At Chapman, there are lots of different kinds of students. Most focus on sports or academics, but a select few are passionate performers.

One of those students is senior Gloriana Howard, who has been acting since she was a kid.

“I participated in a pay-to-play theatre show back in Ohio when I was eight years old and I played a pretty significant character, had a lot of fun, and I never stopped acting after that,” she said. “There was one actor who played Scar in ‘The Lion King,’ and I remember really being inspired by how great he was.”

Howard’s early inspiration also came from television.

“I was inspired by Shawn Spencer from ‘Psych,’ just somebody who completely encapsulates the character they play,” she said. “I really respect the way he’s able to portray him.”

After moving to South Carolina, Howard looked for a way to stay involved in theatre.

“I moved here around 2021, and since I knew I really liked theatre I really wanted to be able to find some friends who shared that interest,” she said. “The Spartanburg Youth Theatre was holding auditions, so I auditioned for one of their shows, got cast, and just kept auditioning there after that.”

Her teachers have noticed how her theatre background has shaped her work ethic.

“Gloriana’s theatre experience helped her tremendously because she is so used to working with deadlines and with groups,” yearbook adviser Alex Hollis said. “Everybody has to be on the same page for the overall production to happen the way it’s supposed to.”

The Spartanburg Youth Theatre has played a major role in her development.

“It’s run almost like a professional theatre,” she said. “We have a really great professional staff there who build the sets, and the directing teams are really great. But it’s also unique because it’s a for-youth, by-youth theatre, so the technical elements and the actors are all in seventh through 12th grade.”

Acting isn’t her only passion.

“Theatre does take up most of my free time, but I love spending time with friends and reading a good book,” she said. “I really like painting and messing around on a canvas, and I spend a lot of time with my dog.”

Her friends admire how she handles so much at once.

“Gloriana is one of the smartest people I know,” senior Lily Cothran said. “She probably has a good idea of how to balance all those things.”

Howard hopes to turn her passion into a career.

“I’m hoping to get into the field in some sort of way whether it’s stage acting or a movie or voice acting,” she said. “I really just want to be in the entertainment industry somehow because acting is what I really love.”