Apr 1, 2015 4 min read

Isabel Descutner had such stage fright as a youngster that she wouldn’t even sing in front of her parents.

“I always sang, but not in front of people. I was terrified,” she said.

That all changed, however, when Isabel decided to compete in a fifth-grade talent show and had to perform in front of an audience.

“It started building from there,” she said.

Now, Isabel makes YouTube videos, with her latest medley of songs getting 800,000 views, and on Thursday, the Fort Cherry High School senior will be live on the biggest stage so far of her young career when she plays the lead, Whatshername, in Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s “American Idiot.”

The high-energy production, an electric-rock musical that focuses on three friends trying to find more in life, is based on Green Day’s Grammy Award-winning multiplatinum album of the same name. The show includes every song from the band’s album, as well as several songs from its follow-up release, “21st Century Breakdown.”

“American Idiot,” presented by PMT’s Richard E. Rauh Conservatory Teen Students, begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the Gargaro Theatre in Pittsburgh’s West End.

“I was shocked that I got the part,” Isabel said. “It’s so my type of role, but I don’t think that way during auditions. I’ve just gotten roles here and there at PMT.”

For “American Idiot,” Isabel has been reunited with Jeremy Czarniak, who directed Isabel when she performed in the children’s version of “Legally Blonde” several years ago at Dance Etc. in Peters Township.

Isabel, daughter of David and Judy Descutner of Hickory, has been performing with PMT for three years, ever since enrolling in its summer program in 2012. In addition to her vocal training, she has taken jazz and ballet, and “a little bit” of tap.

This year, she is attending a half day at Fort Cherry, then spending as many as eight hours on weekdays at PMT. The schedule leading up to a production is especially grueling, considering every show consists of just 14 rehearsals.

But Isabel is enjoying every minute of it. “It’s totally so fun. It’s really fun on rehearsal days,” she said.

On Sunday, the cast performed for the first time with the band.

“We’d only been doing it with a piano,” Isabel said. “It’s hard to do a rock show with a piano.”

In addition, Isabel has participated in master classes at PMT, which involves a variety of behind-the-scenes work, such as pulling props for professional shows and designing sets.

“It’s so cool. It’s hard, and pretty rough, but I’m so glad I did it,” she said.

And her hard work is paying off. She learned on Friday that she has been accepted into New York University’s theater program. It was her college of choice to continue pursuing her acting/singing career. She also has been accepted at the University of Central Florida and Pace University in New York City, although Pace is strictly an academic offer.

“My big this is, do I want to go to a school where it’s warm, or go to a school (NYU) where it costs more for one year than four years in Florida?” Isabel said.

Despite the hefty price tag, she is leaning toward NYU, thanks, in part, to the support of her parents.

“My parents said, ‘We wouldn’t let you look at it if we didn’t think it was possible,'” she said. “So many people in theater don’t have supportive parents. They thought NYU was the best fit for me.”

Isabel is no slouch in the classroom, either. She has a weighted grade-point average of 4.5, and at the end of this nine-week semester, she will learn whether she will be salutatorian or valedictorian of the Class of 2015.

Until then, however, she will relish her final major performance with PMT.

“Hopefully, I’ll go out on a high note,” said Isabel, who will help promote PMT’s 2015-16 shows this summer with fellow performers at various venues throughout the area, including Kennywood and local libraries.

“There’s always something to do with PMT,” she said.