Most guests at Magic Hills’ Haunted Adventure have no idea of the work that goes on behind the scenes to bring the event to life each year. Little thought is given to the design aspect and probably even less thought is given to how the characters that roam the 100 acres, came to get their inspiration and places in the scheme of Haunted Adventure.
I would venture to guess that most people have no idea that Magic Hill holds rehearsal nights where each crew member is introduced to their attraction, their positions and are coached by the management as to what their characters are and how they should act.
Rehearsal nights give management a chance to coach and in some cases, coax, the talent as to how they want them to act toward guests as they stream past them in their positions by the thousands. We walk through room-by-room, instructing talent, observing and making suggestions or offering support to everyone. At times, it was a painful and awkward process as new haunt employees struggled to "act" in front of management for the first time
 If you thought that being a haunt monster is just about signing in, grabbing a mask and going to bang on a wall for a few hours every night, you're sadly mistaken. As each attraction is designed, careful consideration goes into where each talent will be and what that talent's particular role is.
Will they have props? Do they have a speaking roll or just moaning and groaning? Will they use a mask, prosthetics or straight make-up? All of these things are fleshed-out and put into perspective during rehearsal.
Once the crews are in place, these attractions are much more than wooden walls and painted facades. With actors lurking at every corner, they become the haunted adventure. They are alive, they are full of emotion and they are nightmares come to life.
It is one hell of a rush and a great pay off to see everyone’s hard work and artistic planning come full circle with talent being slotted in to their positions. The only thing greater has to be Opening Night. I get to see guests coming through my creations and experiencing the terror first-hand.
In 1992 I joined Magic Hill working behind the scenes; I was quick to become the right hand man to the owners, doing everything under the sun for the next few years. In 2009 I returned as the General Manager/ head prop builder and set designer, to re-build and to breathe new life into the haunt in preparation for the monumental anniversary.
2010 is Magic Hill's 20th anniversary and for those of you that visited in 2009 you saw some of the many changes that are in the works for 2010
Now that the 2009 season is over, we can put it into high gear for 2010 and those of you that are wondering what’s in store, I say this…..not only are we Toronto’s Original Scream Park for the past 20 years but we will be known as one of the greatest in Scary Farm history.
One last thing, bring an extra pair of underwear.
Submitted by Corey Smith
For more information visit Magic Hill Haunted Adventure |
