LINWOOD — Music and theater have been part of Grace Mozitis’ life from an early age.
She caught the acting bug locally, when she appeared in a performance of “Willy Wonka Jr.” at Northfield Community School. She was 8 years old at the time and signed up because her mother wanted her to do something over the summer.
“After the show was over, I realized this is what I want to do. This is my passion,” Mozitis said.
Since that time, the 20-year-old singer and actress has spent countless hours on stages near and far, small and large throughout her journey of musical theater and vocal performance.
Now, at a new stage in life — she recently earned an associate degree and enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program — she is taking her experience in a different direction.
Last fall, she entered and won her first scholarship pageant, being crowned Miss Central Jersey in December.
“I decided to enter to put myself out of my comfort zone, do something that is different,” Mozitis said. “I do have stage experience, I was just utilizing it in a different way.”
Now she hopes to parlay that into a statewide gig June 25, when Miss New Jersey 2021 Alyssa Sullivan will crown her successor at Resorts Atlantic City.
Musical inspiration
The 2020 graduate of Mainland Regional High School recently graduated from Atlantic Cape Community College with an associate degree in K-12 education. She will be transferring in the fall to the University of Miami, where she will seek certification in elementary special education.
Mozitis is the daughter of MRHS teacher Chris Mozitis and his wife, Joanne, a native of Belfast, Ireland, who immigrated to the United States when she was 18.
She said her mother was studying to be a music major in college and her father is a musician.
Mozitis will sing for the talent portion of the contest.
“Singing is my strong suit. That’s my world, the thing that I’m good at,” she said.
But she also loves performing in musical theater, and planned to follow her dreams in that field after high school when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, changing her outlook on a performance-based career.
“What drove me to theater was, it was a place where I kept learning about myself,” she said, noting she was heavily involved with sports at a young age “but nothing felt as authentic to who I was as theater.”
“I felt I belonged there, didn’t have to try to fit in. Everyone just accepted you for who you were,” she said.
Mozitis believes theater teaches good life lessons such as public speaking, presence and “things you will need your whole life.”
At 13, she was part of the Broadway Youth Ensemble and performed in the musical “Dream Street” at Carnegie Hall in New York City. She has performed with the Youth Opera of South Jersey and the Greater Ocean City Theatre Company as well as the former Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven.
Mozitis also has taken advanced acting and musical theater classes at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia.
Other highlights:
— Performed as featured guest at Michael Feinstein’s concert in Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University;
— Performed national anthem, solo performance at Madison Square Garden, Wells Fargo Center for Philadelphia 76ers and Atlantic City Air Show;
— Graduate of the Great American Songbook Academy, studying directly under Michael Feinstein.
Different career path
The COVID-19 pandemic affected many people in many ways, particularly 2020 high school graduates about to launch into the next stage of their lives.
Mozitis said she had been accepted at 31 of the 34 universities where she applied and was set to follow a path in musical theater.
“I always loved theater but COVID made me take a step back. Was it going to be just a job or a job and a passion? If another pandemic happened, will there be a paycheck? It was hard to jump into a major with nothing to apply in the real world,” she said, referring to shuttered performance spaces across the globe at the time. “I felt like my experiences would have been stripped and threatened my love for theater.”
So, she stayed home and attended Atlantic Cape. At home with her was her father, teaching special education students from the kitchen table via Zoom and other platforms.
Mozitis said witnessing the interaction between her father and his students made her consider teaching for the first time.
“My heart was set on theater but I realized I have a passion for this, it could be a career,” she said, noting she also saw how rewarding it is to connect with the special-needs community.
Mozitis said she got involved with Weist-Barron-Ryan, a southern New Jersey-based acting and directing school that offers classes for special-needs adults and children.
She said that allowed her to take her passion for theater and make an impact in two different industries.
“To see what acting does for them with its social impact — communication ability, speech, mental — there are so many aspects of functioning as a human being, it really impacts them in so many ways,” she said. “People only see their disabilities but these people can memorize lines, speak, act. They can do it but not enough people are willing to give them a chance.”
That led to creation of her social impact statement: Unity Under the Lights, promoting theater arts for the special needs community.
“My social impact initiative highlights my passion as a performer and as an aspiring teacher of special needs children. My goal is to combine academics and my love for the stage,” she said. “I have always recognized the benefits of theater and I believe it is critical that we do more to integrate students who are challenged mentally and physically and provide them with opportunities that only the experience of theater can bring.”
She said winning the Miss New Jersey crown would allow her to educate the performing arts community about the importance of representation of the special needs community on stage.
“I hope to share the long-term personal growth benefits such as improvement in self-confidence, communication and social skills that theater offers special-needs youth,” she said.
Mozitis said she found acceptance in the pageant world as she had in the theater world and is looking forward to spending a week with the other contestants.
“It will be a really fun week. Since it’s only my second pageant, I don’t really know what to expect. It’s exciting, not scary, because I don’t have any expectation. I’m taking everything as it comes and enjoying moments as they come as well.”
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
