The Making of a Zombie Movie, Funhouse Style

by Cara Russell

Conrad Wrobel and Bruce H. Bosley, creative forces behind the movie classes at the Funhouse. Photo: Cara Russell

Orcas Island born and raised, Conrad Wrobel gave a speech at the annual Funhouse Gala, on Sunday Aug 4th. Anyone attending who had not already heard of this creative and enthusiastic fellow before that night, knows him now, because Wrobel’s speech left the entire room with tears in their eyes.

He spoke of the importance of the Funhouse to kids who need a safe place to go after school, and how he was once one of those kids, whom the Funhouse had opened its doors for on the day his father died, when he was just eleven years-old, and needed a safe place to go.

“The real reason the Funhouse exists, is for the children who NEED it,” Wrobel said. “Children with real needs, who cannot stay at home, children with problems, children who need a safe environment, children with nowhere else to go.”

Wrobel got his BA in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in film at WSU. But it was the Funhouse that provided the facilities that first got him started down this road, and into the career that he loves.

Last summer, longtime friend Pete Moe, approached Wrobel to teach a film class to the kids. “How will I teach a film class to kids when it’s difficult enough for college students to grasp the art?” Wrobel asked. Moe told him he will need a focal point, like a monster movie. The next words out of Wrobel’s enthusiastic lips were “Zombie Movie!”

“How to Make a Zombie Movie” is a two-week course introducing young students to the world of film making, through a focus on a classic horror film motif. Kids get to develop their own story, learn how to film it, and act as the cast and crew of the production. By the end of the first course last summer, the students walked away with an understanding of filmmaking and a short film of their own.

This summer the class keeps getting better, as Wrobel’s friend and filmmaking colleague, cinematographer Bruce H. Bosley has joined the class as an equal teacher. The guys met working on “WZU” a zombie movie they filmed in college at WSU. Bosley has a BA in theater arts, and has been working with cameras since the 6th grade. He wrote and directed a feature-length zombie movie call “Dying World.” Wrobel is a writer, actor, and wrote and filmed zombie sketches on cable 8, a creative channel on public access. The production was called “After Short Hours”.

I sat in on two of their classes. Wrobel and Bosley are not only talented young men with a lot of film wisdom to offer the kids, but they are also great teachers. And as felt-tipped markers flew across the room, bursts of laughter, and off the wall ideas occasionally rose up, Wrobel and Bosley constantly kept the kids on task, kept them listening, and having fun.

Wrobel and Bosley like to give the kids creative control, because it channels their enthusiasm for the rest of the class. The kids arrive excited and ready to work on their project, and the guys act as the filter, to make the story as cohesive, and as Funhouse and family appropriate as possible, all while keeping the kids as the creative force, and the creative control. “When kids are young they are at the creative peak of their lives. In this class they get to focus their creative energy, create their own universe.” Wrobel.

By the third day the kids are really great to work with, and cannot wait to start class. The guys get swamped by hugs so strong that they find it difficult to walk afterwards.

All classes run from 3pm-6pm, Mon-Fri, and the cost is $300 for two weeks. The children walk away with an education in how to make a homemade movie and a DVD copy of the film they’ve created.

With a title that has “Zombie” in it, some parents might take pause before offering up their child to the care of Wrobel and Bosley, but the guys keep in constant communication, to ensure that the Funhouse and the families get a result that they are happy with. And no one understands the importance of a safe place for kids better than Wrobel and Bosley.

In the future Wrobel and Bosley would like to see “How to Make a Zombie Movie” develop into an after-school program.

Look for the final copy of the film coming soon, available online or on DVD through the Funhouse and Orcas Book Exchange

For more information of “How to Make a Zombie Movie” or other classes offered by Funhouse Commons, visit or call. The Funhouse is located at 30 Pea Patch Lane, off North Beach Road in Eastsound. 360-376-7177.