I wonder how many have the luxury of having a separate acting troupe and setup crew ? Maybe it's just being a small haunt and I don't have the man power but maybe there's another reason why some places tend to separate the two. Is it a trust issue or just that actors act and carpenters build...Which do you prefer ?
I have been an actor in two different attractions, one amusement park, and one small farm. The amusement park I'm sure has liability issues with who can do the construction. They're more likely to get sued. The farm-run attraction had a couple folks that had been around a couple years that helped with behind-the-scenes stuff. I would love to be more involved in the planning/set-up/teardown process. I'm pretty handy with a drill. I think it might give (some of) the actors an added sense of investment in the quality of the show, not letting others (actors/customers) destroy props, etc. if it's their hard work that would go to waste in those instances. But that might just be my own sensibility. I think the best situation would be to hand-pick the people that would care about the process and not just throw crap together or goof around.
At the Haunted Hydro all our construction is done by the monsters and Crazy Bob himself. I believe budget limits the skill level professional carpenters cost too much but its a haunted attraction not a palace it doesn't got to look pretty.It is also a labor of love becoming one with the illusion, I think its great to get involved with the creative process and imagining what kind of creature or fiend I could be in each room and how the scare could be worked. We have a maintenance team to take care of issues while the house is open but I definitely prefer the acting. I don't know someone can build the haunted house and not play in the world they helped create. We work at it year round for those glorious weekends in October, I'm glad its over to get some rest but I miss it already.
SHOW NOTES FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 12, 2010 SHOW #203LISTEN NOWhttp://rfrpodcast.comorRIGHT CLICK THIS LINK, SAVE LINK/TARGET AS(saves it as an mp3 to your computer)http://www.rfrpodcast.com/RFR_3_12_2010.mp3orPRESS PLAY ON THE HU PLAYER(streams it on…
SHOW NOTES FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 12, 2010 SHOW #203LISTEN NOWhttp://rfrpodcast.comorRIGHT CLICK THIS LINK, SAVE LINK/TARGET AS(saves it as an mp3 to your computer)http://www.rfrpodcast.com/RFR_3_12_2010.mp3orPRESS PLAY ON THE HU PLAYER(streams it on…
on Saturday
Chuvachek is now a member of HauntUniverse.com - The Haunt Industry Network
It is a bit difficult to locate..I finally bought my copy from eBay. ;)
If there is anything you feel is missing from the site just let me know !
Thank you very much !