Theme parks are great for roller coasters and haunted houses, but they also offer terrific acting opportunities, especially for those just getting started in the business. Six Flags Over Georgia's Entertainment and Events Manager, Shane DeLancey, talked to us about the types of roles available at his park, and why working in a theme park can help you better understand your audience and sharpen your skills.
How long is your season?
Generally the season starts in mid-March, and now with the addition of “Holiday in the Park,” we run through the first weekend in January.
What are some of the jobs you offer at Six Flags Over Georgia?
In addition to our singer-dancer roles, we have Looney Tunes and Justice League of America costume characters. Some of our Looney Tunes characters perform in shows like “Looney Tunes Dance Party.” We also have Looney Tunes street characters who walk the park, do meet and greets, and take pictures with guests. When we audition Justice League characters—Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman—we bring the actors in, put them in costume, and simulate interactions with the guests for a one to two-minute video that we send to Warner Brothers and DC Comics to approve.
What are you looking for with the costume characters?
We’re looking for people who can move well in the suit, make large movements, and also be expressive with their arms and body because small movements don’t register, and obviously neither do facial expressions.
Tell us about the shows you have this year.
Our mainstage show is a music revue called “Mixtape” which is a 10-person cast. We primarily look for singers who can dance, though we may also cast dancers who don’t sing. That runs from Memorial Day Weekend through August 2.
Last year we opened “Because It’s Christmas,” about two children trying to get their military dad home in time for Christmas Day. It was rated by our guests as the most popular attraction at Six Flags Over Georgia, and the second most popular guest-rated show in all of the Six Flags parks last year. It runs from Thanksgiving week through the first weekend in January. It’s a 20-person cast—the largest we have. We’ll be bringing it back this year.
We also have “Dr. Fright’s Dead Man’s Party,” which is part of our Halloween event, “Fright Fest.” This is an IAAPA Brass Ring Award-nominated show with a nine-person cast of zombies and ghouls singing and dancing—a hip-hop zombie show.
“Fright Fest” has 200 actors who are part of the Halloween attractions that run from the last weekend in September to the last weekend in October. We’ll start auditions on June 27 for actors only, then on July 11 we’ll be auditioning actors along with singers and dancers for “Dead Man’s Party.”
What type actors are you looking for at “Fright Fest”?
We’re looking for people who can do things like walk like a zombie—zombies are so popular right now. We’ll take some of the best zombie walkers. Some actors get speaking roles. During the audition process, we’ll ask the actors what type characters they like. Sometimes it can be tough when you make someone a vampire who wants to be a zombie. We also look for people who are good screamers to play the victims. We try to work off of the actors’ strengths as much as possible.
Are your performers usually local?
Our actors are generally local and we post audition information on our website.
When do your other auditions take place?
Auditions for spring and summer shows take place the first weekend in January—we often cast local college students who are home to audition during winter break and then will be out of school for the summer.
Auditions for the “Fright Fest” show, “Dead Man’s Party”, take place in July. We also run general auditions at the same time for “Because It’s Christmas.” We then have a callback for the Christmas show later, once “Fright Fest” opens.
Do you get a lot of repeat performers over the years?
It depends on the year. This year for “Mixtape,” no one in the cast had done a mainstage performance here before—a couple of them performed as carolers during “Holiday in the Park,” but in the past we’ve had more returning actors.
Do people tend to move from one Six Flags to another?
That rarely happens, though that’s not to say it never does. I can think of a couple examples—someone from our Six Flags went to San Antonio, and someone from Dallas came here.
What do the most successful performers you’ve come across have in common?
The most successful performers are the ones who treat this as an opportunity to learn. There aren’t many performing jobs where you can work for four or five different audiences in six hours. So if you go out and mess up, you can go out again an hour later and fix it. In another job, it could be a day or more before you’d be able to do that. You also get to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t, and how to read the audience. Not all audiences want the same thing. I think that expedited learning experience is a huge benefit for those who want to make a career in performing.
Inspired by this post? Check out our Atlanta audition listings!