Catalina Foothills High School theatre department prepares for 'Night of the Living Dead' production

CATALINA, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Catalina Foothills High School theatre department is kicking off its production of “Night of the Living Dead.” Theatre director Amy Byroad says it’s a tribute to the movie. “There’s gun violence on stage. There’s a lot of gore and we use a lot of blood on stage and there’s screaming and flashing lights,” says Byroad.

Co-President of the Theatre Club Kylie Fay says, “this is honestly the largest cast that I think we’ve ever done here.” With over 55 students taking part in the production, the students are ready for the curtains to open.

Danielle Hanks is the co-president of the theatre club at Catalina Foothills High. She says, “it’s scary. It’s going to be pretty scary.”

But it’s not just about this production that makes the theatre department so important at Catalina Foothills High. “A lot of them come in and their goals are to time manage and to learn how to be more confident in public speaking,” says Byroad.

She says that theatre helps students learn not only life skills but day-to-day ones as well. Byroad says, “from changing a light bulb to using a drill,” that’s just some of the stuff the students learn in the hands-on program.

Being an actress in this production, Hanks says she’s learned how to work with people. She says, “you can’t choose who gets cast alongside you, so it’s a really good lesson in learning to accept the good and bad parts of people.”

Night of the Living Dead opens Thursday, October 20^th.

They will have shows Thursday through Saturday for the next two weeks.

Student tickets are $5.

Adult tickets are $8.