Saturday, September 3, 2016

[Graveside Chat] Ways to Improve Your Scare Actors

Okay, this is something that I've noticed a few people have been asking about or looking into out there and it's not an easy topic to tackle. Everyone has a different take on this, and there are a lot of things that you have just trust your actors to do or learn on their own. However, there are a lot of things that can be done to help aid them along in their journey from their raw state into something terrifying and engaging.

For a while I had a hard time wrapping my head around the problem that many face, and I've finally managed to lay out a few things to think on.

I'm not going to get into too many specifics with this one such as methods or techniques since this is mostly meant to be a general overview and a starting point for those that may need some help or pointers on where to go with things with their scare actors.

First Thing's First, Know Your Characters


This may seem like a no brainer, but I've run into a lot of situations out there were a cast or scene manager isn't 100% sure what they want out of a performance for a specific location in their haunt. Yes, sometimes that can be good as it allows a lot of play for the actor, but you should have at least a slightly more fleshed out idea of what you expect and want from the start, even if it evolves once you find the "perfect" actor for the role.

It's very easy to just say "Here, put this on and go be scary", but that's not going to get any kind of great performance out of your actors. A few might take that and run, but I'm willing to bet that it's not the best way to go about things a majority of the time. This is especially true if they're new to the game and you kind of leave them to the wolves with that method. Instead, come up with short backstories for each. It can just be a few sentences that explains why they're there or what their motivation is, doesn't have to be pages long at all here.

Why? Even that little bit will go a long way to letting your actor get into the right groove and understanding. On the flip side, you'll be able to course correct them if you notice that things are a bit off more easily as well. So, that's a win/win for everyone.

Additionally, having these little backstories means that you can always go back to them and flesh them out more, possibly creating your own icons and other feature characters along the way. Which, in turn helps with your haunt in the larger scheme of things.

Practice Makes Perfect


A bit cliche, sure, but it's just hard to refute as well. Learning some basic techniques can be invaluable and really move things along in the development of your actors. There's all sorts of ways that one can do this, so I'll just touch on a couple of things for the moment.

One of the best assets that any haunt has at their disposal are its veteran actors. They know what the job entails, have a lot of practical experience, and may even have worked a similar or same role someone else now is! Use them. If you're not, it's a wasted resource and opportunity to not only help with new actors but also builds comradery between the cast. Drama will happen on any cast and this can at least go a ways to hopefully remove a bit of it. Not only do you get better prepared actors out of the deal, you also get a more tight knit crew too.

When I was a scene manager (overseeing 4-5 scenes), I used to get the veterans to help out with the newer or just out of place actors that were around us. The end result? A better show, and some great moments where we could see the improvement and acknowledged that.


If you don't have a lot of vets, are brand new, or just want to know where to begin with all of this, that can be a little bit more of a challenge for anyone. With proper planning though, it can be done. This is where having a solid casting director, or even yourself, comes in handy. Plan to have some actor meet 'n greets and, more importantly, some "workshop" sessions where you bring actors in to evaluate them, correct, and nudge them in the right directions.

Some of the things I've seen are done are just running lines in and out of scene, letting your actors have a bit of say in adding to their characters, and drills such as the "run up and scare" exercise. That last one can help get them used to moving about a single person, or a group, in close proximity situations.

Rehearsals and Soft Open Nights


One of the most underrated and often ignored situations are soft opens or rehersals. Not everywhere can do a full soft opening, though it's easier sometimes to just combine the two. You can have nights where you bring the cast in to get a feel for the place under show lighting and have them act things out a bit, but it's not the same as having an audience in front of them and reacting.

Invite friends and family of not only yourself but also your cast and let them get a little sneak peek while giving them a chance to warm up a bit. This can help immensely to smooth out issues and get actors into the flow of things. Overall, there's really no way to lose on this as opening for a couple of hours one night before the official open to do a semi-dry run is never a bad idea. Not to mention, you get people talking about the event beforehand as well.

So, not only beneficial to your actors but also your own marketing too!

Give a Little


This is probably one of the hardest things to do for many owners and casting directors out there today and for good reason. Your haunt is your baby, you've carefully fleshed out all the details and spent months preparing for your 6-8 week run. Nothing is going to stop you and you know exactly how it should be down to the letter. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, not so fast there.

If you're going all all knowing and overbearing overlord, that's going to cause some interesting issues as well. On the one hand, it's great that you have everything in line and ready to go with your vision but if you don't allow your cast some give in their roles? That's going to spell disaster for them. Many may get bored and slowly start to decline in their levels of engagement and energy. The only thing that's going to do is hurt the quality of your show.

To avoid it? Give them some wiggle room within your ideas and let them own the part within limits. Doing this will boost their confidence and make them feel more apart of the show as a whole. I'm not saying go all free reign, but if you do just enough, the show will benefit and so will your cast!

Create a Little Incentive


This can be tricky, and it's why I've put it last, but doing some friendly competition between scenes or just your actors in general can be a great thing. One haunt that I worked had the "gold toilet", which was...well, I'm sure that you've guessed already. The scene that had the most confirmed "accidents" throughout the year got it. There was also a poll at the end of the hayride for feedback that was used to pick "best scene" for not only the year, but also week to week.

Something like this can backfire if people start to get too competitive for sure, though if handled correctly it can be a fun way to get your team energized and trying their best as well.

And there you have it, just a quick look at a few things to consider for your haunt that can benefit the cast (and your own sanity) before and during haunt season. Again, I'm not an expert, but I have experienced various levels of engagement and learned quite a few things from the situations above and I have to say that it definitely made me a better scare actor over the years.

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