RSS Feed

Tag Archives: murder mystery dinner theatre

Rehearsal Was a Laugh

Last night I meant to take pictures of our rehearsal for He Laughed Himself to Death, the murder mystery we are putting on to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society this Saturday.  Alas, I was so busy acting, I forgot.

I think it is time for this blog to become All He Laughed Himself to Death All The Time.  After all, it is only three days (Yikes!) till performance.

Hey, it’s a graphic.

This pretty much tells you all you need to know.  The mystery is a pretty silly story.  I guess most of mine are.  This one concerns a novelty joke company called Gorman’s Gotchas.  We are at a stockholders meeting to discuss a proposed merger with a much larger entity called Consolidated Realignment Associated Products.  Norman Gorman, founder and president of the company is late.  We do hope nothing untoward has happened to him.

Rehearsals are going well.  I have a good cast, and we are all excited for the show.  If you live nearby, I hope you will consider coming to see us!

 

Advertisement

Post Murder Post

Do I have the mental wherewithal for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday Post? I see my Tablet is at 37% power. I feel a little below that myself.

Our murder mystery went very well. We were down an actor due to an untimely intestinal ailment (as if there is ever a good time for an intestinal ailment). We divied up his lines and somehow made it work. The audience liked us.

I’d suspect this bunch of something!

This is an after performance cast picture. We felt happy and relieved that things had gone so well.

So I feel tired and drained today. We got to bed later than usual, and I did not sleep in. I went for a short run in the cold air. It did not feel bad, but my energy and ambition went downhill from there.

I often get to the end of a murder mystery or play vowing I will never do another. I don’t think anyone believes me. But I am not starting another one right away. Right now I think I will swoon, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist on my forehead. If only I had a chaise lounge.

Late Post, Tired Shout-out

So I did pretty good for a few days at posting every day, then last night I went to bed unblogged. In my defense I voted and had rehearsal. Additionally, I got very little sleep Monday night and had a frustrating day at work. Then again my work day could have been worse, and I slept better last night. Under the heading Count My Blessings.

Where was I? Ah yes, making Late Tired Tuesday Post. How about a brief shout-out for our murder mystery, which is this Saturday (yikes!).

These posters are up all over town.

Donate to Murder, written by me by the way, is interactive dinner theatre, in which the audience gets to meet the characters, ask questions and try to solve the mystery, while enjoying a delicious meal catered by Dominick’s Deli. The event, which is a benefit for the Herkimer County Historical Society, takes place at Herkimer Elks Lodge, doors open at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m.

I guess all the information in the preceding paragraph is in the poster. I guess I’m still a little tired.

Oh Yeah, the Murder Mystery!

I had meant to make a Post Rehearsal Post last night, but I was too tired (you know, Tired Tuesday). I also meant to take a few pictures at rehearsal, but, well, I forgot. Oh dear.

I think it’s a nice poster.

Steven and I were delighted to see the above flier on WKTV’s Morning Mug Club yesterday morning. I have not heard how ticket sales are going, but a lot of people have expressed interest.

Rehearsal went pretty well. I think we need a little more work on lines, but we’re getting there. I, personally, am trying to learn everybody’s lines, so I can help if there’s a problem during performance. One would think this would be easy for me, since I wrote the whole thing. What, am I supposed to remember everything I ever wrote? That would be difficult, especially since I continually strive to write more of everything.

I guess you can read all the information in the poster (I’m having a little trouble with the Preview function on my Tablet) (imagine that: me having trouble with an electronic device! Say it ain’t so!), but in case you can’t: Donate to Murder, interactive dinner theatre, will be presented to benefit Herkimer County Historical Society on Saturday, Nov. 6, at the Herkimer Elks Lodge. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $35, available at the Historical Society or by calling 315-866-6413.

Will I Ever Kill Again?

I am making a Throwback Thursday Post and I do not care if I throw back to something I have revisited several times. There is always the chance I will think of something new to say about it.

I was more lush than luscious.

This is me as Ruby VanRensaeleer, who may or may not have murdered Benny the Bootlegger. I have many times alluded to Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the interactive murder mystery I wrote for LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, in 2017. I can’t help it. It is such a delightful memory, and I so miss doing theatre, especially murder mysteries.

Another fabulous group of suspects.

This was the cast of Engaged To Be Murdered, presented in association with Ilion Little Theatre. It was the last time I did not act in a murder mystery. After that, if I write it, I am going to be in it!

No, THIS is a fabulous group of suspects!

Here is an action shot from the performance of Fabulous and Fatal, the drag queen murder mystery we did for the Herkimer County Historical Society.

I guess I have not found too much new to say, but I think I have selected different pictures from the ones I usually share. My Thowback Thursdays often involve theatre memories, but, after all, drama is my life! (I say it with gestures.) I can only hope to be making more memories soon.

Here’s a Suspicious Bunch!

This is another Pre-Rehearsal Post.  The rehearsal is for Donate to Murder, which I believe I have mentioned before.

Here we are at the read-through.

Before the read-through, I took a few mug shots of the suspects.

She appears to be a loving Flower Child, but appearances can be decieving!

 

He looks so friendly, you’d never know he was such a stinker. Did I say that in my out loud voice?

 

He looks suspicious! Or is he looking suspiciously at me?

 

WAY too handsome to be a murderer! (Yes, that’s my husband, why do you ask?)

Our friend Kim was late, so I did not take her picture.  I bet I have one in my Media Library.

Maybe they’re in it together! Say it ain’t so!

So the only suspect I haven’t shown today is me.  Oh, all right, I’ll find a picture of me!

Clearly this woman is not to be trusted.

I will not look like this in my costume, although I may have such a silly grin on my face.  I can’t always help the doofy faces I make (although sometimes I do it on purpose).

I guess I haven’t said much about the mystery itself.  Right now I will just say Donate to Murder is Friday, March 27 at the Travelodge in Little Falls.  For more information, contact the Herkimer County Historical Society at 315-866-6413.

 

Murderous Mental Meanderings.

I do not think it is any too early for this blog to become All Spring Into Murder All The Time.  I have six days to get my act together!  AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!  OK, got that out of my system.  I have just time for a fast Monday Mental Meanderings post before rehearsal.  And I just thought of my headline. I bet I’ve used it before.  Well, these things happen.  We must make the best of them.

I just walked to the library to print out a sort of a program for Saturday night’s performance.  I say a sort of, because it only lists the character’s names with a short identifying phrase.  No actors’ names, not even the title.  After all, WE don’t know there is going to be a murder.  It is always a little disconcerting when an audience member says, “So there’s going to be a murder tonight”  or, worse yet, “We’ve never been to one of these before, what are we supposed to do?”  I don’t want to break character (as we actors say), but I also don’t want to leave people in the dark and/or rudely not answer their questions.  We find ways of dealing with these things.  That is part of the fun of live, interactive theatre.

Yes, I am tired and definitely feeling Monday.  Luckily, I am not driving to rehearsal but bumming a ride from my friend, Kim.  She is very tired too, but I hope to keep her awake enough to drive with chitchat.  I am rarely too tired to chat.

The murder mystery, once again, is Spring Into Murder, at Morning Star Methodist Church at 36 Second St., Ilion, NY, 5 p.m. Saturday, April 28.  $20 includes a delicious roast pork dinner (I know this, because they feed the actors and this will be the third one we’ve done there).  Advance tickets must be purchased by Thursday by calling 315-894-4093.  You can go to the Facebook Event for more information.

 

 

More Murder and Mayhem!

I believe I have mentioned that I have another murder mystery to write.  I may also have mentioned (once or twice) that I have been having trouble writing ANYTHING lately.  Well, just now I surprised myself.  I wrote a brief overview of said mystery, to send to the venue for publicity purposes.  The venue is Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion, NY, and the performance date is Saturday, April 28, 2018.  They are serving a roast pork dinner, which was quite delicious when we performed there last year and the year before.

So I have been writing this mystery in bits and pieces, and second guessing myself about everything.  I tried writing the overview twice on breaks at work today, to no avail.  Finally I sat down at my laptop and said, “Well, I’ve got to do this now.”  And here is what I wrote:

Spring into Murder takes place at the kick-off dinner for the Tulip Festival sponsored by Two Lips Cosmetics. The founder and CEO of the company loves everything to do with The Netherlands, so much so that she changed her first name to Holland and hired a bodyguard named Dutch. On the agenda for tonight is the unveiling of the spring line of lipstick colors, to be modeled by Holland’s spokesmodel and partner, the beautiful Ariel Angelica. Holland is accompanied by her new husband, Rod. Also on hand are Holland’s nephew Benedict and recently adopted daughter Windy, as well as the designer of this year’s colors, the brilliant if eccentric Giselle Ellison.

Unfortunately, all is not beauty and harmony at Two Lips Cosmetics. Rumor has it that Holland did not want to take on Ariel as a partner, that Benedict wanted Windy to be the spokesmodel, that Giselle feels badly paid for her work, and nobody knows quite what to think of Dutch. Additionally, we don’t know who sent Ariel a bouquet of BLACK tulips!
There may be murder before the night is out! Who will solve the crime?

I was rather pleased with it myself.  The new husband got his name as I wrote it, and Giselle Ellison (my part) changed from a dedicated secretary to a lipstick designer.  I think diva is much more fun than downtrodden.

Having written that much, I feel fired up to get the whole thing done.  I’ll share more information about the performance — times and prices — when I know more.

 

It’s My Secret

I thought I would give another plug to Secrets at Suiter House, the murder mystery dinner theatre to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.  The event will take place at Ilion Moose Lodge, 302 Barringer Rd., on March 31.  Doors open at 5 p.m.  $20 per person includes an all you can eat spaghetti dinner.  There will also be a Chinese Auction with some really good prizes.

It is one week from Saturday!  Yikes!  I still don’t know what I’m wearing!  And there are a few more props I need to gather!  And does everybody in the cast know about the next rehearsal?

Oh dear, that was not a plug.  That was me dithering and probably did not leave a good impression.  I must correct that.  This murder mystery will be a lot of fun.  There are some good laughs in the script, along with some intriguing clues and local references.  Actually, the whole script is local.  It concerns a wealthy philanthropist (played by me) who is sponsoring the next exhibit at the Herkimer County Historical Society (whose museum, of course, is located in the Suiter House).  The dinner is a contest to decide who will be the curator.   Naturally there are a few hard feelings amongst the would-be curators, and EVERYBODY has a secret or two.

I last heard some 20 tickets were still available.  Are they still?  I don’t know!  For more information you can contact the historical society at 315-866-6413.