The ScareHouse Basement Podcast Episode
One of my best excuses for not producing much musical content this year is my involvement in the creation of The ScareHouse’s new Basement attraction.
It should be no secret to those of you who’ve read either of my blogs (here and Tumblr) the past couple years that I have developed a strong fascination with immersive theater. When Scott Simmons (Creative Director, ScareHouse) told me that they were thinking about making a more personal, immersive haunt experience this year I told him I was all-in. Opportunities to work on a project like this during the birth stages one are not common.
The ScareHouse management did not want to sap the main haunt of its talented design team, so I had the chance to jump in and participate in the creation side beyond my usual role as sound guy. After attending and analyzing many immersive shows over the past couple years, the time had come to put some of my learnings into practice. I found myself driving, flying, and phoning into Pittsburgh most weekends over the Summer and writing long, list-filled emails to the point where I’m sure Team Scarehouse would cringe every time they saw my name in their inbox. We would continuously challenge and test each other’s ideas and the result, I think, was pretty far from what any of us envisioned at the start. The Basement turned out to be a hit, but none of us knew exactly how people would respond to it until we opened the doors in late September.
Hosting this podcast episode gave me a chance to document the process that led up to opening day as well as capture some of the magical chemistry of the cast one night before the doors opened. I’m happy with how it came together with one caveat: I never had the chance to interview Scott Sudzina who managed the haunt. He played a major role in making it happen. My bad for not finding time to interview him for the show.
I’m looking forward to seeing what we come up with next year. Until then, this puts a nice capper on the first chapter of Basement history.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, you know where to find me here and on the the socialwebs.
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Delirium Dog Barkings 
December 8, 2014 at 2:44 am
I was kind of jazzed about visiting the Basement in 2015, until I listened to this podcast. It’s not the full contact nature of the attraction, or the swearing, or the scaring that has put me off. Instead, listening to the vast pretension of some of the actors interviewed here has cooled my excitement. Maybe ironic detachment is some people’s only defense against your pseudo-psychological shtick. Maybe it’s a freaking haunted house and not your job to “put people in their place” If I want a life altering, paradigm shifting experience, I’ll see a therapist. I don’t need or want that out of a 30 minute visit to a haunted house, even if someone does stick me in a closet. Please post some cool videos instead. I still have 10 months to get my enthusiasm back.
December 31, 2014 at 12:53 pm
Apparently, just like the Basement itself, the podcast isn’t for everyone.
January 5, 2015 at 11:22 pm
Glenn, I let my grievance drive my comment. I enjoyed your podcast. It was well structured and informative, as well as professional sounding. I liked hearing the details of how the Basement evolved and the particulars of the nightly operation. The moralizing by 3 or 4 of the actors was what really put me off. Of course, I took their statements at face value, and not as potential mind messing for the purpose of adding to the haunt. I also understand the feature changes from year to year, so who knows what the 2015 version will hold. I hope to find out in person if the Basement is for me, or not.
Thanks,
Al