Because I refused to ever grow up and get a real job, I worked for several Murder Mystery producers before starting my own company. Companies like "Deep Purple Productions," "Murder Mystery Wannabees," "Upstream Sleuths," "Death by Dinner," " Play Bayers," "Lab of the Rippers," and "Killers Kan't Spell ." The following article is what I learned by working in the murder mystery genre.
Once upon a time... a couple decades ago... sometime in the 80's... interactive murder mysteries were invented by... one of the several murder mystery producers who make that claim. Murder mysteries had never been performed without a fourth wall*. (*That invisible barrier that separates audience from actors and keeps them from seeing you.) The audience was right there in the middle of the action... and they liked it! And so interactive murder mysteries spread like wildfire! Copycats came out of the woodwork eager to make a buck off this easy and inexpensive format. Many murder mysteries were improvisational timelines formulated by actors and producers, with the cast giving major input into details about their characters and storylines. They all followed the same not-so-mysterious pattern. Guests arrive and have cocktails. Suspicious characters mingle. Each character hates Mister BadGuy with a passion! Mister Badguy suddenly DIES! Conveniently. Right before dinner. Detective DumName arrives almost instantaneously having been previously alerted to a potential murder by some unexplained psychic power! Detective DumName usually bears an uncanny resemblance to Mr. BadGuy! Dumname investigates and soon discovers every single suspect has motive and opportunity. More mingling ensues. Maybe even another murder. Accusations follow. DumName wraps it up by show of hands, clue cards or by pulling a name out of his... hat. Clear cut clues as to "whodunit" are questionable as any of the suspects could have "dunit." (This is the way many murder mysteries are still being performed today! Most likely the actors take turns being the murderer, so don't pat yourself on the back for figuring it out!)
THE FOURTH WALL
Other companies cropped up over the years adding their own twists. Producers wrote their own scripts... even if they had no traditional theater experience or training. Since these producers learned by training each other or stealing from each other strange customs sprang up. The fourth wall* twisted and actors were asked to pretend to be in exotic locations such as Bangkok, Barbados or Berlin; on a deserted island, a mountaintop or even at a pajama party! (With the absence of a fourth wall you will need to suspend disbelief. Even though the waitress asking if you want Spaghetti or Lasagna may be speaking perfect English... you are in Berlin on a mountaintop wearing your pajamas!) Scripts of this type are 12 to 20 pages long and require approximately half an hour of mingling before the actual scripted show begins. These productions rely on the strength of the actors as they are often repetitive and rambling, explaining characters' motives in retrospect rather than using action to forward flimsy plots. Characters are stereotypes. Tough guys, nerds, divas and bimbos who all hate each other and scream a lot. Some mystery producers are still producing the same shows they were doing in 1986!
THE BIG GUYS
Next to come were the BIG GUYS! The LARGER OLDER murder mystery companies who say they are like luxury cars! They will fly their actors out at your expense because they are convinced that they are the best simply because they have been producing murder mysteries the same way since 1986! Other national companies started satellite companies to produce their shows. This amounted to giving actors scripts to memorize without the benefit of rehearsing with the rest of the cast, or starting groups up and leaving them to their own devices. These companies have lists of cities they allegedly perform in... however at closer inspection you will find that "The Murder Mystery Playmakers" have "no public shows available at this time."
THE MINGLES
A majority of the murder mysteries being performed today are "Mingles." The fist thing a producer of these shows will tell you is that a chair must be left open at each table so the actors can sit down to be interrogated by the audience. (This can be a problem for restaurants with four tops or limited seating.) Mingles stretch themselves thin with large groups as the actors scramble to cover ground. Don't let them con you into thinking that this is the only way it can be done! Many mystery companies further simplify by "killing" an audience member and bringing him back as his own twin. (Who just arrived by some unknown circumstance.) Some companies require the audience participants to show up early for "briefing." This is only one type of murder mystery; but it is the easiest to put up.
THE SATELLITES
Some of the smaller companies also tried branching out... sitting in one city and collecting most of the money while the hard working performers collected less than $1.00 per person. Then seven years ago one of those companies decided not to pay a group of actors... (THANKS TERRI DUBLIN!) and it made us mad enough to start our own company!
THE BREAKFAST BOX
Bed and Breakfast Murder Mysteries can be GREAT FUN! Or they can be a nightmare as it depends on the other people who happen to show up. There are no real actors, the show is actually a board game with you playing one of the peices.
What our competitors say... "We are the OLDEST Murder Mystery Company."
What that really means is... We are old. We have been around since the '80's.
What our competitors say... "We are the BIGGEST Murder Mystery Company."
What that really means is... We are big. We have been around since the '80's.
What our competitors say... "We are the BEST murder mysteries."
What that really means is... We've been doing it this way since the '80's.
What our competitors say... "We are the ROLLS ROYCE of murder mysteries."
What that really means is... We use to be a big honkin' deal but we have run out of gas.
What our competitors say... "We write a custom script about your company or organization."
What that really means is... We have a fill-in-the-blanks section where we use your names.
What our competitors say... "The actors mingle with the guests."
What that really means is... There is no script, we're gonna B.S with you.
What our competitors say... "actors interact in and around the audience the entire evening."
What that really means is... Get this guy away from me!
What our competitors say... "The Longest Running Comedy-Improv Murder Mystery..."
What that really means is... Not THAT old thing again!
