Featured Artist: Jacob Boyzuck

By Maya Moore | News, Copy Editor

Over the years, senior Jacob Boyzuck has grown his talent in theater, choir and piano. He has participated in every show at Kapaun Mt. Carmel since his freshman year, whether on crew or cast. Not only this, but he is a member of the choir at KMC and at his parish, Magdalen. He was also classically trained in piano from around age 6 to 16, and sometimes plays at All-School Mass.
He has received various awards over the years and participated in South Central Kansas Music Educators Association (SCKMEA) District Choir, as well as Kansas Music Educators Association (KMEA) All-State Choir. Boyzuck’s experience and achievements started at a young age and continue to grow.
“My mom was a music theater major in college, so she was always kind of pushing me towards the performing arts, and, yeah, I just really loved it,” Boyzuck said. “… I’ve always had music in life for a long time, and I just love singing. It also doesn’t have to be choral pieces. I just love singing in the car, singing in the shower and stuff like that. It’s just a good artistic release.”
He acted as Colonel Mustard in “Clue” his freshman year, which was his first show playing a character. Being more immersed in this community increased his love of theater and led to this being his favorite show.
“It was a really small cast,” Boyzuck said. “So, I really got to know each one of them, and that kind of solidified the experience, something I would want to do for the rest of my high school career.”
His teachers, such as music teacher Michelle Vardaman, have noticed his involvement and dedication to the arts.
“He comes alive when he’s sharing things,” Vardaman said. “He’s always looking for places that he can get involved as far as performing goes. He doesn’t just stick to one kind of opportunity … He does anything and everything: acting, singing, any way that he can use it. It’s a daily part of his life.”
He loves to perform in theater and choir, but he has sought out experiences in other areas as well. He has worked with and learned about stage management, scenery, costumes, sound and lights. This year, for the first time, there was an opportunity for seniors to direct one acts. He directed “A Marriage Has Been Arranged.”
“It was a really unique experience to get to be on the other side of direction and kind of, you know, just see the vision behind [it],” Boyzuck said. “It definitely gave me a lot more respect or an understanding of directors, and kind of the thought process that they have to be in, the millions of ideas going around their head. It was a really good experience.”
Boyzuck has had to learn to accept criticism in order to improve his skills in music and theater.
“There’s a temptation when you’ve done theater and singing and acting and stuff as long as I’ve done, that there’s really nothing left to learn,” Boyzuck said. “I’ve had to overcome this temptation because there’s always something you can learn from everyone. Everyone presents a different opinion, whether that’s a judge commenting on your vocal technique and suggesting some ways to do better, or if it’s an audience member critiquing your performance or if it’s your director critiquing your performance, there’s always something to learn.”
Boyzuck leaves positive impressions on everyone, both students and teachers, theater teacher Gabriel Heffernan said.
“I haven’t heard anybody say, like ‘oh, I haven’t had a good experience with him,’ like that’s not my experience with him,” Heffernan said. “I think everybody across the board, adults and students alike, have seen his reliability and seen his talent.’”