Oceanside tween rocks Off-Broadway in School of Rock

11-year-old Victoria Bizzoco of Oceanside is no stranger to the stage, having performed in local theatre around Long Island, as well as off-Broadway but last month, landed her biggest role yet.

Bizzoco acted in her biggest role yet when she took center stage as Summer Hathaway in The John Cullum Theatre’s production of School of Rock in New York City June 11 and 12.

She had gotten her feet wet with productions like The Lion King and Mean Girls with children’s theatre studio “To the Stage” in Oceanside and smaller roles in off-Broadway productions such as “Hairspray.” But it was her sister Natalie who inspired her to take it to the next level.

“She also started at To the Stage with me and she grew bigger first and I saw everything she did and I wanted to follow her footsteps,” Bizzoco said. “I already did dancing and wanted to try something new and do what she was doing.”

She says she immediately fell in love with the performing arts and eventually landed a role as Shayna in the off-Broadway production of Hairspray at “Actor’s Technique NY.” From there she says she immediately began preparing for her next role, her first as a supporting actress as Hathaway, which was originated by Miranda Cosgrove in the 2003 film.

She says the role is a dream, as she envisioned herself and Hathaway as one.

“I’m a very organized person and like things in a certain way and sometimes I do take charge and can be a little bossy,” Bizzoco said. “And that’s kind of what the character is like.”

She said she also enjoyed the level of prestige the role brought, as well as the camaraderie.

“I really became like a family with everyone I met,” Bizzoco said. “We became close because we were rehearsing for three months straight every weekend. The other shows I did weren’t as big as this. This was six performances where a lot of people came. The ones at To the Stage was one show for family.”

But she couldn’t have done it without her voice coach Lauryn Ciardullo of Valley Stream, a Broadway alum.

“I performed in Aladdin on Broadway for almost 7 years,” said Ciardullo, who served as a swing and understudy for the part of Princess Jasmine based on the 1992 Disney animated film.

In the hectic, often unforeseen world of show business, Ciardullo was tasked with performing on stage as a cast member in the musical’s ensemble, playing multiple parts, and filling in for the lead in Jasmine, sometimes at a moment’s notice. It was a demanding gig even for the most seasoned theatre performers.

No stranger to sudden change, Ciardullo, when first hearing news of the Covid-shutdown, expected it would be only a matter of weeks before the theatre curtains would rise up again on the city’s theatre district. In the meantime, she decided to spend those first few weeks of the shutdown hosting free song and dance classes over Zoom for kids.

“I always taught masterclasses so I figured this would be a great way to keep up my teaching skills,” said Ciardullo. She would teach students as young as 6 years old how to sing a Broadway or Disney song — from It’s a Hard Knock Life from the musical Annie to This Is Me from The Greatest Showman — at the piano and get them up on their feet to learn accompanying choreography. She took to social media and posted on Facebook groups like Valley Stream Moms to promote her lessons.

While the shutdown dragged on as weeks stretched into months for what would eventually be a year and a half – the industry’s longest shutdown – Ciardullo’s side project had taken off. At one point, I had 100 kids from 9 different countries in my Zoom class. Soon enough, Ciardullo was flooded with messages and calls from parents asking for private voice and acting lessons and it turned into a full-time job.

“When Broadway reopened, I decided not to return to Aladdin,” said Ciardullo. “Because I loved teaching so much and sharing my professional knowledge with young passionate performers.”

Of her experience working with Ciardullo, Bizzoco said,

“It was definitely fun to go to her house to record all these songs because she has the professional equipment,” Bizzoco said.

Looking to the future, Bizzoco plans to audition for Actors Technique NY fall production and will also be participating in the Liberate Artists Dance Intensive.