Southern Spooks

I've written this post almost a dozen times, but I'm not even sure where to begin. Do I write from the heart? Do I write about the state of the world? Do I pretend nothing has changed? What do I do? It feels like that's the overall thought. "What do I do?" With haunt season approaching, a lot is still up in the air and things appear uncertain. One thing that I do know for certain is that us haunters will find a way to do what we love. I've been seeing people showing off their makeup and set building skills online. Classes that would normally be exclusive to haunt conventions have been streaming for free on Facebook.(Which is an amazing opportunity for those who are wanting to make it in the industry. So, thank you to any companies that have been giving classes and plan on giving classes online!)  Even little things, like making spooky themed face masks and decorating your yard with skulls and tombstones have proven that the haunt community will survive the...

To close out this month’s theme centered around auditioning, I thought I’d recognize a special kind of person in the haunt community. The kind of person who just seems to stumble their way into this crazy and weird world we live in for three months out of the year. And it’s a shame I forgot about these kind of people before since, well, I was one of those people. So, it’s time to go back to my roots and speak directly to you, walk-on haunters.  Just like me, walk-ons are those people who seem to magically appear in the middle of the season and just fit into the haunt world, as if they were born to scare. Rarely do walk-ons every really audition. Now, you may be thinking, “but, Jaz, if I don’t audition, how do I get a part?” Well, kids, gather around and let me tell you a little story about how I did just that.  If you’ve been reading the blog since the beginning, you probably know I started off as a volunteer behind the scenes. I was the last person anyone would exp...

Before we get into this week’s post, please make sure to check out the Southern Spooks Podcast which is now available for free on the Southern Spooks site in the top corner’s menu or on iTunes. ( link ) Now, let’s get this week started!  A small surprise to some people is that Ravenwood Manor wasn’t the only haunted house I worked at nor was it my first ever haunt audition. In the past, I worked at two home haunts; both ran by friends of mine. The first one didn’t really have an audition process. It was more of a “show up and we’ll put you in a spot” kind of thing. The second one, I did a half ass audition where I had to show my friend my scream (which sucks) and any accents I can do. But these two haunts were very small, in their garages, and was more for shits and giggles.  After that, I set my sights a little higher. I auditioned for a professional haunted house, but when I say audition, I really mean I wasted everyone’s time.  This audition process was ...

When I acted for the first time at Ravenwood Manor, I had a very idealistic mindset. I was one of those "method actor wanna be's" that had their heart in the right place, but probably should've been a little bit smarter. One of my first roles that I was allowed to fill in for was a hillbilly grave robber. All I had to do was stand in the graveyard out back, say my lines, and be a hillbilly. (Now, mind you, the graveyard was filled with sharp, loose, pointy gravel. That'll be important later on.) I had gotten my lines and practiced once or twice before heading into costume and makeup. Normally, the girl who played the part wore her sneakers while acting(which completely kills a character who's set to have lived in the 1800's) and having grown up in the bayous of Louisiana, I knew that your typical hillbilly would be barefoot most of the time. Thinking nothing of my choice since, "Eddie runs around for hours barefoot. If he can do it, I can do it!...

In last week's post, we talked about monologues for everyone's upcoming haunt auditions and the first ever Writing Competition took place on the Southern Spooks Facebook page where I asked everyone to take their favorite monologue and revise it to show their personal creativity. Many of you sent in your submissions and there were plenty of awesome pieces of work. Sadly, not everyone can win. Out of all the entries, one stood out among the rest. This monologue showed the prime example of taking a script and making it your own. Not only did this individual rewerite almost the entire script, but he also kept the underlying tone and flow of the original scene. When some take on the task of  reworking a script, they tend to insert lines or details that either make no sense to the original script's contex or hold no importance to the overall goal of the piece. The winner of last week's contest knew his source material enough to vastly change it, but keep the essence of w...

So, you've decided to audition for a haunted attraction. AWESOME! Welcome to the haunt community...that is...if you make the cut. (Dun dun duuuhh.) That's right. Not everybody makes it past the audition stage (trust me...I was rejected for five years in a row *sniffles*), but that's where I'm here to help. Every haunt has their own audition process, each a little different than the other and changing every year or so. But there is one thing that remains a majorly important tool for any actor who doesn't want to be doomed behind a wall panel or casted as "Tree #2" even though there is no "Tree #1"... and your attraction is on a boat....where there are no trees...and you aren't scheduled to work any nights...and maybe I need to look at my contract...so....yea...awkward....moving along! This one important thing is a monologue. A monologue is an actor's best tool when going into an audition. It's not required, but it is highly encoura...