The 10-second Stage
by Joe Jensen
The actor asks the producer: "What's my motivation?"
The producer replies: "A paycheck!"
This common joke about dealing with actors, shows how misunderstood
the craft really is. What is amazing is that Haunted Attractions
are dependent on actors, but many times are the most intolerant of
them in terms of helping them to do their job. If a carpenter asks
if we want planking or plywood used in a construction we would not
tell him "A paycheck" because we understand the question is about
making a decision that will determine the look of the show. This
is no different than an actor asking about motivation, which will
result in how the show will look and feel. Scripts, actions,
motivations, scenarios and casting are all-important pieces of
the attraction. Some would argue that they are the most important
pieces, but in our unique industry, a common language and technique
has yet to emerge. This article is meant to be the beginning of a
discussion of acting in interactive theatre. It is my observations
over 20 years of the differences between straight theatre acting
and haunted house or interactive acting. I hope to share with you
what I discovered from the Hades experience and what its actors
have shown me.
I would like to thank Julia Fabris for which many of these concepts
came to light through her eyes. And also, Michael Bennet, Rick Greg,
Laura Kennedy, Jim Clark, Rich Wharton, Terri Gilchrist, and Kathy
Clemens-Greg with whom I started a theatre company dedicated to the
idea of discovering the awe of the acting experience. They left me with
the legacy of the journey I am on, a journey into interactive acting,
an adventure that I both curse and say thanks to everyday. I also want
to thank those haunters who are doing the work transforming the very
nature of what we call entertainment.
The 10-Second Stage
In acting it is often about how many lines you have, the screen time or
the size of the role. But in Haunted Houses it is not about any of that.
Yes, you are in character and in place in the attraction for hours, but
still it is about 10 seconds. It is about a stage that you have and you
own for only 10 seconds and what you do with it.
What can happen in 10 seconds?
One can be violently killed
One can meet a stranger
One can make a decision
One can be warned
One can be stalked
One can be pounced upon
One can see a madman
One can be confronted
One can be saved
One can be bored
The 10-second stage concept is based on the fact a patron will only see
you for about that much time. It gives actors their limitations and also
their freedoms. It is really all the time one needs to be great. You just
need to do it over and over again.
What can not happen 10 seconds?
Hamlet
A speech
Most things in life
Big Ideas
To an actor, 10 seconds can look like an awful limitation until you realize
that the ten seconds is only a part of a 20-minute long show. How their 10
seconds fits into the whole will determine the part you play in the show,
and it will gauge your success. To understand your stage you must first walk
it as an audience member. For what they see just before your ten seconds
establishes who you are and what you can do. The surroundings, lighting, and
music all set the 10-second stage. And even what the actor just before you is
doing, creates an expectation or mood. If the actor before you comes out of a
closet door then you also do not want to be coming out of a similar doorway.
Knowing what happens before you is very important, but knowing and utilizing
what happens after, is the mark of a true professional. If after your scare,
you say, "go back, it only gets worse" you then start to intensify the rest
of the experience through suggestion. The more imaginative and specific you
are about what is to come without giving it away, the more the audience will
remember you and the event. Setting up the next actor because of what you are
doing then makes his job easier. You are not only taking care of your part but
also making the rest of the show better as well. Only in knowing what everyone
in the show is doing, will let you know if you are a carbon copy of
everyone else or a unique experience. In understanding everyone else's 10-second
stages, you will understand how to make yours better and unique. In comedy,
three times and its funny - in terror, three times and it is irritating.
Variety is the spice of life and irritating is not what we want to be.
Filling the ten seconds with the "right stuff" is an actor's goal.
In high concept attractions actors are given many tools such as character
concepts, room scenarios, plot clues, and interactive blocking and an
interactive script. In most attractions strategies and general character
concepts are outlined and all the rest is left to the actor. In each
situation the actor must use what he or she is given to create a character
that projects the theme of the house.
The Interactive Actor
In haunted attractions a new kind of acting style is emerging.
A new form of rehearsal and scripting, and a new kind of actor; the
interactive actor. In plays and movies, scripting and acting is linear,
one thing moving after another, but in interactive entertainment we are
creating things that take on a new life each moment. Scripting and
directing the actor must begin with the magical "what if," and the
question "what if" must be asked over and over again to create actions
for almost every contingency in the interactive experience.
A script for the interactive actor would look like this:
|
Audience member says:
|
Actor replies:
|
You look like my mother.
|
My long lost, soon to be deceased, son!
|
Get out my way!
|
No problem, fresh meat.
|
|
How much do you get paid?
|
$10 per scalp.
|
|
You didn't scare me!
|
Don't worry - there is still time.
|
|
When does it get scary?
|
Just look in a mirror?
|
|
Who are you supposed to be?
|
Your last memory.
|
|
Take her!
|
A morsel instead of a meal?
|
These are general lines retorting general comments but when you add
character, location, scenery and motivations then the script becomes
more colored and specific. The scene is an entrance to a butcher shop
and the windows have blood coating on the glass panes so no one can see
in. Screams and power tools are heard from within. A woman or man greets
people before entering the shop trying to warn them not to go in, not to
go through that door. Here the action is more specific, the actor is
pleading to have people leave and not go into the next room. But interactive
scripting can also give them retorts to the patron's common replies.
Actor Exclamation: Don't go in there. Turn around before it's too late.
|
Audience member says:
|
Actor replies:
|
You look like my mother.
|
Your mother went in there and didn't come out!
|
Get out my way!
|
So you can die in the next room like the rest?
|
|
How much do you get paid?
|
Eternity if I save your soul.
|
|
You didn't scare me!
|
Fear will be the next face you see!
|
|
When does it get scary?
|
It becomes very dangerous from here on out!
|
|
Who are you supposed to be?
|
Your salvation if you don't go in there!
|
|
Take her!
|
Gladly to save her from what comes next!
|
Interactive scripting enlarges the choices that an actor has on the
10-second stage. It gives them a basis to respond to audiences and a
jumping off point to create even more comebacks. The 10-second stage
may have pages of scripting for all the possible dialogue that may
be called for. If an interactive script is not provided then it is up
to the actor to create one either by writing it themselves or improvisations
with the audience. The first night of operations is the night for discovery
and the talented actor will throw out lots of different behaviors and lines
to eventually settle on a few that "work" consistently. Then it becomes all
about timing and delivery - one could work for years on one act, which becomes
a signature piece. Limited lines and action but the timing of delivery becomes
the focus and the end run. These actors may only play a few notes but they do
so with confidence, intensity and consistency that few can duplicate. They
become efficiency of movement, speech and actions - scaring groups of people
with the least amount of effort. They work without a script because they are
the script, the action, the director… they are the entire 10-second stage.
A joy to behold and very rare find.
This is only an introduction to the 10-second stage and the interactive
actor. I would love to hear your thoughts about acting in Haunted Attractions
and interactive events. Tips, techniques and scenarios are all welcome.
Join me in exchanging information on this new kind of acting style.
Joe Jensen is the Creative Director for Haunted America.com
and Hades Haunted House. He can be reached at
joe@hauntedamerica.comor visit the web sight at
www.hauntedamerica.com
|
