Enriching Education - From Stutter to Star: How being part of a new film helped a teen overcome a speech impediment and find her voice

 For Marlee Young, a junior at Elizabeth Forward High School just southeast of Pittsburgh, speech hasn’t always been easy.

 

Due to a stutter she developed in first grade, Young has dealt with bullying for over a decade. Even speech therapy didn’t help, so Young stopped going and searched for her own solution instead.

 

What finally helped Young overcome her stutter? Acting.

 

Young is part of a group of students from 17 Pittsburgh schools who are creating Finding Stories of Wonder in the Land of Oz, a fully student-made animated feature film. Each of the 17 schools is developing their own segment of the film, which will be edited together into one seamless story.

 

In Elizabeth Forward’s segment, Dorthy and the Tin Man encounter the Lioness and a new character named Amari, a native whose homeland is suffering the effects of deforestation. To protect Amari’s land, Dorothy and her friends devise a plan based on actual science: they use the Wizard’s drones to plant seeds, which will help Amari’s people rebuild their food source and defend their home.

 

In addition to collaborating on the storyline, script, and animation edit for her school’s segment, Young also voices the character of Amari. She says voice acting has done far more to help her speak without a stutter than speech therapy did — but that revelation isn’t Oz magic, it’s science.

 

“Acting and singing access a different part of the brain than speech, which helps someone like Marlee bypass her stutter and learn to express herself with confidence” explains Elizabeth Forward Director of Choirs and Media Studies Dr. Angie Berna Milliren. Young says Milliren gave her “a little nudge” to get involved in making the film, and that nudge has definitely paid off.

 

“This project has pushed me outside my comfort zone a lot,” said Young, who also plays guitar and sings. “Sometimes I find myself scared to speak and I don’t want to embarrass myself, because kids will make fun of you for things that aren’t standard. But at the end of day, I’m not defined by what’s different about me.”

 

Acting has also helped Young improve her public speaking: in addition to performing in Elizabeth Forward’s upcoming production of Hadestown: Teen Edition, she is also the junior class president. Her goal is to study marketing or PR at a four-year college, which will build on the experience she’s already developing as a social media influencer for brands on TikTok and Instagram.

 

Finding Stories of Wonder in the Land of Oz is being made by students using the 3-D Storymaker animation system from Wonder Media. The production is part of Remake Learning Days, and will make its theatrical premiere in Pittsburgh in late May 2025. The project is supported by The Grable Foundation.