Interviewee:
Alisa Sickora (she/her)
In your own words, tell us about your business, organization, or initiative.
Alisa has been giving this nutty world texture, absurdity and occasional catharsis for nearly three decades of making and teaching. A world builder at heart, she produces, designs, and fabricates for theatre, film, themed entertainment and immersive experiences. Specializing in performance objects in leather under the moniker Scared of me Shadow and experiential art with Be a Witness and Whitherwick Junction, Alisa is a maker dedicated to the enchanted, the uncanny and wherever the two shall take her.
Tell us a bit about you and why you do what you do. Share your passions for your business, organization, or initiative.
So, you could call me a chicken or at least, the kid version of me. You see, I didn’t grow up loving horror or dark art (although, I always loved those 80’s heavy metal album covers). To be quite honest, I was downright heebie-jeebied by all things scary: mega sharks, eggplant-headed aliens, zombified hordes, demon dollies but most of all, those elusive masked maniacs. And mascot costumes? Forget about it! But you gotta cross that road and face your freak-outs, sometime right? So long story short, Chicken Little grows up and bawk-bawks at her childhood fears and starts incubating all things playfully creeptastic. Scared of my Shadow hatched in 2015 as a leather mask atelier and has since evolved into uncanny immersive experiences, themed entertainment designs (oh yeah, the spooky ones), and even a social group for other folks that like to dip down into those dark alleys of our collective psyche. What’s next? Hopefully bringing more people into the uncanny valley with me. It’s a great place to live and be with your peeps.
What is the last thing you read, watched, or listened to that had an impact on you?
All things folks horror. I’ve been taking a deep dive into all kinds of folkloric content and can’t get enough of that haunted stuff.
What’s the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you or your business?
Honestly, the fact that I used to hate horror and haunted attractions until I got a gig sculpting a life-sized decaying horse for an attraction in Pennsylvania. Yeah, and it turned into a love story. Life’s weird that way.
What is Creative Collective?
Creative Collective delivers comprehensive business services – marketing promotion, technical assistance, business consulting, and advocacy at all levels – for Essex County entrepreneurs, creators, and innovators. We support the whole person, not just the business, through a collaborative community where members learn from each other, not just from us, because we know thriving businesses are built by thriving humans supporting each other. Learn more and join Creative Collective at www.creativecollectivema.com/join
