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This program is adaptable, fun, creative and it involves the audience directly. Even the pandemic couldn’t kill it.
Sabrina East describes Jump into Mystery this way: “It isn’t a mystery dinner, because people don’t sit and watch. They move around, laugh, talk, eat and drink. When guests arrive at one of these events, they enter another world and become characters; roles they will sustain for the length of the event. They ask questions of each other, find clues and buy or sell information using fake money. In the end, they will decide who committed the crime, the motive, and the method.”
That’s a “virtual murder mystery” and it is becoming quite popular in the Roanoke Valley, despite the big elephant in the room: Covid-19.
The audience is the play. There is no script, but questions are provided as prompts if the action slows. The ultimate point, says East, is that “It’s playing a game and hanging out with new and old friends from the comfort of your own home.”
East, who is 43, is a Salem native and Roanoke College graduate in criminal justice and sociology with a concentration in psychology, perfect majors for solving crimes. She was in corrections and social work for 20 years before “retiring.”
She started Jump Into Mystery in 2018 because she “always had a passion for acting, the arts and the theatre, dating back to being in the drama club and working with the theatre department in high school. I was driven to turn a passion into a full-time business.”
Problem was, “I left my career 17 days before the pandemic hit and had six solid months of bookings canceled. I was devastated and terrified but decided not to roll over and die.” She sprang into action.
“I spent months postponing, rescheduling and cancelling events, as the Governor’s orders changed. Eventually I realized I needed a new plan. So, in May of 2020, I launched virtual murder mysteries. My hope was that by providing virtual options, we could keep the community connected and keep our clients engaged until we could resume live events.”
In May, she launched virtual trivia and Zoom with Santa for youngsters’ visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus “because so many families were uncomfortable with live Santa visits due to Covid.”
She has added trivia events and children’s mystery birthday parties. She works at retirement communities with virtual events (soon to be live, she hopes) and she’s done events with the Salem Library and with Hollins University.
She appears to have no limits: “I’ve done team-building, corporate parties, client appreciation events, scavenger hunts for realtors helping to show properties and most recently fundraisers for nonprofits that haven’t been able to do live events. We’re working on a possible virtual after prom event.” She’s worked with breweries, wineries, restaurants and resorts.
Whew!
“The events are similar, but the sizes have changed. When live, we were able to host very large events, with numbers in the hundreds. With the virtual platform, we keep the numbers much smaller to allow everyone to see each other on one screen. The environment is constantly changing and we are constantly adapting with it.”
That penchant for adaptation appears to be an integral part of Jump Into Mystery, which has provided downloadable games for families and children. And has bunches more ideas that are hardly mysterious to Sabrina East.
You can reach East at 540-293-8784 or at Jump Into Mystery’s website at jumpintomystery.com.
The story above is from our May/June 2021 issue. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!
