She used to give a lot of parties, spend no more than 5 minutes talking to anyone at the Club, make some great drinks, connect people who might not have known each other, and take people apple picking once a year for 10 years.
She went camping one weekend in the wilds of northern VT with a friend of hers. The Red Tent Flamingo Bingo showed how even a little bit of style could enchant the cast of characters who turned up at a pre-Burning Man regional festival.
And of course, nothing can beat a martini and bowling at Halloween:
Finally, she took it to an extreme and was forced to emcee a vaudeville night where she channeled Julie Andrews in a most heightened, low budget, camp way. There is video. I will post at some point.
The real point is:
The Hostess can easily become an over-the-top caricature, but her roots are deeply set in my natural self. I come from a long line of Hostesses (oh golly, is that another term for whore in this country????), who handle social events with huge smiles, open hearts, and a bustling desire to make sure that the guests feel like the center of the 5 minutes of attention that you will grace them with before going off to refresh someone's drink or make sure the canapes don't burn. Even now in describing the reality of this character, I am hamming it up. It's really easy to do. And I need to be careful about treading this line for the group show. I need to draw from the genuine place, and also get clear about my purpose at this event is.
How the Hostess might fit into the Group show:
- Publicity (could head out to other schools and give them invites)
- the Welcoming committee
- the Usher
- the Social Butterfly (asking questions, maybe too personal, of guests. connecting them to each other "have you met...?"
- the Instigator of Party Games (why don't we try making mommy and daddy go on a holiday in this diorama? oo! wouldn't it be fun if you could dress these dolls up FOR REAL?)
- the Usurper of Choice (just what do you think you're doing with that paper meat? Didn't you get a paper flower in your goodie bag? No? Sorry, you'll need to move to this room over here/you need to leave.)
- the Bouncer (OK everybody go home! Don't have to go home but you can't stay here!)
Lots of opportunity. What is appropriate for this 'party'?
How much of my own plot do I bring in?
1 comment:
Haha! Lena this is hilarious.
I think that the hostess has a definite place in the group show. What do you think about the character changing a little part way through the night? Going from "hostess with the mostess", really accommodating and polite, to a pushy/suggestive person and finally a much more controlling, almost obsessive character and in the end the bouncer? I think that it would be good to have a character/person that is mobile and fluid throughout. It will help engage people
Xx
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