Auditions announced for Panic on Plant Street

Does the thought of scaring people excite you? Do you have an evil habit of hiding and waiting to jump out at someone?

Then the Winter Garden Masonic Lodge has a volunteer gig just for you.

The lodge is holding auditions for its first Panic on Plant Street haunted house at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5, and Wednesday, Sept. 6, at the lodge, 230 W. Bay St.

Mimi’s Community Theater is conducting the tryouts. Lorraine Patria, the theater’s founder, said those auditioning do not need to prepare a monologue or wear a costume.

“As we narrow down the characters, we may ask them to do certain sounds or movements needed for the part,” she said.

All ages, teens and older, are invited to audition. Of particular interest are twin girls (think “The Shining”).

For information about the audition, contact Patria at (407) 864-5029 or [email protected].

PANIC ON PLANT STREET

The haunted house will be open for guests from 7 to 11 p.m. Oct. 27 through 29 and 31.

Mike Kilgore, a Masonic officer, is known for his portrayal of Uncle Sam and Santa Claus at lodge events. Now he’s going in a different direction as Spiky the Clown this Halloween.

Kilgore said the house will feature a maze appropriate for guests 8 and older to walk through and the six rooms will carry different themes.

In addition to Spiky, guests can expect to see Sheba the Gorilla Girl and a fortuneteller, as well as a graveyard and mad scientist lab.

A family-friendly area called the Chicken Coop will be set up for younger children, and parents can even leave their little ones there while they enjoy the haunted house.

Tickets are $10, and the lodge is setting up a way to pay online through the Panic on Plant Street Haunted House Facebook page. The money raised will help support the six local schools in the Masonic lodge’s Adopt-a-School program.

In the next few weeks, you might catch a glimpse of a character dragging around a coffin at the Winter Garden Farmers Market to promote the event.  Some of the downtown merchants have gotten involved, too, sponsoring the house through donated products or financial contributions.

Kilgore participated in a haunted house last year in Ocoee and was eager to do it again, but he thought Winter Garden needed one of its own.

“There’s no haunted house down in Winter Garden,” he said. “I said, ‘Why aren’t we doing a haunted house?’ The guys at the Masonic lodge agreed, and so we’ve been building ever since.”

Contact Amy Quesinberry at [email protected].