It’s that time of year again; it’s time to take out the Halloween decorations, carve some pumpkins, dress up and get spooked this holiday season. We are all trying to find easily accessible and cost-efficient places to get in the scary mood, and Wakefield Theatre Company’s very own annual Haunted House is the perfect activity. This haunted house, put on inside the auditorium, is a thrilling experience that takes you around the stage with an amazing set, great actors and incredible haunts that are sure to frighten you.  

Wakefield’s International Thespian Society’s or ITS, vice president gets to direct the haunted house and create every aspect of what the experience will include. This year, junior and vice president Jake Eisenberg has been tasked with that role and he is happily taking it on. 

“I wrote the script, made all the characters and cast everybody,” Eisenberg said. “With the help of [Mr.] Orsett, I made the layout of [the set] and I’m gonna be directing the building process.”

This event is completely run and directed by students and is an amazing opportunity for them to learn the ropes of the theater, and what goes into making an enjoyable event.

The theater teacher, Paul Orsett, has held the haunted house for 23 years. He enjoys letting the vice president of ITS run and create the haunted house. Through this directing experience, they get to learn many life lessons on leadership and making something that is enjoyable for the people involved.

“[The vice president] learn a lot about managing people and how to create something from nothing, and the lessons that they learn along the way help prepare them so much more for being president,” Orsett said. “Having that experience has built some of the best presidents that I’ve had.”

For Eisenberg and other students, this directing opportunity lets them manage the creative process and experience a different side of the theater. 

“I do think [directing is] fun because it’s nice to have the freedom and it’s also good to see what the directors have to do when I’m an actor,” Eisenberg said. “It gives me a new perspective on how much work goes into it.”

Along with directing, there are so many other ways for students inside and outside the theater company to get involved in the haunted house. This opportunity is an amazing way for everyone to come together and get involved in the school’s community. 

This is especially true for senior and ITS president Gus Korogi who has been with the theater program since the beginning of high school. 

“I’ve met so many people who continue to do theater because of being involved in the haunted house,” Korogi said. “They have opened up a lot more because they realized that [this] community has a lot more people that they can share with.”

Along with the resident members of the theater community, newer members are also finding their home in the theater and learning from other people about how the theater runs and what it all entails. 

Sophomore Avery Brasch enjoys this type of show and thinks it is a great experience. She is co-directing the haunted house with Eisenberg and is helping him with all the responsibilities that come with it.

“I think [the haunted house] is a really fun thing and I think it’s fun to do this interactive type of show,” Brasch said. 

If you are interested in getting scared in this mysterious Haunted Mansion, the experience will be running from Oct. 26 through Oct. 27 during lunches, and in the evenings on Oct. 27 and 28 from 6-9 PM. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the doors during lunch and online through Wakefield’s GoFan on the weekends. Come support the Wakefield Theatre Company and get spooked. 

“Not only is it super fun, but it’s also really important to support the programs at your school,” Korogi said. “You want money to be in the programs you want to see succeed, so it’s important to support your communities.”