Tag Archives: murder mystery

Pre-Rehearsal Post on Tired Tuesday

I just started to type in a first sentence confessing that I am having a Tired Tuesday and this is my Tired Tuesday post, and I accidentally erased most of it. A sign?  My subconscious telling me to NOT have a Tired Tuesday post?  I don’t have time to ponder these things.  I have rehearsal for Who Shot JS? in an hour (or so).

Who Shot JS?, for anybody who doesn’t know or forgot, is the interactive murder mystery dinner theatre which will benefit Herkimer County Historical Society.  The performance will take place on Saturday, April 22 at 6 p.m. at the Herkimer Elks Club.  Dinner will be catered by Dominick’s Deli of Herkimer with dessert from Friendly Bake Shop of Frankfort.  Ilion Wine and Spirits has donated a prize for the winner.  Tickets are $20, and reservations may be made by calling 315-866-6413.

I’ll have to write a whole post about the mystery, telling the characters and a little of the plot (not too much of the plot, though, in case you go see it; I don’t want to spoil anything).  Today my brain is not up to it.  What the hell, brain?  How am I going to get through rehearsal?  Luckily, I have a script for that.

In the meantime, sorry about this lousy blog post.  I started to write a good one earlier, all about a cheesy horror movie Steven and I watched this past weekend.  Unfortunately, I did not get very far with it.  However, as they say, tomorrow is another day.  Happy Tuesday, everybody.

 

 

About that Fake Poo…

I thought I would use today’s post to plug He Laughed Himself to Death, the murder mystery dinner theatre Ilion Little Theatre is presenting at Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion April 1.  For one reason, deadline for reservations is Thursday, and local readers may like to go.   Of course I do not want to say too much about the plot, because I don’t want to spoil anything.  Perhaps it would jazz things up if I included a couple of pictures of the props Kim and I purchased last Saturday.

Big dog, little dog?

I said in Saturday’s post that I was disappointed in the quality of the fake poo, but it isn’t so bad once you get it out of the package.  I had some better fake poo that I got at a Mom and Pop operation called The Party Store in Potsdam, NY, roughly a hundred years ago.  And that makes me an authentic old person, carping about how things used to be so much better in the old days.  Well, that’s a whole other blog post.  Let’s get back to the silly pictures.

Something bugs me about this picture (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

I guess my insect picture has kind of a shadow, but I don’t have time to set up a better shot.  The cockroach has wheels to you can make it zip across the floor or table.  Tee hee.  Who wouldn’t love a cockroach on wheels?

 

Just looking at it makes me thirsty!

I put the ice cubes with flies in a wine glass with water, then added the bottle of wine to make the picture more interesting.  Domhnall vineyards is located in Herkimer, NY.  I love their Baco Noir.

Steven came home while I was taking the ice cubes out of the package.  He was startled by the bugs on the table and the poo on the floor.  Tee hee.  I gathered up my jokey props and took them to rehearsal, where my fellow cast-members were equally amused.

He Laughed Himself to Death will be presented at Morning Star Methodist Church, 36 Second St., Ilion, NY, Saturday, April 1 at 5 p.m.  A roast pork dinner will be served.  Tickets are $20. Reservations are required by Thursday, March 30 by calling the church office at 315-894-4520.

 

It Was the Halloween Socks

Sometimes the right outfit can make you feel better about everything.

Until you remember you still have not found the papers you need to bring to rehearsal and you have no idea where else to look.

Luckily, I came up with a few more ideas of where to look and found the papers.  It would really behoove me to become more organized.  However, I’m afraid that in order to accomplish that, I would need to basically tear myself apart and start from scratch, you know, like emptying the refrigerator or dumping everything out of your desk (oh dear, I just had a very unpleasant flashback to fifth grade when a mean teacher did that to me and I cried) (I cried a lot in those days; don’t judge).

Anyways, today is Lame Post Friday, so I’m not too exercised about my blog post. A little exercised, of course.  I always worry my readers will say something along the lines of, “Why am I wasting my time with this trash?  Let’s look at a real blog for a change!”  Or is that my low self-esteem talking?  (Sorry, I’m still recovering from that flashback.  Do you suppose I need therapy?)

But perhaps some of you are waiting to hear about my outfit.  I had to have one, you see, because I have rehearsal for He Laughed Himself to Death, the murder mystery dinner theatre Ilion Little Theatre is presenting at Morningstar Methodist Church in Ilion on April 1.  I don’t need to dress up, but I do need to be dressed (I just gave some folks a bad mental image, but I will not apologize for such a thing) (you know who you are).

As it happens, the outfit isn’t such a much.  I have on leggings, a t-shirt and a flannel shirt.  The t-shirt is large enough to cover my butt and the flannel shirt is even bigger.  I know it is quite the thing to let all your contours be lovingly outlined with your pants these days, but I prefer to be more circumspect.  The flannel shirt is green and black plaid, green for St. Patrick’s Day.  I wanted a green t-shirt as well, in case I had to take the flannel shirt off for a hot flash (which is much less unpleasant than the flashback mentioned earlier, by the way).  I found one from Jeremiah’s Tavern, our old watering hole in Norwood, NY, roughly a hundred years ago.  There is a big mug of beer on it.  How appropriate is that!

For earrings, I put on my spider in a web, because the web is green.  I noticed that earring earlier today and thought I might wear it.  I put it in the ear with two holes and put a hoop in the second hole.  I put an earring made from an Angry Orchard cap in the other ear.  You see, the spider would jump through a hoop to get an Angry Orchard.  Full disclosure:  I have never had an Angry Orchard myself; the earrings were given to me.

I completed my ensemble with Halloween socks: orange with green and purple bats.  I think that final touch was what made me feel good about the whole thing.  Until, you know, the lost paper incident mentioned in the second paragraph.

And now I have found my papers, made my blog post, and may even have time for one more task before rehearsal. Score!  Happy Friday, everyone.

 

A Few Thoughts Before Another Rehearsal

Here I sit, laptop on lap (and if you just said, “Duh,” hey, some people put them on tables), searching for a blog topic.  I push my wet hair out of my face and remember that I can get it cut now.  I kept it “long” for Steel Magnolias.  I put “long” in quotes, because it was not exactly all the way grown out.  It is long enough to get in my eyes and drive me nuts.  With help from fellow cast-members, I made it do for the play.

And why am I not running to the Hot Spot, where I usually get my do’s done?  Well, I have rehearsal for He Laughed Himself to Death, the murder mystery Ilion Little Theatre is putting on at Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion on April 1.  Yes, this blog may become All Murder Mystery All The Time very soon.  For one reason, I have another one coming up April 22 (Who Shot JS? at the Elks Club in Herkimer, to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society).

In other news, a nor’easter is expected in the Mohawk Valley tonight and tomorrow.  I read a Facebook post from WKTV Weather saying it was a nor’easter not a blizzard, citing the specific conditions to earn the “blizzard” designation.  I was moved to comment that “nor’easter” does not sound like a real word.  It sounds like something the old timers say is headed this way, basing their prediction on their corns or bunions.  My bunions say precipitation, by the way, but they do not seem to feel strongly about it.

Well, I must go.  I need to photocopy the scripts for tonight’s rehearsal.  I am counting on the nor’easter NOT to start till after my actors are safely home from rehearsal.  I am going to call this a Monday Mental Meanderings post and hit publish.  I hope to see you all on Tired Tuesday, although I will perhaps be less tired now that Steel Magnolias is over.

 

Tired After Typing on Wuss-out Wednesday

I interrupt my typing to… type something else.  I have been typing into my laptop the script for He Laughed Himself to Death, the interactive murder mystery dinner theatre to be presented by Ilion Little Theatre at Morningstar Methodist Church in Ilion, NY on April 1. Phew, that was a mouthful.

Yes, I am late getting the script typed up, but we have not started rehearsals yet, so I am OK.  Luckily, murder mysteries do not take as much rehearsal time as full-length plays.

The murder mystery takes place at a special stockholders meeting of Gorman’s Gotchas, a company that makes novelty jokes such as plastic poo, whoopy cushions, exploding cigars, etc.  The founder of the company, Norman Gorman, wants to sell out to a conglomerate called Corporate Realignment Associated Products, but others in the company do not want to sell.  They are also a little tired of Norman’s incessant practical joking.  I really think I need to go to the store and purchase some plastic poo.  To  inspire myself if nothing else.

I have experienced this problem before:  I spend some good time working on another writing project, then I have no oomph left to make my blog post.  Then again, I did threaten yesterday to have a Wuss-out Wednesday today.  I wonder if I will be able to manage something better than a Non-Sequitur Thursday tomorrow.  Oh dear.

In my defense, Steel Magnolias opened last weekend and continues this weekend.  True, I have not had rehearsals every night this week as I did last week.  But I am still tired.  I am not a young woman, and I do not lead the healthiest lifestyle.  I’ll have to work on that.  I’ll be sure to write a blog post about it when I do.

 

Macaroni Salad on Scattered Saturday

It’s that moment in an every day blogger’s life, when you’re waiting for the macaroni salad to chill and you want to get your blog post published and you realize your brain is working no better than it was earlier today (that is, not at all).  I’ve done a few things, so perhaps I could manage a Scattered Saturday post.  We’ll see.

We slept in till almost 6:30.  It was a late night (for us), opening night of Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre.  So we got a slow start.  Eventually we made our way to Mona’s Diner in Mohawk, NY for breakfast.  The last time we ate there it was called The Family Fun Center.  It’s still a pretty good place to eat.  We don’t get to eat breakfast out together as often as we used to, so we enjoyed it.

Next we went to Basloe Library in Herkimer.  Ah, libraries, how they can save your life.  I had the character sheets from He Laughed Himself to Death I wanted to print out.  That is the murder mystery Ilion Little Theatre is putting on as a dinner theatre at Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion on April 1.   It may be a scramble to put it together, but I think it will be highly entertaining.

Around one o’clock, I took a nap.  I will have another late night tonight.  As I type this, I am drinking coffee in anticipation.  I do love coffee.

After getting up from the nap, I made a macaroni salad for dinner (remember, I mentioned that in the first paragraph?).   I enjoyed the therapeutic benefits of chopping vegetables.  I will enjoy even more eating the salad with the kielbasa we got to go with it.  Yum!

Now all I have to do is wait to go to the theatre for tonight’s performance.  I don’t feel as nervous as I did yesterday, but I am far from calm, cool and collected.  That was to be expected.  However, I am glad I have at least composed a blog post.  I hope to see you all on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

 

It’s Almost Time for Ruby!

Well, what’s wrong with going All Steel Magnolias or All Rubbed Out At Ruby’s All The Time when Ruby’s is the day after tomorrow and Magnolias opens a week from tomorrow?  I am a little obsessed with both of them.  Since Ruby’s is coming up sooner, I’ll share a little about that today.

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Round up the usual suspects.

 

Here is a picture of the characters for Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, taken from LiFT Theatre Company’s Facebook page.  This is the first I’ve seen of some of the costumes, and I’m pretty excited about it.  I confess, I am less than thrilled about how the picture of me turned out.  It seems I am not nearly as cute as I think I am.  No matter. I’m sure I shall be highly entertaining as Ruby.

Hey, I just thought of something.  I wrote the mystery. I named it Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, and I cast myself as Ruby.  Doesn’t that sound supremely egotistical of me?  How embarrassing.  I assure you, I am not the star.  It is an ensemble piece, and all the characters are quite memorable.

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Doesn’t it look mysterious?

Here is a shot of the Overlook Mansion, where it all takes place.  I feel thrilled every time I approach it.  The inside is just as magnificent.

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I end with a couple of Facebook ads for the mystery, just in case any local readers wanted more information.

 

Theatre Memories on Tired Tuesday

I interrupt my reading of other people’s blogs to make my Tired Tuesday post.  I’d like to do the picture thing, but I think I’ve used all the good ones in our Downloads, and I haven’t downloaded any new ones lately. I wonder if Steven has.

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Photo by Mark Hanna, who is also a pretty good actor.

This is the cast of the murder mystery I wrote last year for Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion, NY, Engaged to be Murdered.  I’m writing a new one for that church, to be presented April 1.  This one is titled He Laughed Himself to Death.  I intend to incorporate the April Fool’s Day holiday in the plot.  I shall write more blog posts about that, rest assured.

 

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They were all leading ladies to me!

To continue the theme of theatre memories, here is the cast and crew of Leading Ladies, which I was blessed to direct with one of the finest groups ever associated with the Ilion Little Theatre stage.  Perhaps you read one of my blog posts about it.

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Full disclosure: a selfie stick was used in the taking of this picture.

Is it silly of me to post two pictures of the same cast and crew?  No matter; it is what is in my downloads, I will post it.  We took a selfie of the whole group a few times before performances.  It was one of those casts that really bonded.  I’m hoping we take a few backstage selfies of Steel Magnolias.  I’ll be sure to share them here if we do.

For now, I must scurry off to rehearsal, which is a little earlier tonight.  Happy Tuesday, everyone.

 

Getting Ready for Ruby’s

I thought I would share a few pictures from Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the interactive murder mystery to be presented by LiFT Theatre Company at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls, NY this Saturday.  We had rehearsal Sunday, to which some of us wore our costumes.  So I guess this is kind of a preview.

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Yes, that’s a flask tucked under the garter on my sexy leg.

This one turned out kind of blurry, but here I am, as Ruby Van Rensselaer, wealthy socialite, investor and lush.  The basement of the Overlook will become Ruby’s Rathskeller, the hottest speakeasy in Little Falls.  Ruby does not run the place, but she fronted George Raffles the money to open it and he named it after her in gratitude.

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Full disclosure: I found this dress in Ilion Little Theatre’s costume collection and wanted to wear it myself.

This is Vivian Velasquez, who runs a recently-opened rival speakeasy.  What’s she doing at Ruby’s Rathskeller?  Sounds suspicious to me!
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Isn’t she hot?

And this is Mavis LaLonde, George’s girlfriend.  She runs the bordello upstairs from the speakeasy.

Incidentally, those are fake cigarettes.  We’re not going to blow smoke in anybody’s eyes.  Not literal smoke, at any rate.  As for figurative smoke up, you know, other body parts… well, that is a vulgar expression. I don’t think Ruby would use an expression like that.

Rubbed Out at Ruby’s will be this Saturday, Feb. 25 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Overlook Mansion, 55 Douglas St., Little Falls.  Tickets are $25, available at  http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2840239.  For more information you can call the Overlook at 315-823-1907, or you can visit their Facebook page.

 

More About Rubbed Out at Ruby’s

I have been promising a full blog post about Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the interactive murder mystery to be presented by LiFT Theatre Company at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls, NY.  Excitement is building!  The event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 25 starting at 6 p.m.

The production involves more audience interaction and less performance than previous murder mysteries I have written (notably Engaged to Be Murdered, presented last April at Morning Star Methodist Church; perhaps you read one of my blog posts about it).  Oh, we’ll still get to ham it up.  You know how I love to ham it up!

The story takes place in the 1920’s and centers around the death of Benny Bottini, Little Falls’ most beloved bootlegger.  Benny’s body was discovered on the ground floor of the mansion some days previously.  The audience will have a chance to read a few details about the murder in an article from Little Falls Confidential, a rather sensational newspaper.

Located in the basement of the Overlook is Ruby’s Rathskeller, the hottest speakeasy in town, which is run by George Raffle. He named it after Ruby Van Renssalaer, a rich society lady who loaned him the start-up cash.  Upstairs of the Rathskeller is Mavis LaLonde’s very fancy bordello, which features Zelda Helsinki, Little Falls’ most sought-after good-time girl.  Benny was in love with Zelda, but her boyfriend is Jimmy “the Shiv” Schlavinsky, George’s head muscle man.  Also on hand are Dianne Enger, George’s new torch singer;   Vivian Velasquez, who runs a rival speakeasy;  and Avery Wainwright, the new bootlegger in town.

Audience members will have a chance to talk to the suspects and search for clues in the basement and first floor of the mansion. Hors d’ouvres will be served with a cash bar available. Participants are encouraged to dress to the period.  Tickets are $25/person.  The Overlook Mansion is located at 55 Douglass St. inLittle Falls, phone number 315-823-1907. For more information you can visit the Overlook’s website at http://overlookmansion.com/mansion/ or visit their Facebook page.