ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html;CHARSET=iso-8859-1"> <META NAME="description" CONTENT="Bowing Out - a Dinner Theatre Murder Mystery by Alan Robinson, where the actors play scripted scenes, and the guests have to interrogate the actors, review written evidence and decide 'who dunnit'"> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="Murder,Mystery,Dinner,theatre,Bowing,Out,Event,Script,Party,Whodunnit,Who,Dunnit,Alan Robinson"> <META http-equiv="PICS-Label" content='(PICS 1.0 "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" l r (SS~~000 1))'> <TITLE>Bowing Out - a dinner theatre murder mystery</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="white"> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" BGCOLOR="white"> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"> <p align="center"> <IMG SRC="BowingOutLogo.JPG" WIDTH="500" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" alt="Bowing Out Murder Mystery Scenario" title="Bowing Out Dinner Theatre Murder Mystery">&nbsp;</p> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><I><FONT SIZE="7" COLOR="maroon"><span style="color: darkred"><span style="color: #008080"> A Dinner Theatre Murder Mystery</span><br /> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: navy"><strong>by Alan Robinson</strong></span></FONT></I></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><FONT COLOR="black">&nbsp;</FONT></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><B><I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="maroon">What's it all about?</FONT></I></B></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"> <UL> <LI>A murder mystery event in which the actors play scripted scenes</li> <li>The audience interrogates the (surviving) cast, condiders written evidence and tries to guess whodunnit&nbsp;</li> <li>Lazy Bee Scripts provides the script, character briefs, written evidence and "solution sheets"</li><li>The actors play the script then improvise their interactions with the audience</li> </UL> </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%">&nbsp;</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><B><I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="maroon">What's does Lazy Bee Scripts provide?</FONT></I></B></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><FONT COLOR="black">Lazy Bee Scripts supplies a pack of material for the performing company including:-</FONT></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"> <UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">A &quot;narrative arc&quot; for the murder, covering</FONT></li> <UL> <li><font color="black"></font>Script for the prologue, three acts and denouement</li><li>Cues for distributing written evidence and leading the audience into interrogation of the cast</li></UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">A background brief for each character</FONT> <UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Character description</FONT> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Character history</FONT> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Motivation</FONT> </UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">General staging guidelines</FONT> <UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Recommendations for preparation</FONT> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Suggestions for "staging"</FONT> &nbsp;</UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Additional materials</FONT> <UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Seven pieces of written evidence</FONT></li><li><font color="black">Solution sheets (for the audience to supply their guesses for "who dunnit")</font></li> </UL></ul> </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><FONT COLOR="black">&nbsp;</FONT></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><B><FONT COLOR="black">Note that Lazy Bee Scripts does not provide a complete script for the dialogue. Because the actors are interacting with the audience, it is not possible to stick to a fixed script, instead the actors improvise parts of the dialogue based on their character briefs</FONT></B></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%">&nbsp;</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"> <CENTER> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="80%" BGCOLOR="#FFFBE8"> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFBE8"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="maroon">What's a Dinner Theatre Murder Mystery?</FONT> </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"> <UL> <LI>The event is run during a meal as a mixture of a set drama and interaction between players and audience&nbsp;</LI> <LI>In this case <UL> <LI><strong><em>There's bitter rivalry amongst a group of faded actors and television stars.</em></strong></UL> <LI> The acting company perform the opening two acts<li>The audience consider the first four pieces of written evidence</li> <li>The acting company performs the third act</li> <li>The audience consider three more pieces of written evidence</li> <li>The suspects are interrogated by the audience</li><li>The audience try to spot the murderer</li> <li>There is a brief final script in which the murderer is revealed</li></UL> <ul> <li><em>This is largely a scripted mystery, but the actors need to improvise responses to audience questions from character briefs.</em></li></ul> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </CENTER> </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%">&nbsp;</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><B><I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="maroon">What's in this Mystery?</FONT></I></B></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><FONT COLOR="black"><p>Three years have passed since the untimely demise of Sly Sparkle, jewel of the West End. On the anniversary of his death, a chosen few still struggle to free themselves from his icy grip, crossing paths once again to perform his final masterpiece and stake their claim on his estate. Tensions rise long before the curtain, as each returns to the spotlight, bringing with them a dark secret and a taste for revenge. All must turn in a killer performance if they are to reap their reward but will one go that bit further and force another to take their final bow? </p> <p> Those taking part are: <br /> <strong> Destiny Daniels</strong> - An actress who, in an attempt to preserve her youth, has undergone plastic surgery many times. Vain and theatrical in her actions, and full of harsh words. <br /> <strong> Billy Blagg</strong> - A reality show winner and bit-part actor. Speaks with a cockney accent he claims to have cultivated for the reality show and never managed to shake off.<br /> <strong> Mabel Brown</strong> - Billy's Aunt. A former backstage hand with a taste for finery that was always above her means.<br /> <strong> Pierre Geeziour</strong> - A ruthless French businessman. Has staged several of Sylvester Sparkle's works after his death, to critical acclaim and great financial reward. Speaks, naturally, with a French accent. <br /> <strong> Sir Willard Dashmont</strong> - A former thespian, knighted and rich but missing the limelight. Somewhat camp in his mannerisms.<br /> <strong> Babooshka Manooshka</strong> - A Russian lady of considerable proportions. Incredibly strong. Speaks with a heavy Russian accent.<br /> <strong> Blaine Fox</strong> - A struggling film actor looking for money to fund his latest flick. Devious and cunning.<br /> <strong> Jessica Blake</strong> - An emotionally troubled starlet. Waiflike and fragile at first, she becomes more confident once she is in makeup and costume. Takes medication for narcolepsy.<br /> <strong> Tarquin Tailor</strong> - An incredibly flamboyant wardrobe mistress. Gets upset by anyone trying to tamper with his  vision' for a production. Has an excellent memory for measurements.<br /> <strong> Vera Scruples</strong> - Daytime soap star struggling to breathe life into her career. Speaks with a heavy northern accent.<br /> <strong> Sapphire Sparkle</strong> - Announcing herself as Sylvester Sparkle's widow, she is in fact an actress named Mae Meadows. Suffers from a heart condition for which she has to take medication. </p> <p> In addition, there's <strong> Inspector Darkly</strong> - In charge of the case, and as such the proceedings. Acts as MC to the audience, chairs the interrogation, and appears in the final scene to announce the murderer. </p> </FONT></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><FONT COLOR="black">&nbsp;</FONT></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><B><I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="maroon">What do I need to Buy?</FONT></I></B></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"><FONT COLOR="black">Lazy Bee Scripts charges two fees:-</FONT></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="100%"> <UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">A flat fee of </FONT><B><FONT COLOR="black">£25 for the murder mystery scenario pack</FONT></B> <UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Downloadable from the Internet as a zip file</FONT> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Containing all the essential materials</FONT> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">Can be used multiple times by your acting company (but you must pay the performance fee for each performance)</FONT> </UL> <LI><FONT COLOR="black">A fee of </FONT><B><FONT COLOR="black">&pound;20 for each performance</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="black"> of the scenario (regardless of the &quot;audience&quot; size)</FONT> </UL> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </BODY> </HTML>