It’s hard not to love a holiday that involves dress up, set design, hair, makeup and sound effects. Oh, and free candy. Straz staffers offer up some of their go-to DIY tricks and treats for this weekend’s festivities.
To make fake blood that will wash out of clothing use clear dish soap or laundry detergent and red and blue food coloring. A few drops of blue give it that dark shade closer to blood. To make fake blood that is safe to have in your mouth you can use Karo syrup and food coloring or chocolate syrup and food coloring (both stain clothing).
—Vivian Rodriguez, marketing and programming assistant
If you’re doing a real “scare,” it can be anything from a whisper to a loud scream (or even silence). And make an effort to not only scare the person in the front of the group, scares to the middle and behind are very effective.
—Brittany Horowitz, production administrator, Patel Conservatory
Here is a very easy one: you just need mason jars, gauze, googly eyes, tea lights and glue. Wrap the mason jar in gauze, then glue googly eyes and finally put the tea light inside and light it.
—Deanne Hensel, customer service representative, Ticket Office
Here is another easy one. All you need is cardboard toilet rolls, paint (green, orange, purple, black), scissors, and glow sticks. First draw eyes on the roll and then cut them out. Paint the color of your choice, then once it dries, add a glow stick when you are ready to set out.
—Deanne Hensel, customer service representative, Ticket Office
**note: hiding these in shrubs and trees is fun for trick or treat night.
If you are wearing a mask with eye holes, put make up the same color as the mask around your eyes and it will appear seamless and natural.
—Jacob Zimmer, technical coordinator, Production Department
If you need to grey or darken your hair for a costume, use a toothbrush to apply your select color of greasepaint to the areas of your hair that need white or color. Works especially well on short hair.
—Suzanne Livesay, vice president of education
With a little spirit gum, adhesive and theater makeup, you can go a long way. For a simple tutorial on using theater makeup techniques to create a stab wound, read this blog post.
—Pics from the Monster Mash Makeup workshop at the Patel Conservatory