scop (noun): Old English – bard, minstrel, storyteller
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This Week on Mystery Theatre:
There’s Something in the BasementWho’s there? Here’s the setup: You’re in the basement of a theatre building. Alone. The rest of the company is next door, painting a set on the main stage while you hunt for something called a snow-patterned gobo. The basement is a mess. No organization. Just a chaotic jumble of old props and flats ……
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Investigating a Playhouse Ghost:
What is the Sound of One Ghost Clapping?The story behind a real-life theatre mystery. This month’s five-act installment of Prime Stage Mystery Theatre picks up where our previous story left off, with mysterious sounds emanating from somewhere in a theatre building. But before diving into this new mystery, I had the chance to meet with writer and martial arts enthusiast Michael Brendan…
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Next on Mystery Theatre:
Dragons, Ciphers, & Two Locked DoorsA few years ago, I discovered bats in the attic. A whole family nesting in the rafters. After consulting the local critter specialist, I learned that evicting a bat family is a bit more involved than eradicating carpenter ants. You can just exterminate them. Nor can you trap them and take them to someone else’s…
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Creating Frankenstein:
Now Available at Scripts for StageTemperatures drop. Snow falls. Time to hole up inside, light a fire, and catch up on the latest books and movies. Or … if you’re a 21st-century scop … it might be a good time to take the Lord Byron stormy-night challenge and get to work on that novel or script you’ve been thinking about.…
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This Week on Mystery Theatre:
The “Three-Things” Writing PromptLately I’ve become a fan of crazy unrelated ideas being woven into the fabric of a story. So writes best-selling mystery writer Jordan Dane in a blog about what has been called the three-things writing prompt. It’s a great way for jumpstarting the muse, and—as it ties in with this week’s episode of “In the…
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This Week on Mystery Theatre:
Ghosts & StoriesIn response to last week’s post “The Most Haunted Place in Pittsburgh,” Facebook friend Michael Brendan informs us that his father actually had an encounter with a Playhouse ghost. “It was John,” Michael writes, referring to the ghost of deceased thespian John Johns. “Dad saw him once in the seats after a show had ended.…