The Business Journal (San Jose & Silicon Valley)

Companies build teams by seeking clues, uncovering murderers at dinner events

By Lynn MacDonald

At an international sales meeting sponsored by Integrated Device Technology Inc. (IDT) of Santa Clara, a few salespeople noticed several guests behaving rather strangely at the cocktail hour.

Nothing wild and crazy, but a couple of women were overdressed and excessively friendly, and no one knew who they were. Several dutiful employees reported to Lisa Ware, manager of sales administration for IDT, that "there are some very strange women here."

Not long after, shots rang out and the evening's entertainment began.

When Claris Corp. of San Bruno held its regional sales meeting, Account Manager Drew McMannus was astounded to find himself accused of murder, although eventually his fellow employees cleared his name by finding the real perpetrator.

The rather unusual goings-on at both the IDT and Claris events all were part of the evening's fun and team-building provided as Murder on the Menu, a professional theater troupe from Oakland, staged "User Centric Murder."

Participatory mystery theater has been growing in popularity for a number of years, with mystery aficionados solving crimes at nightclubs and bed-and-breakfasts and on special party yachts. In addition, numerous charities use murder-mystery events for fund raising.

Murder on the Menu, led by writer/producer Janet Rudolph, has added a new twist, producing murder-mystery events for corporate meetings.

During these creations, guests both compete and collaborate to solve a crime, interacting with actors and other employees. Corporate clients such as IDT, Claris, Hewlett-Packard Co., Sun Microsystems Inc., Apple Computer Inc. and New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) have used mystery parties to celebrate successes, entertain clients, build teams and develop problem-solving skills.

When Ms. Ware was planning IDT's international sales meeting, she wanted the evening to be both entertaining and a whole new experience for employees. After looking at a number of mystery-theater companies, she settled on Murder on the Menu because Ms. Rudolph's actors play specifically for the client. IDT's script included references to IDT personnel and policies as well as the semiconductor industry in general.

Although the international crowd may have missed some of the in-jokes, it seemed to thoroughly enjoy the evening.

"We had people lined up at the microphones to participate," Ms. Ware said. "These are salespeople and they're not shy. It was perfect for them."

Apple Computer's Engineering Support Group used a mystery party to develop team problem-solving skills. Some 25 associates were divided into small groups that competed to solve a crime.

The evening was so successful, said Vicki Caputa, Apple's area coordinator, that the company plans to stage another mystery party when the original group merges with another.

"Everybody participated and the event really pulled the team together," she said. "We think another mystery evening will help these two groups learn to work together."

To celebrate the successful completion of a project, Hewlett-Packard put on a murder mystery for the project group. Members primarily were engineers -- a profession not known for its flamboyance.

"I was amazed," said Tom Alexander of Hewlett-Packard. "They really got into it. It was the best group function we've had."

Frequently, corporate guests are not informed of the evening's program before their arrival.

The first clue that something unusual is afoot may be noticing an unusual number of uninvited guests who are annoyingly talkative. Eventually, as each guest is provided with a personal clue or task for the evening, awareness dawns that this will be no ordinary meeting.

Personal clues may instruct a guest to ask an actor a specific question or to drop a piece of information that no one else knows. Whether it's a large group of 300 or a more intimate group of 25, everyone has an opportunity to participate.

Actors alternate between formal staged scenes for the entire group and more personal conversations with individuals and small groups who question the cast in an attempt to solve the murder.

"People love mysteries and participatory theater brings out the ham in everyone," Ms. Rudolph said.

Murder on the Menu's theater notes remind guests not to molest the actors. "Sometimes the audience forgets they're not really villains," Ms. Rudolph said.

Getting the audience to participate is not a problem, said Lois Lane at San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank. The bank hosted a murder-mystery dinner for the final night of a four-day client conference in Napa Valley.

"We wanted to build synergy within the group, to have the clients get to know each other and to exchange information with each other. They loved it," Ms. Lane said.

Ms. Rudolph is founder and creative force behind Murder on the Menu, which, according to her business card (a red plastic dagger), produces parties of "murder, mystery and mayhem." Since 1985, she has planned and executed more than 600 fictional murders in the Bay Area.

She works with about 20 bare-bones plots, but each production is customized. Ms. Rudolph researches the industry, the company and even individuals within the company.

"We never murder anyone at the company, though," she said. "Even when they ask us to.

"For one thing, the victim has to be someone the participants like, someone for whom the participants want justice. That might not be the case with a real person."

Ms. Rudolph's plays reflect her own preference for the "cozy" mystery -- that is, one lacking blood, guts and graphic sex. The emphasis is on the puzzle and its solution. She also insists on a "fair play" mystery, where the attentive participant can solve the crime.

"People love the puzzle aspect of a mystery, but they want everything tied up at the end. They want justice to be done," Ms. Rudolph said.

American Express Travel Management Services staged a murder mystery at a client appreciation dinner.

"It resulted in a fun evening, teamwork and camaraderie among us and our clients," said Event Coordinator Christine Santos. "It's a wonderful entertainment concept every company should consider."

Whether building a team, developing problem-solving skills or entertaining is the goal, numerous South Bay companies have put Murder on the Menu on their meeting agendas for January. Apple will be back for a second go-round, as will both NUMMI and Intel Corp.

Ms. Rudolph's troupe will perform at a dinner mystery evening benefiting the Child Advocates of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties on March 18 at the Palo Alto Hills Country Club.

Lynn MacDonald is a free-lance writer based in Berkeley.

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