For golf and country clubs looking for entertaining options, we provide a variety of fun approaches for murder mystery dinners across the country for various groups and gatherings. We have choices that range from using participants in the show to strictly using our actors. Below you will find some of our more frequently asked questions.
The classic format for very large groups with all kinds of added elements. This is the perfect format for very large banquets surrounding the exchanging of vows.
The industry standard brings 4-7 actors interacting with your guests leading up to a murder and a comedic investigation. Meet and talk with the crazy cast of characters, witness a crime and then work together to solve it!
More of a stand-up comedy routine, this involves one or two detectives investigating an improvised whodunit while directly involving your guests members in the crime. The interaction creates details from the crime that could never be repeated!
For smaller, very intimate groups, our Clue Parties has everyone as a character and they mix and mingle while trying to determine the culprit. It's a great way to break the ice at the beginning of a weekend or for the members of the wedding party!
A great way to keep costs down and to give members of the wedding party the opportunity to speak with everyone is to have them play the characters. Our Cambridge Solution mystery has a variety of themes to allow this to happen. Generally, the bride and groom ard witnesses.
We created a page to allow you to see the more common questions and answers regarding these shows. Of course, we are more than happy to answer any questions you have directly.
WE LOOK OUT FOR YOU We have a variety of techniques that we can use to promote social distancing and safety during our shows. We can discuss these items with you and develop a strategy to work at your location in a relatively safe environment.
WE CAN THEME YOUR PARTY
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 and many others. We have conducted murder mystery dinner shows with everything from the Versace Mansion to Gilligan's Island. If you want to have a particular theme, just let us know!
Younger or more sensitive audience members should have no problem enjoying a night of fun and clean comedy when THEY improv takes the stage. We are predisposed to performing clean comedy shows. If, however, we are requested to become more lively in our performance, we may do so. After all, our murder mysteries are custom-tailored for the audience involved. If you have more than just a couple of children but are instead throwing a gathering for a group of kids, we have specific themes written for children. To ensure a great evening simply inform us at the time of contracting for the show.
Smaller groups can get cost-prohibitive for murder mysteries, but THEY improv may still be able to help. Although our more standard murder mysteries have custom-tailored scripts and 4-8 actors, we do have other options to bring the cost down. This can be even more important for non-profit organizations looking to have a fundraiser. There are two additional approaches we can take. First, is our Cambridge Solution. This is called the Cambridge Solution because we considered it to be Harvard smart when we developed it. It uses 4-10 of your group as characters in the murder. More information is on our Cambridge Murder Mystery Page. For even smaller groups we have our Dartmouth Plan. It's really the Cambridge Solution redesigned to either use everyone as a character in more of a Speed Dating setup or using half of the people as characters. Our second option is what we refer to as Murder Mystery Mayhem or a Clue Party. This is where everyone is a character and they mix and mingle randomly. It comes down to Means, Motive and Opportunity, much like a game of Clue. More information is available on our Murder Mystery Game Show page.
While we prefer the immersive experience, we can perform "Presentational Murder Mysteries." This is performed on a stage or raised area with sound system like a play and with limited audience interaction. This is usually done for much larger groups and is more heavily scripted. This tends to have a higher cost because of the writing involved.
We have a variety of offerings. Some of our offerings are designed as a mix and mingle party that allows your participants to interview each other to try to determine the culprit. Another offering allows some of your people to play the roles being interrogated by our detective and the audience to determine the culprit. But for our signature immersive murder mystery dinners, you want to limit the exposure of your people as performers. Quite frankly, they're simply not professional, and our people are. But we will customize any event to you and follow your lead as to who you want to participate. So the short answer? Yes, but it isn't our recommendation.
THEY improv is capable of performing anywhere. After all, we are improvisational. We are used to making do and reacting to what is at hand. Generally we perform in banquet spaces and dining rooms, though we've been known to operate in bars, in patio areas or even out on a golf course. The question usually comes down to an ability to be seen and heard by the audience. The real answer is that you should contact us if you have a venue that you have a question about and we are certain that we can find a way to make it work.
We are happy to help with some publicity. We'll share our graphics and make them available to you and will brainstorm with you to provide fun themes to help get media attention. But THEY improv can not take responsibility for the ability to market a show, will not guarantee any level of attendance and will not directly handle any ticket sales for legal reasons.
THEY improv is one of the fastest growing murder mystery companies in the country. Right now we provide murder mystery dinner shows in all 50 states. We can provide our services throughout the nation including areas such as Los Angeles in Southern California, San Francisco in Northern California, Scottsdale and Tucson in Arizona, the DFW area, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Oklahoma, the Gulf Coast, Southwest Florida, Central Florida, South Florida, North Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York City, Westchester County, Long Island, New York State, Fairfield County and Hartford in Connecticut, Chicago, Milwaukee, the Midwest, Ohio, Idaho, Washington State, Oregon, Nevada, Salt Lake City in Utah, Hawaii as well as everywhere else in all 50 states. Most locations do not even have a travel fee associated with it as we have performers all over the place. There are, of course, some places that are more out of the way or don't have a large acting community nearby. This may require some travel, but would be included in any quote that we provide for you.
Because every show is custom designed you have to contact THEY improv directly to receive a quote for your banquet. Prices range based on the costs for a show. The more actors, the more props, the larger the event, the more the writing or rehearsal, the higher the cost. When we provide a quote, the prices are usually independent of venue, food and technical equipment such as lights and sound. Contact us for a detailed quote.
Even though we call them dinners, the reality is that a lot of our events take place during the day. Lunch is quite common and it operates basically the same, though often there is no cocktail hour. It can be a great idea to entertain your employees without keeping them after hours. Likewise, an ambush at lunch works well with our people to look like a regular team building group or lecturer. Contact us to find ideas that might work for your group based on your timing.
Generally no, but we work based on our direction from our clients. Based on the desires of the client, we may have gunshots (blanks, of course), stabbings, etc. All such things are usually done to comedic effect and may require authorization of the venue and appropriate security staffs. Likewise, the Client must indemnify us and indicate to potential guests with any conditions the inherent issues or concerns. If you are the one hiring us for a private party or corporate event, then whether there are gunshots is up to you. But as mentioned, we'd recommend not to have them.
We can accept most forms of payment including checks, credit cards, ACH, cash, PayPal and just about anything else that you can come up with. Usually we require 50% up front with a follow-up of the final 50% one-week prior to the event.
Contact us by email at info@CountryClubImprov.com or call (866) 219-4386.
Include the size of your space, how many people you think might attend, potential dates you have an interest in, and any special concerns or requests. This can include specific themes that you might have in mind, such as the Roaring '20s or '30s in the Prohibition Era.
Our staff works hard to make certain that all details are ironed out and that you understand the process prior to any agreement.
We will explain additional themes, timing, dining considerations, sound, lighting and stage equipment needed (which are not usually included in our proposal), payment methods and timing, etc. This will allow us to prepare a 3 page proposal for your event. Page 1 is a cover letter. Page 2 is the actual contract. Page 3 is a credit card form just in case you choose to pay by that method, though often checks are the more popular option. We also accept PayPal, Venmo, QuickPay, and many other methods.