If you like to play the victim and are looking to make a few bucks, consider a role in a disaster simulation by the Hawaii National Guard taking place April 30 in Kalaeloa.
Chosen role players will be assigned injuries ranging from compound bone fractures to chemical burns. Scripts and acting instructions are provided for realism, and “victims” are expected to portray both the physical and emotional trauma associated with their injuries, according to Dunhill Professional Staffing of Hawaii, the casting agency for the training exercise.
Applicants must be physically able to remain stationary in cluttered and cramped spaces, lie on uneven or dirty surfaces for extended periods of time and walk over rugged terrain for distances of a half-mile at a time. The shift is from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.; pay is $14.42 an hour.
Participants also will need to be comfortable being touched by disaster responders and having latex makeup applied. Some of the makeup effects — protruding bones, bloody gashes and spurting blood on demand — might take a long time to apply.
“It’s live simulation, which is used for video and stills for training across the country,” said Nadine Stollenmaier, president of Dunhill Professional Staffing.
Applicants have included doctors, attorneys, construction workers, actors and the unemployed. “We have people from all walks of life,” she said. “It turns into one big happy family with everyone watching each other’s back.”
Stollenmaier remains on the “construction rubble” set created specifically for the exercise to oversee the production. “I wear my boots, hard hat, safety goggles and carry a walkie-talkie,” she said. “It’s a fun and fulfilling experience. Sometimes I get choked up. These people really get into character. I know it’s not real, but I have to hold back my tears.”
A total of 275 victims are needed over three days, but Dunhill said only a few dozen openings remain for the April 30 drill. She will continue to accept applicants for use in future productions. Because a federal agency is involved, background checks and drug tests might be required. Apply online at dunhillhawaii.com or call 524-2550.
Watch a video of a previous disaster simulation at youtu.be/eBXbDzSTgNc.
