A Murder Mystery Pack
by Archie Wilson
What's It All About?
- A Murder Mystery for an acting company to perform to an audience
- The actors improvise the dialogue based on plot and character briefs provided by Lazy Bee Scripts
- A detective interrogates the suspects (who improvise their responses based on character briefs)
- The audience members question the cast
- The audience try to work out whodunnit
What Does Lazy Bee Scripts Provide?
Lazy Bee Scripts supplies a pack of material, including:-- An Overview for the Organiser, including
- Guidelines for preparing the mystery
- Guidelines for running the mystery
- Suggested timings
- A "narrative arc" for the mystery
- Key plot points
- Essential events
- Character Briefs for each character
- Character description
- Character history
- Motivation
- The Solution
- Additional Materials
- Whodunnit sheets
- Detective Sheets for the audience to submit their accusations
Note that Lazy Bee Scripts does not provide a 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 dialogue based on the "narrative arc."
| What's a Murder Mystery Event? |
- The audience members are brought together for a fictitious 'special event' (and encouraged to dress appropriately for the occasion). A murder takes place, which the participants are invited to solve.
- In this case
- The event is run during a meal as a mixture of a set drama and interaction between players and audience.
- The event is a school reunion, where the acting company are (mainly) members of a particular school year group, and the audience are also 'former pupils'.
- This Mystery Needs
- An 'acting company' of 6 men and 6 women
- No specific set or furniture
- Estimated run times (which may vary enormously!)
- Scripted elements: 30 minutes
- Improvised elements: 100 minutes
- Audience interrogation: 10 minutes
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| Want to know more? Download the (pdf) Taster Pack |
What's the Mystery Here?
Kathy Smallville, one of the former pupils of Alderman Woodrow Secondary Modern School, has become an internationally famous film star under the stage name 'Katarina Katya' and is expected to show up at the school reunion.
Others present at the reunion are:
Wendy Parkhurst Neé Morrison (Sweety)
Amelia Baldwin (Mousey)
Jennifer Jackson Neé Sandwell (Weedy)
Reginald White (Pinky)
Brian Hood (Cheat)
Royden Lovely (Cannabis)
Michael Cave (Tiny)
Kenneth Ward (Teacher: Romeo)
Mrs Dorinda Childs (Teacher: Snooty)
Agnes Quirk (Matron)
Sherbert Holmes
Former pupils from the Alderman Woodrow School mingle and gossip about their schooldays, unaware that one of their number has been marked for murder!
Enter super sleuth Sherbert Holmes, who hopes to find the culprit before everyone goes nuts...