Mystery Dawn Skelton

Have you ever caught that shimmering light out of the corner of your eye… Or a blurry figure in the woods that disappears before you can make it out… Something that only comes out once in a while to create a commotion before retreating to its hidey-hole? That is Mystery. Mystery is also an emerging interdisciplinary artist based in New York with specializations in the strange and unusual (theatre, gothic, the occult, demonology, murder mysteries, cults, and cryptozoology‬). They have a unique capability of noticing things other people miss, like a five leaf clover hidden in a field, so when approaching an artistic project they are able to hone into specifics.

Mystery’s training aims to create something beautiful and unique to the storytellers. They engage in conversations surrounding gender expression, invisible illness, and social inequalities, while using the gothic and horror as a lens to discuss the systems that suppress minorities. They are enthralled by the history of storytelling and the theatrical practice of magical realism, tying this to their native (diné) and hispanic roots. These ideas blossom into their writing and designs by harboring open and honest conversations that value the collaborators. Having a trauma informed approach is a long held value that can be seen throughout their work, encouraging the comfort of artists, actors, and audience members. 

As a disabled queer artist, Mystery can be found in their lair creating assemblage art, writing, sewing patches on old clothes, or tending to their occasionally carnivorous plants. This work involves creating spaces of acceptable risk through both consent based practices and trauma informed practices. While their writing often upholds the traditions of the gothic form, their set designs tend to engage elements that are associated with lightness and utopia, a battle between power structures and the natural world. They value sustainability and reusing things considered trash to make new theatrical treasures. They are moving into the world of immersive theatre to allow for more tactile audience involvement, inspired by the human desire to engage with art on a physical level: paper bags become dead leaves audiences can run their hands through or audiences are offered silent stim toys and weighted stuffed animals throughout a show. Immersive art builds an opportunity for the audience to play while also holding emotional space for the story that is being told. So when you catch a glimpse of a shadow high up a tree, revel in the fact that it may be Mystery, engulfed in a book or frantically drawing a new design.

Photo: Mia Isabella Aguirre

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