Giovana Mason anxiously sits in the stage’s wings waiting for the lights to go down. As they do, her job starts. A dozen people dressed in black drag all set pieces on and off the stage in front of a silent audience  Once she returns to the wings the run crew silently congratulate themselves as the actors move on stage She has participated in the run crew for the Westerville North theater program since 2021, her freshman year.

Mason fears that without these activities she may have ended up feeling isolated. She strives for connection with her friends, many of whom she has grown close with through theater. 

 “If I was on a desert island I would bring a phone,” she said. “ Just so I can call my friends.” 

Mason  enjoys showing her love and appreciation for other people, doing things like giving gifts and performing acts of service. She is always willing to lend a helping hand, however she realizes she often doesn’t give herself the same respect. When she is upset, she may neglect her needs, a behavior which may stem from a rough childhood.

 “When I feel like I don’t deserve something or when I feel guilty…I tend to not allow myself to talk to my friends.” she said. In order to combat these feelings she joined the theater. Because theater forced her to be around people. 

She has gained many friends through theater. She describes herself as “pretty funny,“ and attributes many of her friends to her niceness and bubbly personality.

Theater has not all been smooth sailing, with long nights in the Scene Shop, trying to finish painting props for the show. Running back and forth between wings trying to fix actors mics, and moving set pieces around the stage, Long tech weeks leave her exhausted. But for her, all the hard work pays off. 

“[If I] was not in theater, I would probably be in dance,” she said. She thinks about that reality a lot.  

Growing up she did ballet, tap, jazz and musical theater, with her favorite being tap. 

Mason is grateful to be part of school activities like theater, “If I had never joined theater, I would be so alone.” 

This need to be with friends is reflected in her perfect evening, which she describes as being with friends and “talking indefinitely”