By Trista Rowe
      contributor
      Behind the curtains of the Performing Arts Center, Boardman High School senior Kate Congo has been working hard on perfecting her performances for four years.
      She has shown her personality and shine while performing show-stopping roles such as Countless Lily and Cinderella, to name a few.
      As a vocalist for Project Mayhem and a relentless actress in the school’s Drama Guild, Congo truly knows what it is like to feel the spotlight.
      Although she is playing Elsa in this year’s drama production of Frozen, she is the furthest thing from frosty. Congo has a talent, not only for sharing her voice, but making people joyous in the process.
      “I love looking out at the crowd and seeing people smiling and happy,” Congo says.
      Project Mayhem instructor, Mrs. Michele Vari Prokop, says, “Kate has a great deal of natural talent…she continues to work hard and set higher goals for herself.”
      Congo attends drama four days a week, Mayhem rehearsals for once a week, and weaves voice lessons in throughout. Despite her busy schedule, she seems to manage her time pretty well.
      “I’ll find pockets of space between scenes and run backstage to do my math homework, (or) shovel food into my mouth during mealtimes so I can do work after,” Congo said.
      When she isn’t balancing school and rehearsals, Congo spends her free time volunteering at Angels for Animals.
      “It takes a lot of time for me to be able to believe in myself, and overall I am my biggest critic, but I think I have overcome that,” said Congo.
      Despite this, she finds performing to be her calm amongst the chaos. As soon as she steps on stage, all of her doubt seems to disappear…
      “(I feel) unstoppable, like that’s not Kate Congo, that’s not me. I love that I can be someone else… It gives adrenaline and is a stress release,” she says.
      Besides being able to perform, she finds comfort in the tight knit bonds she has made throughout the years in both of her extracurriculars. Spending so much time together and connecting through music has given these groups a safety net of support amongst each other.
      Highlights for Congo is “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” by The Beatles for Project Mayhem, alongside “Land of Yesterday,” in Anastasia.
      Being involved in Mayhem and the Drama Guild is preparing Kate for her future endeavors. She says it has trained her voice and helped her come out of her shell.
      Her teacher, Mrs Prokop agrees.
      “Her versatility as a singer is beyond her years,” Prokop said.
      Kate has plans to truly be unstoppable after graduation and live out her dreams of being a professional singer. She aims to attend college for musical theatre and someday be performing in New York.
      For now, Congo spends her time singing her heart out and using her voice to spread cheer to people at Boardman High School.
      Kate Congo will star as Elsa in Disney’s ‘Frozen,’ a Broadway musical phenomenon, that will be presented at the Performing Arts Center Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-22 at 7:00 p.m. There will also be a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Nov. 22.
      When asked about her starring role of Elsa, Congo answers with excitement, agreeing that it is her biggest role yet.
      “It is a big part… lots of heavy singing. It’s overall fantastic,” Congo said.
      Congo said she was in a production of ‘Frozen Jr.’ as her very first production.
      Her role in this year’s play is a very full circle moment for her, and a perfect senior year show.
      This article was written by Trista Rowe, a staff member of the Boardman High School
      student newspaper, The Bugle.