The annual Haunted House is back this month at Promenade | PV, and PV Mag has a sneak peek at what to expect this year. To get the latest on the spooky fun, we caught up with the Peninsula High Drama Teacher, Seth Cohen, and Drama Club Activity Directors, students Melina Ajami and Elise Vu who oversee organizing this year’s Haunted House.
When did the Drama Club become involved in the annual Promenade | PV Trick or Treat event?
Seth explained that there had been a tradition of the club putting on a haunted house using vacant space at the mall as far back as 15 years ago, but over the years the tradition had paused for various reasons. The current owners, Promenade | PV, are very community orientated and work with local school groups as a way of encouraging students to come to the mall, as part of this the PVPHS Drama Club Haunted House tradition returned two years ago. Melina and Elise shared that Promenade | PV is providing additional resources to the club this year. This will allow for more high-tech features for their production, and they anticipate this year will be even better!
What is involved in bringing this Haunted House to the Community-how many students are involved, and how do you prepare?
Melina and Elise recall that they first began preparing for this year’s haunted house back in May, things came together in July when they were first able to tour the space. In mid-September, they were already working on sets and getting the space ready. Everything is run by the Drama Club students, with over thirty actors participating, along with costume help and a student applying special effect make-up for the actors.
Melina explains it is important that the show is polished and that it is the same show for each visitor entering. To achieve this there are three rehearsals, and three tech runs leading up to the opening day on October 25th.
This year has presented some new challenges, opening night for the haunted house falls on the same day as the annual Drama Teachers’ Association of Southern California Fall Festival, the oldest and largest high school theater festival in the western U.S. Peninsula Drama competes each year in the DTASC Junior Varsity and Varsity divisions. As a result, underclassman members of the club are working hard to prepare to run the first night of the haunted house without the upperclassman!
How can families visit the Haunted House this year and any sneak-peek information?
The community can enjoy the thrills and chills of the haunted house October 25-28th and October 30-31st from 4 to 8pm each day. (There is no haunted house on the 29th). Tickets are $8 for Ages 13+, $5 for ages 6-12 and Free for ages 5 and under. The proceeds go to Peninsula Drama. The haunted house is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the organization.
Elise shares that this year’s theme is Haunted Hotel and visitors can expect plenty of ghosts and jump scares! They point out that families with small children can request a toned-down experience before entering in order to enjoy the experience without jump scares.
After the Haunted House, what is next for Peninsula Drama?
Our Fall play will be Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman, based on Ovid’s first-century epic. Each of the tales – beautiful, strange, and often cautionary – comes to some form of radical, bodily transformation. Through trauma, love or an attempt to escape an unbearable moment, the characters end up changed into birds or trees, or melting into rivers. They are always reminders that we, and everything we know, will change. Presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
Metamorphoses runs from December 4-14 at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. For more information, you can visit peninsuladrama.com
