WANTED: UNDEAD, UNRULY MONSTERS FOR SCARY TIME FRIGHTFAIR LOOKS FOR MASTERS OF THE MORBID.

Byline: BRENT HOPKINS Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS -- One-by-one, the zombies and would-be wolfmen parked their cars and lumbered in to work.

They jerked, lurched, stumbled and drooled. They licked lips at imagined gore and howled at a moon not yet risen, preened and showed off. They made themselves as scary as could be.

So went the tryouts on Saturday for FrightFair, the annual scare-fest held on the fringes of Pierce College's cornfield. Seeking to fill their revolting ranks with the most frightening characters possible, the show's producers held an open tryout for staggering weirdos and thirsty vampires.

``I can be a wolfman just the way I am,'' said Michael ``Z.Z.'' Clark, 58, of Tarzana, who also portrays Santa Claus when the season permits. ``I've played the Del Mar Fair as the King Troll. I've done a lot of acting, `Married ... with Children,' `Melrose Place,' dinner theater. I just love stuff like this.''

The show has gone on for nine Halloweens, freaking out patrons in simulated graveyards, corn mazes and with the good ol' man-eating couch routine. This year's 23 show dates begin Sept. 29 and run through Oct. 31.

Though much of the 40-person cast comes from returning players, the producers seek any able-bodied, energetic creep-out artist interested in delivering a good shock. Most actors are paid, though FrightFair also solicits volunteers to round out its list of performers.

``It's a great stress reliever to scream at people,'' said Sarah Utso, 25, of Northridge, dressed in blood-spattered zombie attire and capable of uncorking a yell that could strip the paint off a barn. ``I love Halloween; the blood, the guts, the gore. You can act it out for a month and no one looks at you too strangely.''

Some auditioners opted for volume, others relied on silent, jerky dread as they showed off their talents before the panel that would determine whether they got the job. Jason Castle, an 18-year-old filmmaker from Reseda, took a philosophical approach toward his undead creation.

Though he considers himself a member of the controversial faster-zombies-are-scarier camp, he adopted a relatively slow pace as he spastically menaced his way toward the camera.

``The soul of the zombie?'' he pondered afterward. ``You live zombie, you breathe zombie, you are zombie. ... The slow zombies, when you walk by, aren't too creepy to me. But when they're rotting, that helps.''

Kevin Getchius needed no rot for his writhing, frothing performance that left him covered in dirt and brought applause from the panel. A longtime member of the cast, the former Boy Scout prefers darker creatures, vampires and the like.

``A deep-voiced ancient god type,'' the 23-year-old Reseda resident said, then adopting just such a voice, somewhat evocative of an old Vincent Price film. ``You know, `I will make sure your eyeballs are crushed down beneath my feet.' That kind of stuff.''

The key, according to co-talent coordinator Mike Keane, a 33-year-old former actor in the show who now helps select the cast, is to bring energy to one's performance. Makeup can be applied, costumes can be worn, gore can be affixed, but energy cannot be taught.

He once chased attendees around with a chainsaw, a job he describes as unimaginably fun. From his acting days, he knows well how to manipulate an audience into all-out terror just based on passion for the craft.

``If I only had a nickel for every guy who got scared,'' he said. ``Most people would think it's the girls who get scared, but I've had so many guys put their girlfriend in between me and them.

``I'll pin 'em over in the corner, say, `Give me the girl and I'll let you go,' and they'll shove her at me and take off.''

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Lee Sacks of Reseda performs during a Saturday evening audition for scarers at the FrightFair haunted house during Halloween season at L.A. Pierce College.

(2) Sarah Utso of Northridge waits for her turn to audition for the annual FrightFair, to be held at Pierce College.

Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News