Who’s Coming to Dinner?

Another creative exercise was to invite 20 people, living or dead, to dinner. I gave myself the #20 spot, as even numbers ensure that no one is left without a supper partner. Circulating with cocktails ahead of the meal doesn’t require a specific pairing:

1. Terri (duh)

2. Nicole (poet)

3. Oscar Wilde (poet/playwright)

4. Will Shakespeare (poet/playwright)

5. Simon LeBon (poet/singer)

6. Agatha Christie (writer)

7. Victor Borge (musician/comedian)

8. Danny Kaye (actor/comedian/performer)

9. Bernie Taupin (poet)

10. Diana Gabaldon (writer)

11. Samuel Pepys (diarist)

12. Auguste Rodin (artist/sculptor)

13. Giancarlo Bernini (artist/sculptor)

14. John Singer Sargent (artist/painter)

15. David Brenner (comedian)

16. Jim Henson (puppeteer)

17. Herb Ritts (photographer)

18. Franco Zeffirelli (director)

19. The Mystery Guest (?)

20. Me

Then I had to create the party list, menu and theme of the evening.

Theme: “Art and Artists—Writers, Poets Artists, Actors, Performers and the Art of Creativity”

Discuss: inspiration

Demonstrate: process

Discuss: craft

Perform: sing, dance, tell a story, recite a poem, tell a joke, reveal a master’s secret.

I must say here that I loathe parties—particularly large ones, which means those attended by a greater number than four (and I am counted among the 4). As far as the menu plan, you’ve got to be kidding. What to feed 20 varied people from the span of centuries? Make it a potluck; everyone bring something to share. I’ll make the cake: white, with vanilla butter cream and a custard filling.

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Eagle eyes in the audience will recall that this piece briefly appeared last Wednesday, but when it went live, the formatting was so wildly out of whack that  I pulled it to fix the problem.

Have I mentioned how I hate MS Word?