The next big movement.

[Spikerip]

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

[Allen H]

Allen,

"I disagree with you. Show me one haunt that actually has great actors because I've never seen one. If you tell me of one I will make it s point to go see it."
SCREAMS in Waxahatchie TX, 13th Street morgue in Redoak TX, Haunthouse in Cado mills TX to name a few. Come to TX and I will change your mind.

" The reason why the smaller haunts focus on actors is because they have to because they don't have the money to buy the big props and sets and the actor is the only focus they can present."
Untrue, sets are not terribly expensive either the only thing they are priced out of range on is big and mid-sized animatronics.

"The big haunts are big not because of their actors people just don't care they just want quick scares and believable scenery."
I will quote my friend Alex Lohman here- "I have never heard a guest come out a haunt saying how great the crown molding was"

"Everyone knows they are in a haunted attraction and not a real haunted house no one really buys into the fact that they might be in real danger but if the sets look real enough they can more easily imagine they are in a real scary situation."
I dont think the sets change their attitude that much either, haunt owners tend to focus on sets because they have them to tinker with for 11 months out of the year- as opposed to actors who they really only see during Sept and October. Scary situations do not come from settings- an alley is not a scary place unless there is an aggressive homeless man in it's dark corners- A graveyard is not scary unless a gravedigger or zombie makes it so. A set is not a museum destination that guests have come to look at, it is the wrapping a monster comes in.

"I've seen and heard from actors and trainers who fancy themselves as great actors and they actually look foolish not convincing."
Possibly- there are several reasons for that, it is hard to judge your own success as an actor, the person in front of you is scared so you think you are doing great, but that was one out of a group of four so that is only 25% success rate. Truth is that if a poodle in a pink skirt ran by a group of ten in a haunt then two of them would jump and scream. A good haunt actor will be able to startle 8 out of ten. I am pretty good, I don't toot my own horn very often but I am good at three things and three things only. Scaring people, fighting, and loving my wife. So I feel qualified to talk a bit about the topic. Scaring people is hard work and it takes smart people to do it effectively and efficiently. It is actually like fast food- lots of people do the job but only about 5% give a damn and do it right. The key is to find ones that give a damn, or be able to inspire them.

"Ask any guest that tours your haunts and ask what they like and more often than not they will comment on the scares or details and when they mention an actor it was "that guy with the chainsaw" or things like that they will never say "yeah that girl talking about her lost mommy scared me"."
My exit surveys prove the above statement false. I have five different actors that continually make the exit survey as the guests favorite thing at the park. I dont know if you own a show or not and it doesn't matter either way- but my exit surveys tell me that actors are needed, vital and THE most important factor in a haunted attraction.

"Again I think the big haunts are big because they invest in great looking sets and animations and hire scare actors with the occasional actor actor."
Big haunts are big because they market well and have a good enough show to retain an audience. Marketing determines attendance not decor or animations in my opinion.

"Disney's haunted mansion is considered legendary and they have "0" actors during the ride but nothing but details, spfx and animations."
You are switching classes here- very few people find the haunted mansion scary- so this supports my side of actors making a show scary. It is legendary yes, but not scary and that was the original point I was defending.

I want to point out that we are not really arguing here- we are explaining two separate viewpoints that exist at the same time. One of us is not wrong and the other right, If you own a show then you take less stock in your actors and they act accordingly- at the shows that I train actors for they do put a lot of stock in their actors and the actors act accordingly. I am glad that there are different viewpoints and opinions when it comes to haunting- you will build a show that pleases guests who think like you do and I will build a show that pleases guests like me.
I will close by saying that there are more good haunts with good actors than there are good haunts with bad actors- that alone tells me that actors are a factor. Good sets make for good pictures, but good actors make Nightmares.
Allen H

[Badger]

Good sets make for good pictures, but good actors make Nightmares. - Allen H

I want to steal that line for my Boo Camp (with your permission of course)

[Darkangel]

Good sets make for good pictures, but good actors make Nightmares.
Allen H[/QUOTE]

True, but good sets make for good pictures and that's what helps you make good money which is really what matters most.

DA

[Speculo]

It is simple really... The guests want it all. If you have the resources for big sets and effects, of course you would put them in. BUT they don't replace actors. Back in the day I heard people talk about repacing actors with animations..wrong. Animations are like adding actors, but they don't REPLACE actors. Actors are the soul of the show, the haunt is a stage for them to scare and entertain, but a decked out stage with the very best you can afford to serve your public is the way to go.

This debate has played out a dozen times in the last 15 years - but it boils down to this: Do the very best you can for your customers, charge a fair price and with luck you will grow. A good haunt producer looks to improve ALL aspects of the haunt every year, sets, props, effects and actors unless time or money prevent it.

Once again it is not either or... it is do it all or as much as you can. A big show that doesn't work on its staffing/performances/presentation is making a mistake, just like a smaller haunt that doesn't work to grow its sets or effects when it starts making the money to do so is also making an error.

Or so I have observed.

Thanks!

[Haunted Prints (EOM)]

So what's the next big movement?