Anjali Bose ‘20:
Due to his consistent skill and dedication to Episcopal Academy theater, Jacob Viscusi ‘19 is the March Artist of the Month. He co-led the fall production as Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind, and he will again co-lead as Danny Zuko in Grease this Spring. As a junior, Viscusi has taken part in several Episcopal productions as a performer and member of tech crew.
Viscusi first became interested in theater at Episcopal in Middle School after seeing his friends involved in different productions. He says, “Greg Smith, who I really looked up to, was doing Godspell, and the show looked like a lot of fun. My friends were doing it too, and I just decided that I’d try to get involved.” Viscusi’s involvement in theater, however, has gone much farther than just performing. “In Middle School, I absolutely loved singing, dancing, acting — all of that. But my sister did tech crew, so in Upper School I really wanted to try the tech crew side of things. I had both sides of the theater experience.”
Viscusi has continued his theater odyssey through high school. He says, “Freshman year I started helping out with the set for the play You Can’t Take it With You. I also played Paul Sycamore, the father of the family, which was a lot of fun. Later in the spring, I did spotlight for Hairspray. In sophomore year, the play was Peter and the Starcatcher, and I really moved on to the technical side of things; I actually did that full time. I was the head set designer and also helped out with sound.
He explains that although tech crew remains a passion, he appreciates his time on the stage. He says, “I ended up performing in the musical Chicago, and that really turned everything around. I knew from then on that I really wanted to be on the stage because that’s where I have the most fun.”
Daniel Clay, Theater Department Chair, has worked with Viscusi since freshman year and been involved firsthand with his theater career at Episcopal. Clay says, “He [Viscusi] is very bright and self aware, which makes him a lot of fun to work with. He’s also sensitive which is a great quality for an actor because you have to have empathy for other people and I think he’s really good at empathizing with and understanding characters. He’s got a natural talent for acting in that way… It’s easy for him to step into different characters’ shoes and he’s not afraid to put himself out there. A lot of students can sometimes hold themselves back because they’re afraid of looking stupid or silly, but Jacob is committed to everything he does and as a result, he doesn’t look silly.”
Students who have worked with Viscusi agree with Clay. Sarah Letts ‘20 says, “He’s super dedicated. Jacob’s really talented and I had so much fun working with him in Inherit the Wind.” Amalie Hipp ’18 adds, “Jacob always brings a positive energy, a ready-to-work attitude, and a plethora of jokes to every rehearsal. Having been cast as Henry Drummond this year, a character that mirrors his love of justice and logic, Jacob perfected his performance. I’m very proud of the strong actor he has become since I started my acting with him in eighth grade, and I will miss getting to work alongside him next year.”
Clay says, “Jacob has definitely grown a lot as a performer. He’s incredibly focused and really interested in being a professional. He took on his first lead as Henry Drummond, and although it’s always a risk with an actor in a lead role for the first time, he really brought the house down.”
Overall, theater is both incredibly important and impactful to Viscusi. He concludes, “Theater and the arts — I love all of it. I feel like there’s a really strong community aspect and you can really create a bond with people. Theater for me is a way to destress and interact with a lot of different, unique people. It helps to mold your own perspective on the world when you’re interacting with all these different people. I can’t think of anything else that would give me that.”