Trouper Close-Ups: Lucia Mason, Nemo Mass, and Serafina Walker
Trouper Close-Ups: Lucia Mason, Nemo Mass, and Serafina Walker
Lucia Mason
Lucia Mason is an 18 year old Trouper from Montague, MA and this is her 2nd year on tour. She got her start in circus because, “I was a really antsy kid, and my mom wanted an outlet for all my energy, and circus is a really positive place for that.” This year she is the rope/cube act and loves it. She says, “I’ve done rope before, but I haven’t touched a cube until I got here! It is really fun.” “Lucia says her favorite part of tour is, “hanging out with all the other Troupers, performing, and training a lot. I really like to train.” Training is when they get time with the coaches on tour, and practice new skills and tricks until they perfect their act. After this year’s tour is over, Lucia will be taking a gap year to train at the New England Center for the Circus Arts. After that, she will be attending Oberlin College.
Lucia performing in the Fabric act (photo by George Bartunek)
Nemo Mass
Nemo Mass is a 1st year Trouper and is from Chicago, IL. He is 17 years old, but began gymnastics at just 3 years old, and at age 11 decided to switch over to circus training utilizing the skills he learned from gymnastics. Being a 1st year Trouper, Nemo says, “I’m not sure what I expected, but it is a larger scale than I expected when I first got here. It is very tiring, but it has been a lot of fun.” The most challenging part of tour for Nemo is the schedule, because with two shows a day, it can be tiring. However, about being on tour, he says, “I love it. It is a great experience, and I love performing as much as we do. ” Although Nemo specializes in rope, this year he is in the Rope/Cube act, the Chinese Pole act, the Fabric act, and Banquine. After tour, Nemo will be a senior in high school , and hopes to continue his circus career in the future.
Nemo performing in the Chinese Pole act (photo by Anne Wood)
Serafina Walker
Serafina Walker is a 14 year old Trouper from Greenfield, MA and this is her 2nd year as a Trouper. She started out with gymnastics, but, for winter break one year her mom took her to a circus camp, where Serafina fell in love with the circus. A few months later, she started focusing more of her time on circus, which she says was the right decision. This year, Serafina is in 3 acts, but says her favorite is the duo-trapeze act. “It is really fun. There are some relaxing parts to it, where we can just take a breath. But there are also some exciting parts, where we do our tricks. It is really fun to hear the crowd’s reaction.” Her favorite part about being on tour is the community. “We all mesh so well together. We all enjoy the same things, and it is just so easy to make friends.” She says, however, that the most challenging part of being on tour is set-up. Each Trouper has a certain task they must do during set-up and tear-down while on tour. Serafina says her chore is to help unload the prop truck and set up bleacher pads. After tour, Serafina will continue her dance training and will be starting high-school, where she looks forward to her math class.
Serafina performing in the Straps act (photo by Marvin Wang)
To join Lucia, Nemo, and Serafina, get your Big Top Tour Tickets here!