Keeping Your Actors Safe and Comfortable

By Christopher Stafford, The Asylum Haunted House

staffordchris@gmail.com

Without a doubt the greatest asset of any haunted attraction is its actors.  Keeping them safe and comfortable can only lead to greater performances, and in turn, a better show.  The following tips will help ensure the safety of your actors during their performance.

There are steps that you can take to ensure actor safety before you open your attraction. The most basic is to design your sets in such a way that you create barriers that your actors can either work from behind or retreat to after their scare.  You may choose to create actual barriers or guard rails to accomplish this, but, through proper design and placement of sets and props, you can create these barriers for your actor without detracting from the aesthetics of your attraction.

Before your first performance, or perhaps during your orientation or rehearsal, be sure that each of your actors are able to walk through the attraction to familiarize themselves with the general layout and the location of all access points and emergency exits.  Additionally, if any new actors are added during your run, be sure they are afforded the opportunity to do the same.

Prior to the beginning of each performance, be sure that your tech crew or director walks through the attraction and inspects all of the sets and props for necessary repairs, paying special attention to items that may have been dislodged or damaged during the prior night’s performance.  Also, don’t take for granted that some props are stationary; secure everything that can possibly be secured.

Train your actors that there are three main actions they must take each night when they arrive in their assigned area.  The first is to locate the nearest emergency exit and the most direct path of travel for them, and the public, to reach that exit.  Second, is to make themselves aware of the location of the nearest fire extinguisher.  Make sure that all actors as well as all staff at your attraction are properly trained in how to operate a fire extinguisher.  They can use the acronym “PASS,” which stands for pull, aim, squeeze, and sweep, as a reminder.  Finally, they should check their area for any necessary repairs that your tech crew or director may have missed during their inspection, and report them immediately.

While you are operating, if you do not have support staff or security staged throughout your attraction with two way radios, be sure to supply a number of your actors with radios that will communicate with management and/or security staff.  The actors will more than likely be the first to notice a problem that needs attention and, by utilizing their radio, can report it very quickly.

In the event of an emergency, your emergency and exit lighting should activate; however, don’t rely solely on this lighting.  Be sure that each actor location is also supplied with a flashlight.

In closing, one of the most important safety precautions you can take is to train actors to have an awareness of your patrons “personal space” while they are performing.  A good definition of “personal space” is within an arms length.  Let them know that if a customer can touch you and/or you can touch them, you are in their “personal space”  Because the natural human response to fear is either fight or flight, it is important that actors understand that by invading this “personal space” they increase the likelihood of incident.

You can never focus enough on safety in your attraction. Be sure not to overlook the most important people in your show.

About the Author: Chris Stafford is Co-owner of The Asylum Haunted House in Denver, Colorado (http://www.getscared.com), currently in it’s sixth year of operation. He has been involved in the haunted attraction industry since 1987.