MLHS robotics stage dinner theater fundraiser

Who vandalized the Simpson School of the Sciences' Power Bot 200 and prevented it from entering the competition?

That was the question audience members were trying to answer during the Nov. 19 Medical Lake High School Circuit Breakers Robotics team's mystery dinner theater fundraiser at the high school.

The robotics club was funded through a three-year Department of Defense grant and sponsorships, which helped the team pay to enter (FIRST) For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology competitions. The DOD grant ended last year.

"This year we found out we needed to raise a lot more money," Gabriel Mangione, one of the Circuit Breakers, said. Mangione also portrayed one of the suspects during the dinner.

"We brainstormed a lot of ideas and this dinner is probably the biggest fundraiser we're going to do this year," he added.

Nick Isherwood, another team member who played one of the suspects, said the idea for the mystery dinner actually came from other robotics clubs Medical Lake had reached out to.

"We learned that other clubs had done similar things (fundraisers)," Isherwood said. "One of the teams gave us a whole script for this, which helped us a lot."

The mystery's plot focused on the Simpson School's Power Bot 200, which was vandalized before its scheduled appearance in a FIRST competition. The six suspects, which included the head administrator of the school, the robot's designer, one of the machine's drivers and three teachers, were all played by robotics team members. Like most mysteries, each culprit had a motive and access to the scene of the crime.

During the evening, audience members received clues and information about the suspects to help them solve the case. As dinner was being served, the suspects would dine and chat with guests, providing them information about the other characters.

After the third act, guests submitted their guesses as to who they thought was the culprit. Oliver Da Place, a reporter for the local paper, revealed the culprit, the teacher Joe D. Ziner, played by Isherwood.

Nathan McShane and Camille Flores, two Medical Lake High School students, were among the many guests. They both enjoyed the dinner, catered by Pizza Factory, as well as the interactivity between the characters and the audience.

"It was also fun to see my friends do ridiculous things," McShane said, referencing the team's portrayals of the suspects.

While the dinner theatre was a success, Isherwood said the team already has several sponsors and plans to reach out to the Medical Lake Booster Club and Re*Imagine Medical Lake.

"We will have the money to register for competitions this year," Isherwood said. "We're also going to throw in more fundraising opportunities."

"We're probably going to do another dinner later in the year or next year," Mangione added.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.