Featured

Daniel Stallings

Founder. Lead Writer. Director. Producer. Technical Director. Publicist. Actor.

Daniel Stallings is the mastermind and driving force behind Master Mystery Productions. He is its founder and owner along with is lead writer, artistic director, producer, and publicist. Under his direction lies most of the decision-making at the company including what shows are produced, where, and when. Over a long theatrical career of eighteen years, Daniel has amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience in theatre in everything from acting, technical work, management, and beyond. He serves as Master Mystery Productions’ main educator and has been responsible for the launching of dozens of new artists in theatre.

Daniel’s journey to establish Master Mystery Productions began in 2013 when he wrote and directed Murder at the Red Fez for the Red Hat Ladies of Bakersfield. While not performed under the MMP banner, this show gave Daniel the idea to pursue interactive mysteries as a project, which led to the formation of Master Mystery Productions in Spring 2015 with the production of Goodbye Hollywood at My Enchanted Cottage and Tea Room. Murder at the Red Fez was then retroactively awarded the title of the first Master Mystery Production.

Stallings serving as the Emcee for his first musical, Exit Prima Donna.

Daniel has served as both the writer and director on the following productions: Murder at the Red Fez, Goodbye Hollywood, Goodbye Hollywood: At the Rainbow’s End, Hello Out There, Hero, Ex Luna, Wildflowers for the Funeral, The Last Garden Party, Pauper’s Grave, Murder at the Broken Heart Mine, Bury Me in Paris, Ode to Agatha, Anonymous, Femme Fatales, The Last Chapter, Exit Prima Donna, Famous Last Words, What Happens at Sundown, Mutiny on the Sea Witch, Eat Cake, Foul Play, Lenore Nevermore, Woman in the Walls, Regions Beyond, Mum’s the Word, Who’s Who?, Closer to Heaven, Unlucky Seven, Tête-à-Tête, and Shelf Life.

He was the principal writer and game designer for October 2016’s Game Over. He served as the director and producer for C. R. Rowenson’s The Silent City, performed at Weird Weekend 2017. He was the executive producer and technical director for Monica Dwyer’s productions of Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind, both in 2019 and 2022. He was the producer, director, and technical director of Janis Kunz’s first play, How to Solve a Murder, in November 2023. He served as producer and technical director on Malice in Wonderland, written by Janis Kunz and Devanne Fredette and directed by Devanne Fredette. All of these productions featured Daniel as the lead publicity designer.

In his design work, he has primarily explored scenery, specialty props, photography, graphic design, and publicity. He worked as Set Designer for Goodbye Hollywood: At the Rainbow’s End, What Happens at Sundown, Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind, Tête-à-Tête, How to Solve a Murder, and Murder at the Red Fez 2025 Revival. He worked as Prop Master for Goodbye Hollywood, The Last Garden Party, Bury Me in Paris, Mutiny on the Sea Witch, Tourist Trap, and How to Solve a Murder. His work as an audio editor was heard in Ex Luna and The Silent City. He has also done lighting design for Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind, puppetry for Lenore Nevermore, and the 3D map design for Tourist Trap. He has won three Ruby Hand Awards for Achievement in Design, which include one for puppetry in building Polly the Parrot for Mutiny on the Sea Witch, one for audio/video editing for Mum’s the Word, and one for set design for Murder at the Red Fez 2025 Revival.

During the pandemic, Daniel switched gears to develop original digital productions for Master Mystery Productions, becoming the main writer, director, and video and audio editor for works such as #MurderoftheMonth, Regions Beyond, and Mum’s the Word. His proud and grateful cast for Regions Beyond, led by star Janis Kunz, created a special award for him for Best Director and Excellence in Sound Design.

Daniel Stallings in his first MMP role as Simon Pritchard, a role that received rave reviews from critics, in 2015’s Goodbye Hollywood.

As an actor, Daniel has appeared in numerous Master Mystery Productions to high critical acclaim. He originated the role of tortured screenwriter Simon Pritchard in both the tea shop production, Goodbye Hollywood, and the stage expansion, Goodbye Hollywood: At the Rainbow’s End in 2015. In 2016, he played the drunken General Major in the Victorian comedy, The Last Garden Party. During the 2017 season, he played the painter Edgar Giraud in Bury Me in Paris, the gold-digging Tobias Davenport in Ode to Agatha, and beleaguered cryptologist Dr. Alan Fleming in Anonymous. He played the Emcee in our first musical, Exit Prima Donna, at Amargosa Opera House in Spring 2018 and followed that by taking over the role of Elijah Samson in What Happens at Sundown in September 2018 after the original performer left the show. In the 2019 season, he played James “Fudge” Ferguson in Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind, written and directed by Monica Dwyer, who was the first outside director for Master Mystery Productions.

Daniel wins his first Diamond Mask Award for Closer to Heaven.

In May 2022, he performed as Gabriel Baker, the Hollywood-dreaming special effects makeup artist and nightclub bouncer with a dark, turbulent past, in our 1980’s mystery Closer to Heaven, an emotional, challenging role that his fellow castmates, crew, and audiences thought to be his best yet. As such, he was awarded with his first Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in Performance for the role, a moment which brought him to tears onstage with a group hug from his castmates.

Daniel in his third Diamond Mask-winning role as Archibald Reeves.

He returned to revive his role of James “Jimmy Fudge” Ferguson in Monica Dwyer’s expanded, Reader’s Theatre revival of her Bigfoot classic, Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind, for Ridge Writers’ Weird Weekend 2022. His quick wit, ability to improv, commitment to the character of a starry-eyed believer in Bigfoot with hidden anger and unresolved tensions in his past that he tries to overcome earned him his second Diamond Mask Award for his acting. In 2023, he performed as the hilarious and misguided armchair detective Archibald Reeves in How to Solve a Murder, earning a much-deserved third Diamond Mask Award to his list of accolades.

Daniel accepting the 2015 Jack London Award from the California Writer Club as the East Sierra Branch winner.

Due to his passionate support, the success of Goodbye Hollywood, and tireless fundraising efforts on behalf of Ridge Writers—the Eastern Sierra Branch of the statewide California Writers Club and a frequent MMP client—the club honored Daniel with the Jack London Award in 2015, the highest honor a single branch can award.

A scene from Act 2 of Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution, directed for CLOTA by Daniel Stallings.

In 2022, he also fulfilled a lifelong dream to direct his first Agatha Christie play—Witness for the Prosecution, a dramatic and stylish hit production which he did for the Community Light Opera and Theatre Association (CLOTA) in the fall, where he also performed as John Mayhew. He masterminded the striking set design, worked as the technical director, and helped guide all the creative teams to produce their best work to date. Audiences thought it was one of the best productions they had ever seen, and it remains a legendary masterpiece in his directing career. CLOTA awarded him a Director’s Award for 2022 for the production.

  • Daniel in the CLOTA Robe for Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind
  • Daniel shares the CLOTA Robe win for Clue the Musical with (from L to R) Marian Murdoch, Rachael West, and Calvin Johnson.

In 2023, he won the CLOTA Robe twice, a rare achievement, for his commitment and backstage work as Technical Director, Publicist, and Stage Manager for Monica Dwyer’s March 2023 revival of Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind and his work as Stage Manager, Publicist, and Prop Master on Clue the Musical in Summer 2023. In 2023, he directed a sold-out production of Steel Magnolias for CLOTA, which earned him a Director’s Award.

In 2018, Daniel’s first mystery novel, Sunny Side Up, the first book in the Li Johnson Murder Mystery series, was published by Pace Press to great reviews. His second book, Cleanup on Aisle Six, came out in 2019 to even more prestigious acclaim from publications such as Kirkus Reviews and authors like Anne Perry and Carolyn Hart. Daniel’s work and writing has been praised by critics, calling him a “master,” an “expert,” and even a “theatre legend.” His approach to deeply nuanced, complex, but entirely solvable mysteries has made him a favorite with audiences and actors alike. In 2025, he was a finalist for the One-Act Play Contest for the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival.

Master Mystery Productions would be nothing without the inspiring spirit of Daniel and the creative vision he brings out in his performers, crew members, and outside artists. Always striving to bring out the best of the people who work with him, he has dedicated his career to creating the best shows with the best talent around while continuing to stretch and grow his company and the people in it. He encourages anyone who want to try out or help out to do so, and he believes strongly in empowering new, diverse voices in the performing arts. And it is this atmosphere of encouragement, creative expression, professionalism, and sincere fun that brings people back time and time again to Master Mystery Productions.

Leslie Blake

Award-Winning Actress. Techie Extraordinaire. Heroine to Many Shows. Winner of the Golden Diamond Mask Award.

Leslie Blake is a treasured member of the company who first joined Master Mystery Productions and the theatre community at large in August 2017 in her first ever role as Agent Paxton in our sold-out show Anonymous. The show performed on her birthday, and she worked on the show as a gift to herself. For her immense commitment and support to the show, even down to personally helping sell tickets, she received a special birthday present: The Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond.

She joined us as a Foley Artist for Ridge Writers’ Weird Weekend 2017 in The Silent City, C. R. Rowenson’s interactive post-apocalyptic thriller, helping to create the myriad sound effects in the show, some of which have continued to be used in digital Master Mystery Productions to this date.

Leslie Blake in her first Diamond Mask Award-winning role as Kim Hyatt, emotionally damaged Hollywood actress, in What Happens at Sundown for Weird Weekend 2018.

She returned in September 2018 for What Happens at Sundown, a 1960’s mystery in the changing world of Hollywood, originally as an Ensemble role. But with the departure of a lead, Leslie assumed the part of Kim Hyatt, once an Oscar-winning darling of the 40’s whose comeback through television is marred by murder and madness. Scarred physically and mentally after a studio fire, Kim’s journey of remorse and insanity was difficult to portray with right mix of passion and pathos. Leslie met the challenge head-on and delivered a landmark and lauded performance which earned her first Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in Performance.

Leslie performing as Marie Antoinette in Eat Cake on closing night in Spring 2019, a role she learned in a week and an effort which won her a Special Commendation from MMP.

2019 saw Leslie continue her journey of growth and excellence in her busiest season yet. She served as the Makeup Designer for the Spring production of Eat Cake at Amargosa Opera House, designing all the period glamour makeup for our Versailles aristocrats, until a surprise tragedy forced an actor to leave and she learned the role of Marie Antoinette in one week to help us finish the run. For that, we awarded her one of the first Special Commendation certificates in MMP history.

She then played the role of haughty violinist Heather Violette in our life-sized mystery board game Foul Play in summer and as an Ensemble member/Dream Lenore for Lenore Nevermore in October 2019. She also worked on the makeup crew that executed the legendary white marble body paint on Beth Sparks-Jacques as Pallas Athena.

In 2020, she worked as the Dramaturg on Woman in the Walls and was cast as QueenB in an upcoming digital mystery, #MurderoftheMonth. She returned to the stage as a performer to take the role of Ms. Squeak in our hilarious costume party caper Who’s Who? in late 2021, while also serving as the Assistant Director, Jewelry Curator, and the co-Makeup Designer with Olivia Holm.

Leslie performing as Dawn Schuyler in Closer to Heaven in May 2022, one of her most powerful performances to date.

She performed as Dawn Schuyler, the owner of the Closer to Heaven nightclub who famously escaped the deadly intentions of the Half-Moon Killer who scarred her cheek with a half moon scar, to perfection in Closer to Heaven in May 2022, capturing the character’s nuanced arc of fierce, maternal protector, wounded survivor, and unshakeable leader in the face of crisis. Her performance received rave reviews.

Leslie Blake in her hilarious, award-winning portrayal of Witness the Fourth in Unlucky Seven in July 2022, a role which won her the historic Golden Diamond Mask Award.

In Unlucky Seven, our milestone 30th Master Mystery Production, she gave a masterful comedic performance as Witness the Fourth, a committed slot jockey with a passion for martinis and her lucky photo of an unknown dog she called Poochums (ignore the mustard stains), engaging with everyone from audience members to cast members in equal measure and never dropping out of character. This level of commitment earned Leslie a historic honor: The Golden Diamond Mask Award for the 50th Diamond Mask presented. This marked her second Diamond Mask-winning performance overall.

Leslie performing as Camille Welbourne-Pryce in Act One of Tête-à-Tête in Fall 2022.

She continued her 2022 season with a seasoned performance as Camille Welbourne-Pryce in Act One of Tête-à-Tête that fall. She has gone on to work and train as a voice actress and will star in an upcoming episode of Regions Beyond, our paranormal mystery series on YouTube.

Leslie’s journey at Master Mystery Productions has been a moving story of finding your tribe, of discovering your talents and worth, and of growing your family and creating a special home for maturing artistic gifts. She has been a symbol of personal growth, artistic discovery, and heartfelt support for all of us in the MMP family. She has shown tremendous commitment as an artist and has learned skills and unveiled great strengths within her own heart that has allowed to blossom from a theatre newbie to a seasoned performer. She has found at Master Mystery Productions that continues to allow her to grow, change, and adapt as a performer and person. Her dedication and love for the company has continually inspired us to make a safe, productive, and creative home for our talented artists.

Heather McGaha

Actress Par Excellence.

Heather McGaha is a legacy performer with a deep and noteworthy string of theatrical credits to her name before she even joined Master Mystery Productions for her debut show in April 2017 as Chantal for the closing night of Bury Me in Paris. Stepping into a lead role with only three weeks to learn everything earned her the Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond for this amazing dedication, and it became a legendary moment in MMP history. She then appeared as the murdered model Willow in photographs, a fictional ad campaign, and clues in October 2017’s Femme Fatales for the Red Hat Ladies of Bakersfield.

Heather performing as kidnapped opera star Donatella Violetta in an emotional scene confronting her sins in 2018’s Exit Prima Donna.

She continued her legendary career in Spring 2018 with a stirring, emotionally riveting performance as opera star Donatella Violetta in our murder mystery opera, Exit Prima Donna, where her gorgeous singing voice reverberating through the theater sent shivers down the spine of the audience at Amargosa Opera House. She won her first Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in Performance for this iconic role. She returned in Fall 2018 for a fun and spirited performance as Moll Flint in our family-friendly pirate’s treasure hunt mystery, Mutiny on the Sea Witch.

Heather as the saucy and sassy Brigitte the Bawd in 2019’s Eat Cake.

In Spring 2019, she gave a hilarious, commanding performance as Brigitte the Bawd in our spring show at Amargosa Opera House, Eat Cake, a French Revolution farce. She gave a performance that, at the time, her director declared to be his absolute favorite, and audiences awarded her her second Diamond Mask Award for the role, making her the first performer to repeat a venue for a Diamond Mask Award. She was even the brave model with cake smeared on her face for the show’s iconic logo. She closed 2019 as the Assistant Director and performed as the icy owner of Billy’s Bigfoot Fresh Jerky Madeline Conrad in Monica Dwyer’s original campfire mystery, Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind.

Heather playing Erin Rochester, troubled celebrity look-a-like, in an emotional scene revealing her cancer diagnosis in 2022’s Closer to Heaven, one of her absolute masterpieces.

She returned to the stage in 2022 for a landmark season in her career. She opened her season in our 80’s mystery Closer to Heaven in the role of embattled Madonna look-a-like Erin Rochester whose struggle with an abusive employer and a cancer diagnosis rocked their neon, nightclub world. Heather gave a heartbreaking performance of all time that has been declared her best ever and a true masterpiece of acting. She won critical acclaim and a much-deserved third Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in Performance for the role. But there was more. For her hard work and dedication in the production as an actress, a set dresser, a set designer, a model, and more, Heather was awarded the Skeleton Key Award for Closer to Heaven, becoming the first person in MMP history to win the award twice for live productions and only the second person to win the award twice. She became the fourth person to win both a Skeleton Key and a Diamond Mask at the same production.

She continued her season of excellence in Unlucky Seven as Witness the Sixth, a stay-at-home “mother” with a strangely silent “baby” she brough to a casino, at the 5th anniversary Eastern Sierra Book Festival in Mammoth Lakes, CA. She, along with Monica Dwyer, masterminded a last-second baby made out of a bread loaf when the original doll prop got left behind.

If looks could kill…Heather as Madeline Conrad in the 2022 revival of Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind.

She reprised her role of Madeline Conrad in our 2022 revival of Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind with fresh iciness and a perfectly chilly demeanor, a new strength that brightened and freshened the role to perfection. She was a standout in the reimagined Reader’s Theatre production and won her fourth Diamond Mask Award for the role. She now shares the distinction with her castmate Daniel Stallings as the only performers to repeat venues for Diamond Mask wins—her first two at Amargosa Opera House and her second two at Moe’s Music—and the first performers to win Diamond Masks for the revival portrayal of their original roles.

She closed the season as a Set Designer, one of the Bohemian Artists, and Act Two’s Viv Coniston in Tête-à-Tête, our 1920’s Paris mystery, in Lone Pine, CA. Her flexibility and willingness to work and find solutions to problems, commitment to every show in the 2022 season, the exemplary work she did both onstage and backstage, and the landmark performances she produced earned her the coveted Founder’s Award for 2022, presented at closing night of Tête-à-Tête. We couldn’t thank Heather enough for her brilliant contributions during that landmark year. With seven awards to her credit, the impressive commitment of her 2022 season, and the masterpieces of performance she has given the company over the years, we inducted Heather McGaha into the Master Mystery Productions Hall of Fame as one of our premier actresses.

Heather McGaha’s artistry continues to lift her up as one of the finest performers at Master Mystery Productions with a growing collection of star roles in everything from musicals to plays to Reader’s Theatre. She has been a brave, exemplary actress who has been willing to embrace the silly or the serious ideas for a show, performing them with grace, confidence, and precision. Her intelligent, deeply nuanced portrayals have become legend at MMP, and she continues to grow and excel as an actress, creating more exquisite moments and memories for our audiences and actors to remember for years to come. She is a Hall of Fame Artist.

Calvin Johnson

Most Decorated Actor Ever.

Calvin Johnson started his MMP career at the very beginning of the company in 2015 when he took the role of movie star Geoffrey Challenger in both the tea shop and stage expansion versions of the sold-out classic Goodbye Hollywood. Since then, he has risen to become one of MMP’s crown jewel performers and the most decorated actor the company has ever had work with us.

Following his critically-acclaimed performance as Geoffrey, he turned to voice acting where he voiced doomed astronaut Dr. Gary Fredericks in Ex Luna in March 2016. His extra effort ensuring the perfect take garnered him the Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond. He then took a hiatus to focus on his voice acting career, appearing in select plays in critically-acclaimed performances as Sherlock Holmes in Baskerville and William Gillette in The Game’s Afoot; or Holmes for the Holidays.

Calvin in his first Diamond Mask winning role as Henri, the hotheaded revolutionary, in Eat Cake at Amargosa Opera House in Spring 2019.

In 2019, Calvin returned to MMP with a vengeance to play the revolutionary Henri in our French Revolution farce, Eat Cake, to rave reviews, earning him his much-deserved first Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in Performance. He continued the season with a hilarious performance as Rusty Clementine in our life-sized mystery board game, Foul Play, which won him his second Diamond Mask Award, joining only a handful of artists who won multiple Diamond Masks in a single season. He was the first cis-male to win multiple Diamond Mask Awards.

Calvin Johnson as Dr. John Forsythe in Woman in the Walls for Spring 2020, which won him his third Diamond Mask.

He earned his third Diamond Mask Award playing Dr. John Forsythe in Woman in the Walls in Spring 2020, thereby solidifying his place as the most decorated male performer in the company. During the pandemic, he was instrumental as a guest artist as we switched to digital productions while filming for #MurderoftheMonth as ArmchairDetective and recording multiple voices for our YouTube series, Regions Beyond.

2021 was another banner season for Calvin as he displayed his skill and excellence as a masterful digital voice actor and live stage actor. He embraced another Sherlock Holmes inspired role of Basil Bremerton in Mum’s the Word, a radio mystery drama, which earned him his then record fourth Diamond Mask Award for his acting, the most any actor had ever won at that point and the first performer to reach that milestone. He returned to live acting for Who’s Who?, our costume party caper, in November 2021 as Bernard St. Bernard, a hilarious rendition that earned him his unprecedented fifth Diamond Mask. For his stellar commitment to the company that season, Calvin was awarded the Founder’s Award for a Year of Outstanding Service for 2021. This honor catapulted Calvin to become the most decorated member of the company, a feat which earned him a place in the Master Mystery Productions Hall of Fame.

Calvin Johnson as Angel Archer, his 6th Diamond Mask-winning role, sharing the wonders of Hollywood to new hire Stella Spencer (played by Janis Kunz) in May 2022’s Closer to Heaven.

Calvin continued performing into 2022 with a magnificent, emotional performance as Angel Archer in Closer to Heaven, our 1980’s murder mystery, winning his record sixth Diamond Mask Award for his work. His additional support behind the scenes to help at rehearsals and bring the show to life also earned him a Special Commendation from Master Mystery Productions. He appeared in Unlucky Seven as the sleazy casino owner Witness the Second in July.

Calvin Johnson in the dock as Leonard Vole on trial for the murder of a rich widow, seen in Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution at CLOTA Center Stage.

During the summer, he worked with longtime MMP director Daniel Stallings on a smash hit production for CLOTA of Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution in the role of Leonard Vole, the man on trial for murder, in a stupendous, “stunning, tour de force performance” (Jessica Weston, The Daily Independent), earning rave reviews and accolades from the audiences, a role that can be considered one of his masterpieces.

He took over the character of Evan Landon in the 2022 revival of Monica Dwyer’s Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind, where he won his record seventh Diamond Mask Award for his earnest, lovable, heartfelt portrayal. He performed in the lead role of Yves Dufort in Tête-à-Tête at the Forum Theater in Lone Pine for late fall 2022 to close his season, winning an eighth Diamon Mask Award for his humorous double act as both Yves and Diego Ruiz, a salacious painter.

Additional theatrical honors Calvin has received include Best Supporting Actor from the CCCC Theatre Arts Club for Rhinoceros in 2010, the CLOTA Gypsy Robe as part of the cast of Guys and Dolls, for Goodbye Hollywood: At the Rainbow’s End, and for Clue the Musical, and the Carol Venturi Volunteer of the Year Award for the 2020 season from the Community Light Opera and Theatre Association.

To date, Calvin Johnson is the most decorated performer in MMP history with a staggering ten awards from the company. Combined with his other theatrical honors, he has thirteen awards to his credit. He is the most decorated actor for his acting with a record seven total Diamond Mask Awards. His work as a theatrical artist—on stage, online, and on film—have cemented his legacy as one of the best and brightest actors in our company and in the valley, an actor whose work has inspired and awed audiences and aspiring actors across many, many shows. His ability to transform as a character, commitment to roles, and dedication to whatever production he is in has made him a recognizable star and a continuing beacon of excellence for Master Mystery Productions and theatre as a whole. Bravo, Calvin!

Janis Kunz

Actress. Stage Manager. Artisan Prop Master. Set Dresser.
Most Decorated Theatrical Designer.

Janis Kunz first stepped into an audition for Mutiny on the Sea Witch in 2018, and thus launched a theatrical career that has become one of the most decorated in our history. She started in the role of actor and puppeteer for Polly the Parrot in Mutiny on the Sea Witch, a role which stole the show night after night and received a special shoutout from the press on their social media. She won her first Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in performance for the role and the Blood, Sweat, and Tears Award from the Ridgecrest Community Theatre Troupe for her exemplary work behind the scenes.

Janis Kunz in her first Diamond Mask-winning role as Polly the Parrot in 2018’s Mutiny on the Sea Witch.

2019 was a milestone season for Janis. She worked as a dedicated crew member for Eat Cake where she won the Skeleton Key Award from Service Above and Beyond, worked backstage throughout and acted as a Maid for closing night of Foul Play, acted the part of Captain Wallis in Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind which earned her her second Diamond Mask Award, and worked backstage at Lenore Nevermore both in Ridgecrest and at Amargosa Opera House. Working the entire year of shows with dedication, love, light, and wide open arms earned her a much-deserved Founder’s Award for a Year of Outstanding Service for the 2019 season. She remains the swiftest winner of that award, having earned it only working one year at Master Mystery Productions.

Janis as Emma Emerson in a promotional photo for Regions Beyond, taken by Davis Kunz.

In 2020, she worked as crew for Woman in the Walls. She delivered a gorgeous, heartbreaking portrayal of the user ThinBlueLine for our upcoming digital mystery #MurderoftheMonth and took on the lead role of Emma Emerson, a paranormal investigator who mysterious disappeared, in our YouTube series Regions Beyond, to critical acclaim. For Regions Beyond, she also worked as a specialty prop and foley artist. For the 2021 season, she continued acting in the roles of Althea Drummond in Mum’s the Word and Georgina Georgson in Who’s Who?. Given the amazing work she did during the difficult years of 2020 and 2021 to further the creative excellence of Master Mystery Productions, we inducted Janis into the MMP Hall of Fame

Janis as Stella Spencer in Closer to Heaven in May 2022.

2022 brought Janis new and exciting challenges and responsibilities. Her passion for the 1980’s made her a clear choice to be both the Assistant Director and the Costume Designer for our 80’s mystery Closer to Heaven, where her neon scheme became one of the best and most iconic costume schemes we have ever seen. Her acting as Stella Spencer in the show added to her list of amazing credits of beautiful and sensitive portrayals.

She continued the season by performing as Witness the First in our 30th show, Unlucky Seven, in July 2022 in Mammoth, reprising her award-winning role of Captain Wallis in the 2022 revival of Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind for Ridge Writers’ Weird Weekend, and playing the part of Mademoiselle Michelle in Tête-à-Tête in the fall in Lone Pine.

In addition to her stage roles, her artistry and creativity truly shines when designing specialty props and set dressing for many Master Mystery Productions. She has served as co-Puppet Designer for both Polly the Parrot in Mutiny on the Sea Witch and the Raven in Lenore Nevermore. She designed life-sized game pieces and squares for Foul Play’s set. She created from scratch a Victorian hypodermic syringe out of a potato peeler for Woman in the Walls and safecracking tools galore for Who’s Who?. Her imagination knows no boundaries.

Janis wearing the CLOTA Gypsy Robe she won for Witness for the Prosecution.

Additional theatrical honors include winning the CLOTA Gypsy Robe for her work on technical crews and as Stage Manager for CLOTA’s production of Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution in 2022, directed by Daniel Stallings. She serves on the Board of Directors for CLOTA and is Vice-President of the East Sierra Branch of the California Writers Club. In 2023, the East Sierra Branch awarded Janis the Jack London Award for outstanding service to the California Writers Club, the highest honor a branch can bestow.

Janis Kunz has been a beacon of love, light, and support throughout her entire career at Master Mystery Productions. In a short span of time, she became a truly beloved member in the company, always ready and willing to lend a hand or give a great hug to someone in need. Her heart and spirit of generosity are aspirational to so many of us at MMP. Her trajectory as a performer and artist has been astronomic, and she has become one of the brightest stars in our Master Mystery Productions constellation.

Olivia Holm

Acclaimed Actress. Legendary Makeup Artist.
Winner of the Diamond Diamond Mask Award.

Olivia Holm became part of the Master Mystery Productions family back in September 2018 when she designed and executed the special effects makeup–everything from bruises to facial hair to aging to burn scars–for What Happens at Sundown, our 1960’s Hollywood mystery. Her critically-acclaimed and landmark work on the production earned her the Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond, her first accolade with the company. Since then, Olivia has continued to excel in her work as an actress and a makeup legend, pushing her own boundaries to design signature looks for Master Mystery Productions that help define it as a theatrical powerhouse.

Upon graduating from high school in Summer 2019, Olivia immediately worked with Master Mystery Productions by performing in Monica Dwyer’s sold-out production Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind in the role of Honey Boudin, her sweet-yet-sassy portrayal earning her the Diamond Mask Award for the Excellence in Performance. Her work as a makeup artist was called on once again as she designed and perfected the Bigfoot makeup for the show.

Olivia’s white marble body paint of Beth Sparks-Jacques performing as Pallas Athena in Lenore Nevermore.

Lenore Nevermore in October 2019 gave Olivia her most artistically challenging and gratifying makeup design yet as she designed and implemented the Pallas Athena body paint, turning the actress into living white marble. An amazing feat, Olivia oversaw a team of four artists, including herself, to accomplish this masterpiece, which has gone on to become the most legendary individual makeup look in MMP history. In addition to that, Olivia worked on costuming and performed in the Ensemble of the show, her tireless dedication and willingness to help her castmates however she could earning her a Special Commendation from Master Mystery Productions.

Returning to MMP for her fourth show in Woman in the Walls, Olivia resumed the mantle of makeup mistress extraordinaire with her designs for the show, in particular her decayed ghost and bite scar makeup. She did all that while also playing nervous but quietly determined and Gifted Eliza, her cast and crew mates voting her to receive her second Diamond Mask Award for the role.

During the pandemic, Olivia filmed the role of Fatal_Femme for the upcoming digital show #MurderoftheMonth and recorded two episodes as a guest voice artist for Regions Beyond —  “The Dead Pilot” and “The Girl in the Tub.”

She returned with us to live performing in November 2021 in the role of Mercedes van Chrysler in our slapstick costume party caper, Who’s Who?, which performed in Red Rock Books. She also worked as co-Makeup Designer and Fight Choreographer on the production, designing everything from glittery camouflage war paint to Marie Antoinette’s wig flying off her head in a struggle. Her hilarious antics onstage as Mercedes won her a much-deserved third Diamond Mask Award.

In 2022, she opened her season in one of our most ambitious and technical productions ever, the 1980’s murder mystery Closer to Heaven, in the role of Hallie Sheppard and as the Makeup Designer where she conceptualized and executed some of her most extravagant makeups from neon 80’s glamor to a realistic half-moon scar to a full zombie makeup for one actor. It was her biggest makeup designs yet. And her stellar performance as the aerobics guru Hallie won her her fourth Diamond Mask Award, becoming the first woman to win the award four times.

With her stellar work across many productions, producing visual magic with character and a makeup brush that helped to define us as theatrical magicians, Olivia was honored as an inductee into the Master Mystery Productions Hall of Fame. She has gone above and beyond to create masterpieces that have become legendary in our communities, and we are forever grateful for her genius, creativity, and passion. Congratulations, Olivia!

Michelle Stallings

Photographer. Graphic Designer. Blogger.

Michelle Stallings has been an integral part of Master Mystery Productions since it was founded in 2015. While you’ve never seen her onstage, her work behind the camera and the computer have solidified and propelled the brand into amazing heights of artistry and recognition. Her photographs have become some of the most recognizable imagery associated with Master Mystery Productions and has led press and critics to describe her work in conjunction with publicity design by Daniel Stallings to be “the best theatrical marketing ever.”

Michelle’s first foray into Master Mystery Productions came when she designed and photographed the Old Hollywood-themed photo shoot for cast photos of Goodbye Hollywood in Spring 2015, including the signature Goodbye Hollywood poster logo of Lila Schroeder (played by Lena Pokol) with her eyes crossed out. The image endures as one of the most striking and memorable photos in our history. But when Goodbye Hollywood: At the Rainbow’s End opened at CLOTA Center Stage in July that year, Michelle volunteered at the box office on top of her photography duties.

Michelle has also served as a client for the company when she hired us to perform two original shows for the Peer Mentor Club of CSU Sacramento. Those shows became Hero, a superhero mystery in October 2015, and Ex Luna, a lunar landing mystery in March 2016.

At the end of 2015, Michelle was the key web designer for our website, including designing original graphics for it. For her service across the entire 2015 season, Michelle became the inaugural Founder’s Award for a Year of Outstanding Service champion, the highest and most prestigious award offered by Master Mystery Productions.

In the 2016 season, Michelle made a brief foray into acting as a rehearsal stand-in for The Last Garden Party. But in October of that year, Michelle became a client yet again when her geek blogging Instagram hosted Game Over, our first fully online Instagram murder mystery we designed.

In 2017, she returned to her roots as the Master Mystery Productions show photographer, creating cast portraits and capturing the beautiful moments of each production in shows such as Murder at the Broken Heart Mine, Bury Me in Paris, Anonymous, The Silent City, and Femme Fatales. For Femme Fatales, a fashion-themed murder mystery, she went above and beyond in the design and execution of the numerous fashion shoots designed to tell the story of the murdered supermodel, Willow, played by actress Heather McGaha. Culminating in some of her best work for the company, Femme Fatales earned Michelle the Skeleton Key Award for her service to the production.

She returned in 2018 to photograph for the productions Exit Prima Donna, What Happens at Sundown, and Mutiny on the Sea Witch. The single match-lit cast photos of What Happens at Sundown, a triumph for the company, are some of Michelle’s favorite shots she has done for us.

The 2019 season gave Michelle more amazing accolades for her creativity and execution. The Eat Cake logo of the Versailles aristocrat swimming in pearls with cake smashed into her face, a concept by writer/director Daniel Stallings, was beautifully realized by Michelle’s photography and continues to be one of our most arresting images. She photographed at the June 2019 revival production of Murder at the Red Fez for Atria Seville in Las Vegas.

But it was Foul Play, our life-sized murder mystery board game performed in Summer 2019, where Michelle went the extra mile. With her experience as a geek blogger and an expert of tabletop and board games, Michelle was an integral consultant to the conception, design, writing, and execution of Foul Play. She even helped plot one of the two solutions to the crime and was a key player in creating the different characters and motives. Without her, the show would have never gotten off the ground. So Master Mystery Productions awarded her with the Partners in Crime Award for Service in Writing for Foul Play at closing night, the same day Michelle graduated with her Master’s degree, an enormous accomplishment. She became the first person to win the Partners in Crime Award in four years and the first woman to earn that title, more amazing honors.

Her 2019 season closed with more exquisite cast and production photos in Monica Dwyer’s production of Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind in September and the touring production of Lenore Nevermore in October. Her photography paired with the graphic publicity design on Daniel Stallings for the Lenore Nevermore poster was termed by one critic as the best theatre poster we have ever designed.

She returned in 2021 to photograph for Who’s Who?, our costume party caper at Red Rock Books. In 2022, her graphic work continued as she photographed the cast and performances of Closer to Heaven, as well as assisted in counting the Diamond Mask votes.

Michelle’s art endures as a testament to the genius talents we wish to foster at Master Mystery Productions. Her work both in marketing and archival of these ephemeral theatrical marvels prove just how important every stage and facet of design is in our business. Without her pictures, there would be no record of the shows. Her work has helped to define the brand and the style of our shows, turning them into instantly recognizable iconography still beloved even years later. Without her help, no one would see how amazing the people at Master Mystery Productions are. Thank you so much, Michelle, for your brilliant work.

Margit Stallings

Legendary Costume Designer. Set Dresser.

Margit Stallings has been a part of Master Mystery Productions since its inception in 2015, but her work with the company began before that when she originated the role of Scarlet O’Halloran in the very first Master Mystery Production, Murder at the Red Fez, in March 2013 for the Red Hat Ladies of Bakersfield. But Margit’s legendary contributions to the company have been made not with an actor’s voice, but with a needle, thread, flower arrangements, and feathers as the critically-acclaimed, award-winning costume designer, milliner, and set dresser for numerous amazing shows.

A long time costumer for her children for Halloween or dance performances, Margit made her first leap into Master Mystery Productions costuming by designing and creating the iconic white tea time hat and the pink silk satin gown worn by actress Lena Pokol as Lila Schroeder in the Spring 2015 production of Goodbye Hollywood, costuming which earned rave reviews as “fabulously retro” by critics. This extended to multiple gowns she made for the stage expansion, Goodbye Hollywood: At the Rainbow’s End.

Her first foray into scenic design and set dressing came when she designed the classic mystery themed centerpieces inspired by Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes, Ellery Queen, Nero Wolfe, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, and more for the sold-out production of Hello Out There in September 2015, the first Weird Weekend show for Master Mystery Productions.

Her work backstage to design and create special set dressing, party favors, prizes, and even superhero capes for our superhero mystery, Hero, in October 2015 garnered her the Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond for the show.

In 2016, she created the iconic funeral wreath employed in many Master Mystery Productions for Wildflowers for the Funeral. Margit returned to costuming for The Last Garden Party in July 2016 where she created the rich Victorian ensembles worn by most of the cast, solid costumes which have been reused in various forms in several future productions.

For the 2017 season, Margit was the set dresser for the Writers of Kern production of Murder at the Broken Heart Mine, followed by more brilliant costuming in Bury Me in Paris and Ode to Agatha along with exquisite set dressing for the latter with Agatha Christie-themed table centerpieces and buffet design inspired by some of her best books like Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and Death on the Nile. She finished the season with staggering set design for C. R. Rowenson’s The Silent City in September 2017.

In 2018, she once again costumed for a glamorous period show, What Happens at Sundown, including the drop dead gorgeous sapphire blue burnoose worn by actress Monica Dwyer in the role of Helena Rothschild. But her most fun came in November 2018’s Mutiny on the Sea Witch where she designed unique pirate costumes (along with a dozen pirate hats) and delved into scenic painting for the pirate ship set, creating the now famous dark wood grain and brass finish seen on what one critic called “the best set [they’d] ever seen.”

But the 2019 season brought Margit her greatest praise yet when she costumed the daunting and daring production of Eat Cake for Amargosa Opera House. Set in Versailles at the dawn of the French Revolution, Margit had to create FOUR custom gowns for the actresses, including the panniers, which she finished by hand with traditional closures for accuracy. Her costume design earned rave audience reviews, citing them as the most amazing costumes they’d ever seen, and Eat Cake is considered to be her masterpiece in her work as a costumer. Not only that, Margit received a Special Commendation from the company for her emergency costume work when she had to resize the Marie Antoinette dress entirely for the understudy who had to assume the role for closing night within a week’s notice.

For September 2019, Margit’s most unusual assignment came as the designer of the Bigfoot costume used in Monica Dwyer’s production of Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind, including yards and yards of hand-woven “Bigfoot hair” made of yarn.

At the end of 2019, Margit was once again an eleventh hour hero when she cut, sewed, and fitted the signature Lenore dress for Lenore Nevermore in one week after the original plan fell through. She also lent more costume and scenic design services from sourcing to sewing to decorating the buffet for that production, which is now considered one of her most legendary moves in Master Mystery Productions history.

In 2021, we again had the pleasure of seeing her genius and artisan craftmanship when she executed the scarecrow’s costume for Mr. Bubble in Who’s Who? with custom fabric patches.

Margit’s contributions to both costume design and set design have created a unifying brand for our shows and set and level of perfection, style, and jaw-dropping effect for all our Master Mystery Productions. Her unflappable professionalism, exquisite taste, and high level of execution have become standard bearers for the company and for theatre as a whole. She is a wonderful example of how every part of theatre is vital to its success. Bravo, Margit. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for all that you do.

Devanne Fredette

Actress Extraordinaire. Writer. Multimedia Artist.

Devanne Fredette joined Master Mystery Productions for her first production as Phoebe Walliscroft in The Last Garden Party, performed in July 2016. It was her first major role in a major production, which has since blossomed into a storied theatrical career filled with well-deserved accolades and honors. Her journey through Master Mystery Productions has allowed her to stretch her abilities as an actress, a writer, and an artist in numerous media from digital art to paint to music and beyond.

In 2017, Devanne returned to perform as Zoe Fox in Bury Me in Paris that spring followed by a performance as Caroline Shaw in July 2017’s sold-out production of Ode to Agatha. Her biggest accomplishment of that season came in C. R. Rowenson’s The Silent City performed in September, where she delivered a stellar and startling vocal performance as the tragic Kyra Ganley and volunteered in numerous ways behind the scenes as a scenic painter and a visual artist, creating original cast portraits for the show. Her work earned her her first award from the company: The Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond.

2018 became a landmark season for Devanne. While performing as a Chorus member in our first musical, Exit Prima Donna, Devanne also became a composer, writing an original piece of music, titled “Mia Bambina,” to pair with a character’s monologue, which then became a theme woven throughout the show. Devanne became the first true composer for Master Mystery Productions. She continued to spread her wings in July 2018’s Famous Last Words in the role of Chloe Landis and as a scenic painter when she designed and painted the falling bust for the show. She then was a member of the Ensemble in What Happens at Sundown.

Devanne commanding her crew of pirates in her Diamond Mask-winning performance as Cutlass Kate in 2018’s Mutiny on the Sea Witch.

Her biggest triumph came in Mutiny on the Sea Witch in November 2018, where she played the lead of Captain Cutlass Kate to perfection and served as Assistant Director. Her unstoppable performance as Cutlass Kate won her the coveted Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in Performance, her work during the show garnered her the Blood, Sweat, and Tears Award from Ridgecrest Community Theatre Troupe, and her exemplary service across the entire season earned her the Founder’s Award for a Year of Outstanding Service for 2018, the highest honor at Master Mystery Productions.

With her wins during Mutiny, Devanne became the first person to win three different awards during a single production, a title that no one has beat to this date. And with Mutiny on the Sea Witch, Devanne earned another honor: the longest-performing actor in Master Mystery Productions with her then eight career shows with the company.

Devanne in a commanding, emotional, terrifying performance as Lenore in Lenore Nevermore in 2019.

2019 became an important anniversary season for her as she extended her reign as longest-running performer with the roles of Madame du Pommade in Eat Cake in Spring 2019 and the title role of Lenore in Lenore Nevermore in October 2019. With her appearance in Lenore Nevermore, Devanne became the first performer to reach the milestone of ten productions with the company, which she accomplished on the landmark 25th Master Mystery Production. It was a milestone we couldn’t ignore, and we inducted her into the MMP Hall of Fame for her staggering work with Master Mystery Productions.

Devanne’s logo art for Mum’s the Word

Following her induction into the MMP Hall of Fame, Devanne has continued to spearhead excellence in the company with standout performances as a guest voice artist in Regions Beyond, our paranormal found footage mystery series on YouTube, and as the sassy schoolgirl Sarah Green in Mum’s the Word. For Mum’s the Word, she contributed her legion artistic talents to draw the show’s logo, and her dedicated work in live streaming the premieres of Regions Beyond episodes in 2020, along with special animated art she made for these streams, earned her the Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond for the production. Devanne has become the first person to win the Skeleton Key for a digital production, and the first to win the award twice.

She returned to acting with MMP playing in two Reader’s Theatre productions in 2022. First, she played the sweet yet overwhelmed drinks girl Witness the Fifth in Unlucky Seven, followed by taking the role of April Abbot in the 2022 revival of Monica Dwyer’s Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind. She contributed to the visual art of Tête-à-Tête by creating the sketches seen in the sketchbook used by the bohemian artists onstage.

Devanne’s artistry, dedication, and persistence with her theatrical career is a model for all members of Master Mystery Productions. Devanne’s career may not have received the immediate laurels of some of her contemporaries, but she has never given up and never pursued theatre for anything but the love of the experience. Devanne is a model of growth as an actress, dedicating herself to acres of research and planning and work to embody the characters she portrays, and she has become one of the most versatile and formidable performers we have ever produced. From humble beginnings as the sweet and likeable Phoebe Walliscroft, Devanne has become a standout member of the company, a shining star performer, and a dear friend to everyone in Master Mystery Productions. She has proven that hard work, patience, and persistence will open so many doors and make dreams come true. We congratulate her and thank her for all her years of service.

Monica Dwyer

Multiple award-winning Actress. Writer. Director.

Monica Dwyer first joined Master Mystery Productions back in 2016 when she performed as Lady Elizabeth Margaret Anne Prudence Temperance Charity Bradfordshire-Pierce in The Last Garden Party, where she was billed as Monica Lorenz. Little did we know that that first show would be the start of a magical and lauded career with the company. Her dedication to the show, culminating in her four-part blog series on the production, earned her the Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond, her first award with the company.

In the 2017 season, Monica returned to play Wilhelmina Blake in Bury Me in Paris, earning her her first Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in Performance for her brilliant acting, one of the first winners of such an honor. She followed that up with another Diamond Mask winning performance as Simone Davenport in Ode to Agatha, making her the first performer ever to win TWO Diamond Mask Awards and the first to win multiple Diamond Masks in a single theatrical season. She closed the 2017 season with a heartfelt vocal performance in C. R. Rowenson’s The Silent City. Her hard work across the entire season earned her the top award at MMP: The Founder’s Award for a Year of Outstanding Service.

Monica continued to be an invaluable member of Master Mystery Productions. In 2018, she served as the Assistant Director and Stage Manager of our first musical, Exit Prima Donna, followed by a gorgeous performance as Helena Rothschild in What Happens at Sundown.

But ever the history-maker, she has since claimed another title: The first performer to win THREE Diamond Mask Awards for acting when she won for the role of Madame la Comtesse in Eat Cake in Spring 2019.

In May 2019, she married her husband, future Skeleton Key Winner Steven Dwyer.

Monica’s unwavering support of Master Mystery Productions and years of hard work made her a natural choice to be selected as our first ever outside director for the company, as well as only the second writer to create their own solo show for the company, which she did for Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind, billed as Monica Lorenz-Dwyer. Her writing for this show earned her the Partners in Crime Award for Service in Writing.

Her return to MMP following the pandemic was as Hair Designer for Closer to Heaven, our 80’s murder mystery party at Moe’s Music in May 2022. Her flexibility, dedication, and commitment behind-the-scenes in an ambitious and challenging production earned her a Special Commendation from Master Mystery Productions. We could have finished that show without her artistry! In a special twist, she, the first outside director promoted at MMP, was the one who announced and awarded the Diamond Masks for Closer to Heaven, giving to her longtime director Daniel Stallings the first Diamond Mask he earned in a perfect full circle moment.

She returned to acting to play the hilariously distracted security officer Witness the Third in our milestone 30th production, Unlucky Seven, at the Eastern Sierra Book Festival in July 2022. And in October 2022, she became the first outside writer/director for the company to see a revival of her work when she mounted a fresh production of Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind.

Additional theatrical honors include winning the CLOTA Gypsy Robe in 2012 for her work on Arms and the Man for the Community Light Opera and Theatre Association.

Let’s take a tally of what she’s accomplished: A Skeleton Key Award, three Diamond Masks, a Founder’s Award, a Partners in Crime Award, and a Special Commendation. Monica has earned seven awards in her time with the company.

But Monica has never performed for the glory or the recognition. She has worked with us purely for the joy of theatre, a feeling that her cast and crew members have felt keenly over the years. Many performers have called Monica an inspiration, a stage mother, a best friend, and it is her humility, her heart, and her passion for this craft that we celebrate. She has been an exemplary member, serving as a guide for many on how we work at MMP. We can never thank her enough for her tireless service.

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