AS young stars move into their 20s, they have no choice but to update their act and image, to keep their fans interested. These days some of the most significant moves are being made by:

Maja Salvador, whose big dramatic break has finally come by way of ?Nagsimula sa Puso,? which started telecasting this week. The new teleserye requires Maja to do some relatively ?daring? scenes, so it?s a big step up from the ?sweet? roles she?s essayed in the past.

We?ll have to watch the show to see for ourselves how Maja has measured up to the demands of her biggest and most challenging role to date. In particular, we?ll be evaluating her portrayal vis a vis that turned in by Erich Gonzales in ?Katorse.? Erich and Maja are similar ?young but sultry? actress types, so comparisons are called for.

For her part, Sarah Geronimo is similarly trying to reposition herself as a young-adult star, now that she?s no longer a teenager. Sarah clicked on the big screen playing ditzy, cute types in her co-starrers with John Lloyd Cruz, but her new young-adult status requires her to update her act.

Her clothes sense has been spiffed up?not always successfully, it must be said. Last week, we caught her on ?ASAP? looking really mature, complete with padded shoulders. Was her stylist trying to make Sarah channel Regine Velasquez?s look when the latter firmed up her singing career on TV in the early ?80s? Whatever the intention, the look didn?t look right for Sarah and should be further tweaked.

More importantly, Sarah?s performance style should also be updated. The major bone of contention is the fact that, although she may ?officially? have become a young adult, her sensitivity is still of the teen and ?inexperienced? sort?and the inexperience shows in her portrayals.

That?s what happens when a young star is kept so busy that she?s focusing almost exclusively on her career, and not enough on her private life. As a result, she hasn?t had enough ?maturing? experiences to lend credence and substance to her more adult characterizations.

How to make up for the slack? Sarah has to realize that actors get the depth required of their performances from living, not from acting lessons. You can pretend to feel only for so long, before viewers realize that you?re just acting instead of being.

So, Sarah needs to take some time off from her hectic career to concentrate more on exposing herself to the emotional challenges of life, so that, when a difficult scene requires her to feel deeply, she can draw believable and truly-felt emotions from a sufficiently deep source.

Libera in Cebu

?Libera in Concert,? staged Oct. 25 at the PICC, goes to the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu tomorrow. The acclaimed boys? choir?s distinct sound emanates from the artistic blending of voices from the group?s members, whose ages range from 7 to 16. Their angelic voices produce rich harmonies, from classical pieces by Beethoven to Gregorian chants, and even new age music by Enya and Brian Wilson. For the Cebu date, call the Arts Council at 233-0452.