pregnancy--Two One-Act Plays

Choices, by Rosario Roybal

Overpopulation, by Angelo Jaramillo

with teen actors Jessica Lopez, Sara Arana, Siena Bergt, Raphael Aviles

TEEN PREGNANCY… focuses on the high teen pregnancy rate in New Mexico, particularly among Latino youth.Choices is a story of a young woman coming to terms with her early pregnancy. Family members put pressure on the young woman, ranging from her sister’s disappointment to her mother’s compassion to her future husband’s abuse. The young woman must realize that her adolescence has been placed in jeopardy and try and figure out what choices are left to her. Overpopulation is a story of a young couple discovering the young woman's pregnancy, and what the young woman will decide to do about it. The issue of abortion is first and foremost on her mind, but as she discusses this option with her boyfriend, the issue doesn’t seem as simple as she thought it was and leads to deadly consequences.

TEEN PREGNANCY… is a project incorporating youth production, direction, and performance, and is a continuation of the community partnership formed between Teatro Paraguas and Capital Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA) at Capital High School. The partnership works to provide professional career opportunities in the performing arts for young people from the Southside of Santa Fe.

Rosario Roybal, a native Santa Fean mestiza, is a graduate student at the School of Social Work at Highlands University. She worked for the Teen Pregnancy Center at Santa Fe High School for several years. She also worked with Sam Leyba and the Aztec Street Theater in Santa Fe. Rosario wrote the play to encourage awareness and prevention of teen pregnancy, and to empower young women to think and make choices.

Angelo Jaramillo is an author and performer/theatre artist from Santa Fe. His books include The Darker: Tales of a City Different and Psalms of Anarchy, published by Sunstone Press of Santa Fe. He has performed in numerous plays and has written for the theatre including Arrores: Poetas del Norte and Shortes, both produced by Teatro Paraguas.