When people are new to the haunt world and acting, misunderstandings and feelings of being left out can arise. This is very common if you are unaware of the inner workings of a haunt and how scares work. (Don't worry, there are still times when I feel this way, and it sucks.) Everyone wants to have a memorable character, go out to queue line (which I now know is the correct spelling of the word), always get the scare, and have people remember you and talk about you when they go home. But let's face it, this can't always happen for everyone. The saying goes, "There are no small roles in the theatre," but that's not true. There ARE small roles, but it's important to know that these small roles serve a greater purpose when properly utilized and can be wonderful stepping stones on your journey into haunt acting.
When you look at haunt acting, look at it as if it's a pack of wolves (but split up the packs by zones or areas or something, because I'm sure a pack of a hundred to two hundred wolves would NOT work out well). Packs are split up by alphas, betas, and omegas and each play their role. This is the same with haunt acting. Alphas are your Key Roles, the characters with names, backstories, and are the most memorable and promoted. For example, Miss Kofsky or, the deadly duo, Mrs. Storm and Mr. Tender from Ravenwood. Betas are your side characters who may have a name, but play minor roles. A good example is Miss Kofsky's friend Demitri, who is usually scurrying around the insides of the walls as her eyes and ears throughout the Manor. He says and does very little, but is utilized in many locations doing multiple things to keep the show going. Then your omegas would be anyone that doesn't have a character name nor backstory and are simply given a title. For example: Clothes Patient, Actor Station Zombie, Swamp Monster, Attic Ghost, Extra, etc. Every one of these type of roles are required to have a successful haunt. Let's look at an example of what I mean.
Let's say we have five rooms in a haunt. First, is the Children's Room, where there may be an extra playing a living doll as well as a drop panel actor. Next, you enter a a hallway with zero actors. Then, you enter a Master Bedroom with a child crying in the corner as well as a woman who seemingly appears from nowhere while you are too focused on the child. Then, you enter a bathroom scene with no one inside. Finally, you enter another hallway, but this time there is a drop panel with an actor inside. These are five rooms within a certain zone or area which contains five actors with enough wiggle room to even add more if you had a large number of extras that night. In these five scenes are the three parts of the pack. The drop panel scares, the living doll extra, and any other extras you sprinkle in are your omega. They get the little scares to prepare the customers for the bigger scare. Now that your customers are on edge but not totally scared, they enter the Master Bedroom. They see the child crying. This is your beta. It it the right hand man/distraction for your main scare. While everyone is busy watching this kid cry, the woman who appears from nowhere slips into the room and delivers the most terrifying blow. This is your alpha. This is the Key Role's moment to scare the living shit out of the group. As the group goes rushing out of the room, they have a brief moment to feel safe while passing the empty bathroom, but as they enter that last hallway, the final scare hits. Now is the time for the small role to get their scare. The drop panel goes down and the customers freak out. The entire zone worked like a well oiled machine!
Yes, there are small roles, but without these small roles, there would be no lead up or follow up to your Key Role. It’s also impossible to have a haunt completely filled with characters that have intricate backstories and names and histories then expect every customer to remember it all.
Now, it’s never frowned upon for an actor to take their small role, “no name” character and give them a backstory to improve their feel and portrayal of the character. Tough, I suggest not telling customers these self made backstories until it is approved by a trainer or stage manager.
Good examples of what I mean: Actor 1 and Actor 2 are playing insane patients. Actor 1 decides to give her character the name Tilly and says she is insane because she witnessed her family's murder. Cool. Awesome. Great. Actor 2 decides to name her character Agitha and says she wasn't insane, but being in the nuthouse so her family could keep her quiet has made her insane over time. Neat. Amazing. Wonderful ideas. So, you're first group walks through. Actor 1 rocks back and forth in her chair, quietly mumbling to herself, twitching and jerking, and possibly giggling, doing what she was taught by her trainers. The customers are taken aback and slow their pace, keeping en eye on her like she may be a threat. To them, it feels more real and authentic as if she's seen some shit. Actor 2 instantly reacts to the group, jumping up and introducing herself as Agitha, rambling about how she isn't crazy but the nuthouse made her crazy and how it will make them crazy too. She basically starts storytelling her character's history. Now, your customers are no longer scared, but they are trying to pay attention to the actor. "Is this important to the attraction?" "Should we remember this?" "Are we suppose to be patients too?" "What's going on?" Then, because nobody was really scared by Actor 2, she persists, following them into the next room to try and get a scare somehow, resorting in screaming at the customers to appear scary. The customers end up leaving confused and their attention elsewhere, possibly causing them to miss any upcoming scares because they are too busy trying to figure out what they just heard.
This is what happens when someone doesn't understand that small roles need to exist. Stage managers, trainers, and The Powers That Be know what they are doing. Nobody is putting people in small roles for personal reasons or because they are "mean and don't like you." Maybe you are the best at drop panels. You know how the timing works and exactly how to land a scare in that specific spot. Just because you are put in an actor station or inside a wall doesn't always mean you are disliked. It means you are the best for THAT job to get the scare done. Maybe you are a zombie, but you really wanted to be a lead role with a lot of dialogue. You weren't put in a non-speaking role because of some secret vendetta. You probably conveyed the most emotion with your face and had amazing physical acting skills compared to others that just hobbled around and moaned. So you were cast as an extra every night that gets a different role that never stays the same. That doesn't mean there's no place for you. If anything, that means you are so talented and incredible that you can play ANYTHING and you are trusted to be the best person for any role that needs to be done.
In the grand scheme of a haunt, everyone works together and is one big family. We are a pack. We are all needed and valued to give the customers the best experience they can have. Of course, I will ALWAYS preach to set your goals high and always work to be the best actor you can be, but I will also preach that you should respect the role you are given and treat it with care. View every small role as a new experience and new character to add to your acting resume. Don't try to run before you can walk. Talk to your trainers and stage managers if you hope to grow and become more involved. Don't simply make on the fly decisions that can potentially derail the haunt as well as land you in hot water with The Powers That Be. Remember, we do what's best for the haunt. Yes? Just know that no matter how big or how small your character’s role is, YOUR role and presence at your haunt is appreciated.
Until next time, stay spooky and happy hauntings!
-Jaz
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