Audience members walk into the dark theater as eerie music engulfs them. Skeletons and coffins greet them as they enter, luring them to their seats.

On Oct. 21 and 22, the Vocal Music Department (VMD) hosted Scream 2022 in the Bolles Theater. Scream is where the VMD performs a show full of singing and dancing, topping it off with food and games. The VMD puts this show out for the comedy and entertainment of students, staff and parents.

Over the past three years, the program has not been able to host Scream due to COVID-19. Considering this, this year’s show was a comeback for Scream and a kick-start for VMD. For many members, it’s a show that means a lot to them and they hope it can give insight to what VMD is all about. Vocal Music Director Michael Atwood explains what Scream means to him.

“Scream to me shows the students that they can do this. The way the show goes lets me know what kind of year it’s going to be, since it’s such a strong show. It only gets bigger and better,” Atwood said.

Not only did the VMD host Scream for entertainment, but it was more so a place to show what they do and to put themselves in front of an audience. Sound Unlimited Assistant Director and junior Kaelyn Connors explains the work and preparation process VMD had to go through in order to prepare for Scream.

“We had three and a half hour rehearsals on Mondays since the beginning of this school year to prepare for this performance. We were working every single day in class tirelessly, and we’ve put so much effort into it and a lot of practice and time,” Connors said.

Moving towards the doors to enter Bolles Theater, the guests find a chair and wait for the show to start. Once the time hit 8 p.m., the doors closed and Atwood walked up the stage welcoming the audience. He explained that it is tradition that once the lights are shut off, everyone is expected to scream. After Atwood’s explanation, the audience screamed loud enough that it could be heard from outside of the building. The student performers never anticipated what kind of energy they were going to receive from crowds. Connors mentions how she tried to not let audience energy affect how she performs. 

“My goal is to do my best and give it all I got, there’s going to be different energies from different crowds each night but as long as we try our best, that’s all that matters,” Connors said. 

The show began with both Sound Unlimited and Music Machine singing and dancing to spooky halloween songs such as “Burry a Friend” by Billie Eilish and “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads. Some songs were sung in groups and some as soloists. The positive energy radiating from the crowd could be felt everywhere, as they cheered the performers on. 

Every performer garners different reactions, but Music Machine member and senior Johan Diaz seemed to be a crowd favorite with his comedic twist. During his performance of “Psycho Killer”, Diaz gained enthusiastic reactions from the audience, making the crowd cheer and laugh. Diaz explains how he felt coming into the event and how he felt about his role and performance at Scream.

“Coming into this event I was very excited since it was the first scream since 2019. Performing in the show was so cool and surreal, it almost felt as if I was in space or if I was some type of alien,” Diaz said.

Towards the end of the show, both Music Machine and Sound Unlimited gathered together singing “I Put A Spell On You”, popularly known from the Halloween movie Hocus Pocus. As they finished, the VMD came together to congratulate the people that helped make Scream happen. Atwood thanked everyone for coming and directed everyone outside for the carnival where there was food and games. Atwood explains how well he thought the show went.

“I was very pleased. We had a lot of support from our family and our parent group. Our principal even came in to see the show, our ASB and our AP. It was a good turn out and it was nice to see all the support,” Atwood said.

After the show audience members could be seen gathered outside in the carnival; playing games and eating food such as hot dogs and chips run by parent volunteers of VMD. There was a strong turn out, and it was clear all the months of preparation were worth it for the VMD.

“[The students] have worked so hard so they could branch out. All these notes [and] fine tune details. It’s the smallest details that really made the show shine. I am very proud of them, they have come so far and I am anxious to see what the year has in store for them,” Atwood said.