Sometimes, the coolest part of working on a Master Mystery Production is the chance to create some truly memorable set pieces and props from scratch. Translating a creative idea from abstract to physical is like a magic trick, especially in the hands of our talented artists. So when a really odd idea like building a miniature set out of old maps strikes the director, it takes a team of outstanding craftspeople to render these things in three dimensions. And that’s just what happened with Tourist Trap. Let’s get a look at the making of this one-of-a-kind map!

MAPPING IT OUT: The Making of Tourist Trap (Part 2)

What’s a road trip without a map? And what’s a road trip without arguing over directions? It’s not really possible to jam an entire road trip into a bookstore, but we wanted some means of communicating the scale and scope of the trip in someway. And the simplest way was with a map. But we can get a little extra around here at MMP. Writer/director Daniel Stallings dreamed up the idea of a kind of miniature set, a hybrid dollhouse, play world, pop-up book, and animated itinerary. A map world made from old maps. A symbolic representation of the Morgenstern Family Vacation (as chaotic as any undertaken by the fabled Griswold family) that both they and the audience can interpret for clues.

The lead designer for our interactive map was Janis Kunz, MMP Hall of Fame Artist and one of our most gifted prop designers. She was given the basic brief and the freedom not to be realistic or to scale with her creations. The map is a symbolic tool. It’s a road trip as a 3-D cartoon, a pop-up vacation. Working off of Karen’s monologue about their journey to Death Valley, Janis created a set of paper doll-like figures representing each of the family’s stops on the drive.

Each figure was crafted by hand. Janis created the bulk of the designs with assistance from Murolo Patchin, Nicole Johnson, and Madeleine Smith. Director Daniel Stallings was responsible for placing the figures on the actual map. Each icon was discussed based on the needs of Karen’s monologue, but Janis was given free reign to design an icon she felt worked best. The complex and intricate designs for the gas pump, the hotel and the petroglyph art (based on the metal art based on petroglyphs seen on street medians in Ridgecrest, CA) are some of our favorites. The petroglyph was designed and cut much like a strong of paper dolls to get it to stand and have a see-through element. Murolo designed the present figure used to signify a gift shop.

Icons aren’t the only feature on the map. Red Rock Canyon was created topographically by Janis. Then Daniel and Madeleine Smith used a red marker to symbolize the color of the canyon. Red pushpins mark special locations in the script–You Are Here, destinations, and…incidents. Then Daniel designed a system to create little creosote bushes out of the maps to provide more 3-dimensional geography. Nicole Johnson and Madeleine Smith were responsible for the bulk of the creosote bushes. The model van was provided by Michael Stallings, and the character Karen uses it as the stand-in for her family’s van as she recreates their hectic road trip.

The Tourist Trap interactive map joins a long line of phenomenal specialty game props such as the sandbox from Hello Out There and the open grave from Pauper’s Grave. Another feather in the cap for the genius artists who work with Master Mystery Productions.

Although the miniature map set isn’t out largest set piece, it’s certainly of of MMP’s most imaginative. What clues will you discover studying it? What secrets lay hidden within? And you get to see it in action at Tourist Trap, performing one weekend only at Red Rock Books for Ridge Writers’ Weird Weekend 2023. Performances are Friday, August 18 and Saturday, August 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at Red Rock Books.

We’ll see you at the show!

–Master Mystery Productions