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If I were your age and my goal was to run my own haunt down the road, here is what I would do....
I would approach the owner of the best haunt in the area and tell them what your dream is. Volunteer to do whatever is needed in order to learn. Act. Build scenes. Make store runs. Run the box office if you get a chance. Ask questions and learn. Pay attention to what is going on around you. What scares people? What irritates them? What are they impressed by? What safety precautions does management take? How could they do it better? How does management handle problem customers? How do they deal with security? Note what they do right and what you would do differently.
Don't just to this in your head. Write notes. At the end of the season divide your thoughts into categories and organize them. You are basically writing your own handbook on how to run a haunt.
As time goes on and you make yourself more valuable, ask the owner/manager to let you sit in on meetings on haunt planning, actor training, marketing, etc. Learn the behind the scenes part of the business that actors never get to see.
In the mean time, hang out on these forums and ask questions. Buy haunt videos and subscribe to haunt industry magazines. Ask questions, make suggestions, brainstorm. Accept honest feedback.
Write some more and expand your notes. Eventually, and I am not talking after one season, you will see that you have the basic knowledge that you need not only to get started, but to be successful.
I know that this is not a short-cut, easy, do it overnight type of approach that many are looking for. It is called paying your dues. It is also, in my opinion, the surest way to success.
Dave
I would approach the owner of the best haunt in the area and tell them what your dream is. Volunteer to do whatever is needed in order to learn. Act. Build scenes. Make store runs. Run the box office if you get a chance. Ask questions and learn. Pay attention to what is going on around you. What scares people? What irritates them? What are they impressed by? What safety precautions does management take? How could they do it better? How does management handle problem customers? How do they deal with security? Note what they do right and what you would do differently.
Don't just to this in your head. Write notes. At the end of the season divide your thoughts into categories and organize them. You are basically writing your own handbook on how to run a haunt.
As time goes on and you make yourself more valuable, ask the owner/manager to let you sit in on meetings on haunt planning, actor training, marketing, etc. Learn the behind the scenes part of the business that actors never get to see.
In the mean time, hang out on these forums and ask questions. Buy haunt videos and subscribe to haunt industry magazines. Ask questions, make suggestions, brainstorm. Accept honest feedback.
Write some more and expand your notes. Eventually, and I am not talking after one season, you will see that you have the basic knowledge that you need not only to get started, but to be successful.
I know that this is not a short-cut, easy, do it overnight type of approach that many are looking for. It is called paying your dues. It is also, in my opinion, the surest way to success.
Dave
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