I’ve been designing and building scenery and props for local productions since 2004, but how I got started is a weird story. Imagine, if you will, the scene:
My wife and I are at “New Parent Night” in the gym at our kindergarten-aged daughter’s new school. The school has a policy requiring all families to either volunteer 20 hours each year or pay some amount of money. This is a Catholic school and we were already paying tuition, but despite not having a lot of extra money after that, I still said to my wife, “I’m not volunteering. I’ll write them a check.” Then the presentations for the various ways you could volunteer started, and in walks this guy:
OK, you have my attention.
He was part of the team that ran the Wicked Woods, a haunted trail adjacent to the school grounds. Seemed like fun. It definitely looked different from anything else going on at the school.
I signed up that night. Attended every build weekend I was available. Developed sound effects that could be triggered at the push of a button. Even designed my first scene.
The next year, I was co-chairman of the event. Being involved in a haunted attraction changes your perspective a little, but everyone adjusted OK.
I continued leading the event until the event was discontinued more than a decade later. Yeah, I teared up a little at that. But it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. My efforts there got me involved in building things for the school plays which has continued to this day. I can honestly say it changed my life for the better.
