Audience Plays Role of Detective in 6AM’s A Very Merry Mystery
Have you ever wanted to solve a mystery? Perhaps with some other detectives alongside to help you through the process? Nothing too high stakes like a murder, but maybe a toy theft? In 6AM’s production of A Very Merry Mystery, audiences are given the unique opportunity to play the role of detective in this part-theatre, part-whodunit performance.
As virtual theatre continues to evolve and iterations of the medium emerge – whether it be Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality ,or a traditional Zoom show, the reality that audiences may be distracted during these experiences should not go unnoticed. After all, if we were checking our phones and browsers during a Zoom meeting, then why would our behaviours change for a theatrical production on Zoom?
A Very Merry Mystery easily solves this question. The show is part theatre, part whodunit, but most of all, requires full audience participation for the show. Prior to the show starting, the audience was emailed all the information on how the show would be structured. In the email, we were assigned our teams, given Players Manuals and even given festive cocktail recipes! The Players Manual was meant to be read prior to the show in order to fully understand how the mystery would work. The reality that the entire audience was devoting themselves to familiarizing themselves with the concept of the game only amplified my own, and likely other audience members’ excitement!
The Players Manual was an incredibly thorough 18 slide manual that started by explaining the mystery itself. Kringle Toys Inc decided to create a toy, Roberta the Robot, and donate it to 1,000 kids in the Tri-State area. Yet, during the Holiday party, it was revealed that Roberta the Robot had been stolen! This simple, yet comical mystery made for a highly entertaining evening.
The show started with a seemingly scripted intro from the cast in full 90’s references, where each character was introduced. From there, the audience went to their designated Breakout Room, typically with 8-10 people. The night consisted of three rounds of interrogation, and a debrief with the Breakout Room between each Interrogation round. Each Breakout Room Discussion was 15 minutes, while each Interrogation round lasted for 10 minutes.
The tone of the show, which was modelled after NBC’s The Office, despite the mystery being set in the 90s, was full of cringe comedy bits. Consisting of ugly Christmas sweaters and strong character performances, the ensemble cast performed exceptionally well. Since each audience only attends three interrogation rounds, I was only able to view performances of three cast members. However, of the three I witnessed: Bessie Cassidy as Noelle Frost, the HR Manager, Cooper Levy as Kramer Krumpus, The R&D Lead, and Paul Smith as Douglas Fir, The Executive Assistant–all three delivered hilarious performances. It is also crucial to note that since the performers were interrogated with no clue as to what the questions would be, they displayed exceptionally impressive improvisational skills throughout.
The show was a Friends/Family style beta (test run), in the sense that it was not open to the public. Eventually, 6 AM productions would like to perform this show (or at least this structure) for corporate type events. I actually believe that the structure of the show would work better for a Corporate Event as it encourages teamwork, collaboration and problem-solving skills that likely would be more efficient if the participants were familiar with each other.
The notion of audiences having an active role in stories is not newfound, and certainly has had a renaissance in the last few years. Whether it’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend, clearly creatives and audiences are responding to the idea that perhaps audience participation and engagement is an idea that everyone seemingly enjoys. I applaud the 6 AM team for spearheading the technical logistics of a daunting production seamlessly and I eagerly anticipate the next show on their roster!
Ticket Information: N/A
Upcoming information on 6 AM Productions shows will be shared on the KTA Facebook Page.
