Jest Murder Mystery Company

Expect smiles, shenanigans and maybe even a little dancing. Expect shy people to come out of their shells. Expect surprises, shouts and jokes, but most of all, expect a lot of laughter. A Jest show is no ordinary murder mystery. There are no spooky scenes, no stage separating the show from the audience and we can guarantee that a bunch of overzealous actors will not be competing for your attention. Because when you hire Jest, it’s not about the mystery, it’s about making sure your people have a great time. We’ve been around for a long time. We hire professional entertainers and we’re darn good at making sure everyone has a blast.

What to Expect IN-PERSON

Everyone plays a part
Audience participation is our number one priority because we want to make sure everyone has a great time. Our professional entertainers will pass out parts based on each personality present with some parts being more involved than others. Have no fear, there are no scripts to read, nor lines to memorize here! Our entertainers know all the characters and will be able to assist your people in communicating their funny bits during the show. Everyone will have the opportunity to participate as much or as little as they would like to and their parts will explain how they can do so.

Food, glorious food
Our in-person shows are built to coincide with either a plated or buffet style meal. Our acts happen in between the serving of courses so your people can focus their attention on the action instead of their plates. That’s why we do not perform while the audience is chewing plus we’ll include a couple of short intermissions that give your audience members a great opportunity to freshen up their drinks, take a break and discuss who dun it!

Timing is everything
The length of your in-person show will vary based on how much fun your group is having and the type of meal you have decided to serve. Each of our shows contains three acts which will last between 25 and 35 minutes each. See this Possible Agenda for a general timeline for our shows. This timeline is flexible and can be customized to suit your needs.

And the award goes to…
We don’t like to play favorites at Jest, so we celebrate both heroes and villains equally. At the end of the in-person show a winning detective will receive a special prize as will the dreaded murderer and a special audience member who rose to the occasion.

A personal touch
Every audience is different which makes every show different. Jest shows are based on scripts with plenty of wiggle room for audience interaction and improvisation. Our entertainers are professionally trained improvisationalists and they will follow the cues of the audience to create a hilarious customized experience.

What to Expect VIRTUALLY

How it works
Our virtual shows are around 90 minutes long (60 minutes of that are the actual show, the rest is a short virtual cocktail party for everyone to arrive and receive their parts via the chat box and the remainder is for one short break between the two acts of the show.)

The show includes two costumed, professional actors and one virtual stage manager. Our professionals will run the show so your guests can focus on figuring out whodunnit! All who want to participate will have a part to play. A handful of your guests (about 10 or so) will have more involved, on-screen rolls in the show. Guests will register in advance and will need to download and be able to operate the latest version of Zoom on a computer (not a phone or tablet) to participate in the show. A microphone and camera are also required for participation.

Everyone plays a part
That's right, just like with our in-person shows, interaction with the audience is what we are all about. All guests who want to participate will have a part to play and can get involved! That’s right, everyone! We offer varying degrees of interaction with some parts being more involved than others. Which means your guests can participate at their comfort level.

Convenience
With our virtual shows, you can enjoy a very funny, professional, engaging show with guests from all over the world without ever leaving your desk chair. No risk of exposure here, just a whole lot of fun!

Quality
Jest Murder Mystery Co has been performing professional, in-person murder mystery shows since 1999, so we know a thing or two about planning a murder. We pride ourselves on providing a quality experience for our clients and our Zoom Virtual Shows are no different.

These Zoom Shows have been specially written, tested, rewritten, tested again, rewritten again, and tested again (and so on) to ensure that the end product is a virtual show that encompasses the fun and interaction of our live shows in a virtual environment. …and it’s a blast!

Personalization
Each show that Jest Murder Mystery Co performs is unique in that each audience is unique. Jest shows (both in-person and virtual) contain aspects of scripted theater and improvisational theater. This approach creates a highbred show which contains a themed storyline and room for your guests to play around and have fun with their characters. It’s brilliant and it works (if we do say so ourselves!) Trust us, your guests are going to laugh a whole lot!

Easy Booking
Our booking process is easy and sooooo much simpler than planning an in-person event. There’s no catering to book, no hall to reserve, no table set up required! All your guests need is a computer and a good internet connection!

Extra’s
We realize that staying at home or in the office for an event is a different experience than going out. So we’ve created resources to help your guests make the most of their experience. Once they have registered for the event, they will get customized content just for the show they are attending. They’ll receive technical tips along with cocktail recipes, costume suggestions, how-tos, appetizer recipes and more!

Take away
No matter what type of event you are planning, our virtual murder mystery parties and In-person murder mystery dinner theatres are an excellent option to keep your guests smiling and entertained. Book Jest to entertain at your company parties, conferences, team building & team bonding events, private groups, birthday parties, company Christmas & holiday parties, fundraisers, bachelor & bachelorette parties, meetings, wedding receptions and more!

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Jest Murder Mystery Co. was founded in St Louis, MO, in 1999, by actor, writer and director Randy Manning. Finding success with his previous murder mystery shows, Randy believed that he could produce a better show. Randy combined professional actors with funnier writing and more participation to create murder mystery parties that are all about making sure the audience has a great time…and they do!

Since then Jest Murder Mystery Co. has grown to include professional entertainers from across the United States in cities like St. Louis, Memphis, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, Des Moines, Minneapolis and many more. Jest has performed at thousands of public venues, company parties, holiday parties, birthdays, wedding receptions and much more all across the United States. We pride ourselves on providing a quality show while always ensuring that our clients' guests have a great time.

In 2017, Randy decided to retire and left his daughter, Leslie Franklin, at the helm of the ever growing Jest empire. Since that time Jest has seen more growth and takes pride in providing quality entertainment in all but one of the 50 states (that’s right, we haven’t performed in Alaska yet…but we’re working on that.)

After celebrating 20 years of making guests laugh, Covid19 hit Jest and the entire live entertainment industry hard in 2020. With everyone in lockdown and social distancing measures in place, the Jest Murder Mystery Co. Team of Genius Entertainers got to work, because in show biz “the show must go on”.

Eager to return to our laughing audiences and unwilling to settle for mediocrity, Jest worked for months writing, reimagining, innovating, rehearsing, testing, and rewriting to create a unique, interactive virtual experience. That work allowed Jest to return to what we love doing, bringing people together and having a good laugh.

Our virtual shows have been met with rave reviews from our clients all over the world. From large companies to small private parties the overwhelming responses to our shows have made us proud to have brought a little fun, laughter and camaraderie into the world during a very difficult time. It is a service we will continue to offer even as we move forward out of the pandemic.

As the clouds part and covid19 cases recede, Jest is pleased to offer not only the most immersive, team building virtual experiences available, but also the funniest, most interactive, in-person murder mystery dinner theater's as well. That's right folks, we're back (never left actually) and better than ever before! Request your free quick quote now and let's plan a murder together!

Sincerely,

You're friends at Jest Murder Mystery Co.

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IN-PERSON INFO
ROOM SETUP
Getting your room organized in the best way possible is so important to the success of your show. Check out our list of things you can do to get the most out of your room setup.

A note about laughter
Did you know it’s contagious? Yes, just like the dreaded cold bug, laughter can be transmitted among people who have little more in common than proximity. So if you want a laughing audience at your event, we suggest you keep your tables as close together as possible while still leaving room for servers to take care of your guests. Even if your room is massive and your audience is small…the closer the better. Trust us!

Leave just enough room for a dead body.
At, Jest, we pride ourselves on involving the audience in every aspect of the show…including the death scene. When setting your tables up close together, remember to leave just enough room in the middle for a dead body (we suggest about 10ft x 10ft “max”). It’s important to stick to these dimensions because if the space is larger than we suggest, you may be spreading your audience out too much.

Lights, lights and more lights.
Most banquet facilities will try to turn the lights down to set the right mood for an event. We don’t need any romance at our shows, we want fun! Please turn all the lights all the way up! With low lights, the audience will be timid when it comes to lol-ing. Trust us, the brighter the light…the better.

Table service between acts please.
In order to make sure that your show is the absolute best that it can be, our entertainers will not perform while servers are working in the room or while your guests are eating. And the reason we don’t do that is very simple. Attention. We want your show to be great and for that to happen, our entertainers must have the audience’s attention. So, we ask that everyone finish chewing and servers take a break while the entertainers are performing. We want to give you the best show possible and this is one simple way to make that happen.

Let them eat cake…or rolls.
If you are planning to wait to serve the meal, make sure that the audience has something to nibble on in the meantime. This could be a plated salad, bowls of chips or anything that will keep them in the mood to laugh before the dinner bell rings.

Sounds like fun.
We recommend you think about getting a sound system when your audience reaches at least 60 strong. Your show won’t be very much fun if the audience can’t hear it! It’s also a good idea to avoid rooms with vaulted ceilings and concrete floors.

Competing noise.
Sometimes banquet space adjacent to yours might be rented by a loud group like a wedding reception with a live band or a group of rowdy bikers practicing their cymbal playing. These kinds of groups can hinder the quality of your show by distracting your audience. So, we recommend that you speak to your venue and make sure that a noisy group is not going to disrupt your fun.

Changing space.
Bet you didn’t know this but our entertainers are chameleons. They will change personas several times throughout a show and will need a private space to do so. Great places for entertainers to change are…storage closets, boiler rooms, the boss’ office, unrented banquet rooms, storm drains, etc. Our entertainers are pretty easy going and can change in just about any private space. But, I must let you know that this cannot be a public bathroom. You wouldn’t want an audience member to walk in on a half-dressed actor…this is not that kind of show!

Only superman can see through walls.
Visual obstructions such as supporting pillars, middle of the room fireplaces or walls will make it difficult for your audience to enjoy the show. Therefore, it’s important to keep this in mind when you are choosing a location for your spectacular event. Be sure that everyone will be able to sit and enjoy the show from their table without needing to lean around a pillar!

Setting the mood with music.
If you would like to play music during the meal breaks or before the show, have at it! Music can be a great tool to get people in the mood for a great show. Just make sure it gets turned off during the acts of the show so it doesn’t distract your audience from the main event!

Sharing public spaces.
Sharing is hard, that’s why it’s important to have a “private” space set aside for your show. Not only will the public be a disruption that could affect the quality of your event but you wouldn’t want any uninvited guests to arrive and enjoy your show duty free!

Correct room setup is essential to having a quality show. Be sure to follow these suggestions so your show can come in and go out with a bang!

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VIRTUAL INFO
How does a Virtual Jest Murder Mystery Company Show work?
Book your show
Request a free quote and provide just a little information. We’ll send you a quick quote and you’ll be happily surprised to discover how affordable your virtual, professional murder mystery show will be. Then you will submit your contract and deposit online through our safe and secure channels. After that, we’ll get to work casting your professional actors and virtual stage manager. Once they are all booked, we will send you confirmation and your show will be officially happening!

Pre-Virtual Show
Once your show is confirmed, we will email you a registration link you can copy/paste and email on to your guests so they can register in advance for the online event. All of your attendees will need to register in advance to participate in the event.

You’ll also receive a link to our virtual show tips and tricks webpage. This page has helpful information to help your guests make the most of their experience. It also has suggestions for costumes, themed snacks and drinks your guests can prepare and enjoy during the show.

Once registered, they will get a confirmation email with a unique-to-them link they can click to join the meeting when the time comes. Guests should not share their unique link they received after registering. If they do, it will negatively impact your show. All guests will need to download and be familiar with the most current version of Zoom in order to participate. Tell your guests to use a laptop or computer with a camera and microphone (other devices limit their ability to interact during the event).

Day of the Virtual Show
Your guests will click their unique-to-them link they received after registering to join the event. They will immediately be transported into a themed virtual cocktail party which will last about 15 to 20 minutes. They’ll be encouraged to chat with their fellow participants and will receive their character information for the show via the chat box. Your guests will also get instructions for how to adjust their settings for the best show possible at this time. The show itself with start soon after with a hearty greeting from one of our professional actors and off we go! Your guests are going to have a blast trying to figure out whodunnit. And the murderer will be one of your guests…who knows…maybe it’s you!

What does the virtual show include?
Our shows include two professional, comedic actors and one highly skilled, virtual stage manager. The show will run about 90 minutes including a short cocktail party for your audience to arrive and receive their parts, act one, a short break and act two. All guests who want to participate will receive a part to play. Most guests will interact with each other and the actors via chat with about 10 or so guests having more involved, on-screen roles. Your guests will witness a comical murder, several of them will become suspects and one will be the murder. All murderers will immediately be arrested and carted off to jail…just kidding, we usually give them a big pat-on-the-back. After the show, we will post screenshots that we grabbed during your event and will share them on Facebook for your guests to share and comment on. If you don’t want us to share photos of your group having a great time, just let us know ahead of time.

How many actors do we get?
Our formula includes two rigorously auditioned and better trained entertainers and a virtual stage manager with every show. By keeping the number of entertainers to a minimum, we find that there are many more opportunities for the audience to get involved. This makes our shows more engaging and therefore, much funnier.

What will my guests need to participate in the virtual show?
Your guests will need to download and be able to operate the latest free version of Zoom. They will need either a laptop or desktop computer with a microphone and camera. Most laptops come with a microphone and camera pre-installed. Encourage your guests to use computers, NOT phones or tablets. Using these other devices will result in a less fun, limited experience. They will also need a good internet connection and will need to turn off any interfering devices that might make their signal weak (like that gamer in the other room, their smart tv, etc).

Are your shows right for my group?
Our shows are written for mature audiences and do contain some adult humor and references. There is no cursing or lewd content, just some light-hearted, suggestive humor. In general, we do not recommend our shows for young audiences and place the content at a pg13 rating.

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