Theatre Students Provide One-of-a-Kind Experience

Have you ever gone trick-or-treating through ten different stories all come to life, within a matter of minutes? Safe Halloween is a way to give kids a fun, well-rounded experience of trick-or-treating, without having the worry of going door-to-door outside in the cold. On October 22nd, 2022, the Theatre 4 class, led by their teacher Mr. Glen Beck, and joined by volunteers from throughout the school, came together to bring children an experience they’ll remember for years to come.

Families entered through the bus lot, starting in ‘Kansas,’ experiencing all their favorite Wizard of Oz characters. They were then led through Wonderland, Princesses and Villains, ToonTown, and Candy Land! The true magic of this event is how it comes to life and interacts with the children. Once in Toon Town, families are greeted by Scooby Doo characters, asking for help to find their Scooby Snacks, which they eventually get at the end of the room. Afterwards, they venture to Candyland-an actual life-sized version of the gameboard itself! A large dice was thrown, guiding how many spaces kids were supposed to move, as they met King Candy, the Gingerbread Man, and Willy Wonka himself. There was even cotton candy available for purchase in order to raise funds for Thespian Honor Society, who helped put the show together. Hogwarts was next, where you can be sorted into your house as well as learn real life spells. Kids traveled into the world of Gotham, helping the cops put Joker in jail, and then were met with an intergalactic experience. Star Wars, Star Trek, and Among Us characters, along with an alien and astronaut, gave out candy and showed kids a lightsaber battle. The event ended in the small gym, with an underwater ship, and finally a game room full of activities for the kids, including bean bag toss and potato sack races.

Multiple kids from Theatre 4 were each designated a room, from which they could decide the theme, as well characters, sets, and anything else they desired in order to create that experience. Weeks of work went into the event, and communication and organization played a key role in that, according to senior Hailey Batista. In charge of the ‘Toon Town’ room, she says, “I think we would’ve been very lost and the event may have been a flop if we didn’t keep track of our progress, and make sure things were in order and our priorities were straight.” They had to organize costumes and makeup, props, lights, and the entire thing was very time consuming and in-depth, more than most people would probably think. The Theatre 4 classes also worked together with National Art Honor Society for the decorations. The seniors in charge of the rooms coordinated what decorations they wanted for their rooms with NAHS, and dozens of NAHS members spent hours helping to bring the scenery together. This included the Candyland floor, walls of Hogwarts, outer space, and even a tornado from Kansas to Oz! Many people had also volunteered to help as actors, playing characters in the rooms, one of which was Lauryn Bruno. Lauryn is a sophomore and she played an Oompa Loompa in the Candyland room. She said this was a new experience for her, unlike anything she’s done before. “I would be willing to do this again because I’m too scared to get on stage and act so this is the closest I’ll get.” The experience was extremely worth the work everybody put in. Hailey Batista said, “The most magical part was when we got to see the sparkle in a little kids’ eyes as they believed in it more and more after every step they took.”

This year was only the second time our school did Safe Halloween, but from the reactions seen on kids’ and parents’ faces, there’s no doubt that it will be a treasured experience for years to come.