By Heather Park
MYSTERY NIGHT M
MURDER Step-by-step
Bring your school community together with a classic whodunnit event
urder mystery nights promise lots of fun for a modest amount of effort. As a more unique fundraiser,
it’s sure to get people talking and attract new faces. Enlist the help of a local am-dram group or book a specialist supplier such as Murderplays (
murderplays.com) to help you put on an engaging evening that will be enjoyable for everyone – and will raise much-needed funds for your school.
Matthew Barker, deputy head, Bridgewater School, Worsley, Manchester (467 pupils): ‘We were inspired to try a murder mystery event after I saw some of the plays performed at my wife’s school. The drama teacher, Chris Martin, was also the owner of Murderplays. I organised our fi rst play in
conjunction with the PTA and the event had a fairly short turnaround, which is
46 SPRING 2019
pta.co.uk
one of the great things about it. We only started rehearsing a couple of weeks beforehand and publicised it about four weeks before. We held it in the school drama studio with a fairly minimal set but great attention to the costumes. The students really enjoyed seeing their teachers dressing up and performing! We charged £5 per adult ticket and £3
for students, which included a hotpot supper, and tickets were sold via the school offi ce. Around 120 people attended, and we held a raffl e and also ran a bar and sweet stall to boost profi ts. Costs were fairly minimal – beyond
the play itself and the hotpot there were only minor costume costs, but most staff taking part were happy to source their own costumes. On the day, the staff taking part stayed after school for a fi nal run-through and a group meal – it’s also a great event for staff relationships. It’s full-on for a couple of weeks and it can be diffi cult getting everyone
together at the same time, but it is well worth it as a fundraiser and a teambuilder for the staff taking part. You do need one person who is willing to drive the whole thing through. We received very positive feedback from visitors, and so far we’ve put on six plays, each raising around £700.’
Joyce Corston, assistant head, Teddington School, Teddington, Middlesex (1,283 pupils): ‘I saw an article in the Times Educational Supplement about Murderplays being performed by school PTAs and, as I wanted to approach our PTA for help to fund some stage lighting, I thought this was something our senior leadership team could do “for” the PTA, as payback for all their efforts and as a joint fundraiser. I contacted Murderplays and was really
impressed by the resources. For our fi rst event, “Who Killed the Headmaster”, we started planning about four months in advance. The event was held in the school hall, starting at 7:30pm and ending at 11pm. For the fi rst one we charged £7, which included a hot supper, but prices have since gone up and we now charge £15. Tickets were sold by the PTA to parents via their usual communication channels. Around 200 people attended, and everyone loved it – some of them have since come to all six of these events we’ve put on over the years! The events are absolutely brilliant –
it’s so much fun for the cast and much appreciated by audience/parents. It was also a great way for the SLT and PTA to get together and work as a team. On the day, the PTA were in charge of
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