Dozens of our Acting Students helped movie lovers live their Halloween nightmares

Dozens of acting students at a leading West Midlands college helped horror movie lovers live their Halloween nightmares at a major leisure attraction, earning rave reviews from visitors.

A group of 40 performing arts students from Coventry College were given the chance to show off their acting chops and practice their best bloodcurdling screams at two ‘scare mazes’ ran by event entertainment and production company Area 51 in the build up to Halloween and on the day itself.

The ‘Purgatory’ and ‘Satan’s Slammer’ mazes, which were held at Whatton House in Loughborough and Weston Lawn Farms in Bedworth respectively, were manned by volunteers from Coventry College’s level 3 and 4 acting courses who were tasked with upping the scare-factor by becoming a range of characters as visitors tried to escape.

Elliott Jones, Performing Arts student at Coventry College, said: “I have enjoyed my experience with Area 51 so much. I started doing work experience with them with the help of Coventry College, starting with being part of their ‘Satan Slammer’ trailer.

“The cast and crew were extremely welcoming, after this I joined in with their ‘Purgatory’ event and getting a solo section where I jump-scare and stalk the customers.

“During my time there I got to train on Digi-legs, which are stilts, in preparation for my role as Satan in ‘Satan’s Slammer’.”

Jack Page at Area 51 said: “I’d like to thank all of the students involved. They formed a major part of the production and we owe a lot of the success of the show to their hard work and dedication.

“Scare acting is not to everyone’s liking, but all of the students conducted themselves in a professional manner and would be welcomed back in future.”
Katie McDonagh, Course Lead for Acting at Coventry College, said: “This was a fantastic experience for our acting students and the fact that they received some amazing feedback from both the public and the organisers is a testament to their hard work and their willingness to try new things.

“The group got the chance to experience where a career as a performer might take them, and would have done no harm to their prospects of finding future work in the industry.”

Gemma Knott, Vice Principal for Business Growth, Engagement and Partnerships at Coventry College, said: “We are always pushing our students to take advantage of work experience opportunities wherever possible, so it is exciting see that so many performing arts students took this opportunity which proved to be rewarding for everyone involved.

“I’d like to thank the team at Area 51 for their willingness to involve so many of our students and giving them a platform to develop their skills.”