“I got the cat from the ASPCA right after it had been killed…that’s why some of the ribs were missing,” said 16 year-old Kelly Rose Lynch gleefully. As her classmates looked on, the sweet-looking redhead continued, “But I had to scrape some of the gristle off the bones with a knife.”
Class instructor Heather Metcalfe suddenly stopped Lynch as if to admonish her. Lynch stood nervously, waiting for her teacher’s comments. Metcalfe thought a moment, then said, “Really hit the words ‘killed,’ ‘ribs,’ and ‘boiled.’ Make us see all of this grotesque stuff.”
Slow down, animal rights activists – these young women aren’t going around murdering innocent felines. They’re part of “Molding Minerva,” a summer acting class in Hoboken for teenage girls. Offered in conjunction with Symposia Bookstore, the class was started by Hoboken resident Heather Metcalfe, herself a veteran of the theatrical arts. Molding Minerva meets for three hours every Saturday at the St. Matthew-Trinity Lutheran Parish Hall in Hoboken.
“I’ve had [the idea] for quite a few months,” Metcalfe said. “I’ve been writing proposals, getting Symposia [Bookstore] to back it, and getting funding, especially from Fleet Bank.”
The word was soon spread around the Hudson County area, and applications started coming in.
“I got the newsletter from Symposia and I thought [the class] was interesting,” said Karrie Ducusin, 16, a junior at St. Dominic’s. “I’m in the drama club at school and I thought it would be fun. I like acting. It’s fun, but I want to be a writer. I think it’ll help me in my writing, give me experience.”
“I want to be an actress, maybe since three years ago,” said Latia Bates, 14, who will be a freshman at Sacred Heart Academy in Hoboken this fall. “I’ve never had any acting experience. I hope that this class is like a stepping stone for an acting career.”
Lynch took the class because, “I always liked acting and being onstage. I like finding new emotions and sides of myself.”
The class aims to increase the girls’ self-esteem and personal confidence by exposing them to female role models in literature and drama. It derives its name from Minerva (a.k.a. Athena), the goddess of wisdom and war, who has been known throughout history as a symbol of feminine strength and power.
Molding Minerva was designed with teenage girls in mind, said Metcalfe.
“It’s a hard time in life,” Metcalfe said. “You’re definitely going through a process of defining who you are.” The class provides its students with literature and drama to read and recite, including A Raisin in the Sun, A Doll’s House, The Glass Menagerie, and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds (which features Lynch’s lovely cat monologue). The girls take the selections home to read, then come back to class prepared to recite and discuss their pieces. They also keep journals to record their feelings and thoughts on the experience.
Female characters
Metcalfe said that her students have been able to broaden their horizons by studying these female characters. “Whether you agree with them or not, they open up your eyes to new ways of doing things and new ways of being,” she said. “And then, having to get up on stage and say these words.”
“You may not relate to a character fully, but for a moment you can relate to them,” agreed Lynch, a junior at St. Dominic’s Academy in Jersey City.
The class consists of five young women, three of whom were present for the Gamma Rays reading. The girls are fortunate to have two other instructors besides Metcalfe – Nancy Haley and Anne Marie Marcazzo, who volunteer their time to help coach the girls. Five students may seem like a small amount, but everyone involved agrees that the class’ strength actually lies in its small numbers.
“There’s more focus and everyone gets more attention with a small class,” said Ducusin.
Metcalfe concurred, “We want to make it so everyone gets equal attention, and we can tweak it until they feel good about it, which is nice.”
No tuition is charged for the class. Instead, the girls volunteer their time at the Symposia Bookstore, organizing and shelving books. The work was hard, Ducusin said, but worth it.
“You get a newfound respect for librarians,” she said with a laugh.
Although the class has only met for three sessions thus far, Metcalf has already noticed a change in her pupils. “I’ve seen them take a lot of risks,” she said. “I haven’t known them long enough, but I’ve seen them get up on stage and risk being vulnerable and seen by other people.”
“It was very exciting,” she added. “Beautiful to watch.”