Bringing on the scares for the Halloween season! Monique Coleman voices the Robot in Blackbox TV’s latest VR series Scream Park, and she tells J-14 exclusively how this show brings “two worlds together” — gaming and narrative.
“I think it’s kind of like an experiment in a way to see where this genre can go and how it can evolve,” the High School Musical alum, 41, gushes about the series, which was created for Meta Quest 2. “I’m really excited to hear back from fans to see, you know, what their experience is. Hopefully, there are more opportunities to do this in the horror space and also in other genres as well.”
Keep reading for more details on the VR series.
What Is ‘Scream Park’ About?
Taking place in a haunted amusement part, the series is a 360 degrees VR experience in which the audience is fully trapped with the characters. Stranger Things star Grace Van Dien stars as Kelly Q, while Monique voices the Robot who Blackbox TV creator Tony E. Valenzuela describes as “the only thing left in the park that is still full of light and hope, a bit of a lighthouse.”
For Monique, she approached this character the same as any other role she would play.
“I would say that the product is different than anything I’ve ever done, but the approach is the same,” she tells J-14. “I think when it comes to storytelling, what’s interesting is we’re just finding different modalities and different avenues for doing that, which is what makes this so interesting.”
Who Does Monique Coleman Play in ‘Scream Park’?
The character of the Robot “isn’t meant to be scary,” despite being set in a horror show.
“I approached it the way that I approach any character, which is recognizing that each of us has a wealth of experiences within us that we can access,” Monique shares. “[Robot is] actually meant to be more of a touchstone for each episode and, in a sense, just a guide. But as time goes on, you start to recognize that maybe Robot has a bit of a consciousness and that there might be more to this character than just someone that tells you kind of where we are.”
Overall, the former Disney Channel star says it was a “really interesting process to personify something that is digital.”
Who Is Starring in ‘Scream Park’?
Aside from Monique and Grace, actor Steve Zaragoza is playing the role of Toby Terrific. While Monique “unfortunately” didn’t get to act alongside her costars for this particular project, she does find it interesting how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how shows are filmed.
“I think as artist, one of our gifts is being very adaptable, particularly in moments of chaos or crisis,” she shares.”So yes, it is different and there’s a lot that has changed — that has been challenging. I also, I think, has created opportunities for us to incorporate people that maybe we previously wouldn’t have had the opportunity to. … I think a lot of innovation, um, and creative ideas have come from the restrictions that we’ve experienced for the last couple of years.”
Is ‘Scream Park’ a Horror Show?
While it is considered a horror series, Monique teases that Scream Park is “really more meant to be immersive.”
When it comes to creating a scare-factor, the A Christmas Dance Reunion star said she’s careful to “consider a person’s nervous system.” She adds, “I definitely played with the tone to make sure that, yeah, it’s something that could be contributing to the scare-factor, but it’s not traumatizing. This is a genre that a lot of people really, really love and I obviously wanted to do service to the role and I loved being a part of all different types of storytelling.”
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