Prime Stage Theatre launches interactive mystery theater podcast - TribLIVE

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With in-person live performances postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Stage Theatre is moving to new platforms to reach their audiences remotely.

Beginning Oct. 1, Prime Stage Theatre will host the Prime Stage Mystery Theatre Podcast.

The first program, penned by local writer Lawrence Connolly, is titled “A Knavish Piece of Mystery.” It’s an interactive series that will be shown in five, 10-minute installations throughout October.

Connolly was working with the theater to produce an adaption of Frankenstein, which has since been pushed back until next year. But when the theater approached him with this new idea, he was immediately interested.

“Because Prime Stage’s mission is to make literature come alive and they’re very interested in having connections with schools and people who are interested in literature and writing, I decided it would be fun to do a ‘meta-mystery’ — a mystery that would not only be set in the theater, but it would be about the theater and about literature and how we write and how stories are created,” Connolly said.

The podcast breaks the “fourth wall,” allowing the audience to become part of the storyline. The main character is referred to only as “You,” Connolly said.

“You are in the story,” Connolly said. “As you go through the story, you’re presented with a series of clues.”

After each weekly installment, listeners can anticipate what might happen next. They can post their predictions and observations on Prime Stage’s website for an interactive angle that’s unlike anything Connolly’s done before.

“Every episode of the show will include just a little commentary on the best or the most interesting responses we’ve received online,” he said.

The interactive element allows the audience to take away all the best aspects of theater, Producing Artistic Director Wayne Brinda said.

“The best part of theater is when you connect with the characters, when you really feel like you’re part of the experience,” Brinda said. “It really stimulates the audience’s imaginations. It stimulates their emotions. But it also stimulates their intellect. For me, those are the best elements of what theater does when theater’s done well.”

For all ages

The podcast should entertain audiences of all ages, according to Tina Cerny, operations director.

“It’s great for young people who are interested in hearing some fun stories,” she said. “It has the old-time radio feel for some of the older generations.”

A podcast is no substitute for in-person theater, Cerny said. But in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, she said, it’s a great way to connect with audiences.

“With the pandemic, there’s so many of us that are out of work and aren’t able to do what we love, but still want to bring new content and new things to the audience,” she said. “And this new mystery podcast is something different. I haven’t seen any podcasts that are mystery theater based, so this is a new thing.”

“You can’t get to the theater, but you can do a theater of the mind,” Brinda said. “That’s what this is.”

The podcast, like the theater, can be a way for audiences to escape the world’s problems for a little while, Connolly said.

“Let’s take a break from the crazy stuff in the world and engage in a mystery that we can solve,” he said.

Motivation for writers, perhaps

Connolly said he also hopes the podcast can be a motivation for writers.

“This story gives all of these writing prompts and we’re engaged in conversations about writing,” he said.

Cerny said she hopes to continue the podcast even once in-person shows resume.

Prime Stage Theatre also announced that their mainstage shows scheduled for this fall will be ticketed for school audiences to enjoy online. These include “Mockingbird,” “Einstein: A Stage Portrait,” and “One Christmas Carol.”

Julia Felton is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Julia at 724-226-7724, jfelton@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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