The theater program turned its creativity towards an idea that went beyond the stage: a haunted house. On Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m., the doors opened to the haunted house. Tickets cost $7 each with a limit of five people per group. The limit set allowed everyone to enjoy all three different sections of the maze and avoided the problem of overcrowding.

With the theme “Scary Movies” the theater program brought classic movie thrillers to West Covina. The event transformed the theater room into an eerie sight of flickering lights and costumed actors who brought the thrills to life. What began as a small idea from theater student leaders became a full-scale production that showcased teamwork, imagination and dedication of the performing arts department.

“It was really our officers that wanted to do it,” theater teacher Kimberly Segura said.

The haunted house took two weeks to plan, but took only one day to prepare as the performing arts department had most of the materials to pull the production together.  During the walkthrough of the creepy dolls, actors pop out and whisper next to the attendees in the dark. Once visitors walked up the stairs, they opened a door revealing many actors with scary masks screaming and using their props. At the end, once visitors completed the haunted house, they were given goody bags filled with candy. Students worked after school to design different sections of the maze, each based on a different scary movie such as “Chucky”, “Jigsaw” and “Scream”. Theatre officers such as Bethany Tomenis assigned actors different roles, choreographed their parts and repurposed old theater props into a terrifying production.  

The haunted house drew a crowd of families, students and staff. It started in the dark with candles lit, creating a walkway with actors popping out to scare visitors. The walkway continued into a dark maze, leading people to the haunted, creepy dolls on display. Students felt the event was better than they anticipated.

“It was so fantastic. Actually better than I thought. I’m not gonna lie, I was terrified… Best haunted house ever,” sophomore Monserrat Mendoza said.

Aside from the scare acting, there was another important role to help the production come together: the technical department. Tech Theater students learned how to manage lights, sound effects and cue times to create the environment that allowed the actors to do their jobs at scaring to the best of their abilities.

“Being in tech helps me to gain knowledge about using power tools, lighting design and teamwork skills,” senior Audrina Martinez said.

Theater President and senior Bethany Tomenis hopes for this project to become a tradition in the program, as well as give a new light to the theater program as a whole, allowing students to see what they are capable of.

“I’m really expecting people to be really hyped and thrilled about the haunted house and maybe be inspired to join theatrics or any of our theater department classes,” Tomenis said.

The program looks ahead to plan another haunted house next year.