Background
Mason was born in Bossier City, Louisiana on February 2, 1955.
Mason was born in Bossier City, Louisiana on February 2, 1955.
She excelled in English and became interested in playwrighting while in high school. Her professional writing career began while a drama student at Grambling State University. The New York Times said that Mason had created "captivating characters" in her play, but that she had forfeited letting main character Pokie face the decision between romance and a better life, when the character"s boyfriend ends up joining the war in Vietnam.
Mason also taught playwriting and screenwriting at a number of colleges and universities for over twenty years.
Her last school was Columbia College of Hollywood where she taught screenwriting for the past three years. Her film credits include Sister Acting 2: Back in the Habit.
Her stageplay credits include The Cornbread Manitoba and Indigo Blues. She is the one who gave Patti LaBelle her first acting cr on television on the show A Different World.
She taught playwriting around the globe at a number of universities including the University of Florida, Gainesville, and the University of Louisville.
She also produced feature films and plays for the stage until her death. Mason died unexpectedly of a ruptured abdominal aorta on July 8, 2009.
Mason began her professional writing career in New York city where she was a member of the Nippon Electric Corporation (Negro Ensemble Company).