October means Flightmares at Renaissance Academy's The Space Place. Bracken Funk, Megan Warner, and their crew of merry Renaissance Voyager Club members put together another one of Bracken's famous "Oops I've had an accident in my pants" missions for those who can't repeat "this is only a mission, this is only a mission," and believe it.
In the photo above you see the 4:15 P.M. staff briefing. The Voyager Club volunteers are receiving their spooky orders along with a breakdown of the evening's mission scene by scene.
Megan Warner was so terrified by Bracken's mission description that she nearly lost it. You see her in the photo above with both hands covering her mouth as she struggled to keep her dinner from spewing forth like lava from a distressed volcano. I've been told The Space Place has trained Haunted House therapists waiting in a classroom just in case a guest or two needs assistance to separate fantasy from reality (of course I'm not sure about those therapists. Sometimes this reporter gets his facts wrong. I've been told I have a tendency to offer my readers slightly enhanced exaggerations of real events - which I will not confirm or deny).
What you see in the photo above was either a very scared Megan, or the photo caught her in mid bite of her "on the run" supper. I think my first impression reads better. Just don't look closely at the photo.
The crew arrived at 6:00 P.M. I snapped the photo above just as I walked out of the briefing room. Their reaction to my appearance gave me cause for concern. What scared them? I wasn't wearing a costume and I'm sure I showered that morning. I was even smiling - I think.
Once they calmed down, I asked them if they were up to this kind of mission after having been so spooked by my gentle appearance. "If you were scared by me, how will you handle what's coming?" I asked.
The captain spoke up. "Mr. Williamson, we didn't expect to see a teacher out and about on a Friday night. Don't you have some sort of a hovel to go to? This mission will be scary enough without a teacher here."
I asked the crew for another photo which reflected their confidence in defeating this mission. I told them the photo needed to show Mr. Bracken Funk and Ms Megan Warner that they were able to stand strong against any imaginary evil in the form of space monsters thrown at them that night. I wasn't at hand to see the mission's end at 11:15 P.M. I'm wondering if their 'start of mission' fearlessness was still in tact.
The Renaissance Voyagers did an excellent job transforming the school into various alien sets. This form of decorating is called "Space Centering Schoolology" (a term I created and copyrighted ;). You'll find it used at all of Utah's Space EdVenture Centers. The "Space Centering Schoolology" recipe calls for a few tipped tables, accented with several overturn chairs here and there, followed by a mixture of LED lights. A good props chef will also lay down several yards of discarded network cabling for added effect.
This hearty dish is topped with a layer of effective sound effects and music played over the school's PA system. As a side dish you throw in a troop of nicely trained volunteers ready to don any custom at a moment's notice. With a costume on their backs and props in hand, they venture forth on stage to deliver frights to the crew; and when needed, a curse of blights upon the ship itself.
The volunteers and staff had a great time from behind the scenes. Who doesn't like scaring a crew during the Halloween season? This is the time of year where you can take off the gloves and really give it to them. This is the time of year when real spooky story lines and props can be used all in good fun.
And then you have Bracken Funk, the Master Conductor himself, perched upon his Control Room throne performing his symphony of doom and gloom. We kept him well fed and watered and spoke quietly in his presence as not to distract him from his purpose - to craft a ship and mission together into one instrument for the purpose of playing a composition so finely composed, that even the Gods of Olympus paused their scheming to listen and ponder who amongst the mortals could play such music.
The crew on the Voyager's bridge, completely unaware of what waits for them on the planet below
If you're looking for a fun and frightening Halloween scare set in space look no further than Flightmares at The Space Place. Go to TheSpacePlace.org to learn more.
Imaginarium Theater
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