Sophia had a chance to interview both the stars who play Cindy Lou in Dr. Seuss' "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". Read below to learn all about these young performers!
1.Jenna Iacono
I am thrilled to be here. My name is Jenna Iacono. I am 9 years old and I play Cindy Lou Who in this National Tour of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I am homeschooled and am in 4th grade. I live in Connecticut with my Mom, Dad and cat...
I have been acting, singing and dancing since I was 4 years old. My first show was called Hooray for Hollywood where I was performing with my Mom. I was just 4 years old then. I work for Nickelodeon TV as a voice over artist for Cartoons now too.
Travelling for this Tour has been lots of Fun. We stay in Hotels for a week or two. I get to visit places I may have not ever seen otherwise. So far, I have flown to all of our destinations because my Dad has millions of Frequent Flyer Miles and he could never use all those miles...Ever!
All of the kids (4) in this production have a tutor who helps us with our school work. She is very nice and helpful. It is hard to get everything done and then perform. I need to be sure I got plenty of sleep which can be hard to do when you work late at the show and get up early for school. But it is so much fun and I love being in the show so I make it all work out, (My mom helps out too)... I miss my friends at home but have made new friends here too. I work on other projects away from my house, so i am kind of used this lifestyle
I've been with this production since just before Halloween. I love playing Cindy Lou Who in this show. I have made lots of new friends. There is always singing and dancing. Everyone has been Grinchified. We wear Grinch Tshirts, someone is always humming a Grinchy Tune, whether they realize it or not. At first the dance routines were hard and we rehearsed for two long weeks. But once it all came together, it is second nature now. Everyone helps me out and there is always someone to help. It is like a second family.
My day usually starts with Breakfast at the Hotel then on to the Theater for "SchoolVille". We have school there for 3 to 5 hours, depending on the performance schedule. We break for dinner and a walk before reporting to the dressing room about 90 minutes before the show. My Mom has to pincurl my hair and do makeup. Then the dresser comes in to help me with my costume and the audio (sound) guy comes in to put out Microphones on. We then go the Wig Department for our Amazing Hair Transformation and add a little Glitter for extra sparkle!... Then the stage manager calls places about 5 minutes before the show goes on...we scurry to our places... the lights go down and the music starts playing... My heart fills with excitement because I love to become Cindy Lou...The audience Claps. Once the show is over, we remove costumes, wigs, microphones etc, then we get our plan for the next day and head back to our hotels. I settle in with a good book or some TV before bed...
So far, on the days that i have not worked, I have visited my family. I also went to an Opera on a day off in Indiana. I love all kinds of shows and music and like to play games on my Nintendo DS.
My favorite book is the Golden Acorn by Catherine Cooper
My favorite food is Sushi or any kind of Bean...
My favorite Movie is The Avengers
I dont really have a favorite Song, I like all the music of Les Miserable.
(I also enjoy Adele & Taylor Swift)
Tips that I could offer to any aspiring actor would be, don't give up on your dreams... ever... and keep practicing, there is always room to improve...and be humble...remember there is always someone else who can do your job as well if not better than you...
To prepare for this show, I make sure i sleep well the night before, eat really healthy fruits and veggies to prevent belly aches and I try to warm up my muscles by stretching. Mentally, I just tell myself that Anything is possible, just do your job the best... I don't get too nervous, just a little nervousness is good...Auditioning makes me more nervous than acutally being on stage.
On my Holiday list this year, isnt really about "stuff"... I really wanted to earn this role more than anything... and this dream has come true so anything else is like icing on my cupcake... Oh But a Furby would be nice!!!
My favorite memory of this show will be the fact that I got to work with one of my favorite TV characters, Stefan Carl. I love him as Robbie Rotten on LazyTown. He is one of the funniest, nicest people I have ever worked with. I hope to work with him again someday. I love all of his sound effects and silly antics. He just makes me feel really special when I am on stage with him. The moment that is most exciting is when the Grinch teases audience members and mimics the because it is different ever show.. so you never know what silliness is going to happen...
Thanks for asking...
All the Best,
Jenna Iacono
aka Cindy Lou Who - How the Grinch Stole Christmas Nationa Tour 2012
2. Georgia Kay Wise
My name is Georgia Kay Wise (I go by Georgia KayïŠ) and I am from Spartanburg, SC. I am in third grade at Pauling-Glenn Springs Elementary School.
I have been acting for three years. My first school performance was “The Little Red Hen.” I was seven and I played the little red hen. I was so funny looking with red feathers all over me and yellow tights for my chicken legs! My first community theater show was “Annie.” I was seven and I played Molly. I really loved being her.
On tour, it is actually really fun and exciting visiting different cities.
We do spend a good bit of time on the road, but are able to stay in each location for one to two weeks. Between tour locations we have to bus, most of the time, for about 1 to 2 days. Sometimes we do get to fly which is very fun.
We have a teacher on location with us who helps us keep up with our work from school. Her name is Miss Bev and we love her to pieces.
I do miss my family and friends, but I have made a lot of really great friends on the tour.
I worked on the audition process for about two weeks back in April. Then, we rehearsed at the end of October in New York for two and a half weeks, then tech week and dress rehearsals for about a week in Bloomington, IN.
It is really fun and exciting. I have so much fun performing and working with all of the other great actors in the show. I LOVE the classic cartoon “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” so I am so excited and proud to be able to be Cindy Lou Who!
On a typical day I go to school for about four hours, then I either perform a show or watch my friends perform and rest up for the next day. We try to go on one field trip in each location which is always fun and we get to learn a lot.
During my time off I like to explore the cities we are in and shopïŠ.
My favorite books are the Junie B. Jones and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and spaghetti are my favorite foods….but not at the same timeïŠ (LOL).
My favorite movie is “Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas.” I have too many favorite songs to mention, but my favorite Pop singer is Taylor Swift, and my favorite Broadway performers are Kristin Chenoweth Sutton Foster. I love the songs “Defying Gravity,” from “Wicked” and “Astonishing” from “Little Women.” I actually rode on the elevator with Kristin Chenoweth to the call backs for Cindy Lou. I couldn’t believe it was her! I didn’t speak to her because she was talking to someone and I didn’t want to be rude. But I wish I could haveïŠ.
Oh!, and my very favorite color is blue.
If someone is aspiring to perform, I would say to just know you can do it, and don’t ever tell yourself that you can’t. Go for it, believe in yourself and be yourself.
To get ready mentally before a show, about three hours before a performance I try to think if there are any lines or lyrics I want to go over in my mind. About two hours before a show, I just relax with my Kindle or computer games to help clear my mind. When it is time to go on, I remind myself that if anything goes wrong, all the actors (my friendsïŠ) and I are all there to help and support eachother.
Hmmmm…my holiday list….I want an X Box and an Orbeez flower lamp for my room. It’s a lamp that flashes lots of pretty colors around your room.
My favorite part of the story is when Cindy Lou Who helps teach the Grinch how to love and share.
During the performance the “Whatchamawho” number is so fun and funny! It’s the Grinch’s vision of what it will be like when all the Who children wake up and see their toys and start playing with them…He is so annoyed and it is actually like a nightmare to him.
Thank you for asking me to be a part of this interview.
Georgia Kay Wise
