On Friday, October 27, 2023, Grover Cleveland High School’s “introduction to acting and theater” production classes hosted a haunted house event at the Grover Cleveland’s yearly Halloween Party. This sold-out event lasted from 5:30pm to 8:00pm and the haunted house ran until 6:00pm.
Last year, for the first time since 2018, our school hosted the Monster Mash Halloween dance. This was an important event that proved that even though it’s been a long time, well-attended after-school events can still happen despite Covid. Grover Cleveland High School’s Introduction to acting and theater production classes decided to break all expectations and put on a very well received haunted house based on interviews with students, proving that with enough determination and time the students can put on professional grade productions. With the mold broken and expectations being raised, the haunted house could be the start of something big.
Since the start of the school year the theater classes (Grover Cleveland high schools introduction to theater and theater production classes) had this idea and started to plan, storyboard, draft, and build the haunted house. The teacher in charge, Mr. Parkinson, led the students and guided them through the many struggles that arose during the creation of this event. One of the biggest debacles being the budget. Despite getting a “good budget” according to one of the students involved and Mr. Parkinson, a lot of the things bought came out of Parkinson’s pocket. However, the school has agreed to pay him back. This massive gesture of good faith definitely earned him the respect of his students.
However, just as Parkinson said “I can not take all the credit, my students are totally amazing; they are the ones putting this together and it was their concept”. These determined students put on an incredible show. As a student journalist, one of the things we always get taught is to not use your own emotions. But, I want to take this opportunity to break that rule and express how high quality and scary this was. The students had an unrivaled level of “deadacation”, paying for their own equipment in one instance, stressing themselves out, and staying after school for a very long time all to perfect their show.
If you’re interested in joining the next production and create the next amazing spectacle, you can always join the theater class with Mr. Parkinson or you can ask to be a volunteer. That is not the only part of the night that was interesting, after the haunted house ended its run all students gathered in gym 2 for a Halloween party, with drinks, candy, hot dogs, and more. All money raised went back into the school’s Parent Association which helps fund school events. The night was filled with music, dancing and costumes. The event had students dancing and partying for hours.
With the scariest season nearing its end, the thought of what comes next is on people’s minds. The theater class hopes to put on a few plays in the year, and the student government is cooking up plans of its own so stay tuned.
