Annual October Frenzy!

The past week with Act4Murder was filled with the usual October craziness - several shows at multiple locations.  It's funny because in October we also compete with the World Series, the NFL, and about 15 different Halloween-themed fundraisers and events, but we still manage to bring in decent-sized audiences and have a blast in the process.  This year was particularly challenging because we had two shows on one night - and one of them, for over 200 guests, was in Mobile, Alabama.  It meant Chris and I had to figure out how to split up the sound equipment, table decorations, and "dead" props (stretcher, wheelchair, guns, that kind of thing). But we did it, and we both managed our shows (him in Crestview, me in Mobile) effectively with no giant problems.  Made me feel pretty good about how efficient we've become.  And both casts did a great job too!

Chris managed three more shows this week - 4C BBQ in DeFuniak Springs, La Paz in Destin, and our final Halloween show last night at The Club at Hidden Creek in Navarre.  He did a fantastic job, as usual, and I couldn't be happier with our October shows.

Next up, a slew of private parties.  They're coming in fast and furious and I'm having a heck of a time keeping up! But if you're thinking of hiring us for your own party, just send me an email and I'll get you on the calendar.

Happy November everyone! -- Paula

Two for Two at Destin, Florida's Dinner Table

Our second show at The Dinner Table in Destin was just as fun as the first, maybe more fun. Our Oct. 22 performance of Pirates, Lies and Mail-Order Brides (formerly Sex, Lies and Mail-Order Brides) was a big hit. The cast - me, David Smith, Mark Clutter, Ken Olson, Mary Ann Troiano and Kristi Morris - was spot-on, the audience was lively, and restaurant honcho Bridget Carnley and her staff did the expected great job.

Nobody outside of the cast dressed like a pirate, aside from one guy that sported an eyepatch during the last scene. Another fellow brought a bottle of Pyrat Rum that he refused to share with the cast (can't say I blame him). The audience question and answer participation segment was particularly memorable.

We can't wait to go back to this place, so call 'em up or stop by (breakfast and lunch daily except Wednesdays, dinner Thursday through Saturday) and tell them to bring back Act4Murder!

If you still want to see our latest pirate spectacular (complete with song and dance numbers!), make your reservations for next week's shows in DeFuniak Springs and Navarre at www.act4murder.com.

- Chris

We Know All About Your Privates...

We love performing for private groups, whether it's 20 or 200 (or more). Friday night, Act4Murder customized Redneck Rivalry - a funny and songful story of feuding cousins, love triangles and bacon - for 60 very enthusiastic folks in town from California. The cast - me, David Smith, Sally Whitesell, Kristi Morris and Karen Monroe - were provided with some personal info on the guests from our generous event organizer Don Fruta, and all were well-received by the targets of our "additional dialogue."

We can do the same for you and your friends. Just check out the private party info on our website, act4murder.com.

If you'd like to see Redneck Rivalry, we'll be back at La Paz in Destin (one of our new favorite venues) Oct. 30. Restaurant honcho Chatham Morgan promises some fantastic costume contest prizes, and we're looking forward to going back there.

- Chris

Act4Murder's Sally Whitesell and Kristi Morris working on their important pre-show tasks at La Paz in Destin, Florida.

Murder on the Docks

Saturday night the gang dusted off their machine guns and zoot suits to perform Gangsters on the Gangplank, a Prohibition-era show that takes place on a boat. This was a private party for a nice Pensacola couple, The Simpsons (no, not Homer and Marge), who won this performance in an auction for the Pensacola Little Theater (yes, Act4 does support other theater groups in the area!).

Our hosts were very generous, all the guests dressed appropriately, and lots of hooch was consumed, contributing to the overall good vibe.

We didn't actually perform on a boat, but the view of the docks behind the Simpsons' home was breathtaking. There was also some kind of wedding party going on at a place on the other side of the water, and when my character Smokey Provolone came back in at one point, I had to make reference to that futuristic "gangsta rap" song we could hear on the Simpsons' back porch. (It was "Regulate" by Warren G and Nate Dogg.)

Thanks again to everyone that came to the party, the catering team, and our own terrific cast - Joe Chase, Kay Yarbrough, Mary Ann Troiano, Jim Downum and David Smith. We love doing private shows in people's houses, boats and whatnot. If you'd like to host your own Act4Murder party, check out our website.

- Chris

Another Great New Act4 Venue in Destin, Florida

Thursday night, we had the pleasure of performing our first Act4Murder show at La Paz restaurant in Destin. Chatham Morgan and his staff were spot on, everything ran smoothly and on schedule, and the audience enjoyed our Fab '50s show Bebopped at the Sock Hop.

The cast--Missy Rogers, Mary Ann Troiano, Ken Olson, Heidi Best-Swift, Karen Monroe and myself--was amazing as always. I especially enjoy the new "twist" I added to my character, the washed up jazzbo DJ Barry Contrary--all the music is on good ol' vinyl. The food was great, too, and we can't wait to go back there.

Thanks again, everyone. Best Throwback Thursday ever!

Our New Performance Location in Destin Is to DIE For!

Last night, Act4Murder had its first-ever performance at The Dinner Table (or The Breakfast Table, as it's known weekday mornings and early afternoons) in Destin. Usually when we go into a new location, there are some expected bugs, foul-ups and general confusion. But this place? None, whatsoever! My only gripe is that we didn't start performing here sooner.

The show we did, A Vacation to Die For, was well-received by an audience of locals (including one nice couple that literally lived right across the street) and visitors. The audience participation was at an all-time high, and our fake musical duo, the Wonky-Wunkus Mariachi Mystique, actually had six bucks in the tip jar at the end of the show. (We gave it to Kay Yarbrough, who lives in Pensacola, for gas money.)

We've been doing this show a lot for the past five or six years with the same cast (me, Kay, Jim Downum, Mary Ann Troiano and Cynthia Bergquist), with only a few occasions of other Act4 actors stepping in as understudies. It's hard to keep this particular production fresh, but thanks to the great audience and restaurant staff, A Vacation to Die For has been seriously revitalized. (Keep in mind, the last time we did the show was for a private group of mostly teenagers, and we were interrupted constantly by passing trains outside...)

Anyway, looking forward to going back to The Dinner Table Thursday, Oct. 22, with our brand new pirate show. If you missed last night, you need to come to this one. If you came last night, you already know you want to go back.

Did I mention the food was delicious?

- Chris

A KILLER Night in Crestview!

Giant SHOUT OUT to Crestview! First time EVER, in 13 years, every person with a reservation showed up for the show.  And I'm not talking about a handful of people.  We had 106 folks with reservations, and 108 attend, KILLER IN THE KITCHEN Saturday night at Samuel's Roadhouse.  When my daughter and I were laboring over the tables - trying to figure out exactly HOW to seat all those people in their private room, I told the owner it was doubtful they'd all show up… I mean, it's never happened. What were the chances?  Boy was I wrong!

It took us almost 2 hours to get those tables placed and adequate seating for everyone.  And fortunately, when two extra folks showed up, we were able to move one more table into the room and put it at the end of the row.  I won't lie - it was a bit cramped - but everyone seemed to have a good time.

Yes, it was a great night and a fun show.  The food is always wonderful at Samuel's, and the servers are a joy to work with.  Add great guests who were there for a good time, and I couldn't possibly ask for anything more.

Well, except maybe the margaritas their fabulous bartender Doyle made for the two of us when the guests were all seated and we could breathe again.  Delicious! He told me they make their own sour mix, which is one reason they're so good.  I highly recommend a visit to Samuel's to try their food AND their margaritas.  And then come see us again in October - but make your reservations early, because that SOLD OUT sign is going out a little earlier next time.  ~~ Paula

Behind the curtain

There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes of an Act4Murder show before the curtain goes up. We don't actually have a curtain since we perform in restaurants around the tables, but you get what I mean. There's a lot that has to happen. I was thinking about that last night after I got home from a very big show at Joey's Italian Grill in Niceville.

I started working on getting last night's show ready at 9:00 AM., and finished at 3:30 PM. What was I doing? Figuring out how to seat 100 people at a set number of tables and booths, getting our V.I.P. packages in order, printing handouts, creating a schedule, gathering up prizes, and making sure we had all the goodies for the tables ready to go.

Once there, my immediate task is always to get the tables configured for the guests. Yesterday was particular difficult because I had something like 20 couples, ten or so medium-sized groups of four, five and six, and three large groups of eight and ten.  It took about an hour to get all the names assigned to tables and make sure no one was accidentally left out.

And as I was working on that, some of the actresses showed up early to help set the tables with handouts, table signs, centerpieces, pens and beads. All the stuff we put out to compliment the theme of the show. And Chris, Act4Murder Ninja, worked on setting up the music booth and music, and getting props and any other show needs in place. When that was done, the actors rehearsed the "death dance," figured out their blocking, and then settled back into the green room to run lines and finish their makeup and hair.

That's just MY side of. Imagine the restaurant! When the guests start arriving, the staff immediately takes their drink and entree orders, delivers the drinks, takes care of any special requests, and deals with any seating or venue issues. Can you imagine what's happening in the kitchen?  They have 100 entrees to get out in about a 20 minute period of time, a detailed Murder Mystery Night Schedule to follow, and the normal dinner crowd in the other room that want their food now!

Honestly, when the show finally DOES start, that's when everyone can relax and have fun. And they did have fun last night! The show, A CONDO TO KILL FOR, is a humorous look at a Timeshare Presentation from HELL! Lots of laughs in this one - you can imagine with 100 people in the room what that sounds like.

100 people! This was our biggest public show all year, thanks in part to Christopher Cartenuto and the staff at Joey's. They did an amazing job of promoting the show - keeping brochures on the tables, talking it up to guests, putting it in their newsletter, and promoting on social media. This is exactly what's needed when two businesses merge for one event - I wish all of our venues were as cooperative about advertising as Joey's. Because between their efforts and ours, we had a fabulous turnout and a great night!

Thanks, Niceville, for your support - hope to see you all again next time around!   ~~ Paula

The Show MUST Go On!!

What a crazy few days Act4Murder has had! We had a private lunchtime show scheduled for Saturday for a group of 45 Senior V.I.P.'s coming in from Tallahassee. They'd requested BEBOPPED AT THE SOCK HOP which we rehearsed Friday night and were ready to roll with. Then one of my actors in the show ended up in the ER with a GIANT kidney stone and couldn't perform. Another actor dived in putting together an Elvis costume, picking up the script, and showing up ready to perform with only a few hours preparation.  Did he nail it? Was he convincing? YES! Kudos to Joe Chase for saving the day! And my kidney-stone actor will be back in commission very soon.  They say the show must go on… and it did!  ~~ Paula

Redneck V.I.P.'s

JUNE 18, 2015 UPDATE - Our show at Angler's Thursday night was awesome! The cast of REDNECK RIVALRY (Chris Manson, David Smith, Kristi Morris, Karen Monroe and Sally Whitesell) outdid themselves, and the audience loved every minute of it.  I was particularly excited about this show, because for years now guests have been asking me if they can buy any Act4Murder merchandise, and Thursday was the first time I had some to sell! I put into place "V.I.P." packages available for purchase by our guests. By selecting "Eyewitness," "Expert Eyewitness" or one of the "Celebration" packages, you'll purchase an "Act4Murder Eyewitness" T-Shirt, mug or notepad (with balloons for the "Celebration" selections) - all high quality items and a fun

souvenir of your night out with us. Thursday night I had five V.I.P.'s in the audience, and they loved their T-Shirts! Check out our instagram photos on the front page of our website to see for yourself!  V.I.P. packages are available from our reservation page on the website, and watch for the "Romance" package coming soon. Thanks again REDNECKS - great show, as always! ~~ Paula

Our Mysterious Schedule!

Summer has arrived! 2015 is the 6th year we've been able to perform weekly for the tourists, and we worked as hard as ever to get our shows ready and the schedule solidified. The spring is so busy for us - getting a new show up, bringing back old ones, giving them facelifts, recasting, rehearsing… then from June on it's nothing but performances! Unfortunately, though, this year circumstances changed, and we're now in the process of selecting a new venue in the Destin area -  we hope to be set by the beginning of July. In the meantime, Okaloosa Island is only a few miles away, so hop in that car and come see us at Angler's Beachside Grill! We have select Thursday night shows going on this month through August. Hope to see you - this week June 18 - for REDNECK RIVALRY, a murderous look at …. well, redneck rivalry.  :)  ~~ Paula

Gonna miss those Cupcakes!

Act4Murder shows never go away.  I've written 30 shows, so I can generally keep a show running for a year or so, then will retire it for another four or five years until I'm ready to pull it out again.  And holiday shows are treated the same way except they are only performed in that specific holiday month.  So last night's final performance of DEATH BY CUPCAKE isn't really final, but the 2015 run is over, and I'm very sorry to see it end.  We had eight performances and every one was better than the last.  Which is saying a lot, because the first one was phenomenal!



This cast just clicked.  Every performance wasn't just perfect, it was fun, energetic, memorable and so solid you'd think these six people had been working together their whole lives.  And after each show, when we went around the table doing our retrospective, answering two questions:  What was your favorite part, and what was your least favorite part? Everyone had a hard time coming up with a least favorite part.

Candy-Coated Murder has been nothing but fun!

Just wanted to add a little note about how fantastic our run of DEATH BY CUPCAKE has been going.  They performed for the 7th time last night - 8th time if you count the dress rehearsal - and every show has been just fantastic.  We had one little "glitch" at one of our regular restaurants, but I think we worked out the problems we had that night and hopefully everyone learned something from it.  At any rate, just wanted to give some kudos' to my CUPCAKE cast - Cynthia Bergquist, Joe Chase and Jessika Kelsh, returning for the 9th year playing Hart Braker, Drew Blood, and Candy Valentine; Heidi Best-Swift coming in as Shakira Sharp (after playing Bubble Braker in last year's DEATH BY CANDYGRAM), and newcomers Matt Williams and Mark Clutter, as Bobby Fillet and Hugh Jeego.  Fantastic work by everyone - thanks folks!

Do the math!

We get about 1 person a year who hates us.  Thinks we suck.  There were a couple of years where we didn't get any "you suck" comments, but we've been in business for 13 years, so I'll go with 13 people who hate us.  So when you do the math, having performed for close to 23,000 people, that means 0.00056 percent of the population who have seen us perform think we are horrid.  Not too bad a percentage, really.

Why do they hate us?  We are too "amateur," "can't hear us," "dancing looked bad," "dumb story," "too much fighting," "over-priced," and my favorite, "didn't like it that someone died."

The fighting? Well, that kind of has to happen to establish a motive.  Can't hear - we've vastly improved on that one over the years, as we have the dancing (thanks to my incredibly talented daughter, our official choreographer).  The criticism about the writing? A person's taste in writing is pretty subjective, so if they don't like it, I can't help it.  Amateur?  Yeah, no.  Although one person who called my actors "hokey" was right - they were performing as a bunch of rednecks who were supposed to be hokey. Over-priced?  Have you checked out the price to go to the movies and get a large coke and a big bucket of popcorn?  This seems like a better deal, given you're getting a 3-course meal and a 3 hour show for that price.  And "didn't like it that someone died?"  LOL!  It's a MURDER MYSTERY!

I remember the first time I got a bad comment back.  It killed me.  I put my heart and soul into Act4Murder and for someone to so flippantly tell me my work sucks really hurt.  But after 13 years, and 13 people who hate us, I'm doing a little better at letting it roll off my back. I mean, honestly?  You can't please everyone.  And given that 0.00056 percentage, I'd say I'm pleasing MOST everyone, and that's not a bad thing!
 ~~ Paula

How does he manage?!

Since 2008, I haven't had to manage a show alone.  My wonderful boyfriend, Chris Manson, took over that job, leaving me more time to write new shows and work on advertising.  But a few months ago when our February shows started booking, we realized we were going to need to be able to double-book on a couple of nights in order to accommodate both public shows and private events on and around Valentine's Day.  So last night was my first foray back into the world of stage managing.

I honestly don't know how he does it.  As much as I love this business - the shows, the actors, the restaurants, the guests… it's a tough gig to manage a show.  I had to deal with comments and complaints about the music being too loud and not loud enough, the room being too cold and too hot, guests asking me for refills on drinks, to turn on the fans and turn off the fans, and "where's my sour cream," "could you bring more more ranch dressing," and, "Help, I spilled my water… ," well, you get the drift.  I did my best to keep up and make everyone comfortable, but by the end of the night I was exhausted.

Here's the thing - Chris doesn't just MANAGE the shows, he's also in them.  All I was doing was managing, and I forgot about handing out the "After Scene One" handout until 30 seconds before Scene Two was about to start, ALMOST forgot to do the door prize drawing at the end of the show, and COMPLETELY forgot to hand out comment cards.  He never forgets anything.

Despite MY inadequacies, the cast was amazing and it was successful premier of my newest show, DEATH BY CUPCAKE.  Thanks so much to the Coach-N-Four in Crestview - what a great, hard-working staff they have there!  And once we got the music and room temperature set where everyone was pleased, and all that ranch dressing and sour cream out, everyone had a great time.

I get to do it again in a week when we have two shows on Valentine's Day.  Maybe I'll do a better job of keeping my head on straight.  It's no mystery what I have to do - I need to pretend I'm Chris and do it without breaking a sweat.  ~~ Paula