One of the more renowned builders of haunt attractions in their area, Maridee and Jolene has established a reputation as individuals and together that they formed Factory 13 to further expand their business. Now, in honor of Women in Horror Month, I talk with them about their own interest in the genre, getting started in the industry and experiences on their builds.
Me: Hello and thank you both for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general?
Jolene: I’ve always loved horror movies and haunted houses and Halloween, but it wasn’t until grad school that I started looking at horror more seriously. I was throwing around a few ideas for my thesis work in theater and thought about investigating horror on stage. I knew so many people who were horror fans, but nobody who was making horror on stage. When I started throwing out ideas for a thesis, that’s the one that stuck. It seemed to carry the most interest for people. Whether they were interested or insistent that I was wasting my time, I found it exciting that the topic got people so riled up.
Maridee: Like Jolene, I’ve always been fascinated with horror, Halloween, and haunted houses. I was lucky enough to have a family that shared this obsession (our holiday movies were Deliverance, The Shining, and Silence of the Lambs for as far back as I can remember). As a young director, I drew on the principles of horror in the work I was making for the stage, but I never quite articulated that that was what I was doing. Even when working with Butoh. Perhaps that was a subconscious submission to a boys’ club? Who knows. I went to grad school for directing, which is where I met Jolene. We had this incredible class examining Fairy Tales and Folklore through the lens of Tadeusz Kantor. That class was an ah-ha moment for me: Horror is a way of working through trauma.
Me: Were you into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
Jolene: I remember watching movies like The People Under the Stairs and Poltergeist as a kid and loving them. But it wasn’t until I saw The Exorcist in theaters - I believe for the 30-year anniversary - that I became a super fan. I was so in love with the way the movie slowly moved into the scare. It was the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen, but also so beautifully crafted.
Maridee: There’s the Slater family trinity I mentioned above (they never ever get old). I remember being really young and obsessed with The Changeling - loving the way it scared the shit out of me - watching and rewatching to feel the sensations of anticipation and anxiety, hiding my eyes at different moments, daring myself to not look away in others. The first film I came to on my own was the original Omen, which felt like poetry to me.
Me: Jolene, after writing your MFA thesis on horror theater and horror theory, were you interested in joining the film industry based on your credentials?
Jolene: I do some work in film now. I recently worked on a drama called The Subject with Aunjanue Ellis and Jason Biggs that is traveling the festival circuit and winning all sorts of awards now. And I recently worked on the script for a new slasher flick that’s currently in pre-production. But my first love has always been theater. I love live events. I love being in the room with the actors and the action. I love well-made blood effects and a perfectly timed blackout. Horror thrived in live shows long before the movies came along. Sure, there are things film does better. Film can direct and hold your gaze in ways that live works can’t - and that’s crucial for a good jump scare. But I think the magic of liveness can still make a hell of a good horror experience, we just have to lean into what our strengths are.
Me: As well, you also help with creating Traumaturgy Productions, a horror theater company dedicated to working in horror aesthetics without relying on camp. How did the company’s founding come to be? What are some of your goals with the company?
Jolene: I started Traumaturgy Productions with my partner, Stephen Christensen, in 2015 after grad school. I felt like after writing about horror theater, it was time to put theory into practice and start making. Our first show was written by Stephen and was a really fun possession play set in a big pile of black dirt in the middle of an all-white theater. The second main show, Sunset Park, was written by a marvelous playwright, Matt Minnicinno, and had some really fun ghost effects. I’ve also done a couple of small pieces playing with specific effects - like Trypophobia that played with some nasty, close-up body horror. My goal is to create horror plays that aren’t so silly and campy. They are still a lot of fun, but I want to lean into the horror effects and away from comedy. My favorite night ever, we had some people come by after a haunted house, they were covered in fake blood (and totally drunk) and spent the whole show loudly shouting things like “Oh shit! Don’t go in there!” - it was amazing. Theater people can be so stodgy. I love the potential horror plays have for inviting new people into the room.
Me: Maridee, as you’re working more on design and construction of props, what drew you towards this aspect of the industry?
Maridee: Haha - I will work in whatever medium pays the bills. Before grad school, my day job was working as the props artisan for Intiman Theatre in Seattle. Before that I was a carpenter and welder at Seattle Rep. All the while I lived in Seattle, I was designing and fabricating props and sets for fringe groups as well as directing and choreographing. I don’t think I ever slept. So, naturally, fabricating is a solid way for me to supplement the other work I do. Working in horror allows my background in fabrication and my training as a director to have really incredible conversations, as it demands out-of-the-box innovations when navigating the logistics of experience making. It’s thrilling putting together an installation that tends to all of the senses in an equitable way.
Me: Being a teacher of the trade, what do you usually provide for those who ask for your services?
Maridee: I think the greatest thing I can provide is a developed shared vocabulary for collaboration. Most of my teaching work is through academia or private workshops, so the material and means can vary greatly. Prevalent in what I teach are movement and ensemble techniques Viewpoints, Suzuki, and Butoh. I have spent the past seven or so summers teaching a course at Columbia University on generating original theatre as part of an incredible team of educators and theatre professionals. This past summer we moved that course online (with surprising success). Sometimes I teach design, carpentry, and welding too. No matter what pedagogies I am weaving together for a lesson, the elements of horror are peppered throughout. Theatre is my first and forever love, and drawing from the anatomy of horror when working with humans to create live pieces taps into something ancient and essential and sacred. I think it is Will Eno who writes in his play Tragedy: A Tragedy, “We hear better in the dark - because we are listening for our killers.” That traces back to early humanity. That is in our DNA. That is at the root of our shared experience.
Me: Together, the two of you are known for several massively successful haunts in the area, including Blackout Haunted House and this year’s virtual and box experience for Minneapolis’ Haunted Basement. How did you come to create these experiences?
Jolene: We were super lucky to get on board with Blackout - the directors (Kristjan Thor and Josh Randall) hired us to Assistant Direct the 2014 New York show while they were getting the LA show up and running. After running that massive experience, we knew we had a knack for this and should keep working together to make live horror events. When we first started working with Haunted Basement, we were planning a pretty awesome and unique haunt...then covid hit. Rearranging the whole experience really forced us to think creatively about what it means for an event to be “live” and how we can best use the talents of the horror artists in the Minneapolis community to make something memorable in this new format.
Maridee: I echo Jolene in our luck joining Blackout. That experience was a crash course in massive immersive content creation and management. We discovered very quickly the ways in which our talents and interests complement each other - and in service of this giant ship we were running. I always felt totally in over my head, but safe and taken care of and challenged and invigorated and exhausted. It was awesome. I feel very strongly that that experience fruited an organic trust akin to one born in battle, so to speak. We also lucked out with Haunted Basement in that when covid hit, they listened to our pitch to keep moving forward (really into the unknown) with us. It was a time when so many live events were tossing in the hat or putting projects on hold. We dreamed big and weird and in service of the talents of the Haunted Basement Creeps (as they call themselves) - and we focused on the community need for the experience as well as the company's need for a collaboration. The experiences we ended up creating were wild and weird and unexpected and I’m really proud of everyone involved.
Me: What is the usual process towards creating a new experience? How much involvement do you two have during the planning stages of a new installment?
Jolene: We always start by asking ourselves, why should we do this? Who needs it? What do we want people to get out of this experience? Then we start thinking about how to make it smartly and safely. In most of the live events we’ve done, we come in with a large idea, a general shape we want it to take, and an idea of what the experience should feel like for an audience member. Then, we work with actors and designers to build specific content using tried and true devising techniques. We work with every person to ensure they know how to create moments that feel dangerous and terrifying in safe, generous, and creative ways. Even with our mailbox and virtual experiences, we worked similarly, bringing in the big ideas and working with communities of artists to create the specific creative details.
Maridee: Jolene articulated it perfectly. Beginning with the questions is key. Specifically when covid hit, the who what and why was such an anchor. We ensure that everyone is safe and generous and working in daring ways - unafraid of failure. Another thing I think we are successful with is handing the reins over to artists and letting them run with their impulses. We guide and shape rather than dictate.
Me: What has been the most surreal or memorable experience that has granted to you through your builds?
Jolene: Working with Blackout is always a gift. We have the most incredible, hardcore fans. The experience can be really overwhelming for some people who aren’t prepared to feel that kind of fear - or are challenging themselves to overcome their fear for personal growth. There is something really intimate when it’s just you as an actor and one person who is scared out of their mind. I won’t get into specifics for privacy’s sake, but I will always remember one email we received after a show where a woman thanked our actors for allowing her the space to overcome her personal fears about touch and consent through this really intense haunted house experience. It’s really a gift to be with someone when they are experiencing such intense emotion in really raw and unexpected ways. And it just feels fucking good to scare people.
Maridee: I was going to bring that email up as well. And I believe that same year we had a similar review on Yelp, of all places. That year with Blackout, I ended up performing a rather iconic scene from the Blackout canon. It was a really vulnerable place to be for various reasons, and I found it a really empowering and emotional journey. I connected to patrons intimately, sometimes at the tune of 100 people per night. It was like a masterclass in human behavior. One of the greatest gifts Blackout gave us is the framework for kindness and trust and safety necessary in ensembles making these intense live experiences. Everyone involved is inclusive, caring, and looking out for each other. And those who don't weed themselves out very quickly.
Me: Recently, you’ve founded Factory 13, a hybrid live/virtual horror company now in pre-production. What was the inspiration behind working together under this banner?
Jolene: Between us, we have an insane amount of experience making live and virtual events. And we always have the most fun and feel the most satisfied when we create pieces by and for all the misfit weirdo horror geeks who need a place to indulge in their macabre loves and experience the therapeutic effects of a good fucking scare. So, we figured why not? Let’s keep making together. Let’s fill the void of high-end scary shit made by women. Good horror is generous. It allows people to experience things in safe ways that don’t feel safe. And we love the feeling that comes out of creating a successful moment.
Maridee: Factory 13 is born out of questions, as is our style. What needs to be in the world right now? What are we most satiated making? What experiences are we attracted to? What would our dream jobs be? What would happen if we put aside any notion of waiting for permission or opportunity and responded to the impulses that fueled those questions in the first place?
Me: What else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers?
Jolene: I recently gave birth...to twins (cue The Shining moment). So, I’m taking some time while I work on the insane and unpredictable process of becoming a mother. And Maridee and I will be throwing ourselves into getting things moving with our own company, Factory 13. (Follow us on Instagram for updates @thefactorythirteen) Maybe someday I’ll start a Parents in Horror group. And we can all work together to figure out how to balance making blood packs with singing baby shark.
Maridee: F13 is at the helm, especially while we are in this tumultuous moment with live events. By nature, this new company transcends the need to be in the same room. I am most excited to explore the ways we navigate the challenges of the present moment. We are currently consulting on a destination piece that I’m really excited about as well...but I won’t spoil the surprise. In life and as practice, I’m working on taking all of the energy and time and resources I put into applying for jobs and looking for someone to grant me work (asking permission) into making F13 the kickass company I know it will be.
Me: Lastly, being that this is Women in Horror Month, what special message do you have for any women out there looking to join in the industry in any capacity as you are one yourself? Thank you again for your time!
Jolene: There’s so much room for women in horror. So much room. Come in. Bring your friends. Let’s tear this shit up.
Maridee: JOIN US. Demolish the construct of gatekeepers. There's you and your colleagues and your wild imagination and that’s all you need. Be free with it. Take up space. Make with whatever and whomever you have available. Get excited. Fail big. Feed your confidence - and set your ego aside.
To follow Maridee's work, check out her official site:
To follow Jolene's work, check out her official site:
To stay up-to-date on their adventures together, follow F13's official site:
This interview ran as part of our Women in Horror Month celebrations. Click the banner below to check out all of our reviews and interviews about the occasion:
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