Be an Actor, Win a Prize, when You See a Play by the Mayhem and Mystery Interactive Theater

Imagine you are watching a mystery play at a dinner theater. There's something different about this show, however. One of the actors asks you to join the show, to become one of the characters. While others in the audience are trying to solve the mystery, they actually compete for prizes. If you are a resident of Ohio, or are from out of state, you could experience this as a part of your vacation at the Mayhem and Mystery Interactive Theater 7:00 p.m. on Monday evenings at the Spaghetti Warehouse at 36West Fifth Street in Dayton, Ohio. The shows are also performed one Friday evening each month from October through March at the same location and weekly at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Columbus at 397 West Broad Street.

The troupe that performs the plays celebrated its 10^th anniversary during the 2009-2010 season. Company Manager Jerry Francis and Artistic Director Tamra Francis wrote most of their scripts from the start-through 2006. At that time, they start writing all of the scripts to be performed. A script has never been repeated by the Mayhem and Mystery Interactive Theater in Dayton or Columbus, although the troupe did bring back ten of the most popular characters from a previous show and used them in a new show, with a new script, for the celebration of the tenth anniversary.. Tamra explained that a writer was not able to complete one script at the last minute in 2001 she and Jerry Francis had one day to complete a script. They found they could do better at writing the kinds of scripts they wanted. In January of this year the 50^th original script by the pair will be used by the troupe.

"We literally had twenty-four hours to write a script," Tamra Francis explained on ohiotraver.com. "We have found our niche in Interactive Theatre and know what we like in our scripts."

"Tragedy in the Theater," will be performed this month. The play tells the story of a theater company, which is near financial ruin, and is producing a Shakespeare play. After threatening notes appear and scare away some of the actors and creating the need for understudies to star in the production, the director is killed. The cast includes Jerry Francis as Chris Chambers, Tamra Francis as Lauren Beckel, Jene Rebbin Shaw as Sarah Berns, and Heather Gorby as Sophia Lawrence.

According to the official website of the troupe, mayhemmystery.com, the group is Ohio's fastest growing mystery dinner theater troupe. Reservations for the show, which cost $25.95 each, and do not include a gratuity or tax, can be made at the site. The show is also performed six times a year in Middletown, Ohio. The meal is buffet style.

The two who produce the shows were interviewed by a reporter for the "Dayton Daily News" on November 17, 2006. They said that it typically takes three to four weeks to write a play. They also recalled some of the characters in their plays with the cleverest names-including Stew Pidity, Urah Fraid, Jane Blonde, and others. They recalled "Diabolical Disco" as their best show.

"The whole audience got involved in a disco competition that included going to the YMCA to conclude the show, "the two recalled in the interview.

They also recalled audience members at their shows doing such things as trying to perform CPR on an actor in a death scene, ad-libbing excessively, in an attempt to steal the show, looking through the pockets of a character who has died in the play, and trying to leave the theater with props.

If you are in the area, you might enjoy the Mayhem and Mystery Interactive Theater as part of your vacation.

Citations:

Mayhem and Mystery, no author listed, ohiotraveler.com
Mayhem and Mystery Interactive Theaters, no author listed, mayhemmystery.com

Stranded in Sheboygan: Unlocking the mystery of interactive dinner theaterby Terry Morris, mayhemmystery.com