An Interview with the DINNER FOR ONE Creators
“Playfulness is the oxygen for the world created in DINNER FOR ONE. Celebrating the fact that joy and loss are linked together - we celebrate the memory of what once was while we create new memories that fuel the future.”
We sat down with Christina Baldwin, Sun Mee Chomet, Jim Lichtscheidl, and Emilia Mettenbrink, the artistic team behind DINNER FOR ONE, to take you behind-the-scenes on how this piece was corroboratively devised as a group throughout workshops and rehearsals.
What about the sketch drew you to reconceptualize DINNER FOR ONE?
Baldwin: Grief. Truly, this hilarious sketch is only funny because it deals with the real issues of loss, love and how we care for one another. I was touring American Swedish Institute and there
was a room that had this sketch with Freddie Frinton on loop on an old tv in the corner. It resonated with me – I couldn’t get it out of my head so I went on a deep dive to learn more.
Silly and beautiful is my favorite combination, and this has it in spades. To be able to witness people caring for each other, sometimes clumsily, restores my faith in the world. We are bad at grieving together. We need to see examples of imperfection and be allowed to laugh at ourselves. Maybe if we weren’t so scared of making a mistake, we could really do great things.
How was this reimagining of DINNER FOR ONE developed by the creative team? How was the script written & developed?
Baldwin: I took the concept and the original sketch to Sun Mee, Jim and Emilia and we met for a week-long workshop in June to hash out some ideas and see how to preserve the spirit of the piece while diving in deeper to the elements of loss and love. In the rehearsal room, we divided by courses and I knew that the music could help find patterns as well as break them. We shaped it together and played.
Chomet: There was a lot of laughter and improvisation in the developmental workshop. Then, we came back to rehearsal in November. We had a general framework, but still had the luxury to do a lot more improv and discover what existed beyond the original 12-minute sketch. We explored how the piece speaks to us today bringing our own lived experiences to the piece and fleshing out the humanity of the characters for 2023.
Mettenbrink: That week of work-shopping in June was really informative for me as a music designer. I did a whole lot of listening to the creative process of the actors and then each day had a growing list of musical interjections that I thought matched where they were taking the creation of the script and action of the one act.
Lichtscheidl: The original sketch has wonderful kernels of who all of these characters are, so some time was spent riffing off of one phrase or gesture from one of the guests. I believe it's Mr. Winterbottom who mentions a cat in one of his later toasts to Miss Sophie and that inspired an entirely new avenue to explore. Also knowing that many people are familiar with the sketch helped us create what we call 'easter eggs' throughout the production; little tributes to the original sketch hidden in the action.
How did you approach extending this iconic 12-minute sketch? Why did you decide to add the element of music?
Baldwin: Classical music plus slapstick comedy is the perfect pairing to mirror the highs and lows of real life. Music can set the literal tone of a piece and can highlight the whiff of emotions that are present.
Those seeming polar opposites are present in life – we laugh and we cry, we are graceful and clumsy. Sometimes it’s right on top of one another.
What was your approach for selecting and arranging music for this piece?
Mettenbrink: I focused my efforts on creating an emotional atmosphere to add to the script as it was being developed. I always want for music to direct the listener/audience emotionally in the space and provide them with a reference that draws them into the minds of the characters and their actions on stage.
DINNER FOR ONE does not explicitly take place during the Holidays. What about this story felt apropos for this time of year?
Chomet: People celebrate many different holidays, depending on their cultural and religious backgrounds. Tradition and ritual bring about nostalgia, food, joy, laughter, shared memories, history, and loss. The holidays and New Year's, whatever your belief system is, spark reflection on where we've been and where we want to go. It is human nature to struggle to search for meaning, choose joy, and accept mortality. The greatest comfort is that though the struggle may feel solitary, it is a shared experience with all living beings.
Lichtscheidl: The themes of caring, love and selflessness resonates in many holiday theater offerings, and this piece allows those same themes to thrive between two identifiable characters, making it a perfect fit for this time of year.
Baldwin: I love celebrating the basic human emotions that bind us all together. That is sacred. We are a community that is coming out of a time of great loss, great loneliness, great divisiveness – if we can share a moment to remember, that is a great gift.
