Can I tell you a secret?

Morris Hills thespians once again put on a thrilling fall play. Trap, a psychological thriller written by Stephen Gregg, ensnared audiences from Nov. 16 to Nov. 18 with its interwoven storylines and unique documentary style.

As high school student Angela Lure (played by Tiffany Albornoz) puts it, Trap is “a high school play about a high school play.” A small town in California called Menachap is the unexpected site of a strange occurrence: during the performance of a high school play, the entire audience falls unconscious. The show is presented to us like a documentary — complete with interviews and primary sources — as the audience here at Hills slowly learns about the sinister plot behind the collapse of the audience at Menachap.

Like red string on the conspiracy boards that fill the school auditorium, fear is woven into the show. Angela Lure, the only survivor, is so shaken from the event that any mention of the show sends her into panicked fits. The haunting death of Norma Pike (played by Emma Davis) puts the theater that the play was shown in in the top 3 scariest theaters in the world. Kenosha Silberling-Johnson (played by Leila Paredes) is chased by three monsters in the woods, making her terrified of the thought of going near the theater. The reason behind this pattern is soon revealed: the culprits are pharanochs — creatures that mimic humans to consume their fear — who put on a play (strikingly similar to our own) to feed off of the audience’s fear that way.

Unfortunately for the audience, the striking similarities between the play at Menachap and the play here at Hills are no coincidence. Pharanochs also “infiltrated” our cast, and attacked audience members (who were plants), who fell unconscious for the remainder of the show.

The finale of the show was especially memorable: a second ending after the bows, featuring prop glasses that gave the cast ominous glowing eyes.

Backstage, the cast enjoyed the performance as much as the audience did. Emma Davis, who played Norma Pike and fell backwards off the set during the show, said rehearsing the fall was the most memorable part of the show for her. Tiffany Albornoz, Angela Lure in the play, especially enjoyed performing in front of an audience. “Theater gets such a range of emotion,” she said, “but fear isn’t one you see every day.”