As dusk fell Saturday evening over the dusty streets of Old Tucson Studios, the town's Halloween denizens awoke from their annual slumber and once more took up residence.
On the surface — and to the public — it's the mad Dr. Jebediah Hyde who "oversees" the criminally insane (and gory) residents of Nightfall, Old Tucson's nightly alter-ego.
But it's art director Andrew Kenworthy who is largely responsible for the physical manifestation of the inhuman occupants and victims, alive or otherwise.
Just days before Nightfall begins, Kenworthy and his small staff are putting the final touches on the event's attractions, working from what is aptly titled the "Big, Giant Huge List of Stuff." That morning, it's three pages.
At 9 a.m., Kenworthy takes his break — snatching a large bag of home-popped popcorn from his office and grabbing one of the day's few moments of rest.
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"He's famous for his popcorn," said Terry Verhage, director of operations at Old Tucson, in between drags of a cigarette. "Go ahead, ask him and see if he shares."
"It's a sign of how busy my day has been," Kenworthy said. "If I go home and show my wife a full bag, she knows it's been a long day."
The role of art director at Old Tucson "is an insane job to have," he said. "I bounce around like a pinball. At a time like this (before Nightfall begins), it's really a case of trying to hold back the flood."
Background in Hollywood
The former Hollywood special-effects artist moved to Tucson with his wife, Nancy, about five years ago following almost a decade in Santa Fe.
They'd met in the late '80s, on set of the "War of the Worlds: The Second Wave" television series in Toronto. Nancy — whose background included makeup work on the "Prom Night" series of slasher films — had been hired as Kenworthy's assistant.
"Here was this pretty girl who liked gore. What more could you want?" he said. "I knew when I first saw her that I'd be either really happy or really frustrated."
Without skipping a beat, Kenworthy headed to his workshop where maintenance workers Robert Swanston and George Schimmel were assembling and painting three skeletons.
"Jekyll and Hyde," quipped Swanston when asked whether they'd named any of their grossly-emaciated companions.
"That's Rebecca," added Schimmel, nodding to a skeleton seated hunched over a nearby work bench. When finished, all but Rebecca will be placed in shallow graves in the "Cannibal House." It's Kenworthy's favorite Nightfall attraction this year; a self-paced walk-through, featuring some nasty stew and one disturbing birthday celebration.
If the murderous family from Rob Zombie's gore-fest "House of 1,000 Corpses" were to drop by, this is where Kenworthy envisioned they'd stay.
An examination of the "Caverns of Despair" venue adds to Kenworthy's to-do list.
In less than three hours, he's sawed wood for signage, instructed a cast member on operating a stage prop, painted a few props, outfitted a stagecoach with three corpses and tortured Swanston and Schimmel with some alternative music.
"How about some Glenn Miller, music from our generation?" asked Schimmel, his plea echoed by Swanston. What they get is White Zombie.
Visitors to Caverns of Despair
On opening night, crowds of teens and older adults filtered through the Cannibal House and nearby Caverns of Despair.
One group of seven, huddled tightly, zipped through the house — occasionally erupting in a few squeals. But, their bond dissolved quickly in the midst of a chain-saw-wielding lunatic who sent them running one-by-one through the exit.
Soon after, Oscar and Carmen Lopez emerged with their daughter Azucena, slightly out of breath.
"I didn't know it was going to be this scary," said Azucena, 12, still laughing nervously.
Almost on cue, the sounds of a chain saw and high-pitched screaming were heard coming from inside. Turning back, Azucena asked, "You see?"
Though Nightfall is his favorite event, Kenworthy designs many of the rooms and sets at Old Tucson. One of his proudest accomplishments is the general store inside the Town Hall.
Taking a break from his pre-Nightfall schedule, he quickly points out different products on the shelves and explains the research he did to achieve that certain 1870s ambience for the store.
"Andrew's one of those people that always has unique ideas," operations director Verhage said. "He can take a concept and see it in a whole different way."
Profile
Name: Andrew Kenworthy
Age: 44
Job: Art director, Old Tucson Studios
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