# Vaudeville Ideas



## trentsketch (Jul 27, 2009)

I've done it again. I've changed my theme at the last possible moment because I just wasn't inspired enough by what I planned on and off since December. It's not shocking at this point. I've done it for the past 3 years and everything turned out fine in the end.

The new theme is inspired by this doll I ordered off of Etsy a week ago.










I saw that and went, "I could make a life-size figure of that dancer and do a voodoo set-up for a haunt some day." Some day became this October. Then I went further. It didn't just look like a dancer. It looked like 1920s Paris as pictured in Midnight in Paris. Art Deco and Modernism and all that jazz. Translate it to the Vaudeville stage and it's a perfect match for my academic background (literature with a focus on the interwar avant garde movements in theater).

So I have my dancer moving on a stage while a man to the side of the stage moves a voodoo doll of her. I have a real simple prop of a magician in a glass-paneled locked box filled with water (all paint on a wooden box with a speaker inside). I'm also considering reusing my phantom organist from last year if I change up the paint job and build a better platform. I can use the silhouette of my movie-goers, too, if I paint the front side in proper period attire.

I just know that 3 props aren't enough for the yard. Sure, I'll have trunks and prop tables, ropes and sandbags, and even a costume rack if my neighbor can find it. But I need a few more variety acts. In particular, I'm looking for a couple animal acts and maybe another thrill seeker act. Any ideas?


----------



## trentsketch (Jul 27, 2009)

I see this theme concept went over like a fart in church. Still doing it. 

Since I can't think of anything else, I'm going with a spider on rollerskates and a trained werewolf in chains.


----------



## Dark Angel 27 (Sep 11, 2008)

sorry trent. i was preoccupied. i think your ideas are great! let me research vaudville and i'll get back to you.

i like the werewolf idea. not so sure about the spider idea. 

some other things i noticed were that some vaudeville acts featured jugglers and singers. a bar may also be a good idea, (there were both kinds of theatres clean and less clean)


----------



## Dark Angel 27 (Sep 11, 2008)

just one more thing and then i'll leave you alone. i've had this song in my head for a while, and i think it might inspire you as it seems to have a vaudville feel to it.


----------



## Hauntiholik (May 17, 2006)

I like the ideas - very different.
Kids will recognize a spider on roller skates from Harry Potter.

Maybe you can get some ideas from Asheville Vaudeville who does a Halloween show?


----------



## Stinky Pete (May 2, 2011)

I don't think your idea is "fartworthy" at all, it's just that people have to wrap their heads around it, and a lot of people are starting in on summer vacation mode.

To me it sounds like a very interesting take on the circus haunt theme that seems to be gaining in popularity. From what I know (which isn't much) vaudeville took a big it when movies became popular. If you can tap into the vaudeville on the decline, you might have some good material for a haunt. A talking skeleton telling bad jokes and puns is a natural. I've also seen a skeleton barbershop quartet. Of course you'll need some sort of creepy MC to tie it all together.

Good Luck!


----------



## nixie (Sep 17, 2008)

I love this idea! This theme has some mad potential, I'll see if I can come up with any ideas. My son is going to dress as a vaudeville zombie for his costume this year, so my mind is already starting to bend in the creepy vaudeville direction.


----------

