Pictures from the Dark Side

Aw, young love between creeps....

She's even cute when she's all uglied-up.

A harlequin gets unpinned by the Costume Queen.

(My lens was a bit foggy...)

There's nothing like the friendship between a nasgul and his ghoul friend.

Butchers, Creatures and Spooks, Oh My!

A zombie, perhaps?

Beware the Butcher-woman!

Grass creature, without her hood. Once these critters have their hoods on they virtually disappear into the ground. Unfortunately, on rainy nights, they also become big sponges.

This guy looks a little too thrilled with his role!

More Creepy Cast Photos

This guy looks like an unlucky traveling salesman.

Before and After

The hat isn't part of the character...or is it?

A Peek Behind the Scenes - Video!

Final Performances

Tonight marks the start of the five-night marathon finale at www.marisfarmshauntedwoods.com

Tonight, Thursday, we're open from 7-9 p.m. Friday & Saturday the gates are open from 7-11 p.m. and then Sunday and Monday we're open from 7-9 p.m. Whew!

I'm torn between pacing myself and my voice and giving all I've got every night. I would actually have to be conscious about pacing myself or holding myself back. My standard MO is to put it all out there. I get caught up in the present moment and throw myself into it.

The longest I've worked is three nights in a row. I know that keeping my energy up on the third night is challenging. Now I'll be going five and I want the people who attend on Monday to have just as good an experience as the people coming tonight. I cannot even imagine working at a full-time job and then coming and doing this demanding work.

I have a new sense of admiration and appreciation for the casts of long running Broadway theatre shows and other performers who bring loads of energy to the stage night after night.

My plan is to rest, rest, rest between shows. I don't want to miss a moment of the fun. I'm taking my good camera with me tonight, so watch for more pictures.

Attendance Statistics

As we head into the final performances at http://www.marisfarmshauntedwoods.com/ here are the attendance stats up to now:

October 1st - 556
Oct. 7th - 862
Oct. 8th - 1960

October 14th - 2427
Oct. 15th - 3673
Oct. 16th - 665

October 20th - 509
Oct. 21st - 2042
Oct. 22 - 2608
Oct. 23 - 834

Scare Tactics

Much like stand up comedy, timing is crucial when scaring people. Actors often work together for maximum impact. Night by night we are perfecting our scare tactics.

Collateral Damage - This is when one person is startled and then throws themselves back against their friend(s), knocking them to the ground.

The Domino Effect - Many people come through as though they are in a conga line. This is the perfect opportunity to scare one person and knock down a whole bunch.

Trifecta - Scaring the same person three times. ("Pa" holds the record: He scared one person six times.)

The Sandwich - One actor jumps out and the people scream and turn to run only to be confronted by another actor leaping out at them.

Distract and Pounce - One actor stands in plain sight or provides distraction for second actor to perform a sneak attack.

Creepy Cast Photos - Pa's on a Rampage!

This is Pa, aka Marty. He's great at chasing people into the clown house. They come in screaming, with their hearts racing and out of breath. Often, just when people think they're safe, Pa slams the wall of the clown house with his pitchfork, growling "Git outta my corn!"

Imagine having this guy jump out at you from a dark corn field and start chasing you with his pitchfork!

More Creepy Cast Photos - The Farmer's Daughter

Here's Stormie, my original clown partner. She's hanging out back stage, all smiling and unsuspecting....

Suddenly, she's grabbed by the throat!

Here's Stormie all dressed up and ready for action. It's no wonder she's in this condition, many people find her irresistible. Her character stands on a bridge and as people pass by, her belly is often fondled; one night her butt was even grabbed. As you can see, she's had a run-in with her pa's pitchfork. I don't think he's too happy about her "dating" habits.

She's found the perfect place to put her water bottle. Nothing like having a built-in shelf!

Stormie has a bit of a twisted sense of humor. She was cooking up a plan on how to "give birth" to the two-headed baby in such a way that it would go over the edge of the bridge and the "umbilical cord" would strap to her leg and then coil around the baby and act like a yo-yo or bungee. While in questionable taste, it would be both freaky and funny as heck.

Creepy Cast Photos - TJ the Terrible

This is TJ. His character may be the Farmer's Daughter's "baby daddy."

Looking like he's had a rather nasty run-in with Pa's pitchfork, his makeup stays more or less the same; he is usually dressed as either the Traveling Salesman or the Farm Worker.

TJ beginning the process of pulling his wounds off. With the pizza in the background, it looks quite reminiscent of mozzarella cheese. Yum!

It was raining pretty hard at the start of shift. You can see how TJ's fake blood has been running.

It's No Fun Being a Sick Clown

Weekend Three - We Love Screamers!

We got our boo on out at Maris Farms Haunted Woods http://www.marisfarmshauntedwoods.com/ Friday through Sunday last weekend. It was a blast! I'm not getting tired of this experience at all. Contrary to that, I eagerly look forward to playing with the cast and customers.

One of my favorite lines of the weekend comes from Jill, my partner in clown. I overheard her say to another actor, "I love watching you peel your face off." (It is important to note that this comment was made while we were applying makeup.)

We partnered up with TJ and perfected our "distract and surprise attack" moves as the evenings' progressed. I know I wouldn't want to have this guy jump out at me from a dark corn maze. His voice is loud and booming as he leaps out and yells, he also has a way of following people and simply staring at them in silence. I give TJ an 9 out of 10 scream/surprise rating and an 8 out of 10 for creep factor.

Things are are weird and wonderful over the course of a weekend. Friday was party people, most had been getting some spirits into them before coming to get the crap scared out of them. It was a rough crowd. At one point I was handed a condom. (It was unused and in the wrapper, if you must know.) I didn't realize what the guy had handed me until he walked away. It was one of those times that I thought of a good line after the moment had passed. If I had been quicker I would have laughed wickedly, "Thanks! I know you won't be needing this tonight!" On Friday night 2427 people came through the experience.

Due to a snafu with my regular costume, I wore something different. It was pants, shirt and jacket. At first I thought the pants wouldn't fit, that they were too small. As it turns out, they were loose.

At one point I realized that my pants had fallen down half way...the back half.

Hey, do these clown pants make my butt look funny?

I get a lot of compliments on my hair. I'm sure you can see why. Look, look upon my clownish beauty! (That's what I say to people who can't stand to even look at clowns.) I have to be sure to pin it on to my head. It popped off just when I burst out to scare some people. At least we all got a good laugh out of it.

We have three goals: Make 'em scream, make 'em laugh, make 'em jump. We love it when we hear screamers coming down the path. Inevitably Jill will say from her hiding spot, in her evil clown voice, "Screamerrrrrssss." And I'll reply, "We love screamerrrrsssss!"

I still love following people and saying, "Don't sleep, clowns will eat you. Yum, yum, yum!" Jill came up with a great line, "We'll catch up to you later, we like our meat warm."

Saturday night the crowd was teenagers, lots of teenagers. Though fairly rude and crude, they are mostly out for a good time and they're having fun. I get such a kick out of the groups of screaming girls. Even better are the boys who scream like girls. Lots and lots of screamers. On Saturday Maris Farms broke their previous attendance records when a whopping 3673 victims, er, people waited hours in line for their chance to pee their pants in delight as they walked the haunted trail.

Here are some photos of my partner getting ready:
Jill, fresh faced and ready to start.

Here's Jill with her second clown face attached.

Here is Jill in all her clownish glory! She is a terrific clown, with a scare/surprise rate of 7 out of 10 and a creep factor of 8 out of 10. Her timing is impeccable and she can often get a scream out of someone just by looking at them. I'm sure you can see why.

On Sunday the crowd had many families. We were only open two hours and 665 people came through the tour.

This is an awesome experience and I'm grateful to be a part of something bigger than myself. I have lots more to write about. I succumbed to a nasty flu virus on Monday the 17th and I've been fighting it all week. I even missed Thursday and Friday, 20 & 21 of "work." I am determined to return tomorrow, the 22nd. I hate missing the fun! Now it's off to bed, to get some good rest.

Clown Jokes - Are they all funny?

When I'm standing in the neon clown house, listening to circus music playing in a loop, waiting for people to scare, I'm often thinking about clown jokes.

Please use the comment section to share your clown joke with the word "funny" in the punchline.

Let's laugh (or groan) together!

Blessings,
Kelly

The Boo Goes On - Weekend Two

As darkness falls over Maris Farms Haunted Woods, excitement pulses through the cast trailer. As actors apply makeup and climb into costumes they are transformed into a diverse, ghoulish tribe, ready to surprise, startle, creep out, gross out, crack up and scare.

On Friday I arrived to learn that I have a new partner. Stormie, my original partner, had a skin reaction to the latex makeup. She's now playing the part of "deranged pregnant farmer's daughter." My new partner is Jill and we are quickly finding our rhythm together. We are working out our mutual timing and finding new ideas for distraction and stealth. Jill is enthusiastic and fun to work with; well, really we're playing together.

Rebecca, Queen of Creative Costuming, is the source of my favorite line of the weekend. Friday night I wore a different costume because my original needs hemming. The new costume is black with big, multi-colored neon polka dots all over it and a pink ruffled neck. Rebecca pulled the neon yellow/orange ruffled neck piece from my first costume and offered it to me to add to the polka dot costume. "Here, would you like this?" she asked, and then hesitated a beat before saying, in all seriousness, "Unless it's too tacky." I laughed and laughed. I'm standing there in a huge polka-dotted costume and she's worried about me looking tacky. Ha.

One of the things we actors are told over and over again is that ANYONE walking through the pathway is fair game to be scared. This includes The Powers That Be, all support staff and security guards. On Friday I managed to make our designated security guard jump big time! Yay me! Woo-hoo! Score!

Friday night we used an air horn for awhile. The Powers That Be generously provided it for us to try out. Chalk it up to "seemed like a good idea at the time." The air horn rarely worked and it ran out of air quite quickly. Ultimately we rely on our voices throughout the weekend. My new favorite line is, "Don't sleep, clowns will eat you!" My favorite line that Jill uses is, "Come on in, we're just clownin' around!" Add to that loads of deranged, wicked laughter. Bwah-ha-ha-ha!!! I checked out another electronic voice changer and after giving it some thought I've decided that I thrive on the interactive part of this job. I enjoy using my voice, even though it gets worn out.

Once again The Powers That Be supplied food for the actors after our shifts. Friday it was burgers or kielbasa dogs and Saturday it was pizza. After a long and active shift the fuel is drastically needed. Nothing like scaring people for hours to work up a good hunger and the food tastes terrific. Here's a grateful shout-out to The Powers That Be for taking such good care of us.

Second best to scaring people and hearing those four magic words ("I peed my pants!") is scaring people right off their feet and onto their butts. This happened twice and it was hilarious. I'm glad I'm a clown; I can crack myself up and not break character.

A young girl, maybe 12, came through with her parents and she had nerves of steel. Though she was calm and somewhat reserved, she was genuinely interested in the experience, admiring our costumes and makeup. Fascinating.

A woman came through with her grandma, at least 70 or older. The older woman was grasping the younger woman by the shoulders, averting her eyes and trying not to look at us. Bringing up the rear were two men, cool and detached. Way to protect grandma, guys.

I'm not so thrilled with parents who overestimate what their young children can handle and don't use their best judgment about bringing them through such an intense experience. I understand that the parents have paid for tickets, waited in line and don't want to leave the tour. AND I am dismayed to see hysterical children being pressured to continue. There are good reasons that Maris Farms does not recommend this for children under twelve.

The people I like best have come with every intention to have a great time. They are ready to either scream their way through or laugh their way through. They fully embrace the experience. Here's a tip: When you go through the Haunted Woods tell the actors your friend's names. We'll pass their names along as you move through the tour and personalize our scare tactics.

On Saturday my husband, eldest son, brother and sister came through. To set the scene, Maris Farms is out in the country. Really. In. The. Sticks. So imagine my family's surprise when they round the final corner and get their first glimpse of the farm. They told me they thought there was a concert going on or something. The parking lot was blazing with light, packed with cars and people were everywhere. My family got their tickets and stood in line for awhile before deciding to upgrade to Fast Pass tickets. With the Fast Pass they got right in, otherwise they would have waited two hours to start the tour. They sort of snuck up behind me as I was scaring other people, so I didn't get a chance to jump out and surprise them. They enjoyed the experience and had fun. I know they were each startled at least once during the tour.

Saturday the people just kept appearing, streaming and screaming through the clown house. It is high energy and I have nearly as much suspenseful anticipation as the guests. A few people tried to scare of surprise me, not one succeeded. I was exhausted by the end of the night. Exhausted and happy and satisfied that people had a great time. It was pizza night at the end of the shift and I gratefully scarfed down. We expend tremendous amounts of energy each night and need the fuel at the end of our shifts.

Each performance I've dressed lighter and lighter under my costume. I'm on my feet and quite active the entire evening. When I do stand still it is only for moments and I'm crammed into a little cubby space. By the middle of the shift I'm a hot, sweaty and craving a breeze under my ruffle. I am absolutely not complaining, I'm super glad to be indoors rather than directly in the weather. It's more a matter of learning and adjusting. This Friday I'm breaking out a pair of lightweight summer pants and a tank top. Hopefully, that will help me stay cooler under the costume.

Fortunately, due to drinking Throat Coat tea and using throat lozenges, my voice wasn't as shot as it was last week. I was still hoarse. The upcoming weekend will be our first to work Friday-Sunday, three nights in a row. It will be interesting to see how my voice is come Monday. I never noticed before how much I sing along with the radio. It takes days for my sing-along voice to come back, otherwise I'm squeaking-along or whispering-along. In any case, I know that it will be imperative to rest my voice.

Hey, I like a challenge. Ha. Ha.

Sacrifice? Or Unexpected Perk?

The actors are well taken care of at Maris Farms Haunted Woods. The powers that be (bosses) circulate throughout the night, bringing us water and handing out throat lozenges. They remind all the actors to stay hydrated, take our vitamins and get enough rest. They provide pizza at the end of a shift, knowing that we will all be supremely hungry after an energy intensive night. They invest in us because they want us to enjoy our experience and make it through the demanding month of performances.

At first I declined throat lozenges, they aren't typically something I gravitate towards. I was concerned that I would either choke/swallow it or inadvertently launch it from my mouth like a projectile at some unsuspecting customer. (I also limited how much water I was drinking once in costume. I keep thinking that a terrific joke might start, "Did you hear the one about the clown in the porta-potty?" But I digress...)

I've since discovered that maniacal laughter takes a toll on my throat and cough drops are my friends. After dress rehearsal on Friday and full-on public performance Saturday I awoke Sunday morning with nearly no voice. I sounded like a de-barked dog or a sea lion with larangitus or a post-event protester. This made communication with my hubby challenging, as he is hearing impaired. Lets just say there were some tense moments throughout the day as I tried to be heard and he tried to hear me.

At one point I whispered, "When I'm doing three and four night performances I will have to be careful and rest my voice. I may not talk at all on the days between performances." My husband quickly replied, "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea." Gee, honey, thanks. Way to take one for the team.

Is this a sacrifice? Or an unexpected perk? I'd like to think it is, perhaps, a bit of both.

October 1 - Open to the Public

Maris Farms http://www.marisfarms.com/ opened the Haunted Woods to the public last night. As I left my home to go to work my husband called out, "I hope you make someone pee their pants tonight." That was a first.

Speaking of firsts, on the night of dress rehearsal I used a port-a-potty in a clown costume in the dark. Underwear up, check. Pants up, check. Clown costume on, check. What a process.

I continue to be amazed at how organized this operation runs, it's truly a well oiled machine. The owners have mastered the unique balance of firm boundaries/expectations and encouraging motivation.

Behind the scenes it is a hotbed of activity, with all the actors getting into costumes and applying makeup. Tiffany is the make-up artist; she's creative and enthusiastic. Many of the actors enjoy applying their own makeup. It's fascinating, I watched one guy gluing cottonballs to his head and by the time he was done his makeup rivaled that of Hollywood horror films. Another man was helped with his wig, adding barretts to keep the hair out of his mangled face. The styled wig provided an incongruous comparison to his gruesome makeup.

My favorite two lines overheard behind the scenes last night:
"Has anyone seen my two-headed baby?"
"The year I decided to go without eyes was a real challenge."

Energy was high as we took our places and prepared to meet the suspecting public. My partner and I were excited and ready to go as we laid in wait for people to pass through the clown house. Many times, as people entered, we heard the exchange, "You go first." "No, I'm not going first. YOU go first." Sometimes the chainsaw guy would literally chase people screaming into the clown house. That was especially awesome, because they'd enter with their hearts already racing and not fully on their guard and they were easily startled. One couple RAN all the way through the clown house at breakneck speed, zip!

Scaring people is often a matter of timing. They come in to the clown house, expecting clowns, but not knowing exactly where we will come from. Even the most jaded person will jump if you startle them at just the right time. I grateful that I'm a clown, it covers me when I bust a gut laughing at someone I manage to scare. Oh yeah, we scared people good. It was GREAT!

I enjoy the thrill of expectation. Lying in wait, knowing that people are approaching my hiding place, my heart beats faster as I prepare to leap out. I love making new things up, switching up my hiding place, playing with my partner to discover new ways of distracting and startling people. This is truly interactive improv theatre and I love it!

As far as scaring people, its that old "some of the people/all of the time" adage. Not everyone is going to be scared, startled or engaged in the experience. That's ok. I'm embracing the challenge of scaring/startling even the most jaded and giving everyone a great experience as they pass through the clown house. My favorites last night were the guy who threw himself back against the wall of the clown house and cried out when I jumped out and the couple who couldn't get traction and slipped to the floor in their effort to get away when my partner startled them.

My partner was hit twice and spit on once. These were inadvertant reactions to being startled. Here's what's funny: She was thrilled. We both thought it was great because it meant she was doing a terrific job at scaring people.

There were quite a few customers in costumes last night. I also enjoyed the group who went through wearing Snuggies held shut in the back by rubberbands. That was unexpected and fun!

My favorites are the people who are fully invested in immersing themselves in the experience. Typically you can hear them coming, because they are hearty screamers and loud laughers. You can tell that they have come with the intention of having a good time and it's working for them.

Today my voice is shot. My throat doesn't hurt, it's just raw. Wicked laughter and loud shouting will do that. The powers that be at Maris Farms provide all the actors with cough drops, throat lozenges and plenty of water. I can only imagine what this will do to my voice when we work three and four nights in a row. I think my partner and I need air horns. That would really have people jumping. Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaaa!

I'm adding a photo, taken by my partner with her cell phone. I'll have more pictures to share soon.





The public is safe...until Friday.
Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaa!

Kelly the Crazed Clown

My Dress Rehearsal Experience

Wow! What an experience! This is a full-body, interactive improv theatre experience. I loved it! My partner and I played with different ideas to surprise and scare people. It can be a challenge with some and others are freaked out just by looking at us. It's a lot of fun to try different ways of acting to get a response from the people going through. I was both thrilled and exhausted at the end of the night.

There is a whirlwind of activity behind the scenes of Maris Haunted Farms www.marisfarms.com as the cast gets ready. When I arrived at the makeup/costume trailor, it looked like a scene from Tim Burton meets Toy Story. Dolls were being beheaded, burned and strung from rope through holes in their heads, made by pounding nails into them. Did you know that there is a kind of make-up that is literally called "bloody scab?" Many actors apply their own makeup, and it rivals Hollywood movie professionals. Blood and gore abounds, sharpened teeth and gaping wounds are eagerly applied. These people are fully committed to the roles they play.

My makeup is awesome! I am unrecognizable once I it is on my face. It is special black-light makeup and when I put on my costume of neon colors I glow like crazy. Friends came through last night and since I told them I was a clown they thought they recognized me, but they weren't certain.

For dress rehearsal, the people coming through were family and friends of the actors. The groups of people were quite staggered and we did a lot of waiting. Many of the friends/family on the tour have experienced it before and had an idea of what to expect. This makes it harder to surprise them.

Last night I saw: The guy who thought he could scream at us and scare us. The guys who push their girlfriends/wives/mothers through ahead of them. The teens who act bored and unimpressed. The woman who closes her eyes and hides behind family members because she can't even look at clowns.

There was a videographer making the rounds, taking video for the Maris Farms website. I'll link to the video and pictures as soon as they are available.

Tonight is the first evening open to the public and I expect that we'll have more of an ongoing stream of people. I love the idea of people coming through for the first-time ever. They won't have any idea what to expect and scaring them will be more fun. It will be easier to stay in character when we are not waiting a long time between groups. It will also be more physically challenging to actively play the role for hours.

I'll post again after Night One.
Blessings,
Kelly