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.