On Tuesday, August 30 and Wednesday, August 31, students from Serra HS, Mercy HS and NDB attended auditions for the 2022 fall Tri-School play “Ghostlight.”

This year’s play follows a high school student named Garbiela Nettles, who begins suffering from nightmares as she attends the prestigious prep school Doves Forge Academy.

The auditions were held in the Serra HS theater. All Tri-School students prepared and memorized either dramatic or comedic monologues to perform in front of the directors and other staff. They based their monologues on their knowledge of the play and the characters they wished to be considered for.

To learn more about the characters and the plot, many students chose to read through the script of the play. This included sophomore Sianna Kiebler, who will be playing the lead role of Garbiela Nettles.

“I came up with what characters I thought I could be good at,” said Kiebler. “Then I found a monologue that matched their energy.”

Callback auditions occurred the following Thursday, September 1.

“For callbacks, you get given scenes specific to whatever characters you’re called back for,” said senior Isabella Hildebrand-Veccia. “They’ll mix and match to see chemistry and how different people work together on stage.”

The scenes for callbacks, called “sides” are taken from the script of the show to give the actors a chance to play the characters they are auditioning for.

The cast list for “Ghostlight” was posted the weekend after auditions, but the several day wait was long enough to be difficult for the actors.

“It’s definitely a time you’re sitting there by your computer and hitting refresh on the page,” said Hildebrand-Veccia.

“I didn’t even care what part I got, I just really wanted to be in it,” reflected Kiebler.

Many of the students who participate in the play participate in the spring musical as well. Hildebrand-Veccia, who is entering her final year of Tri-School Productions, found the audition process bittersweet.
The script read-through for “Ghostlight” occurred on Monday, September 5, and rehearsals began immediately after. The cast and crew will continue rehearsing through the end of October, and “Ghostlight” will open the first of four shows on Friday, October 28.