Article written by Breanna Smith.
Theme parks are known for excitement and entertainment in many different ways, and with thriller rides, character actors and shows, there is a lot to see and do. So, let’s have a look at how much of an impact our live performers have in theatre parks.
As said above, there are three main parts of theme parks: rides, shows and characters. Some focus more on rides, such as White-Water World and Wet 'n Wild, while others focus on entertainment, such as Movie World through famous characters, and Dream World through the experience of other worlds, whether the outback or a rockabilly era. These parks bring these worlds to life with shows and live performances. If you are unsure of what I mean by these performances, think of one as a show you sit down for that allows you to walk up and take a photo with the characters. Each of these have a big impact on their parks, and when looking at character actors, many people wouldn't see these parks in the same way without them. I mean, can you imagine Disney World without Mickey Mouse walking around?
So, I decided to head down to a theme park last weekend and look at the other benefits to live performance that we have in theme parks.
One of the benefits of having skilled people performing, is that you have their knowledge on hand; people know what they are doing and are able to perform well, react quick and give honest answers. The host of the Australian Sheep Shearing Show at Dreamworld used to shear sheep in Longreach before applying for the job at Dreamworld and moving south. Having worked on farms himself, when talking about life on the farm, he does so in an accurate way. This allows for the cast to truly reflect what it is like, and it enhances the experience for the guests.
Another benefit of live cast members, is they bring the characters to life. When kids see Wonder Woman at the parks as a “real” every day person, you can see the excitement of the kids and the joy it brings them. They are able to see their hero in person, see that they are real and what they fight for is real. Kids are able to see them as real people and, because while they are actors they know the role they play, they won't make it a bad experience as some have had when meeting their heroes. It allows for kids to see what they can become and how the world is a good place, that anything is possible and that they can become anything.
This was a common sight last weekend at Dreamworld from The Last Storm Troopers Star Wars Weekend; with the Redback Garrison 501st legion all in costume, kids were able to see every single character you can imagine from the Star Wars films, being performed by people from all walks of life and of all ages, from as young as youngling to those as old as Yoda. They were able to see that there is no stopping them from reaching their dreams, and they can become their own heroes.
A question that has come up is, "Why not just film it with the cost it takes to have staff performing each day, and have sheep ready for shearing for the Australian Sheep Shearing Show, or fuel on the cars for Hollywood Stunt Driver? We use digital performance so often, so why not here?" Well, to start, when these parks first opened (1981 for Dreamworld, and 1991 for Movie World), to set up, all the tech needed for a pre-recorded experience would have been costly, and it was most likely cheaper to simply put people in costumes and go. While cost may have gone down since then, the history of having these beloved shows leads to them staying as they are popular.
Shows are able to be changed in small, quick ways to stay relevant to the era or for a theme in a park for an event (see Sheep Shearing Show featuring Stormtroopers) but even when digital shows are brought into the theme parks, they don’t work as well or as simple. Movie World shows a film many times a day in their 4D Adventures – currently The Lego Movie 4D Experience – but as the name suggests, it’s not just a film on a screen; lots of time, money and effort had to be put in for the show to work and be enjoyed many times throughout the day. At Dreamworld, we see they tried to make a show using screens with Dreamworld Corroboree. While the location it is housed in is nice – and it has reminders by an information centre, even with an opening by a live performer – when watching, it is easy to overlook and seems degrading to the actor who opened the film. When compared to other shows, the actor in a costume dancing could be said to beat a recorded show, even one with a great production value.
They are many factors that lead to performances being a good idea in theatre parks, but the main factor I think are the people; people sharing their story, living their dreams and making others' dreams come true. I think live performances are going to keep being a big part of our theme park experience, and you know what? I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
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