If someone you dont know sits next to you at your office holiday party, acts somewhat strangely, talks a little too loud, and gets into a confrontation, dont react too quicklyit could be an actor from Mystery Division Inc.


For the past six years, the little Spokane business has been entertaining office partygoers, convention delegates, fund-raiser attendees, and at other gatherings here by staging interactive murder mysteries that are custom tailored to the event.


The handful of actors who work for or with the venture dont work on projects full time, but meet to plan and perform one to two Mystery Division shows a month, for which the venture charges clients $1,200 to $1,500, although the fee can depend on a shows size and complexity.


Heres how it works: Actors will arrive at an event, like any other guest, and disperse among the group. Then, some sort of confrontation begins, someone ends up murdered, a detective enters, and the investigation begins.


At a party given by a business, the victim, the murder suspects, and even the murderer can be from the businesss own ranks, and personal information about those people will be worked into the story line, says Jone Campbell-Bryan, Mystery Divisions co-founder.


Our most popular murder mysteries are the ones we write about the clients, she says.


The entire time the story is being played out, Campbell-Bryan, partner Patrick Treadway, and a handful of contracted actors will move through the audience and pick on them, so to speak, Campbell-Bryan says.


Theres enough schmaltz in the performanceand the victim obviously isnt really deadto keep attendees from thinking a murder really has been committed. As soon as the victim dies, the players put a hatwith an angel halo attached to iton his or her head.


Once Mystery Division has been hired to do an event, Campbell-Bryan and Treadway find a snitch within the clients business or organization and gather information about the individuals who will be present. They try to find strange or funny things, as long as theyre not hurtful, racy, or otherwise inappropriate, that they can make absurd.


For example, before one party they found out that someones summer home had been broken into, but only some quilts and bedding were taken. They wove that into the plot by declaring that a secret map to an underground bunker was stitched into the stolen quilt. In another case, they used the fact that a neat-freak had a painting the inside of her filing cabinet. Other personal details might need no elaboration, such as a woman who served on a companys board of directorsand was a champion belcher.


Other bits of information provide clues. For example, an avid badminton player can suddenly become a suspect in the murder if a badminton racquet is found near the crime scene.


Campbell-Bryan and Treadway write the scenarios for the events, and each plotline is unique. The scenarios follow a time-tested formula, but the plot always varies so that people whove seen Mystery Division productions previously wont know the outcome and still can have fun, she says. The actors and a producer are contracted for specific events, as are a sound technician and pianist if needed.


Part of the formula is to employ an unusual murder method, says Campbell-Bryan.


Weve never shot anyone, Campbell-Bryan says. Poisoning is good for its dramatic effects, an arrow-through-the-head can be fun, and electrocution (with low-tech special effects) adds real spark to the evening, she says. In one of the more theatrical deaths, Mystery Division dropped a dummy past the windows of a room where a party was being held, she says.


Mystery Division has a stable of regular actors it calls on for the performances.


Each of our actors has a goody bag of characters they play. Well call (one of) them and say, I need your nerdy cat lady, Campbell-Bryan says.


All of the participants are paid. The scenarios, demand not just acting abilities, but exceptional improvisational skills, she says.


The interactivity is what audiences love, Campbell-Bryan says.


A lot of memorization can be involved in a show. Because everything is improvisational within the guidelines of the plot, the actors dont memorize lines as they would for a play. In order to really work the crowd and include as many spectators in the goings-on as possible, Treadway and Campbell-Bryan often will memorize the names of and some personal details on up to 50 people. That way, as they go from table to table talking to people, they can call upon their reservoir of knowledge to keep things fun and spontaneous.


The identity of the murderer is a secret, Campbell-Bryan says. The client knows about the plot, but not the who-done-it part.


Murder victims, of course, have to be in on the plot and also are filled in on what is expected of them, but suspects are unaware of their involvement in the story, she says. Most people have been happy to go along with the gag, but one reluctant victim had to be talked into it, she says. Even then, he said hed only stay for an hour. He ended up having a ball, and he stayed for the entire party, Campbell-Bryan says.


Sometimes, a person who is woven into the plot doesnt show up for the event, so things have to be changed at the last minute, she says.


If an audience member doesnt want to participate, he or she wont be forced to, Campbell-Bryan says. We want people to have a good time, she says, and if someone is truly reluctant to be in the spotlight, the actors simply will find someone who is more willing. Most people like to play a role in the production, even if theyre brought in as suspects as the scenario unwinds. Adding to the allegations leveled by the Mystery Division actors, attendees sometimes start accusing each other, she says.


After the story has been played out, audience members write down whom they think the murderer is and what clues made them reach their conclusions. Usually, the client offers a prize for the winner; if not, Mystery Division can provide one. The most elaborate prize Campbell-Bryan has seen a client provide is a trip to Hawaii, given away after a three-day event in which the actors kept popping in and out to weave a complicated plot.


Because of the time needed to gather information, to devise the scenario, and to memorize the information about attendees, Mystery Division prefers to book events four weeks in advance.


Business fluctuates seasonally, with summer being the slowest time, Campbell-Bryan says.


In addition to parties and large events, Mystery Division also stages mysteries at places like hotels and casinos.


Because the actors dont know who will be present during those performances, the scenarios are somewhat different than they would be for, say, a small companys Christmas party, but Campbell-Bryan and Treadway still try to involve the audience in the scenario as much as possible, Campbell-Bryan says. Currently, the business is planning to do a New Years Eve show at a hotel here, and is talking to that hotel about doing regular shows there.


Mystery Division was started in 1995, after Campbell-Bryan and Treadway and several other actors were asked if they would put together a murder mystery for an event.


It went fairly well, Campbell-Bryan says. After that, calls started coming in from other clients who wanted mysteries to be concocted and produced. Campbell-Bryan, who was a stay-at-home mother, and Treadway, who also does voice-over for broadcast commercials, started organizing scenarios, and about two years later, formed the venture out of necessity, she says.


In the future, Mystery Division might do other types of shows, such as cabarets, as well, Campbell-Bryan says. Weve got a lot of open doors, she says, explaining that the business already does some cabaret-type performances as a show within a show during mysteries. If someone were to request that type of show, Mystery Division could provide it now, she says.