HHN Hollywood 2017 Audition + Discussion

[JonaMar]

 

3 hours ago, LetsMakeBiskuts said:

I'll be at orientation Tuesday at 12 and scare academy on Friday if anyone else is coming those days/times

I'll be there the 25th but doing orientation on the 14th

[YokedSlayer]

11 hours ago, LetsMakeBiskuts said:

I'll be at orientation Tuesday at 12 and scare academy on Friday if anyone else is coming those days/times

Yea me and a bud will be there friday ;D our first year

[kingundisputed_]

19 hours ago, Kurseddragon said:

For those who worked last year (and this is prob a bad question to those who are new and excited), but how was it? Was it ran as bad as it was two years ago? I recall talking to a previous maze supervisor who changed to a general supervisor because of how bad things were going in his opinion. Even he claimed how unfortunate it was for the event to be ran so poorly in probably the most amazing line up to date for HHN Hollywood (pertaining to general runnings but leaning into the fact that 75% of the cast was new people and they didn't hire a lot of veterans). Other friends (on the one night I visited) were claiming it was much more strict and there were dumb rules and drama, etc., was as bad if not worse than it was two years (I bring up two years ago since it was the last year I worked there and I fucking hated it).

 

Wanting to know other people's opinions on last year, though, since everyone's experience could be different and also what are your expectations on rules and strictness, etc.?

 

I will again not be returning this year. Still going to school in Northern California. Might not even be able to visit this year, all depends on my schedule.

Both of us bailed after all the crap from 2015. That was a bad year. I'm curious to know all of that as well, but I heard it was a lot more rigid in comparison to previous years and that a lot of the fun was gone because of ~corporate~. 

Edited August 10, 2017 by kingundisputed_

[XNaut]

21 hours ago, Kurseddragon said:

For those who worked last year (and this is prob a bad question to those who are new and excited), but how was it? Was it ran as bad as it was two years ago? I recall talking to a previous maze supervisor who changed to a general supervisor because of how bad things were going in his opinion. Even he claimed how unfortunate it was for the event to be ran so poorly in probably the most amazing line up to date for HHN Hollywood (pertaining to general runnings but leaning into the fact that 75% of the cast was new people and they didn't hire a lot of veterans). Other friends (on the one night I visited) were claiming it was much more strict and there were dumb rules and drama, etc., was as bad if not worse than it was two years (I bring up two years ago since it was the last year I worked there and I fucking hated it).

 

Wanting to know other people's opinions on last year, though, since everyone's experience could be different and also what are your expectations on rules and strictness, etc.?

 

I will again not be returning this year. Still going to school in Northern California. Might not even be able to visit this year, all depends on my schedule.

I worked in this event last year and it was unorganized. I worked in one of the most anticipated maze and little did anyone know, this maze was actually being neglected by the staff. My experience I would rather not post here. If you really want to know what happened then I could just private message.

[JonaMar]

15 minutes ago, XNaut said:

I worked in this event last year and it was unorganized. I worked in one of the most anticipated maze and little did anyone know, this maze was actually being neglected by the staff. My experience I would rather not post here. If you really want to know what happened then I could just private message.

You worked AHS?

 

[Fallow]

47 minutes ago, JonaMar said:

You worked AHS?

 

 

AHS alum here, now I'm curious...

[JonaMar]

5 minutes ago, Fallow said:

 

AHS alum here, now I'm curious...

I was a lead for the route, but I spent my fair share of time over at AHS helping close the queue and deal with the massive amount of guest influx. I know quite a bit of the terribleness that happened both inside and outside of the maze, but I'm curious as to what XNaut is talking about. 

[KissARat]

Ended up scheduling both my Orienation and Scare Academy on the 26th 

[Kurseddragon]

I would be curious to know what happened, if you were comfortable enough to tell. I don't mind if you'd prefer not to; especially it being basically none of my business having not even worked that year.

 

If there was drama (and I know there was), I know of several people who were denied returning because they personally were the main source of the drama. It wasn't so much an email saying they weren't allowed to come back, but they did not receive the yellow ticket, which was (I think) pretty difficult as a return actor being as all you had to do was run around the room for 30 seconds.

 

Honestly curious to know if I would have even gotten back had I auditioned last year/this year based on the way I was personally treated in 2015.

[JonaMar]

57 minutes ago, KissARat said:

Ended up scheduling both my Orienation and Scare Academy on the 26th 

Guessing you're a current employee

 

59 minutes ago, Kurseddragon said:

Honestly curious to know if I would have even gotten back had I auditioned last year/this year based on the way I was personally treated in 2015.

Elaborate? 

 

[KissARat]

6 minutes ago, JonaMar said:

Guessing you're a current employee

 

Yeah. They told me I had to quit the restaurant I was working for because they were non-union and I couldn't be under the same payroll. Ended up putting my 2 week form on Tuesday just in time for orientation/scare academy. 

 

Im really excited for orientation to find out what we're casted for. I wouldn't mind if I get casted again as my favorite slasher .

[Kurseddragon]

4 minutes ago, JonaMar said:

Elaborate? 

 

 

Apparently I suck, which is fine, but every time I asked to do something on a night it's available, I was basically ignored and watched other people with the same stature take my spot. No one told me why or what to do to be given a chance. The only people who paid attention to what I was doing were people who had no power to give me a chance. Repeatedly placed in some of the worst positions. Every time I asked to be moved somewhere after Terror Tram closed, they basically made sure other people got it and not me. Basically made me feel like a nuisance rather than an employee. Never given a chance, really. The casting director in 2014 complimented my energy and placed me in a specific area because "I'm good at it" and the next year I'm apparently garbage and deserve to be ignored. It's demoralizing even passed a scareactor standpoint. And it wasn't even just me this was happening to. So basically I wonder if I were to have auditioned again, if they would've remembered me from 2015 and be 'not good enough' in their eyes. Which again, is completely fine, but not the way it was carried out with 0 direction and just ignored. I'd literally rather them be like, "We need stronger people in that role," than them being vague in their responses and watching others get the role. I also don't think I'm that bad; by no means great, but not that bad. Not compared to other people I've seen...

 

[JonaMar]

42 minutes ago, Kurseddragon said:

 

Apparently I suck, which is fine, but every time I asked to do something on a night it's available, I was basically ignored and watched other people with the same stature take my spot. No one told me why or what to do to be given a chance. The only people who paid attention to what I was doing were people who had no power to give me a chance. Repeatedly placed in some of the worst positions. Every time I asked to be moved somewhere after Terror Tram closed, they basically made sure other people got it and not me. Basically made me feelt like a nuisance rather than an employee. Never given a chance, really. The casting director in 2014 complimented my energy and placed me in a specific area because "I'm good at it" and the next year I'm apparently garbage and deserve to be ignored. It's demoralizing even passed a scareactor standpoint. And it wasn't even just me this was happening to. So basically I wonder if I were to have auditioned again, if they would've remembered me from 2015 and be 'not good enough' in their eyes. Which again, is completely fine, but not the way it was carried out with 0 direction and just ignored. I'd literally rather them be like, "We need stronger people in that role," than them being vague in their responses and watching others get the role. I also don't think I'm that bad; by no means great, but not that bad. Not compared to other people I've seen...

 

That's really curious

[kingundisputed_]

I've seen Kursed perform and he's great at it. HHN has become so much more business-oriented and favorite-based in recent years than it was when I first started working there and I don't have a problem making it public. For example, TWD in 2015 was nothing short of a big hot mess. It was the highest rated and most anticipated maze of the year, not the mention the largest maze they've ever done. One would think that, under these circumstances, the people put in charge of such an endeavor would have a certain amount of haunt supervisory experience. Instead, the supervisors were all completely new and, while they did the best they could, it wasn't enough. That maze was the worst to work in. It was over-heated because there was no ventilation due to its size, scareactors were disciplined for ridiculous reasons (for example, a friend got in trouble for leaving his spot to report that a guest had hit him, which is exactly what you're supposed to do), and the prestige of the maze itself far overshadowed the well-being of the scareactors. The icing on the cake came when it was decided that TWD, which was already the early entry maze, would have an even earlier opening time without adjusting the call times or pay rate of the scareactors. We were doing more work without recourse and getting in trouble with the supervisors because we couldn't make it through makeup in time to get to set for opening. People were fired over it. It was very demoralizing and I'm glad that I was moved to a different location after spraining my ankle.

 

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade or diminish anyone's excitement at having the opportunity to work there, but I suppose it's good to know what to expect.

 

Edited August 11, 2017 by kingundisputed_

[Kurseddragon]

2 hours ago, kingundisputed_ said:

I've seen Kursed perform and he's great at it. HHN has become so much more business-oriented and favorite-based in recent years than it was when I first started working there and I don't have a problem making it public. For example, TWD in 2015 was nothing short of a big hot mess. It was the highest rated and most anticipated maze of the year, not the mention the largest maze they've ever done. One would think that, under these circumstances, the people put in charge of such an endeavor would have a certain amount of haunt supervisory experience. Instead, the supervisors were all completely new and, while they did the best they could, it wasn't enough. That maze was the worst to work in. It was over-heated because there was no ventilation due to its size, scareactors were disciplined for ridiculous reasons (for example, a friend got in trouble for leaving his spot to report that a guest had hit him, which is exactly what you're supposed to do), and the prestige of the maze itself far overshadowed the well-being of the scareactors. The icing on the cake came when it was decided that TWD, which was already the early entry maze, would have an even earlier opening time without adjusting the call times or pay rate of the scareactors. We were doing more work without recourse and getting in trouble with the supervisors because we couldn't make it through makeup in time to get to set for opening. People were fired over it. It was very demoralizing and I'm glad that I was moved to a different location after spraining my ankle.

 

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade or diminish anyone's excitement at having the opportunity to work there, but I suppose it's good to know what to expect.

 

 

I tried to get out of being a Concrete Walker the same day I received the paper, before even knowing what it was. I ended up doing it for preview night and then moved to pool afterwards. The amount of times I was sent back to TWD (and ironically Concrete Walker), was actually ironically hilarious. Not only did I try basically everything to not do the role (and not just because I didn't want to do it, I had some [albeit fixed over time] reasons to not be able to do the role; still forced and ended up there). There was one supervisor, whom I'm sure you're aware of, who just caused so many problems him/herself. The power-hungry, condescending manner he/she carried out was so ridiculous. He/she did not like me from day one because I said something that he/she took offensively, when I meant it as literal as I possibly could. Only to find out he/she held onto that for the entire event after being pulled aside for not doing something properly (I forget what it was) and when I asked if there was anything else, he/she brought up whatever I said at the start of the event. That's fucking ridiculous. Luckily enough, being a pool member, even if I was cast as a regular zombie, I usually didn't have to (or at least to my recollection) deal with the heat problems that I know was terrible for other actors. As fucked up as it is from a moral standpoint, I'm pretty sure they said set times or some shit could change at their discretion and I wasn't directly affected by that change so I can't complain as much as others. But that shit was fucking ridiculous. People were dropping out of the maze like crazy if I remember correctly. And yeah, the favoritism aspect they (the casting directors/supervisors) carry is so bad, and blatantly obvious. 

 

I talk a lot of shit about the event, because glaring flaws really bring it down from the behind-the-scenes portion of it. But I've also had some of my greatest moments in life in general there, which is why I keep returning here, and to the event as a guest, and even have the passion to talk/complain about it. I'll probably go back providing where I'm at in life in the future allows me to, at least to give it one more chance. But they honestly are doing a good job at making the event worse as a whole by not providing a comfortable scene for the scareactors both on and off set. 

[JonaMar]

2 hours ago, kingundisputed_ said:

I've seen Kursed perform and he's great at it. HHN has become so much more business-oriented and favorite-based in recent years than it was when I first started working there and I don't have a problem making it public. For example, TWD in 2015 was nothing short of a big hot mess. It was the highest rated and most anticipated maze of the year, not the mention the largest maze they've ever done. One would think that, under these circumstances, the people put in charge of such an endeavor would have a certain amount of haunt supervisory experience. Instead, the supervisors were all completely new and, while they did the best they could, it wasn't enough. That maze was the worst to work in. It was over-heated because there was no ventilation due to its size, scareactors were disciplined for ridiculous reasons (for example, a friend got in trouble for leaving his spot to report that a guest had hit him, which is exactly what you're supposed to do), and the prestige of the maze itself far overshadowed the well-being of the scareactors. The icing on the cake came when it was decided that TWD, which was already the early entry maze, would have an even earlier opening time without adjusting the call times or pay rate of the scareactors. We were doing more work without recourse and getting in trouble with the supervisors because we couldn't make it through makeup in time to get to set for opening. People were fired over it. It was very demoralizing and I'm glad that I was moved to a different location after spraining my ankle.

 

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade or diminish anyone's excitement at having the opportunity to work there, but I suppose it's good to know what to expect.

 

 

18 minutes ago, Kurseddragon said:

 

I tried to get out of being a Concrete Walker the same day I received the paper, before even knowing what it was. I ended up doing it for preview night and then moved to pool afterwards. The amount of times I was sent back to TWD (and ironically Concrete Walker), was actually ironically hilarious. Not only did I try basically everything to not do the role (and not just because I didn't want to do it, I had some [albeit fixed over time] reasons to not be able to do the role; still forced and ended up there). There was one supervisor, whom I'm sure you're aware of, who just caused so many problems him/herself. The power-hungry, condescending manner he/she carried out was so ridiculous. He/she did not like me from day one because I said something that he/she took offensively, when I meant it as literal as I possibly could. Only to find out he/she held onto that for the entire event after being pulled aside for not doing something properly (I forget what it was) and when I asked if there was anything else, he/she brought up whatever I said at the start of the event. That's fucking ridiculous. Luckily enough, being a pool member, even if I was cast as a regular zombie, I usually didn't have to (or at least to my recollection) deal with the heat problems that I know was terrible for other actors. As fucked up as it is from a moral standpoint, I'm pretty sure they said set times or some shit could change at their discretion and I wasn't directly affected by that change so I can't complain as much as others. But that shit was fucking ridiculous. People were dropping out of the maze like crazy if I remember correctly. And yeah, the favoritism aspect they (the casting directors/supervisors) carry is so bad, and blatantly obvious. 

 

I talk a lot of shit about the event, because glaring flaws really bring it down from the behind-the-scenes portion of it. But I've also had some of my greatest moments in life in general there, which is why I keep returning here, and to the event as a guest, and even have the passion to talk/complain about it. I'll probably go back providing where I'm at in life in the future allows me to, at least to give it one more chance. But they honestly are doing a good job at making the event worse as a whole by not providing a comfortable scene for the scareactors both on and off set. 

 

I hope/think that the person you're talking about no longer works at USH but I could be mistaken. If literally any of this shit happens again do no hesitate to PM me about it. I am very close to the people in both the staffing office and the X1 and X2 of last year and this year. Not saying I can get anyone fired (although I may or may not have done so before) but I can certainly talk to the people that approve their paychecks. It's so unfathomably ridiculous that any of what happened last year and 2015 happened that I'm ashamed to say I'm only hearing about it now. I worked as a lead on route 666 and I was in direct contact with all the lower lot mazes and exorcist and I did my best to hep them out every chance I could, but some of this shit is just too much. 

 

And believe you me, the power hungry people who were made HHN leads got lead positions at whatever attraction they work at, and the majority of them are idiots. I had to deal with them for a year and a half. 

Ya'll have my word that none of this shit is going to happen this year. I bet my job on it. 

[kingundisputed_]

1 hour ago, JonaMar said:

 

 

I hope/think that the person you're talking about no longer works at USH but I could be mistaken. If literally any of this shit happens again do no hesitate to PM me about it. I am very close to the people in both the staffing office and the X1 and X2 of last year and this year. Not saying I can get anyone fired (although I may or may not have done so before) but I can certainly talk to the people that approve their paychecks. It's so unfathomably ridiculous that any of what happened last year and 2015 happened that I'm ashamed to say I'm only hearing about it now. I worked as a lead on route 666 and I was in direct contact with all the lower lot mazes and exorcist and I did my best to hep them out every chance I could, but some of this shit is just too much. 

 

And believe you me, the power hungry people who were made HHN leads got lead positions at whatever attraction they work at, and the majority of them are idiots. I had to deal with them for a year and a half. 

Ya'll have my word that none of this shit is going to happen this year. I bet my job on it. 

3

They still work there. Not going to name names because it's not my place, especially since I'm not returning this year. Like Kursed said, some of the best times of my life took place at HHN. That's why I went back and worked it for four years. After a while, it's too much though. Maybe things will be different now, who knows.

Edited August 11, 2017 by kingundisputed_

[YokedSlayer]

Just got hired at hhn, but i really love going to the event. Any veterens out there know if its ok to take one day off to enjoy the event ?

[XNaut]

1 hour ago, YokedSlayer said:

Just got hired at hhn, but i really love going to the event. Any veterens out there know if its ok to take one day off to enjoy the event ?

No, it's not okay and the supervisors even bring this up that you cannot take the day off to enjoy the event. You can check out the event when you're on your break.

[YokedSlayer]

7 minutes ago, XNaut said:

No, it's not okay and the supervisors even bring this up that you cannot take the day off to enjoy the event. You can check out the event when you're on your break.

do you know how much time you get on your breaks usually ?

 

[XNaut]

2 minutes ago, YokedSlayer said:

do you know how much time you get on your breaks usually ?

 

All breaks are different for scareactors. I know some who were getting 30min, 45min, an hour depending on what role you get.

[Kurseddragon]

You'll have a chance to visit other mazes at some point. They just got way more strict on the days they let you in, even if it's just you and you're not trying to let any guests in with you. Which makes it slightly less enjoyable being a scareactor. But you'll have a chance to see them all, guaranteed. If you're lucky, you'll even get sick of it (I didn't, but it's possible) because you've seen all the mazes so many times. And if you're cast in a specific maze, you can just go in that as often as you want; even if it requires not going through the main entrance. (; I wouldn't worry about not being able to enjoy the event as your reason not to work there. Two different things, but you can have both.

[JonaMar]

4 hours ago, YokedSlayer said:

Just got hired at hhn, but i really love going to the event. Any veterens out there know if its ok to take one day off to enjoy the event ?

I was able to go to the event with a comp ticket that all Leads got but even with that, I had already gotten to go to every maze. Granted I was an area lead so things were different for me, but all my scareactor friends got to see all the mazes that they didn't work at. They even gave the Krampus team a bus ride up to the upper lot for TCM.

[YokedSlayer]

2 hours ago, JonaMar said:

I was able to go to the event with a comp ticket that all Leads got but even with that, I had already gotten to go to every maze. Granted I was an area lead so things were different for me, but all my scareactor friends got to see all the mazes that they didn't work at. They even gave the Krampus team a bus ride up to the upper lot for TCM.

Oh thats sweet, i was only wondering because its a tradition my girlfriend and I go every year this would be our 5th year going, i just wanted to see if i could spend some time with her at the event. Very useful info thank you very much 

5 hours ago, Kurseddragon said:

You'll have a chance to visit other mazes at some point. They just got way more strict on the days they let you in, even if it's just you and you're not trying to let any guests in with you. Which makes it slightly less enjoyable being a scareactor. But you'll have a chance to see them all, guaranteed. If you're lucky, you'll even get sick of it (I didn't, but it's possible) because you've seen all the mazes so many times. And if you're cast in a specific maze, you can just go in that as often as you want; even if it requires not going through the main entrance. (; I wouldn't worry about not being able to enjoy the event as your reason not to work there. Two different things, but you can have both.

Sweet Im super excited to work here and cant wait for it to get started thanks for the feedback, helps alot 

[dereksdominance]

Damn hearing all of this drama and disorder behind the scenes breaks my heart! I really wanted to audition next year since I'll be moving closer to Universal but I've dealt with enough work chaos to know that this may make me think twice. I have even more love and appreciation for the scareactors now because along with the general struggles of the maze (exhaustion, heatstroke, unruly guests) you face even more crap behind the scenes! I really hope Universal pulls it together this year and those awful supervisors get fired.