Published September 29, 2026
BY CHOICE MUIVAH
Beneath the stage lights of what at first appears to be a regular Carmel High School play, things quickly take a turn as investigators and audiences try to solve a case of an entire high school ensemble mysteriously falling unconscious—all except for one survivor.
“‘Trap’ is almost like a Russian nesting doll,” says Jeff McGrath, stage manager of the CHS Performing Arts Theater. “It’s a play within a play within a play.”
Set in the fictional town of Menachap, California, “Trap” mimics verbatim theater, where scripts are made from the words of real people, and through fictional witness accounts and investigator reports, the play creates a documentary-style performance from which the audience must piece together the truth.
While Menachap’s case continues to bewilder investigators and victims’ loved ones, the mystery deepens as a pattern is uncovered, with the exact strange circumstances seeming to resurface every 16 years.
“You really have to be paying attention because there’s a lot of little details that’ll help you try to figure out what’s real or who’s telling the truth,” says senior Lily Phillips, who will play detective Gwendolyn Heche.
With witness Canderlaria Ortiz (Mireya Barnes) and sole survivor Angela Lure (Bella Moet), it is up to researcher Rickenoch Baynor (Pepper Christou) to uncover old secret. photo by GRIFFIN STEELY
As audiences and actors alike dive deeper into the case, it becomes clear that someone—or something—is causing these people to fall unconscious. Audiences, be warned: They may be closer than you think…
With preparations starting in June, the show features a large cast that envelops the house and audience, creating an immersive experience, only to be shattered by fourth-wall breaks as the audience itself becomes a part of the performance.
“Eventually, the audience is drawn into the performance, and they also become a character,” says McGrath.
With contrasting perspectives from a trail of eyewitness accounts, the psychological-horror play poses questions about what is real and what is fake, building a narrative that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
“The plot twist at the end is really fun,” says junior Fallon Lykken. “It’ll make the audience and cast have a lot of fun.”
“Trap” will open Friday at 7 p.m., with shows running Oct. 3-4 and 8-10, with a matinee Sunday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m.
Audiences, prepare to be scared!
