Breaks and Green Rooms

[NightmareAftershockLLC]

I have acted for Ethan plenty of times, and this system works for actors that are dedicated and willing to put on a good show. Obviously there are those that are always looking to whine, but you always have that with people who are there for community service, etc. But an occasional drink for us halfway through the night is more than enough for me. =)

[jack]

On the USS Nightmare we use the floater system, with 4-6 'breakers', depending on the night. Generally, our breakers are seasoned actors who know the boat, know the scenes, and can fill nearly any spot. It's kind of an 'honor' to be used as a breaker.

We have a break deck at the back of the boat. Picnic tables for seating, snack foods, and, of course, loads of water and cough drops.

[ETHEREAL_FX]

I have used many different methods to break my actors throughout the night and I have to say balancing throughput and actor happiness is dependent on the design of your haunt and how you accomplish it. My favorite system if you can make it happen is to offer a very precise whole haunt break where everyone gets a half time talk from the coach and you can get a feel for how your actors are holding up. During this time it's important that your line either doesn't know you stopped (careful manipulation of Que lines can allow you to move people forward throughout the break) or line entertainment. Our most successful break time line entertainment involved a live band that played a set. Actors are your most valuable resource so keep 'em happy, fed, entertained, and laughing.
www.ETHEREALFX.com

[HauntedMemphis]

Now, this may sound a bit "Haunted-Hitlerish" however the actors are only in the haunt from opening to close so roughly four hours at most on a Friday or Saturday evening. You do not get a "break" at McDonalds after four hours of work.

Actually, in many states, 4 hours of work by law requires a 15 minute break. 8 hours requires 2 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute "lunch". So I think you'll find that at McDonalds, 4 hour shifts will include a break.

[ResHallHaunter]

I only run my haunt on the busiest weekend of the season as we are at a University and can't run the entire month so we are actually open for about 6 hours a night. Believe me we pump so many people through that these guys HAVE to have a break. I'll probably use a mix of the floater system and then do like a half time break each night as long as our lines aren't long at the time of a whole haunt break. Thanks for all these great suggestions and for taking part in the poll!

[ETHEREAL_FX]

to respond to haunted Memphis : for many years my largest job responsibility was ensuring dept. of Labor (DOL) guidelines were followed. These rules vary from state to state drastically! However I do know that there are some nasty fines in all states. If someone complains that they were not given a break when they were supposed to have one you WILL be audited and that means every employee gets spoken to and they WILL find something to cite you for. California is by far the worst we would have annual audits were DOL Nazis would come interview our staff and they were strict. A lot of this can be gotten around with waivers or volunteer labor but I do urge everyone with paid employees to check with their local DOL or potentially suffer some really bad financial blows.

www.etherealfx.com