Senior Izzy Westercamp was cast as the Grinch in Kennedy’s most recent musical, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Westercamp has been in a total of 11 Kennedy productions, including 3 plays and 8 musicals. The Grinch production, directed by Steven Tolly, and while she has gotten lead roles before, this is her first time playing the main character.
“I feel like I’ve always tried to push my acting boundaries to see what the next best thing I can push myself towards,” Westercamp said. ”this one definitely feels like my biggest one and it’s very exciting to see all my work pay off.”
Westercamp’s role has not come without struggles, but she has found ways to overcome them and grow as a performer.
“The hardest part is that the Grinch role is written for a bass…I’d say the lowest I can comfortably sing is probably around the tenor range,” Westercamp said. “I’ve been navigating how to properly sing this role, sometimes having to opt up or speak the words in my character voice.”
To secure the role, Westercamp practiced for weeks in advance. According to director Steven Tolly, it paid off.
“Izzy was prepared for her audition,” Tolly said. “she came in with a character and it was obvious she had worked on her facial expressions. She went as far as to develop a specific way of moving her mouth as she spoke… it was awesome.”
Performances will be on December 4th, 5th, and 6th at the Kennedy auditorium.
