Our Mission

The Theatre Lab's goal is to provide quality entertainment and an enjoyable atmosphere for our guests, so that they may become invigorated and enthusiastic about solving a mystery.

How to Describe the Theatre Lab

Over the top acting meets a "B" movie. I always tell my actors that anything and most everything they learned in acting class doesn't apply here. Our high energy evening of comedy, improv and audience participation gives the audience more than just a night out; it gives them an experience. Remember this isn't Broadway!

Who We Are

The Theatre Lab is a Columbus, OH based company which provides interactive entertainment to business groups as well as the general public. The Theatre Lab's first production brought Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theatre to audiences in Columbus on May 13, 1997 with The Will to Kill. We perform in Columbus, Dayton, Akron, Newark, and Toledo, Ohio and St. Louis, Missouri.

We host a three-act comedy-mystery theatre production between each course of a three-course meal for our guests. Our goal is to create and environment in which our guests feel comfortable interacting, improvising, and becoming very creative in solving a "who-Dunnit". During the play, each guest becomes a private eye. They can become as involved as they wish in solving the murder, including interrogating each actor in the show.

They have the opportunity to gather clues from about the room before and during the show to assist in their investigation of the crime. To reward our guests, we give out prizes for those who were exceptionally creative in solving the crime, as well as those who just didn't have a clue.

How We Can Help

The Theatre Lab is a very flexible organization that provides interactive entertainment that can help a variety of organizations in a number of ways.

Restaurants

• Perform weekly in a restaurant to increase sales on a historically slow day of the week.
• Allows restaurants to offer our services to private parties seeking entertainment.

Hotels/Bed & Breakfasts

• Provide weekend packages for guests seeking Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theatre events.
• Package our services into a portfolio of services offered to private functions being held at any establishment.
• Provide groups using any banquet facilities for business purposes an alternative activity to help create bonding and interaction for their employees.

Corporations

• Alternative function during any business meeting.
• Help generate a more open, creative, and social environment for daily or weekly business functions.
• Great for any company's holiday or annual work parties.

Who Have We Helped

We have helped such organizations and companies as Ford Motor Company, The Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe, The Lancaster Country Club, G.P. Agostino's, AT&T, State Auto, Mead Corporation, Cherry Valley Lodge, and many others.

Theatre Lab Audience Size

The Theatre Lab has produced functions for groups as small as 20 and as large as 500. Wireless microphones and staging are required once the audience grows larger than 120 patrons.

Where an Interactive Performance can Take Place

We can perform anywhere from a hotel to a restaurant or banquet room, mansions to state parks. The Theatre Lab has even created shows for on board dinner cruises. The only main requirement is a single space that can accommodate the group and the actors.

Holiday and/or Theme Events

The Theatre Lab can provide productions geared towards holiday parties and theme events. In order for The Theatre Lab to provide such a service, we must be provided with advance notice of the event. Otherwise, the production offered will be the same as the one being currently offered at our weekly venue. We can also incorporate your company into a performance, but again, advance notice is needed in order to make such an addition to a script.

Must There Always Be a Murder?

No and yes. As a professional theatre company, The Theatre Lab has produced a wide variety of events, both with and without a murder mystery theme. We have provided such services as interactive comedy skits, musical entertainment, and work emceeing events.

For a Comedy-Mystery event to keep an audience involved and entertained over a long period of time during a dinner or team-building event, the crime must be one that demands action. And nothing does justice or is more dramatic than a murder. Rest assured, we never use blood or gore in our productions and everything is done stylishly and in good taste. We do, however, rate our shows PG-13 for adult humor, adult situations, and language. We make a conscious effort to not make the mystery too hard or too easy. We generally have between 10-15% of the audience get the correct answer and motive.

Private Parties

The Theatre Lab performs private parties at a rate of $15 per person with a minimum of 50 persons. The performance location must be within 25 miles of Columbus. When a performance exceeds the mileage requirements, the price is $18 per person. This price does not include food, beverages, service, etc. Private party prices for performances at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe are $25 per person. This includes the show, non-alcoholic beverage, salad, and dinner. **There are extra charges for additional services. (For example: musical entertainment, wireless microphones, amps, etc.)

Going Beyond the Call of Performance

If a patron requests the actors to do other tasks besides acting in our show (i.e. waiting tables, helping with set-up/clean-up, singing, playing the part on our down time) we ask that the patron tip the actor or actors accordingly or provide the company with a donation. The final decision as to how much and what we can do, will be decided on by the owner.