Farris Qranfal also contributed to this article.
Just around the corner from Malden’s iconic MacDonald Stadium you will find an immersive form of travelling never seen before, located on 129 Commercial Street. Malden’s Old Town Trolley system offers a unique sightseeing experience, as it not only provides tours, but also shares stories along the way. By operating on buses and in theatre sets around Boston, Old Town Trolley Tours offer tours through creative storytelling that keeps their audiences engaged.
Malden High School students, led by business teacher Kelle Griffin, were privileged to receive a personal tour. Upon arrival at Old Town Trolleys, the group was warmly welcomed, along with two boxes of doughnuts and refreshing bottled water. After settling into their seats, Tim Carr, General Manager of Old Town Trolleys, met with the students to explain what their day would look like and to present facts about the company, while allowing them to ask questions about the trolleys and the system they operate.
With stomachs full and anticipation building, students were then taken to the warehouse, where they were presented with the different buses, test themes, and the company’s construction side. Old Town Trolleys prioritizes the experience, ensuring each tour is a success, starting in the warehouse. Steven Johnson, manager of Ghosts and Gravestones in Boston, emphasized this, proclaiming, “People pay good money for the tours; they come to a city because they want to have an experience.”
An experience is precisely what these lucky students received as they began boarding the orange-and-green bus. Once settled, Johnson introduced his tour actors for this trip: Connor Long and Flip Flycop. Flycop is a veteran in this business, having been brought onto the team in 2021 after COVID.
Long was intrigued by such different forms of acting, which drew him into the business. “Acting on a trolley on a tour like this, there is no fourth wall. The audience and you are together in the same room,” Long noted. The versatility within sightseeing and acting is incredible, and what Old Town Trolleys do so well.
Being an actor for these buses is not for the weak and requires you to put on a happy, energetic face no matter the occasion.“Not everyone has that kind of energy, so you have to really make sure that the person that you’re hiring for the job can bring that even when they’re having a tough day,” Johnson explained.
With this tour having the intention to educate, there was not a set theme. Instead, Johnson wanted everyone to experience different themes, allowing the actors to treat it as a rehearsal. The first, and Old Town Trolleys’ most popular one: Ghosts. This theme creates a creepy environment, often performed at night, with the actors in full costume. Each stop on the tour has unique props and setups to immerse the audience and build a special story.
These unique themes and actors caught the eyes of Sophomore Jamal Hakkaoui, believing they “made it interesting having different themes like Christmas or horror stories for Halloween.” After the Ghost theme, the actors flipped the narrative to showcase the Christmas theme. They would sing and point out key buildings with deep Christmas backgrounds.
After all this exceptional acting, laughing, and learning, Johnson decided it was time to hit the brakes and grab a bite to eat; however, this did not stop the actors from doing what they do best: performing! On the way to Faneuil Hall, Flycop knew the area like a pro, pointing out key spots with deep Boston meaning.
Now full for the second time on this trip, the students reentered the bus, where Johnson took the time to educate them. Junior Juan Caballero learned the impact of failure, stating, “Success doesn’t come overnight, and most of the time success comes after failure.” This was about the numerous shortcomings Johnson’s team faced before finally succeeding and perfecting the Ghost theme.
All good things must come to an end, unfortunately. However, the experiences of learning how Old Town Trolleys work and gaining real-life skills made the field trip a huge success and gave these students a day to remember. “We want to make sure that everyone gets their questions answered and that they’re having fun.” Johnson concluded.
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