The Mystery Box Show
Every other month, a sold-out audience crowd their way into the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, Oregon, to see people just like them get on stage and talk about sex. But this is not a sex lecture, or a TED Talk, or an evening of theatrically erotic monologues. These are real people sharing their true experiences of mind-opening threesomes, self-discovery through sex toys, explorations into kinky new territories, and the healing that comes from visibility and community.
The Producers
Reba Sparrow and Eric Scheur have been curating The Mystery Box Show since 2012. They work closely with their storytellers to coach and develop their stories from a simple two-sentence e-mail pitch into a fully-realized story. They have seen first-hand the power that these stories can have to erase shame and create empathy when the topic of sex is treated neither as taboo nor exploitative, but simply human.
2020/2021 Update
With the global shutdown of most live theatre, The Mystery Box Show moved their platform swiftly adapted to the circumstances. Reba and Eric, the show’s producers, not only developed a livestreamed version of the show from their own home, featuring storytellers from across the globe, they also expanded on the sex-positive entertainment offered by The Mystery Box Show. The new video series Confession Corner takes its inspiration from the audience’s sexual confessions, and their new show Sex•People opens up new discussions in the territory of sex and sexuality. Add to that the launch of their much-anticipated podcast, they have certainly found a way to make quarantine work for them.
Electronic Press Kit
The Mystery Box Show is currently Portland’s longest-running live storytelling event. “Our goal is to normalize the way our culture talks about sex,” says Executive Producer Reba Sparrow. “We do this by finding the universal emotions in a story so the story is relatable to everyone.” Finding these universal emotions is how a straight white male (for example) might find connection and empathy with a non-gender-conforming kinky sub, or how a butch lesbian boi (sic) might see themselves in the most vanilla of church-going soccer moms. “People come to the show for the juicy, sexy details,” Sparrow says, “but it’s the human connection that really transforms the evening into something special.”
Media Gallery
Media
Contact
Reba Sparrow Executive Producer
Eric Scheur Producer
Social
Media
Website: mysteryboxshow.com
Facebook: mysteryboxshow
Instagram: @mysteryboxpdx
Twitter: @mysteryboxpdx
Youtube: mysteryboxshow
Logos &
Media
2020 MBS Logos for Press.zip
A variety of high resolution treatments of the Mystery Box Show logo, approved for use by the press.
2020 MBS Press Photos.zip
All photographs credited to Nick Mendez
Recent Media Appearances
03/30/2021
Sex-Positive Me
“In this episode, our guests were Executive Producer & Story Coach Reba Sparrow and Co-Producer Eric Scheur of The Mystery Box Show. We discuss about the birth of The Mystery Box Show as it started as a show to entertain people at the same time have a safe place to talk about sex but it’s grown into so much more.”
03/23/2021
Communication Czar
“When it comes to great stories, Eric Scheur, has heard his share. As Co-Producer of The Mystery Box Show, he and his Co-Producer, Reba Sparrow, have given hundreds of people coaching and a venue to tell their intimate stories to crowds of strangers.”
02/13/2021
Fish Nerds Podcast
“Reba Sparrow from the Mystery Box Show joins us this week as we chat about fish sex with our Chief Science Correspondent, Doc Martin! We have a great time and we fall in love all over again with fish in our annual Valentine’s Day special.”