Post by Buff on May 30, 2006 11:37:47 GMT 11
This caught my eye - unfortuantely..
www.theage.com.au/news/world/househunting-becomes-a-theatrical-experience/2006/05/29/1148754937807.html
Part of the article:
"THE smell of freshly baked bread, coffee on the stove and a few props depicting a desirable lifestyle have become the stock-in-trade of the ambitious home seller. Now it seems that may not be enough.
Anxious that even the most gushing of descriptions may not be enough, a US property company has employed a tactic that it thinks could catch on everywhere: hiring teams of actors to play "happy families" in its display homes.
Attractive film and stage actors are cast in the roles of cheerful parents and angelic children, recreating scenes of domestic bliss that they hope will impress prospective buyers."
"With Hollywood just down the road, there is no shortage of photogenic but unemployed actors for whom the alternatives are normally bit parts in television advertisements and waiting on tables.
Centex recruited Jaason Simmons, 35, best known for his three-year stint as a lifeguard on Baywatch, to play the father of the fictitious family. Camille Chen, a television and film actress, is the mother, and two children from a local theatre company are the couple's offspring.
House hunters pass through while the "family" cooks, eats, chats, plays games and watches television.
The viewers are encouraged to treat the occupants as "real" people and quiz them on amenities such as the oven or fridge, for which the actors are given fact sheets to study beforehand.
Normally, the "guests" will find themselves gatecrashing an uplifting family occasion, such as the baking of a birthday cake. "We do it as a free-flowing improvisation — set the parameters and make it like a play," Mr Garfield said."
Buff
www.theage.com.au/news/world/househunting-becomes-a-theatrical-experience/2006/05/29/1148754937807.html
Part of the article:
"THE smell of freshly baked bread, coffee on the stove and a few props depicting a desirable lifestyle have become the stock-in-trade of the ambitious home seller. Now it seems that may not be enough.
Anxious that even the most gushing of descriptions may not be enough, a US property company has employed a tactic that it thinks could catch on everywhere: hiring teams of actors to play "happy families" in its display homes.
Attractive film and stage actors are cast in the roles of cheerful parents and angelic children, recreating scenes of domestic bliss that they hope will impress prospective buyers."
"With Hollywood just down the road, there is no shortage of photogenic but unemployed actors for whom the alternatives are normally bit parts in television advertisements and waiting on tables.
Centex recruited Jaason Simmons, 35, best known for his three-year stint as a lifeguard on Baywatch, to play the father of the fictitious family. Camille Chen, a television and film actress, is the mother, and two children from a local theatre company are the couple's offspring.
House hunters pass through while the "family" cooks, eats, chats, plays games and watches television.
The viewers are encouraged to treat the occupants as "real" people and quiz them on amenities such as the oven or fridge, for which the actors are given fact sheets to study beforehand.
Normally, the "guests" will find themselves gatecrashing an uplifting family occasion, such as the baking of a birthday cake. "We do it as a free-flowing improvisation — set the parameters and make it like a play," Mr Garfield said."
Buff
