Lakewood duo weaves tales of 'whodunit' > Faces of > Stories > Lakewood

RECENT STORIES

The Boston Pilgrims and all that jazz ( Peter Robinson )
O'Kane neighbors gather to remember Ed Heckle ( Erin Feese/YourHub.com )
Realtors give back to community ( Susan Aldretti )
Give joy to homeless families, one gift at a time ( Kathy McManus )
No cost home repair for eligible homeowners ( Angie Zuccarelli )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Lakewood \\ Stories \\ Faces of

Lakewood duo weaves tales of "whodunit"

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

NEXT › ‹ PREVIOUS

Contributed by: Lee Michels and David Wright on 1/15/2008

Editor's note: Visit our Faces of Lakewood and Edgewater page, where YourHub.com staff and readers can introduce you to more people -- and a dog -- who make this part of the metro area what it is.

Monarch Productions emerged from its chrysalis about 5 years ago springing forth from the collaborative minds of Lakewood residents Lee Michels and David Wright. A love of writing for the both of them proved to be the seed for their endeavor and the anchor for Monarch Productions ... murder mystery shows. Lee has been performing in "whodunits" for close to 15 years, as well as co-writing the scripts. She is also a core performer in their troupe. David, a former television promotion and marketing writer/producer, is Monarch's other co-writer and core performer.

So what's it like writing a murder mystery show? Well, for Lee, "It's the part I like the best. The writing." Ideas come from everywhere and from nowhere.Their current catalog of 10 shows varies from a bawdy 1880s Old West adventure, to a 1920's gin joint murder, to a honeymoon cruise gone bad. May day! May day!

"A lot of clients opt for the option of a custom written show. This way we can write a show to fit the client's needs," explains David. "We sit down, or stand up, and get to brainstorming. We usually have a total of 6 cast members, so we know how many characters to create." There's a lot of pondering, funny ideas, bad ideas and re-writes before they are satisfied with the results. Each character is created to have their own background, personality and relationships, which takes a bunch of noodling. Yet a key to their success involves no writing at all. It's improv.

"There are basic clues that need to be given during a performance; character relationships and motive among others," Lee states. "But the filler between those givens is cooked up by each performer ... off the top of their heads. The result can be riotous."

Murder mystery shows are great for team building and also wonderful fundraisers. Monarch Productions offers non-profit organizations a discount off the regular pricing. Nonprofit fundraising is a deep segment in Lee's background. Getting the audience to interact with the performers is a key to their success as the audience has to solve "whodunit" by paying close attention. Audiences from 20 to 350 people can be accommodated. For more information on the "deadly duo's" murder mystery shows, contact Lee or David at monarchproductions@earthlink.net.

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Current Rating

Based on 1 user ratings.

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY

STORY RSS FEEDS

All stories

All stories in Lakewood

All stories by Erin Feese

WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?

Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

Loading Ad