DATE: Thursday, September 18, 1997          TAG: 9709160166

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: THUMBS UP! 

SOURCE: BY KATHRYN DARLING, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   82 lines

MATURITY SETS TEEN APART DRAMA STUDENT, 17, WINS PRAISE OF HER TEACHERS AND PEERS AT NORTHWESTERN.

Kellie McCants, 17, is an actress, but it isn't her acting that sets her apart - it's her maturity.

This summer McCants, a senior at Maury High School, attended a training program at Northwestern University in Chicago and won the praise of her teachers and peers for her composure, dedication and influence.

McCants is ``an incredibly mature and focused young woman - a rock, a foundation for the rest,'' said Jonathan Becker, director of the summer program.

She was among 130students nationwide to be chosen for the theater division of the National High School Institute.

Michael Hutchinson of Salem High School, a classmate of Kellie's at the Governor's School, also attended.

McCants attended the course at the urging of her Governor's School instructor Mike Tick, a graduate of the program.

Northwestern has one of the best theater summer program's in the nation, he said, and it's designed to introduce high school students to a realistic experience of college and professional theater.

Throughout the summer, the students, fondly referred to as cherubs, spend time in class from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. They are divided into eight acting companies, and each just present a fully mounted production in the fifth and final week of the program. Each group designed a set, developed music, choreography, lighting and sound and gave two performances.

McCants had one of the lead roles in her group's play - that of an elder, a spiritual guide in ``Crow and Weasel,'' a creation myth.

``In rehearsal, she was so focused and so attentive that her presence brought focus to the group,'' said Becker. McCants knows she has a calmness her peers don't have. She works hard at creating it and maintaining it.

She first learned to calm herself in the seventh grade after worrying so much about her studies and fitting in with her peers that she developed an ulcer.

She decided she didn't want to conform to the cliques, so she talked down the worry, she said.

``Accept me or reject me. I'm not going to try to be . . . whatever. I kept saying that to myself.''

Her ability to observe what other people expect became a strength while she maintained her own individuality.

McCants, who is applying to Sarah Lawrence College in New York, hopes for an acting career.

She loves to watch prowrestling, and her favorite wrestler is Stone Cold Steve Austin. He's a bit of a psychopath, she said, but his image is interesting to watch.

`` `Accept me or reject me,' - I like that part. But he's disrespectful and rude - I don't like that part.''

Her mornings, in her home in the Pleasant Point section, begin with a recitation out of a Buddhist prayer book asking for blessings for herself, her family, her friends, acquaintances and even enemies.

And throughout the day, she'll take a few moments create a bit a calm within herself.

``I used to feel self-conscious about sitting back and observing, but I've found that's who I am. It's my star quality. I always find a moment to be quiet, not talk, be calm.''

McCants' dedication and maturity were honored by her teachers when they chose her to give a presentation about the summer at the closing banquet.

Each year, a female and male cherub who ``get'' the program are chosen to address the students and their parents, said Lynn Baber, associate director of the program.

They are the ones ``who understand that theater is an ensemble, and those who dedicate and challenge themselves. And in challenging themselves, they inspire the others,'' said Becker.

McCants did that, said Becker, and he referred to a quote from Nelson Mandela's inaugural speech about not being afraid of letting our strengths shine through.

``And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same,'' Mandela said.

``She's a hard worker. Passionate,'' Becker said. ``If she attacks everything with the drive she attacked this summer, she will go far.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER

Aspiring actress Kellie McCants, 17, participated in the National

High School Institute at Northwestern University.

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