If any students or community members have attended an event at the Northview Performing Arts Center (PAC) for a performance, they have probably seen the young performer Libby Cosby, who is deeply connected to the performing arts here at Northview. She and her family are all musically immersed, and the PAC is even named after her grandpa, Max Colley. Between her involvement in the theater and music departments, she is contributing to a legacy.
Cosby has had a growing involvement with theater, playing Rapunzel in “Into The Woods” her freshman year, and Lefou in “Beauty and the Beast” and Gladys Antrobus in “The Skin of Our Teeth” her sophomore year. She was even involved in the Crossroads musicals.
Cosby has always loved theater, but this year it’s a bit different because she is taking on a bigger part as she steps into the lead role of Matilda in, “Matilda: The Musical”.
“[Being in the musical is] really exciting because the show itself isn’t really about Matilda. It is really fun to be in a show that, yes, I play the title character, but I get to be a part of so much more,” Cosby said. “It is also exciting because I’ve never been the title character in a leading role before.”
Cosby has found a home on the stage these past few years. She has been performing for a long time, and even took voice lessons since she was a little girl and loves the aspects of putting on a show.
“I like performing a lot because it feels safe for me. I’m at a place where I feel confident enough in my abilities that performing is overwhelmed with joy and excitement rather than nerves or fear,” Cosby said. “[Performing] was always something that was appealing to me, and a lot of people that I knew had been involved in theater before so it just kind of happened. I tried it out and I loved it, so I continued it.”
A big supporter of Cosby has been her mom, Sarah Straayer. She is proud of her daughter for the extra work she has put in.
“She practices incessantly,” Straayer said. “When she isn’t practicing she is memorizing lines, and when she isn’t memorizing lines she is going over choreography or making sure her lines match the music.”
Being the lead in the musical is exhilarating for Cosby, but it can also get stressful. She chooses to focus herself on the good aspects, like the final product of all the work, as well as utilizing extra guidance.
“It gets very stressful when practices get longer and this normally falls around the time when academic pressure is heightened so all of my obligations build up on each other and create a lot of stress,” Cosby said. “I usually end up having to seek out help from others during these stressful times such as extra help in classes or running scenes with family.”
Theater director and teacher, Matthew McKay, has gotten the opportunity to work with Cosby for many years now.
“Libby has been a fantastically hard worker and her work ethic is great,” McKay said. “She comes from a long line of musicians and singers and so musically, she’s got a whole lot of talent that she brings to the program. When it comes to acting, she takes direction really well and she wants to learn.”
Additionally, Cosby is grateful for the new friends she has encountered so far. Senior Abi Martin is one of Cosby’s castmates and close friends and finds her hard work admirable.
“She definitely has a really big musical family, but I think her family in music has been more with band. I think she’s one of the first people to branch out into the choir world [from band],” Martin said. “She’s a really hard worker and she catches onto the musical aspect of things really fast. Even in her studies and other school activities, she’s very social and comfortable with talking in front of people which is hard to come by.”
When she is not acting, Cosby is found singing songs in the choir room with not one, but two choir groups, Varsity Voices and From The Top. She has a deep passion for singing and everything that comes with the experiences of the groups.
“I get the most enjoyment out of Varsity [Voices] when I feel I am being challenged with the music we are learning,” Cosby said. “When it comes to From The Top, I enjoy those practices the most when it’s further into competition season and we become a tight knit group and the pressure of correctness is [smaller].”
Cosby takes on many tasks in her daily life. Besides the musical and choir, she participates in National Honor Society, student council, marching band, WAVE (Welcome and Valuing Everyone) and committees at KISD (Kent Intermediate School District). Being a part of all of these activities can be demanding, but Cosby enjoys everything she does.
“[Being in so many activities] does get stressful but it is really rewarding,” Cosby said. “There definitely are times where I wanna quit and not do it anymore, but in the end it’s always worth it.”
Martin appreciates how much Cosby has grown to reach her success with performing arts. They have developed a close friendship through performing arts.
“[Me and Libby] have been doing shows together for quite a few years now so I’ve been able to watch her grow up,” Martin said. “We work together a lot and I think we both keep each other grounded. We’re both there for each other when we need it, especially when we’re both irritated about something that we’re working on, we always have the other person to talk to.”
