What’s Hot in Southern California :: The VamPirates Show in Buena Park

 

The talented and fun crew from the VamPirates show!

 

 

This past weekend my husband and I attended the Vampirates show with my daughter and her friend.  It might sound scary but they just loved it! They combined pirates and vampires to create the Vampirates show with some amazing stunts, aerial performances, sword fighting and even a Haka dance!  Here is a description of the show:

 

Come celebrate at Treasure Bay’s Annual Masquerade Ball with vampire hunters Randolph & Kate. They are there to forewarn the costume-clad guests of the dangers lurking in the haunted Secret Cove. Unfortunately, their cries of despair go unheard, as Captain Sebastian the Black and his horde of Vampire Pirates crash the Ball and take Randolph and Kate captive. The VamPirates take them aboard their ghostly ship, where they will prepare them as their midnight snack! Will Randolph and Kate escape the perils of the VamPirates appetite? Find out this October at Pirate’s Dinner Adventure. Shows will run every day from October 1^st to November 3rd. Ghouls and ghosts of all ages are encouraged to dress up in costume and participate in the costume contest, where prizes will be awarded.

 

 

 

We all dressed up in our favorite Halloween outfits and cheered from the front row.  I love how engaged all the VamPirates are and their energy is truly infectious!  Captain Sebastian is just wonderful and he and Mr. MacGee keeps the show moving along, keeping us entertained the entire time.  And I can’t say enough about the pirates.  We sat in the Orange Pirate’s section and he was a force to be reckon with.  From his vampire eyes to booming voice – you definitely don’t want to mess with this VamPirate!  He was the person who introduced the Haka Dance to  Jose the Green Pirate, who helps to create all the stunts and aerial performances.  You can read more about his work at our last post about the Pirates Dinner Adventure.  A very talented performer who adds a lot to the show!  I asked him where he finds inspiration to create the stunts and aerial shows.  Jason Sanfilippo (the Green Pirate)  says that “I’ve been doing acrobatics for about 18 years now. Eight years ago I started traveling the world performing in various acrobatic entertainment troupes. I get my inspiration from all over. From a dance to even a fight scene at times. But mostly from training and performing in the industry for so long. Seeing my friends perform and also from other live performances. I always add in my own bits of creativity wherever I can but for the most part it takes a lot of hard work, training, and dedication to put something like these acts together.”

 

 

If you don’t know about the Haka dance don’t worry – it was the first I had heard of it as well – but what a treat to see one done so well at the VamPirates show of all places!  Wikipedia describes the Haka dance as a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.  Jose, the Green Pirate, told me before the show that they have had groups of Kiwi’s come in and say what a great job they did with the dance.  I guess they of all people could tell a good dance from a bad one and they were thoroughly impressed.  Us too!

 

I had a chance to ask Quami, the Orange Pirate, where the inspiration came to create a Haka Dance for the show.  Here is what he had to say:

“Hey I’m glad you had a great time with your family. We’ll my  involvement with the haka dance started about 2 years ago. I’ve done research on the Maori culture, and found that the haka is a awesome expression of togetherness and power,and intimidation. So I learned it, and  got approval from from my NewZealand friends, (which was a relief). The significance of the haka in the show is, we (the vampirates) capture  the vampire hunter’s student, the captain informs the crew that we’re going to hold her to bait  Jacob. We the vampirates perform the haka  knowing he’ll come back and possibly eliminate all of the vampirates, but we understand our fate as vampires, and bond together through the haka. The responses from the kiwi’s (NewZealanders) is awesome!!!!!  The actors  keep it authentic by truly believing in what we’re doing. We never want to offend any cultures, so when we do the Haka, we become the Haka. From the
foot stomps to the hand movements.”

Before the show, the different VamPirates pick a few youngsters who later will go up on stage to become official pirates.  My daughter and her friend thought this was about the best thing ever!  They also had best Halloween contest that the audience helped determine who won.  The food was delicious and I ordered the 1/2 chicken again and ate some of my daugthers (and husband’s) mashed potatoes which were also very tasty!  The food is served immediately upon being seated so you can enjoy the meal while watching the show.  And don’t forget about dessert – a warm brownie with vanilla ice cream on top.  Yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I asked Captain Sebastian (played by Steve Rally) about his lifework as it is apparent he is a real pro at what he does!  Here is what he had to say:

 

“Captain Sebastian the Black here, glad you guys had such a good time at the show. Basically, to answer your question about my experience on stage, I have
been on stage since 1981 and I am also a film and television actor.  I have performed over 12,600 shows as the lead Actor/ Master of Ceremonies for events on four continents and 37 states of the US.  For ten years, I was Buffalo Bill on Horseback, in the largest live action theater in the world at Disneyland Paris, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. I also spent five years working for Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede in Orlando, two years for Universal Studios Wild West Show in Hollywood and now six years with Pirates Dinner Adventure.     On stage is where I am most comfortable in life. I always said, that a microphone was like a
pacifier in my mouth. I am so blessed to have had such a wonderful career doing what I love most. Live Action Dinner Theaters. As you can see, I live for the
audience interaction in these shows, which most theater doesn’t offer.    As for characters, I don’t imitate anyone else, but I adjust a character according to the script, dialogue and feel of each show. When I am Captain Sebastian the Black in the main show, I am usually mean enough to be hated, but funny enough not to scare the children during the book reading. When I am a Vampirate, I shave the beard (Vampire feel) and create more of a Vampire Captain. When it’s the Christmas show, I can take a little of the mean action character out of it (Holidays) and be more of a Grinch type Captain who tries to steal Christmas in a silly mischievous way. Each charter is different. While running the pirate games the emcee Captain is basically the same, trying in interact with the public and to let the audience have as much fun as they want to have cheering.”

 

If you are looking to have an adventure come check out the VamPirates Show in Buena Park going on until November 3rd.  So many people had fun dressing up and I think I saw more pirates in one place than just about any place I have been.  It was great fun and I loved this family outfits so much I just had to take their picture!  If you are a big kid at heart like myself – enjoy yourself and dress up for the event – why not?!

And afterwards, the pirates hang out a bit so you can take your picture with them!  This is a really fun show and if you like pirates and vampires – this is your kind of show.

 

 

 

 

 

To read more about this show and their upcoming events just go to: https://www.piratesdinneradventureca.com/the-show/

 

 

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