Creating Cold Blooded Killers In Our Murder Mystery

Is there anything more selfish than murder? Creating characters for our murder mystery

party games and dinner theater shows in LA always provides me new insights on the human condition. These discoveries aren't new, of course, to professionals in the field of psychology or criminal investigation. For the murder mystery writer, though, getting to the primal root of motivations for devious acts is fun and educational.

I started as an actor years ago. In scene study classes we were taught to have an intention for every scene and to play that intention using whatever words the author provided our characters to speak. Actors are instructed to play the sub-text. We were told to vary our approach in going after our intention in the scene. First, we play nice, then we try seduction, and then we fight and then we negotiate and then we either get what we want or we don't and the scene ends. This method creates a rich, multi-dimensional performance that has the unmistakable ring of truth to it.

The idea of subtext was so illuminating to me. It is, of course, intuitively obvious to us all. Most people aren't transparent. Most people wear masks all the time, posturing and maintaining their composure, out of fear. Fear is perhaps the biggest motivator but I'll save that subject for another article. Before I was a trained actor, I believed that acting was all about playing a role and putting on affectations. Now I know that good acting is all about tearing off the masks that people wear and reveal the humanity inside. The more we reveal the more the audience can relate to the universality of the character.

As a writer, the idea of subtext helps me tremendously because it allows our characters to speak and read between the lines. The characters Nora and I create in our murder mystery stories and plays are interesting because they are incongruent and that makes them real. Most people have at least some inconsistency between what they feel and what they say or in what they want and what they think they are supposed to want and in how they go about getting what they want.

The cold blooded killers in our murder mystery party events may be more in touch with their motivations than regular people, even as they are dead spiritually. They move about in a calculating manner and eliminate obstacles without remorse or compassion. This makes them terrifying and intriguing at the same time. They are fun roles to play for the murder mystery actors in our company and they are the perfect foils for our trusty murder mystery detective.

Creating Cold Blooded Killers In Our Murder Mystery

By: Eric Howell Sharp

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