We provide Dartmouth Plan murder mystery dinners in Canada as a way to entertain private parties, banquets and corporate events in a more interactive setting for smaller groups of 30 or less people. Participants get directly involved as both the detectives and suspects in the show! It's easy and fun to play and our professional hosts help to get them to be the stars of the show!
MASK WORK
One of the concepts is that of mask work. The idea is that people are playing characters, rather than themselves.
This frees people up to be less defensive and more open. This allows more of their personality to come out and enhance the bonding.
WHO IS THE BEST ACTOR!
Often, towards the end, we bring the suspects up and ask them for their likely excuse and to answer one question (both of which they had been provided with ahead of time). This is their Oscar award winning moment as they try to win a vote by the audience for the best actor.
Yes, it is! But we know for a fact that your people are not professional performers. We know they're going to mess up details. That's why we bring someone who can keep track of what they're saying and change the answer at the end to be what was actually said.
Meaning: If someone messes it up badly, we can still have a winner!
You would be surprised. Strangely, the introverted ones are usually the best at this! It is a thing that we call "Mask Work". The idea is that people get nervous when talking to others because they are worried about sharing too much or putting themselves at risk. They are playing a character. It's not them, it's the character talking. This allows them to be much freer than normal and let loose. it's a relief to not be yourself for a while.
As long as their small, like changing a name or something, not a problem. We usually have written up to 30 characters for these, so we can swap them out easily or change names at will. We kept this a non-automated process. Meaning, we type stuff! Changing a name for you isn't really a problem. Even changing genders of most characters. Some might be more complex, but we'll let you know.
To be clear, we are NOT asking about the gender of the people playing. We are asking about the genders of the characters. We've had men play women and vice versa. We can create non-binary characters and even already have several. It's making people comfortable with who they will play, not who they are.
The focus is on who is the most motivated. We found that this is the best way to go. When we look for more nuanced information and physical clues, people would mess it up and make it impossible to solve. In this case, we are able to adapt to what was said in the room if we absolutely have to change the killer.
You would not be happy if we brought cameras into your event. It distracts people and takes away from the game. Besides, we have done this for 8 people and for 200. We've been in restaurants, hotels, houses, on boats, or outside. We have dozens of themes and different mixes of types of people. We'd need 100s of videos. We can try to get you a reference close to what you are looking for, however. Videos, though, are always a problem. This is even more true for smaller groups like this. There's no place to hide!
While we have pre-set scenarios, there is always a little customization. We go back and forth to settle on the scenario and characters. Once settled, you can share that information with the people who will play those characters. Remember, they have a chance to win as the best actor!
For our Cambridge Solution, we meet ahead of time with the suspects. In this case, with the Dartmouth Plan, everyone is a suspect as well as being a Detective. There is no advantage in secrecy. So our host explains how to play the game and gets them their additional information while introducing the murder to the group. The host makes them comfortable and provides them with techniques on how to have fun and try to win. And remember, our host is watching the event and will adapt the final answer to those who are there.
The host comes in and announces that there has been a crime. The scenario is read and the characters are given a dramatic introduction. Our host provides a written version of the scenario to each player and the characters mix-and-mingle in this networking version of the game both interrogating suspects and allowing themselves to be interrogated, answering questions about the crime. We may or may not have them answer some questions that were pre-written in front of the audience.
The audience writes down who they think committed the crime and vote for the best actor, while not voting for themselves. The closest to the truth and the Best Actor win little prizes that we provide. They're good enough for people to want, but small enough that people won't be too upset if they didn't win.
This 1920's themed party involves the election of an Alderman to the local city council. The party is a celebration of his victory and those in attendance are his supporters dressed as flappers and mobsters. This includes the North Side Mob, the South Side Mob, his spouse, political figures and temperance workers. It's a great time had by all and we can add a costume contest as well.
This mobster themed show involves the death of the head of the organization of the local families, the Godmother. Taking on the personality of your city, the show quickly customizes to the audience involved. Suspects usually include the heads of the families that are a bit comedic and designed to easily be played by your people. Other characters can include politicians, someone from the old country, reporters, and business people. You'll laugh...if you know what's good for you!
One of the more standard scenarios, this involves a millionaire who made his wealth on the backs of many others who want a piece of the action. This likely includes a spouse, a girlfriend, a business rival, a yes-man, a competitor and a politician. We have offshoots on the Coast of Spain, the Coast of France, the Coast of Italy, Hawaii and others to get one appropriate for your party.
Our own take on the spy genre has the death of 008. You Only Live Twice? Not so fast! Our second fiddle secret agent to his more famous counterpart decides to retire and a rogues gallery of suspects emerge. it's a great way to have outlandish fun with bizarre characters!
The head of the FBI Division fighting fraud in golf is killed on the night that he was announcing that he would retire and write a tell all book! Which one of the interesting characters committed the crime? The characters include his wife, a golf equipment manufacturer, the course golf pro, the person running the pro shop, and many more.
We can create just about any scenario that you can think of. The writing does take some time and there is a nominal fee, but having a customized event for your party is often worth it. Just ask and we can discuss the possibilities.
When a millionaire gets into the business of wine-making, there's always people that wouldn't be happy. There are competitors, neighbors, politicians and ex-spouses, all of which could have reasons to be stressed by the millionaire's success. Maybe they should have some wine! This is perfect for our Grapes of Laugh programs at wineries.
We have a couple of variations on the theme of having a celebrity who is having a party and is found dead. The participants play a variety of celebrities that are the suspects and others could be adoring fans. There are a collection of pseudo celebrities who are the suspects and may have have committed the crime of the century of the week!
This is a singles event where the leader of a match making event is murdered and the suspects are those who have yet to find love and have taken issue with their match maker. The characters are a bunch of troubled people and lets them show off that they have a sense of humor about being single. This allows them to be the stars of the event and build their confidence.
The leader of a local chamber music society is killed. The political in-fighting and topics of gossip come to the fore as the group investigates their own. There are questions about the Music Director, the starving artist, the Vice President of the organization, the spouse, and many others. It's a classical good time for audience with an appreciation for the finer things.
A millionaire from the city wanted a place to get away from it all and bought a nice ranch. He decided to throw a hoe-down and invited people from both of his worlds. The combination of city-folk and ranchers create an odd mixture. With the death of the millionaire, there are plenty of potential suspects to choose from. It appears time to apply some frontier justice!
We have a history of producing customized political scenarios. We are aggressively non-partisan in Canada, but that doesn't mean that we can't poke fun at both sides with equal fervor when talking about the insanity south of the border. We can also have mysteries surrounding either side of single issues or promote a point of view with a show for political events.
WE USE YOUR PARTY THEME
We have many themes and can customize to just about any other that you can think of. Some of the more common themes include: The 1920's or 1930's for a Prohibition Era party, A Millionaire's Mansion, A Movie Mogul, Mobsters, A Wedding, Spies, and many others. If you want to have a particular theme that is not on this page, just let us know!
This 1920s or 1930s themed party involves the election of an Alderman to the local city council. The party is a celebration of his victory and those in attendance are his supporters dressed as flappers and mobsters. This includes the North Side Mob, the South Side Mob, his spouse, political figures and temperance workers. It's a great time had by all and we can add a costume contest as well. We also have a couple of other 1920s scenarios.
Music mogul Mickety Mack is found killed at a meeting of his latest charity record venture. There are a collection of pseudo celebrities who might have committed the crime. Characters include Michael George, Girl Georgina, Ave Maria, Miguel Llackson or many other pseudo celebrities from the decade of excess! Girls may just wanna have fun, but attendees of our events actually get to do so! We can also customize other scenarios, such as Greed is Good.
While this one is not officially assigned to a specific time period, it is definitely playing another time. Because they are fictional pirates from the local city, we can play off of issues that are contemporary to the community. Characters are offshoots of popularized characters and it is the leader of the local pirates that is killed. It's also a great event for International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is September 19th! ARRRGGGGHHH!
Created for a college environment, Sherlock had lectured at the university and now that the Dean has been found dead, the students have to determine the murderer using the skills of deduction taught by the famous consulting detective. This scenario is in the Victorian era and is at your university on the bank of the Thames River in England. Suspects include various professors and other faculty of the university.
WE COME TO YOU!
We work with groups that are small, medium and large. We also work with people that are in the city, the suburbs, and that are in more rural areas. It never made sense to get our own facilities. We come to a venue of your choosing and this allows you to make your own food and beverage options. In general, you want enough light to see, enough space to move around comfortably, and it should be quiet enough to hear. Everything else can be adjusted to.
It's the North Pole and the unthinkable has happened. Santa is found dead in the cookie shop! Who could have committed the crime? Maybe it's Santa's second wife or the head of the Elfs union, Jiminy Hoffa!
It's a popular shopping mall during the holiday season and the mall Santa is found dead. Which of the mall employees or others could have committed such a terrible crime?
Originally a customized scenario produced for a snow plow company, it has proven to become a strangely popular holiday favorite. Who committed this bizarre crime? And, who will clean the truck?
We can adapt our Millionaire's Mansion and Mobster scenarios to be a party that is taking place during any holiday. It's a great way to save on our customization fees. Simply ask us how!
A pop icon is murdered at the audition for a movie too see who will be the co-star. The pseudo-celebrities are a regular Who's Who of stardom. But which celebrity committed the crime? Victims can include Lady GooGoo, Dustin Beaver or Lindsay Lohan. We have an add-on to the event to have an audition that we conduct in the middle of the show allowing them to perform their favorite movie lines in front of the group!
The group must work together to solve the murder of the leader of the prom committee. The various characters that are suspects in the crime are your typical high school fare. It's a great way to enjoy a party while poking fun of some of the tropes of high school life. We have an add-on to the event to have a game show where people try to guess creative answers to questions provided to the characters.
Have you ever wondered how Prince Charming has lived happily ever after with so many princesses? Well, the princesses aren't happy! With a variety of historic versions of the Disney princesses, his mother, other royalty, and additional characters as the suspects, there is no shortage of dress up fun to be had. We have an add-on of a fairy tale trivia game for the participants to compete. It's a great way to have a blast with your friends!
The leader of the local group of superheroes is killed, and not just the villains are suspects! The superheroes have done such a good job of fighting crime that there isn't enough for them to do, and now they are causing trouble amongst their own! But when the superheroes are the suspects, who can possibly save the day? We have an add-on to the event to have a Superhero Trivia contest pitting the audience against one another.
The head of a pageant is killed as representatives from different states or provinces and staff of the pageant are suspects. The characters are used to poke fun of the states and their stereotypes allowing the girls to show their comedy skills. Usually for Sweet 16 or birthday parties for girls, we can accommodate a couple of boys as characters. We have an add-on that allows for the contestants to compete in a talent show during the event.
We have several more scenarios that we have done for clients over time. We can also customize a brand new scenario for your group. Yes, there is an additional fee, but if you think it is worthwhile, we can do it! If it is a scenario that we think might be re-used, we often will lower the fee for creating the scenario to reflect that we might have future clients that would like it. We can accommodate all kinds of needs when it comes to customizing. Simply ask us how.
THE PROVIDENCE ADDENDUM
This is an add-on to our standard events and was named for the location of Brown University. This involves the creation of additional generic characters for each person at the table. These characters are repeated at tables around the room and each character is provided with some specific information about one or two of the suspects that they can share with their team. These characters are non-gender specific and don't have as much detail. For example, they might be doctors, cab drivers, attorneys, psychologists, etc. and their background allows them to know things about the suspects. It is a great way to allow everyone to feel like they are participating while limiting the lack of information should they choose not to play.
With Banff as a major destination for corporate retreats, we can provide a wide range of services. We also serve Calgary and Edmonton.
Whistler is a major destination for corporate retreats and is within range of our Vancouver regional HQ. We also serve the rest of the area and Victoria.
We can help the companies and clients in Winnipeg as well as through the larger area as needed.
We are proud to provide our programs from our regional HQ in Halifax. This allows for major consulting for local companies.
Toronto is our regional HQ for Ontario, but we are proud to serve Niagara Falls, Mississauga, Ottawa, London and Windsor.
While focused on our English-speaking clients, we provide our programs in Montreal, Quebec City and throughout the province. We serve the market with less providers.
The first step is to determine your needs. This includes potential goals, desires and concerns. The more we know about what has already been decided can allow us to narrow the conversation to approaches that interest you.
We need to know the city where the event will be as well as what kind of venue might be used. A date, or date range, for when you would like to have this and what time frame you are looking for will help to determine our commitment and availability. Knowing the size of your group, though that will likely just be an estimate, will allow us to choose appropriate options and have a better feel for the resources required.
If you know budget limitations, that can allow us to restrict the conversations to those options that will be within your financial constraints. This works in both directions. We don't want to overbuild and propose options that can't be done. Also, we don't want to provide less than we could realizing the resources that could be made available to better achieve your goals.
The classic format for entertaining groups of all types getting people working together to solve a crime.
A great way to get a show that is completely customized to the group and keeps the audience engaged.
Comedians can come to your group and can provide a traditional night of comedic entertainment.
We get everyone and interacting in a variety of games ranging from those associated with TV shows and specialty items.
Our magicians can bewilder you for an evening of close-up magic, mentalism, psychics or full stage shows.
We can add a little flavor to any event by bringing characters that can create memorable moments.
How can anyone ever hope to get people to bond if you can't get them to speak with one another. A mix and mingle party is a great way to get people comfortable enough to walk up the someone and introduce themselves!
