Interior Program:

Murder Mystery Party

‘Follow these steps to host this mystery:’

1. Each guest will each assume the role of a particular character
   Mystery Parties involve a combination of improvisational acting, storytelling, and creative problem solving. Each guest will play the part of that character throughout the course of the game. Each character has specific personality traits, goals, secrets, and information, all of which are included in the character sheet; a big part of the fun is getting into character and taking on a new, exciting role.
   
2. A mysterious Event will occur
   At some point during the party, an Event will occur that will force the players to come together in order to solve a problem or unravel a mystery. Traditionally, the Event in question will be the murder of one of the characters (as played by a guest), but the parties crafted by Playing With Murder often use this basic framework to accommodate different types of Events, thereby ensuring that your guests will be surprised and entertained (even if they are veteran murder mystery party players).
   
3. Solve the mystery!
   Your guests will need to use the information that their characters know (as well as additional clues that are provided during the game) to solve the mystery or overcome the problem posed by the Event. Typically this culminates in the guests voting on the identity of the murderer, but again, different parties will have different specific goals. All of our parties also come complete with additional subgames (treasure hunts, unique character goals and special puzzles) that are guaranteed to keep the action intense and your guests motivated and focused.

Expanded Game For Large Groups

If you have extra players, there are two ways that you can accommodate everyone:

• Investigator Role – Additional players have the option of playing the role of “Investigators”. In this role the players are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players. Expanded Games include a PDF guide that explains how to use the Investigator role, as well as printable character sheets and name tags for anyone that is playing an Investigator.
• Multiple Groups – It is also possible to break your guests up into groups and play multiple instances of the game at the same time. The game will more or less happen the same way; the host makes announcements and each group moves their game forward simultaneously based on the host’s instructions. It’s good to have one assistant in each group to answer questions and facilitate gameplay within the group. This method provides a more intimate experience for your guests, who get better acquainted with a smaller group and participate in a more digestible story

Murder in Manhattan is a 171-page downloadable PDF file that you print at home. It includes the following features:

• An introduction that explains the basic principles of running a mystery-party and provides specific tips on props, menu items, sound effects, and special tips to help make your party exciting, memorable and easy to run
• Step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for your party
• A detailed party guidebook that will walk you through the event in a simple, easy-to-understand format
• Instructions on how to run the party for a large group
• Nametags and character sheets for each player – the character sheets include tips on costuming and role-playing, as well special goals and gossip unique to each character
• Fully customizable invitations, complete with RSVP cards and guest lists

https://www.playingwithmurder.com/murder-in-manhattan-p-790.html

Set design for stage:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Set design for The Great Gatsby:

• 

• 

• 

One of the great paradoxes of modern consumerism is that these goods are mass-market signifiers of exclusivity, tokens of aristocratic populism. We may not be able to afford them, but we are invited to believe that we still deserve them, and that their acquisition will be the fulfillment of a dream. If we can’t touch what Gatsby has, at least we can look.

“The Bling Ring” follows a group of Los Angeles teenagers who break into the houses of the young and famous and make off with the surplus.

Using the Internet to find the addresses and track the whereabouts of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox and others, these children not only “go shopping” for jewellery, lingerie and other swag, but also step into the lives of their absent, unwitting hosts. They hang around in the empty houses less like robbers than like guests, uninvited because of some curious oversight on the part of the universe. Most members of the ring are from relatively privileged backgrounds themselves, and their proximity to their victims sharpens both their envy and their sense of entitlement.

Interior ‘set/stage’ design ideas:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Tuesday:

Sequences

1. View from platform into window
2. night view looking down lane at platform bathed in light
3. entrance into roxy from the lane (with invite?)
4. threshold moving from ground to level 1
5. Grand entrance into roxy/ everybodys party space

Feedback:

Can you hear me – http://www.julianneswartz.com/work_archive/can_you_hear_me/can_you_hear_me.html

‘The sculpture is a functional alternative “telephone”. It uses PVC pipe and mirrors to make an aural and visual communication link from the second floor lobby of the Sunshine Hotel, to the street below. Passers-by on the street can call up through the tube and be heard in the Sunshine’s communal lobby area. If a resident chooses to answer the call and engage in a conversation through the tube, the sculpture offers a space to have a face to face conversation over a distance of 36 feet. The natural acoustics of the PVC pipe amplify and carry the sound of each person’s voice, creating an aural proximity. At the same time, a periscopic mirror system in the tubes carries the image of the person’s face you are speaking to, but it appears very small and upside-down, visually emphasizing the distance between the two conversants.’

Utility/ service lane/ industrial

Faux // community in the urban // public vs private

Set design “show”

Closed doors? – visability, nosyness/ snooping, facade, Levels, involved haptics/ roughness

How does the structure work without the show?

Moment within the lane

What are we seeing and why?

Details

Is it an event/ serving a purpose or is it an installation piece?