Gravesend Inn Haunted Hotel

Produced by TheatreWorks, the resident theatre company at New York City College of Technology

This experiential learning project of the Entertainment Technology Department has been running since 2000 and is now a New York City Halloween tradition. This project integrates each discipline area offered by Entertainment Technology (scenery, lighting, sound, video, costumes, show control, animatronics, marketing, event management) into a single event that enables students to work in real-world situations. Seen each year by thousands of people, this not only generates a lot of publicity (often international: for example: ) for the school, but its proceeds help to underwrite other experiential projects.

Gravesend Inn is a highly networked exhibition, as sophisticated as a Disney Themed attraction.The bulk of the Hotel is delivered via automation technologies, and relies on multiple sensors that track audience movement and synchronize each of the many effects. These are then used to control multiple computer systems. Although there are few actors, the process of design, fabrication, installation, operation, and strike requires a very large crew of students to ensure its success, and the students take great pride in working with such a complex production.

I was involved with the creation and continued refinement of this project from its conception through 2013. I served as both sound designer and composer, and of course administratively as Chair of the department.