RESULT OF THE LAIR FUND

The ability to strike balance between life on the stage and life on the diamond is not easy to accomplish.  However Eastern Illinois senior pitcher Ben Kennedy has done just that attacking the pressures that come with each aspect of his life in two different manners.
 
"I have a different approach to each," said Kennedy.  "In terms of preparation getting ready for theater is more stressful, but in terms of actually performing I think pitching is more stressful.  On stage you memorize lines and memorize where you are supposed to be during a certain part of the act.  If you practice enough everything should go as planned so the pressure is in the preparation.  In baseball the performance is stressful because with every pitch you throw you don't know the outcome.  You can practice for every scenario but once that pitch leaves your hand the variables that can happen are countless."
 
For Kennedy the approach to both has been part of his life for as long as he can remember. 
 
"I've always acted, telling jokes or being the funny man is part of who I have been since I was little," added Kennedy.  "I'm totally comfortable with that role of making people laugh.  Since I wasn't the biggest guy I had to play the role of the funny man.  I learn comedic timing and how to move in an animated way, sort of the struggle Tom Hanks had early in his career taking comedic roles as his body filled out."
 
"As far as baseball I remember being a little kid at Chuck E Cheese and drilling the other kids with balls in the ball room," Kennedy said.  "My dad was probably more excited than I was as he saw I was throwing lefty.  I think it was decided at that point I was going to play baseball."
 
While acting and baseball have been part of Kennedy's life for a long time, it was not until high school that he truly became interested in acting.
 
"It wasn't until high school that one of my friends from church asked me to tryout for this play," Kennedy says of how he began acting.  "I had taken an intro to theater class but it was pretty rudimentary compared to acting in a play.  I was a sophomore and I counted that I was the fifth biggest role in the show.  I don't count to see where I am anymore in shows, but at the time it was a big deal.  The high school theater held 950 people; that gave me the bug to let me know I wanted to be an actor."
 
Balance between his acting and baseball lives was built into his high school schedule but creating a way for the two to coexist was something Kennedy had to learn first as a pitcher/actor during his collegiate career.
 
"Here at Eastern this spring I'm going to be in a play called Three Penny Opera while still playing baseball.  I did it in junior college and it was a pain," added Kennedy.  "I'm the lead guy in the production and right now it's very challenging.  The first show I did at EIU was a straight production called Almost Maine.  It had nine scenes and I played one scene with another female actor.  That was pretty stress free trying to fit it in with baseball in the fall (2012).  This past fall (2013) we did Little Shop of Horrors in which I played ten different people.  My favorite role was the dentist and he has the largest role in the play among those characters."
 
All along the way Kennedy has drawn support from his parents in both his acting and athletic careers.  His parents are both retired military veterans who now work for the government with careers revolving around finance.
 
""The struggling actor is sort of the opposite of what I think they would like to see me as," joked Kennedy.  "They are both really supportive.  My dad comes to every show even when there are roles I don't think they should see me in.  My dad is one of my biggest supporters and has been to every show no matter how big my role.  They have never discouraged me in terms of pursuing opportunities."
 
The discouragement for Kennedy and others that may follow in his shoes are the long hours that have to be put in to be successful at both crafts.  He is a history major on track to graduate in the spring while on the mound he has been a successful relief pitcher with more than 13 appearances and an ERA around 2.00 this season.
 
"My advice to people is to Stay Strong, because there are times when you don't have time to sleep and your mind will be racing about the hundreds of things you have to do.  My advice is to conserve your energy as best you can and use it wisely," Kennedy advises.  "It's a 12-hour day.  I go lift, stretch, go to class, go to practice, go to rehearsal and then write papers and study."
 
When asked about his pursuit of a history degree instead of a degree in acting Kennedy was quick to point out a quote from the recent Oscars.
 
"Ellen Degeneres joked at the recent Oscars that the actors at the ceremony had done 1,400 films and been to a combined six years of college,  I did all of my theater credits in junior college finishing my associates degree in arts.  I'm getting the bachelor's in history so I can concentrate on baseball, school and acting.  A lot of actors seem to go the route of not getting an acting degree," said Kennedy.  "Even in our productions some of the actors are not theater majors or even minors."
 
Just as Kennedy hopes to someday be a role model for others to follow he himself looks to the example set by professionals in both of the fields he loves.
 
"In baseball they call me the funk man.  I think if I had to compare myself to a player in the pros it would be Bronson Arroyo of the Cincinnati Reds based on his mound presence.  That is something I like to follow.  He works to keep everything low in the zone.  He has great energy the way he runs on and off the mound."
 
"In acting my favorite actor is Edward Norton. People have told me I sound a little like him.  I could watch his work all day," said Kennedy.  "In acting the person you want to emulate really depends on the show.  For the role I'm doing this spring I have really looked at Kevin Spacey and the role he plays as Frank Underwood in House of Cards."
 
While acting throws its share of curveballs at Kennedy he has adapted and enjoyed the role he holds with the Panthers baseball team feeling that the squad is on the verge of hitting a hot streak. 
 
"My best moment as a pitcher was last season when I closed out a game at Morehead State.  I had been a starter my entire career and moved into middle relief here at EIU, so I had really never closed out a game.  After warming up in the bullpen all weekend, getting up at least ten times, I finally came into a game with two outs in the ninth with a guy on second.  It was the Sunday game and we had a chance to sweep," added Kennedy.  "I threw my hardest pitch of the season and struck the batter out.  I was so excited that I threw my glove into the dug out and when the catcher came out to tap gloves I didn't have a glove so I gave him a high five knocking his glove to the ground and I just said "EPIC".  I was just excited we won as a team and for myself personally to get a save."
 
"This year I have turned it around on the mound in the last couple of weeks and I think the team is right there as well," said Kennedy.  "Winning and losing are both contagious.  It's really hard to be a .500 team, its always teeter-tottering between winning and losing.  We are on the verge of being on the winning side.  I know we have the pieces it's just a matter of something clicking for the pieces to start linking together to form the puzzle for our success."
 
Kennedy's own puzzle for success is still being pieced together.
 
"I would love to have a chance at professional baseball but I think professional acting is probably my calling," stated Kennedy.  "After I graduate I'm going on a bike trip with a buddy of mine who plays baseball at another school.  At the end of the trip, the climax of the trip so to speak, we are ending in New York City.  Right now it's a pipe dream but you never know."
 
Who knows maybe one day Kennedy can combine his two passions and play the lead in the Broadway Baseball Musical 'Damn Yankees'.