The next big thing...trained actors
I’ve enjoyed reading the posts; I’m not surprised some of you haven’t seen good actors at haunts. The actors are what can make or break a haunt. I’ve always said I would take a Class B haunt with Class A actors over a Class A haunt with Class B actors. Of course having both rated an A would be optimum, but that’s a real challenge.
The majority of our actors are over 30, some in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. I’ve been operating a haunt for 27 years and some of my actors have been with me from the beginning. We hold auditions each summer; recruiting 10 – 20 new team members to replace those leaving. We usually hire about 120 team members. Years ago; all you needed was a pulse to get a job, now we do background checks and hold auditions.
We hold actor training year round (January through September). We meet at the haunt and host a variety of classes for our team members (Character Development, Costuming, Makeup classes and Interactive Acting Techniques). We also have an acting troupe that’s been together for 10 years; Feature Creatures of Central Ohio. Our haunt, The Scare-A-Torium has 55 scenes in a 31,000 sq ft building. It takes about 25 minutes to walk through it.
We’ll be open Friday, June 8 from 8 – 11 pm during the Midwest Haunters Convention. In addition to our regular staff, we’re bringing in about a dozen actors from around the country to assist. We’ll have 70 actors performing that evening. We don’t claim to be the best haunt or have the best actors, but we do try hard to entertain you and provide you with a memorable experience.
The next big movement? I wish I knew. We do have huge plans for 2013, but I can’t share that just yet. I can tell you that we’ve prepared something very unique to the industry in our final scene at the Scare-A-Torium during MHC.
Treat your actors like team members; train them year round, involve them in your designs/planning sessions and let them know how much you appreciate them. I promise it will pay off in the long run.
Kelly Collins
The Scare-A-Torium
The Midwest Haunters Convention
I’ve enjoyed reading the posts; I’m not surprised some of you haven’t seen good actors at haunts. The actors are what can make or break a haunt. I’ve always said I would take a Class B haunt with Class A actors over a Class A haunt with Class B actors. Of course having both rated an A would be optimum, but that’s a real challenge.
The majority of our actors are over 30, some in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. I’ve been operating a haunt for 27 years and some of my actors have been with me from the beginning. We hold auditions each summer; recruiting 10 – 20 new team members to replace those leaving. We usually hire about 120 team members. Years ago; all you needed was a pulse to get a job, now we do background checks and hold auditions.
We hold actor training year round (January through September). We meet at the haunt and host a variety of classes for our team members (Character Development, Costuming, Makeup classes and Interactive Acting Techniques). We also have an acting troupe that’s been together for 10 years; Feature Creatures of Central Ohio. Our haunt, The Scare-A-Torium has 55 scenes in a 31,000 sq ft building. It takes about 25 minutes to walk through it.
We’ll be open Friday, June 8 from 8 – 11 pm during the Midwest Haunters Convention. In addition to our regular staff, we’re bringing in about a dozen actors from around the country to assist. We’ll have 70 actors performing that evening. We don’t claim to be the best haunt or have the best actors, but we do try hard to entertain you and provide you with a memorable experience.
The next big movement? I wish I knew. We do have huge plans for 2013, but I can’t share that just yet. I can tell you that we’ve prepared something very unique to the industry in our final scene at the Scare-A-Torium during MHC.
Treat your actors like team members; train them year round, involve them in your designs/planning sessions and let them know how much you appreciate them. I promise it will pay off in the long run.
Kelly Collins
The Scare-A-Torium
The Midwest Haunters Convention
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