We recently connected with Christine Barger and have shared our conversation below.

Christine , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I realized I wanted to dedicate my life to bringing joy to others when I was a young child. My baby brother was very ill and he passed at the young age of three years. There was much sadness at that time in my life and I found using my stuffed animals and eventually puppets to talk both helped me cope but made other smile and laugh. That was when I decided to become an entertainer. I felt helpful bringing a moment of joy to those around me when everything felt heavy and dark. Most of my job choices and ultimately my career reflect that desire to bring smiles to those around me. I started as a ventriloquist and then actor, content creator and now also escape room owner. It all aligns with helping others forget their stress for a moment and replace it with joy.

Christine , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started out as a child performing ventriloquism which led to majoring in theatre at Ball State University. After college I moved to Los Angeles to make a bigger impact. I have worked as an actor in movies and television shows including Superstore, iCarly, Barry and American Pie: Beta House. I started creating my own online content in the early 2000’s and continue to create mostly short form content now across platforms including YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, IG and others as @christinebarger and @thehauntgirl. I also run a website TheHauntGirl.com where I share my passion for haunts and immersive experiences with my audience. In 2021 my husband and I became partners in business opening our first escape room the 13th Basement at our company Exit Game in Anaheim California. It’s fulfilling to watch guests enjoy an immersive experience that you poured your heart and soul into creating. We offer an escape from reality inside our 60 minute horror parody escape game. We are currently in the process of building a second escape game at the same location that will be much more kid friendly in its cat theming and puzzle style. We pride ourselves on creating immersive experiences that are incredibly fun with a focus on providing an amazing guest experience. We also allow photos and videos inside the escape room so that guests can share their experience and retain those memories in visual format for years to come. I still work as an actor and content creator as well as small business owner. As a creative I enjoy wearing many hats.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I have built a following for myself, my blog, my cat and my small business across platforms. While the content and style of each vary, I still use the same foundation for building all accounts.

Post often.

Be consistent.

Stay up to date on trends and changes in platforms.

Adapt to changes and use new features the platforms push out.

Don’t take anything too personally whether it’s a rude comment or low views, it’s not worth getting upset over.

I started creating a social media presence almost 20 years ago. I’m in it for the long haul. I try to post daily but give myself grace if I need breaks. I look at content creation as a job and dedicate quite a lot of time to it. Its okay to post for fun and not get millions of views, but if your goal is to be an influencer then it will take work.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

We had to make a major pivot in our escape room business when our second game started getting more and more elaborate and difficult to build. We had to make the tough decision to either limit our creativity or shelve the project and come back to it because of the financial side of the business. A brick and mortar escape room location comes with a lot of costs like rent and employee payroll and when you only have one game available the amount of guests that can play is also quite limited. It also doesn’t allow for many return customers if the game is the same. So we decided to pause the space theme game and put our energy into a slightly less difficult build of our cat themed game. We also recently made a small pivot in our business to incorporate my skills as an actor and offer an upgraded holiday experience with a naughty elf character interacting with guests while they play. This was another business decision to help bring more excitement to entice new customers to book the experience. It’s really important to be willing to make changes to your plan when necessary to achieve your goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theexitgame.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exitgameoc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinebarger
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-barger-b66a818
• Twitter: @christinebarger
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@christinebarger
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/S-qRUfIn5d
• Other: Christinebarger.com
  TheHauntGirl.com