From our DINNER FOR ONE Creators
We sat down with Christina Baldwin, Sun Mee Chomet, Jim Lichtscheidl, & Emilia Mettenbrink, the artistic team behind DINNER FOR ONE, to take you behind the scenes on how this piece was collaboratively 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?
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 of 2023 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.
How are you approaching this year's DINNER FOR ONE? Are there any fun new things our audiences can expect?
Lichtscheidl: This year we've entered the process holding all the information we gleaned from last year's production; addressing some of the moments we didn't have time to work out, trying out some new comic bits, and highlighting the improvisational moments. We also have more time to explore the musical moments and how they can enhance the storytelling.
Baldwin: It is a luxury anytime you get to revisit a piece – especially one that was created lovingly with fantastic collaborators. To be able to keep building on something we created in the room is a blessing. We get to hold on to all the magic that was in the initial work, refining and clarifying more moments to tell the story.
Chomet: Miss Sophie loves party games! This year, we are making it clearer how the audience will participate in writing down improv suggestions for us to incorporate for each show. Get ready for a fun ride!
DINNER FOR ONE is peppered with so many references and Easter eggs. The whimsical, cat-filled set to the equally colorful improv and music create a hilarious experience. Can you share with audiences some of these nuggets and where they came from? Or why they are your favorite?
Chomet: The humor came from Christina, Jim and I being in the room together and just having time to play. The funny cat references evolved from a book of poetry that Eli Sherlock (set designer) came across that had odd actual cat portraits in it from 1911. Christina's sense of humor is so fluid that anything that is found can be incorporated as quirky and funny.
Baldwin: I love blurring the lines between Miss Sophie’s home (stage) and the Jungle (house and lobby). The same warm and welcoming feeling spills onto the stage and emanates from it. In our initial design meetings, Eli (set designer) understood the desire to bring the elements of the chandeliers, swags of curtains and Miss Sophie’s love of her cat into our shared world.
Lichtscheidl: My favorite is the stuffed tiger on the set; a nod to the tiger skin rug seen (and tripped over) in the original video sketch. The logistics of an actual tiger rug proved too difficult to manage, so I'm very happy we found a suitable facsimile.
Mettenbrink: I selfishly love watching James trip every night - his timing is perfect, the bell ringing and the musicians/my involvement in the tinnitus is a personal favorite moment, and I relish the opportunity to share a full performance of Salut D'Amour with audiences each evening.
Finally, DINNER FOR ONE really captured the hearts of so many Minnesotans and has started to reach beyond our regional theater scene. Did you ever imagine that this collaboration would take off so quickly? What do you see/hope for this show in the future?
Baldwin: I was able to see Greater Boston Stage bring DINNER FOR ONE to their audiences in November and loved it– how exciting to see the joy, madness and heart of the piece in another setting!
I would love for this show to keep going and be an example of how love, grief and joy exist in the same space. How we need all of it in us to keep on keeping on.
Mettenbrink: I am beyond thrilled about the excitement behind this production. I have a deep appreciation for the opportunity to work with some of my favorite artists and friends on something so full of laughter, music, and love. I really hope we can continue to share it with more audiences in the future. Could be a wonderful MN tradition.
Chomet: I should say I'm surprised, but I'm not! I think if people are in a room together genuinely collaborating and having a ball making something new, who wouldn't want to come to that party? I am very much looking forward to seeing Judi Dench play Miss Sophie on the West End and then Broadway for a run that will surpass A Chorus Line.
Lichtscheidl: I'm just so proud to see that the heart we poured into the show as we created it is being received and appreciated. Birthing a piece like this required a vulnerability from all of us, drawing upon our personal experiences of aging, loneliness, and nostalgia.
Interview combined from 2023 and 2024 productions. Lightly edited for clarity and brevity. Photos by Lauren B. Photography.