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Convention brings lessons in fright | Statesman Journal | statesmanjournal.com
Like just about everything having to do with the Nightmare Factory, this year's West Coast Haunters Convention will be bigger than ever. "We started the convention last year with 12 (booths), and now we're up to 32," said Ed Roberts, a dorm counselor for the Oregon School for the Deaf and founder of The Nightmare Factory.
The school and haunted house have been flying high since appearing on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" last Halloween. This weekend, they'll play host to the convention, which will bring people from all parts of the haunted-house spectrum to Salem for three days of seminars, demos and socializing.
"We're already up by two-thirds from last year," Roberts said, adding that they were expecting 300 to 400 people. Roberts said it's not just for the Halloween buffs.
"If you're a makeup or theater person, we've got some tremendous classes in makeup and design and lighting that don't just apply to somebody who works in the haunt field," he said, mentioning that there is an eight-hour class on Saturday from Brian and Nick Wolfe called "Brush and Sponge Horror."
"It's a basic Makeup 101," Roberts said. "If you're into doing facepaint or theater makeup, that $100 is one of the best $100 you'll ever spend."
That class will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; you can register in advance on the WCHC website.
Most of the seminars are free with the $15 day pass or $40 three-day pass. There are classes on just about every aspect of a haunted house: actor training, how to keep the crowd moving forward, silicon makeup, soundscapes, fog machine care and backstories.
The keynote speaker is Tom Devlin, who was featured on the SyFy show "Face Off," a reality show competition for makeup artists; he will speak at 9 a.m. Friday morning.
Also in attendance is Drew Pierce, a makeup artist who does most of the work on Showtime's "Dexter"; he will be at the Cutthroat Studio booth inside the trade show.
Friday and Saturday evening events will include a 21-and-older afterparty, tours of the 2010 Nightmare Factory (which is included in the day-pass admission) and satellite events in Springfield and Portland.
"We have filled up (vendor spaces); we are good to go," Roberts said. "It's going to be a rocking good time. It's going to be a crazy three days."
Like just about everything having to do with the Nightmare Factory, this year's West Coast Haunters Convention will be bigger than ever. "We started the convention last year with 12 (booths), and now we're up to 32," said Ed Roberts, a dorm counselor for the Oregon School for the Deaf and founder of The Nightmare Factory.
The school and haunted house have been flying high since appearing on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" last Halloween. This weekend, they'll play host to the convention, which will bring people from all parts of the haunted-house spectrum to Salem for three days of seminars, demos and socializing.
"We're already up by two-thirds from last year," Roberts said, adding that they were expecting 300 to 400 people. Roberts said it's not just for the Halloween buffs.
"If you're a makeup or theater person, we've got some tremendous classes in makeup and design and lighting that don't just apply to somebody who works in the haunt field," he said, mentioning that there is an eight-hour class on Saturday from Brian and Nick Wolfe called "Brush and Sponge Horror."
"It's a basic Makeup 101," Roberts said. "If you're into doing facepaint or theater makeup, that $100 is one of the best $100 you'll ever spend."
That class will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; you can register in advance on the WCHC website.
Most of the seminars are free with the $15 day pass or $40 three-day pass. There are classes on just about every aspect of a haunted house: actor training, how to keep the crowd moving forward, silicon makeup, soundscapes, fog machine care and backstories.
The keynote speaker is Tom Devlin, who was featured on the SyFy show "Face Off," a reality show competition for makeup artists; he will speak at 9 a.m. Friday morning.
Also in attendance is Drew Pierce, a makeup artist who does most of the work on Showtime's "Dexter"; he will be at the Cutthroat Studio booth inside the trade show.
Friday and Saturday evening events will include a 21-and-older afterparty, tours of the 2010 Nightmare Factory (which is included in the day-pass admission) and satellite events in Springfield and Portland.
"We have filled up (vendor spaces); we are good to go," Roberts said. "It's going to be a rocking good time. It's going to be a crazy three days."