Junior Kourtney Gerik waits in the dark lighting and sound booth, while people find their seats for the show. She hears the stage manager say “the show is yours” over the headset. She hits the go button and the lights fade out and the show begins.

“I ended up really liking it and I wanted to be more involved in theater so I was in every play after that,” Gerik said.

“Lend Me A Tenor”, Legacy Theater’s 2011 UIL One Act show, was Gerik’s favorite show to run lights for because it was the first show she had done lights for. She won Best Individual Technician during one of the competitions.

“It was the first time that I had done a UIL show, which is completely different from other shows,” Gerik said, “you get so much closer to everyone in theater. I felt like they accepted me and it was more outside of school, we went to competitions and got to meet casts from different schools. It was a lot more involved.”

Gerik considers the people in theater like her family because she can talk to them about anything.

“I feel like I can talk to them about anything,” Gerik said. “It’s kind of my escape for the stresses of school and work.”

Gerik’s favorite part of competition is right before they go on to perform.

“I like the way everyone connects right before a show,” Gerik said. “Everyone is so focused and so ready to work as a unit, we just become one and work so well together.”

Gerik has run lights for “The Crucible”, “Lend Me A Tenor” and “Running in the Red”. She was stage manager for An Evening of Short Plays.

“I think it’s the fact of being behind the scenes and nobody acknowledges fact that you are there but you still have a huge impact on the show,” Gerik said.