The Murderous Mansion of Mr. Uno
Spooky Season is Coming…
With the help of Drama Council (DraCo for short), a recent installation last year from Basis Peoria drama teacher Mrs. Burritt, things will run a bit differently in the theater this upcoming semester. Instead of the annual 2-act fall play at the beginning half of the school year, DraCo has decided to produce 2 different one-act plays on November 15 (mark that on your calendars, people!). The theme of both plays will be murder mystery-themed to embrace the upcoming spooky season of the fall, and the event is officially called “3…2…ONE ACTion”, a brilliant use of wordplay to excite new students who are willing to audition for the plays.
With a new school year up ahead, extracurriculars are coming their way. Introduction meetings are appearing left, right, and center in every classroom and clubs will be in full swing by the beginning of September. And with the approach of extracurricular clubs comes another fall production for Scorpion Theatre to produce and put into motion.
The plays, both written and directed by Don Zolidis, are called “The Murderous Mansion of Mr. Uno” and “How to Get Away with a Murder Mystery” respectively, both plays narrating a plot similar to the all-time classic board game “Clue”, where a group of visitors enter a grim mansion, discover the first victim being murdered, and attempt to determine which one of them is the killer. In some cases, as is the case with “The Murderous Mansion of Mr. Uno”, during the intermission of the play, the audience can be given ballots to vote for who they think the killer is. This activity brings the brilliancy of the new concept of the one-act plays to a full spin.
About the Play
“The Murderous Mansion of Mr. Uno”, the one-act play written by Don Zolidis, begins with Mr. Uno, the host of a mysterious party, inviting a variety of guests over into his mansion. Unlike the board game “Clue”, where each character is related to a certain color, the characters in this play can only be understood by their distinct personalities. The invitees that come over, one by one, are as follows: General Spragmorton, a retired, warlike military general; Mr. Bilkem, an anxious lawyer; Professor Beasly, an intelligent entomologist who loves to rabble; Madame Isis, an old, sultry, and classy woman; Ms./Miss Daphne, a young, flirtatious woman; and Mrs. Tarragon, the demented wife of a senator who isn’t herself without her bottle of pills. The other side characters are as follows: Mortimer, a British butler; Georg, a cook of vaguely Eastern European origin; Charlotte, an upbeat, French maid; and Mrs. Uno, Mr. Uno’s wife.
In Act 1, Mortimer invites each guest into the house. Each guest comes in and converses with one another at the dining table, not a single person having any clue as to the reason they were invited into Mr. Uno’s mansion. Mr. Uno finally appears at the front doors, introduces himself, motions the guests to the library, and gives them each a letter corresponding to their name. The letters contain personal information about every one of them, information that would ruin their lives if leaked to their close ones. On the flip side, also placed in the letter is a request that they must fulfill in order to not have their secret documents leaked. As the characters read their letters, Mr. Uno locks – or attempts to lock – all the doors and disappears.
After the characters shuffle to and fro inside the mansion, thinking of what to do, the lights flicker, shut off, then turn back on. The cast comes upon a shocking discovery in the dining room: Mr. Uno has been murdered. Written in a note by his body says, “Find my killer”. The sequence of events that happen thereafter follow the guests as they interrogate, blackmail, and fight each other to the death to figure out which of them is the killer. The rageful, violent rampage eventually ends once Mrs. Uno enters the mansion and Beasly finally figures out, once and for all, who really dunnit. And scene.
During the intermission, as mentioned before, the audience will be given ballots so they can vote who they think the killer in the play is. Their votes may or may not affect the second act that follows.
The next act following the intermission is composed of a bunch of alternate endings that could’ve happened after Beasly finally figures out who the killer is. In each ending, the killer eventually reveals themself, some shots are fired, and General Spragmorton is left tied and gagged to his chair from Act 1. No context needed.
Current News
During the week of Monday, August 23, students grades 6-12 have signed up and auditioned for main roles in the play, and by the week of Monday, September 7, their auditions have been closely examined and finalized with the cast coming out the Tuesday after.
During the week of auditions, each student was given the query as to whether or not they would be able to participate in one or both plays. Although each student gave mixed answers, most middle schoolers chose to participate in the play “How to Get Away with a Murder Mystery”, while most high schoolers chose to participate in the other play “The Murderous Mansion of Mr. Uno”, deeming the other play “the high school play”.
Once callbacks came around on Thursday, September 12, the roles for both plays have officially been finalized and the first rehearsal will be Tuesday, September 17.
Speaking Financially
Actors and crew have been charged their respective fee on Blackbaud. These fees will cover the Scorpion Theatre budget and fund the set of the play: makeup, costume design, props, stage management, etc.
Unlike past plays, tickets and seats of both plays won’t be booked ahead of time, but will instead be donated in advance.
And with that, this should sum up everything you should know about the upcoming fall plays this school semester of 2024-25. We hope to see you there, enjoy the show(s)!!
