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Mystery & Adventure Agency cemetery photo

Celebrate Halloween with these unique and creative activities

Today is the day! The ghouls and goblins have populated the fronts of houses, the children are excited about “what to be,” and the parents are dreading the sugar crash while sneaking a few king-sized bars. Some of my friends and colleagues bemoan the hype, commercialism, and calories. I personally LOVE Halloween (I’m a theatre person, remember, with an active inner child), but this blog is dedicated to those who don’t. You can make this holiday about something more meaningful. Here are my recommendations for doing something for All Hallows that doesn’t have anything to do with haunted houses or

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Holly and her family sitting around a table for a mystery dinner

Sharing Without Spending: 3 ways to connect even across distances

With Chanukah and American Thanksgiving just around the corner, and festivals of light and Christmas not far behind, some of my friends are at a loss as to what kinds of presents to give or how to connect with their family, friends or communities across the miles. I was mentally masticating on this conundrum as I picked up a wonderful anthology I am reading, Murder for Christmas.Then it struck me like a frying pan to the face—WHAT A GREAT PROJECT TO DO! This being an arts-in-ed blog, I am hoping none of my readers freak out, but instead read on

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Holly and JR in Melodrama and Murder by Mystery & Adventure Agency

A Mini-history on the Mis-Maligned Melodrama

You must pay the rent! I can’t pay the rent! I’ll pay the rent. My hero! I admit I LOVE melodrama — the true stuff, the new stuff, and the mustachioed tongue-in-cheek stuff. That being said, I weep copious tears, gnash my teeth, and rend my garments when folks use “melodrama” in solely disparaging ways. In truth, melodrama grew from the dance hall, cheap entertainment (thrills, chills, and crazy love stories!), into a means to forward a progressive social agenda and large-scale cultural and system reform. WHHHHAAAAAT?!?!?! NO!!! Yes, my friends, yes. The history of melodrama In Victorian England, if

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