LEWISTON – Rick, the grief counselor, leaned in carefully, comforting the crying young man.

“Matt, are you OK?” he asked.

Matt was quiet for a few seconds, before he replied.

“I forgot my next line,” he said.

Director Seth Roberts yelled cut and everyone, adults, actors and members of the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council, laughed. It took just a few moments for the actors to reset, and production of “Smashed,” the youth council’s anti-underage drinking film, was under way again.

When it’s completed, the film will tell the story of a high school student, Elisa, killed in a drunken-driving accident. The film uses the post-crash counseling session to refer to the crash and the events that led up to it – kids getting ready for the prom, buying alcohol at a convenience store, and skipping lectures on underage drinking.

It culminates in a traffic accident, filmed Thursday night on Foss Road. LYAC member Jenni Golletti plays Elisa, the girl killed in the wreck. Local actors and other members of the youth council play her friends. Member Hossain Naji plays Mark, one of the grieving friends. Members Tim Stretton, Luke Jensen and Holly Lavorgna worked behind the scenes Thursday morning. Lavorgna was also scheduled to tape a frantic call to 911 Thursday afternoon.

“The entire youth council is involved in some aspect of this,” said Dot Perham-Whittier, advisor to the group. “They couldn’t all be here for this scene, but they’ll be working at other parts over the next day.”

The film was the brainchild of council member Ashley Morgan. She wrote the script with Roberts, of Maddog Entertainment, and serves as co-director of the film. They hope the film will be used by teachers and coaches as part of the regular driver’s education curriculum.

It’s part of the youth council’s “U Booze U Looze” campaign unveiled in February. They picked up a $5,000 grant from the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety last week to pay for production costs.

Roberts has also volunteered his production expertise in filming and editing. Three actors from his company have volunteered, as have Lewiston police, the Fire Department, United Ambulance, LA 911, Community Little Theatre and area businesses. Via Vision Film and Video of Lewiston are doing the actual filming.

It’s a brand-new experience for Morgan. She spent Thursday watching the monitors, keeping track of the scenes and giving the actors and film crews their instructions.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this,” Morgan said. “It’s a lot of fun, though.”