By Jahlil Howard / Special to The Delta

While supporters of Missouri Valley College’s dance and theater programs gathered to enjoy a spaghetti meal, it was clear that one person wouldn’t be making it to dinner: Pepe was dead.

Discovering who had killed the actor was the focus of “Murder a la Carte,” a production hosted as a fundraiser for a dance and theater trip to Scotland being planned for next year.

A cast of seven teachers and one student played in the murder mystery game, reading from a provided script.

“The actors aren’t really acting; nobody is.” said MVC Professor of Dance Janie Morgan. “It’s more of a game being played.”

All eight of the cast members sat at separate tables of four to tell their side, their personal stories and what happened the night Pepe was murdered. Meanwhile, each of the audience members got a chance to do a drawing of who they thought was the suspect.

“One of our students decided to come up with this game and put it into action for a skit,” Morgan said.

She said it’s the first time ever for the department to do this.

All the money raised from the event will go towards a trip to Scotland in August of 2020. Students in the Dance and Theatre Collaboration course will perform in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

At the conclusion of the night, all eight of the performers were given a chance to win prizes for Best Costume and Actor.

The winner for best costume was Women’s Wrestling Coach Carl Murphree.

“I did my best to channel father Guido Sarducci from SNL,” Murphree said. “I was just determined to have fun.”