Theatre director Mr. Justin Baldridge sat, facing a list of 18 members, three of whom were soon to be cut.

 After the initial auditions for “The Haunting of Hill House”, held on Monday Aug. 19, callbacks were held on Friday, Aug. 23 in Room 303 after school. 

Junior Chris Ruiz, a new face in the theater department, playing Luke in this fall’s production, explained he was nervous during callbacks yet was surprised to see his name on the cast list. 

“At the start of the callbacks I was nervous, but eventually I got more comfortable, especially after hearing the notes Mr. Baldridge was giving everyone,” he said. “I kept thinking how I could incorporate the notes to myself when it was my turn.”

Nerves aren’t unexpected for high pressure situations like callbacks, but what was unexpected were the difficulty of the decisions Mr. Justin Baldridge had to make in terms of casting.

“Out of all the callbacks for shows I’ve done at this school, this show was the most challenging callback I’ve ever had,” he said. “It was the first time where I honestly was unsure of how to cast it because everyone was doing such a good job bringing choices, I couldn’t decide who was going to go where. When we finally did it, we had a cast in front of us that was not the cast I saw in my head when I chose the show last May.” 

Sophomore Amelia Probst, who most notably played the Beetle in last spring’s production of “Sweeney Todd”, explained that this show proved a new challenge, as it’s the first dramatic play Van Nuys has done in over five years.  

“Callbacks were a brand new experience for me this year,” she said. “Even though I’ve done a play at VNHS before, this is my first dramatic production, and I ended up having more fun than I thought I would!”

Senior Kayla Balikyan-Davis, another student excited to join the production in the role of  Production Stage Manager, has an outside view of callbacks, she watches everything right next to Mr. Baldridge.

“Callbacks were really impressive,” she said. “It was amazing to see different people’s takes on a character. I’m excited to see what becomes of this show and what the actors bring to the table.”

Make sure to stay tuned to the progress of the great cast and crew, and make sure to buy your tickets to the Haunting of Hill House this October 24, at 4:30 p.m, October 25 and 27 at 7:00 p.m.and October 26 at 6 p.m.