Anjali Bose ‘20
Dominic Minicozzi, well known in the EA community as an actor, dancer, and instrumentalist, is Scholium’s artist of the month of April. Minicozzi’s interest and participation in the arts began at a young age. “I’ve been actually doing theatre productions since I was six years old. I started doing community theatre, and I did A Christmas Carol, and my first role ever was Tiny Tim. I did that show for many years, until I got too big to play him. I stepped into the role of Peter, and a bunch of the other Cratchets. For most of my youth it was a lot of Christmas shows, like a lot of shows with adults, in community theatre. Going to Episcopal I continued it in my life. Because of my background in it, I was always adamant in pursuing it during my time here. I haven’t regretted doing a single show here, I actually regret the shows that I didn’t do, although obviously it can be hard to navigate doing the fall play and playing football.”
Throughout both Middle and Upper school, Minicozzi has taken significant part in several school shows and performance-based classes. “I’ve taught Dominic in both Fundamentals of Acting and Honors Acting. Although he’s been doing plays at least since middle school and even before that, I’ve directed him in Chicago, Grease, Les Misérables, and Fiddler on the Roof,” comments Daniel Clay, Chair of the Theater Department and Upper School teacher.
Minicozzi has also held a presence in several other artistic endeavors, stating, “I’ve also participated in improv class, and improv club, regular and honors acting classes, and I wouldn’t say I’m a frequent goer to tech calls, but I always try to go to a few. I built a large part of that barricade that we had on stage last year.” He has also held a strong role in choir throughout his years at Episcopal, saying, “I started singing in middle school, sixth grade, and then for the rest of my middle school career I took a plethora of middle school classes just all over the place. I took Regular and Advanced Music Tech, Guitar, and when I got into high school, I got into choir and Vocal Ensemble for three years.” Minicozzi is also the current co-president of the choir and Vocal Ensemble.
Along with this, he has also been a key member of the EA dance team for multiple years in Upper School. “I actually took dance before I came to EA. It was a very brief period of time. It was a class I did for a few weeks.” Minicozzi explains, “I’ve been technically participating in the dance team since sophomore year, because I had a tiny part in that Super Mario dance. However, I never officially joined the team until my junior year, and then I’ve also been doing it full time in my senior year. It’s a really fun time.”
“I just love that he joined the dance team. I think that opened doors for boys who may see dance as fun, but are too afraid of what others might think if they were to join the dance team. Dominic doesn’t worry about what people think. This gives him the ability to take risks and therefore discover his potential,” Clay says.
Reflecting on his time in EA theatre, Minicozzi has nothing but positive things to say. However, he would love to see stronger male involvement in the future. “I think that the only thing that I would stress, is that we’ve definitely had a decrease in male participation in the arts, and that could be because it’s a time commitment, and a lot of guys at EA play sports, or maybe just because people might think it just doesn’t look very cool. But I hope that in the future years, we will be able to get more involvement from guys like myself or Arnie Shiva or Jacob Viscusi or Alex Oliva. I hope we can maybe inspire some guys to try performing after they see our involvement.”
“In his time at EA, there has been extreme growth all around–academically, athletically and artistically—where Dominic is concerned,” states Clay, “This is because he listens to his teachers and works relentlessly to improve. Dominic is one of the hardest workers I’ve had the pleasure to know. His work ethic has been of great value to the department of Theatre and Dance. The example he sets motivates others to put their very best on the stage! One only has to watch Dominic’s various performances over the years to see how his hard work has paid off.”
Minicozzi feels his early exposure to performing has helped to positively affect and enrich his life. “My entire life, I’ve been filled with energy, and I also have ADHD if that means anything, but I think that really helps me as a performer, just the fact that I have this constant energy coming out of me at all times. My parents got me into performing when I was six years old because I just couldn’t sit down for five minutes; I needed some outlet to get it all out,” he explains. “That’s kind of how I fell in love with acting because it was me making the most of all of this energy that I was just letting out when I was tapping in class or couldn’t focus in school. It was a positive way for me to make the most of all that, and I think it really helps me as a student. I can take a lot of stuff that I learn, and the way that I approach learning materials for Honors Acting, and utilize that for learning materials for school. So anything that I have to memorize for a class, I’ll take more of an actor’s approach to that than a student one.”
“His work doesn’t end with classes and rehearsals. I constantly see Dominic in the Choral room tapping out notes on the piano, rehearsing his part, learning his lines. He has really made the best of what EA has to offer. He has been challenged, but he simply doesn’t give up. That attitude is what has made him grow so much,” Clay says.
A friend of Minicozzi, Tina Ying ‘20 states, “Dom is one of the most hardworking people I know with everything he does. Every week, I hear him get better at his songs and his character. Additionally, he does all this work with such a positive attitude, always brightening the room with a smile.”
“Dom is a shoulder to lean on no matter where you are in life. He’s one of the most amiable people I’ve ever known and has been a brother to me throughout high school,” says Chase Anderson ‘20, another friend of Minicozzi.
“I think Mr. Erwin, Mr. Clay, Mrs. Lavalle, and Mrs. B have all really commanded the best of me, even when I’ve had days when I was really exhausted from all my schoolwork or something. Getting to go to class, or rehearsal, they’ve just always brought out my best efforts, and I think their high expectations of me have allowed me to grow into a much better performer. I’ve had such an amazing opportunity from getting to learn from their giant wealth of knowledge,” Minicozzi affirms.
“Dom is like a brother to me and has been since I first met him. His love for everything musical and his dedication to theatre is a part of what makes him such a great guy,” says Nick Bernabei ‘20. “He definitely deserves this honor and it’s been so much fun being able to share the stage with him since middle school.”
Clay comments, “All Dom’s hard work has increased his range as a singer, dancer, and actor. He has gained confidence and learned how to focus, and focus is something that has never come easy for him. Dominic’s energy and enthusiasm are contagious. His confidence allows him to lead, and his kindness and generosity are what make his peers listen to him.”
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the performers in the grades above and below me. I think, especially having the brilliant and talented graduating class before us as inspiration, was really helpful,” expresses Minicozzi, “I mean, you had people like Jacob Viscusi, Jack Franklin, Alex Oliva, all phenomenal singers, performers, just some insanely talented people. Having those guys in front of me that did exactly what I did at such a high level was not only an inspiration, but also just something to look at and get notes from, and just make myself better.”
“Dominic has a natural stage presence. People are drawn to him and he’s fun to watch onstage. There’s something approachable and endearing about him beyond his talent,” states Clay.“This is what makes him a good Tevye [lead character in the spring musical, Fiddler on the Roof.] Tevye has some of the same qualities as Dom. He’s down- to-earth, kind, scholarly, but not too serious. Both Tevye and Dominic have a great sense of humor as well. As of now [April 5th, 2020,] the musical could still go on. Even though the odds may be against us, I really hope people get to see Dominic’s performance—they will be blown away.”