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ORLANDO - Each day before greeting the flood of tourists looking for a little magic, hundreds of actors don face paint and sweltering character suits in dressing rooms across Orlando. In a town where actors moonlight in theme parks just as their counterparts in New York or Los Angeles wait tables, suspension of disbelief is a serious business.
"Currently we have approximately 330 full-time contracts at Walt Disney World," said Zalina Hoosein of the Actors' Equity Association. The EEA is a union primarily for actors in traditional theater, but the Orlando branch works closely with theme parks.
Potential Disney employees must audition for jobs just as they would for a stage production. Some actors aim for a singing or dancing part in one of the park's regularly scheduled shows. Others will land a role inside a giant Pluto suit taking pictures with tourists or, if they're lucky, a much-coveted speaking role as, say, Snow White.
"We refer to them as fur characters and face characters," said Alex Yepremian of Palm Harbor, who started as a fur character in high school and worked his way up to being the face for notable cartoon hunk Prince Charming.
Talk about a resume builder.
The theme parks aren't the only employers to make use of Orlando's actors. Attractions like Titanic: the Exhibition depend on well-rounded characters to keep the show afloat. Dressed in period costume, performers at Titanic portray ship passengers, entertaining guests while giving them a subtle lesson in maritime history.
"I really started off as an actor," said Stephen Stanger, who now helps hire and train employees for the exhibit. Getting into character is half the job. According to Stanger, "subject matter is a big thing. Having an overall interest in Titanic is a major bonus." Actors' homework include reading up on the people they're portraying so they can ad-lib their way through conversations with visitors.
Orlando's job market for the theatrically inclined isn't limited to actors. Artists also are needed to get the characters appropriately made up and costumed.
What's the secret to keeping all the ghouls in a haunted house looking sufficiently deathly? "We have a full-time airbrush artist," said David Traxler, operations manager at Skull Kingdom.