Super fun “yes, and…” action from last week’s Dinner Party column and the homework assignment I laid out for y’all. 😉 Glad to know you didn’t mind this particular style of homework and in fact had a lot of fun with it!
Most of my responses came via Twitter, but here are a couple of my favorite emailed responses. Enjoy and remember you can still play along, even if you missed out last week!
Hey Bonbon,
It’s your favorite Words With Friends player, Jordan, and since I love getting your email lovin’ in my inbox, and since you used the word “whom” in your latest, I’ve decided to complete my dinner party guest list assignment.
First, I would invite my grandfather on my mother’s side. He died from lung cancer when Mom was 16, so I never got to meet him, but everyone always said I would have loved him. Apparently he was a boxer at one point (and even had a boxer doggie). I would have loved to see how he would embrace these newfangled technologies like the Internet, microwaves, and self-parking cars!?!
Next, Jerry Seinfeld. Growing up, I would always be the one doing voices and impressions and Seinfeld was a huge inspiration to me. I even won a Jerry Seinfeld Impersonation contest at the Comic Strip in NY. He’s one of the reasons I became a dialect coach. The other?
Arnold Schwarzenegger. His voice is the one I’ve made the most money impersonating, and his story is truly amazing. Watch this four-minute clip from his commencement speech. It’s magical and I turn to it whenever I need inspiration in my life or career. Because of him, I learned to distinguish a German accent from an Austrian one; took four years of German; and fell in love with languages, accents, and dialects. So much so that I decided to teach other actors and stand-up comics myself and make a business out of it.
Malcolm Gladwell needs to be in there too. His Outliers and Tipping Point resonated with me so much that I wrote him about it and he wrote me back. He also gave me a free copy of David and Goliath. Great guy, and we’d have great conversation at our dinner party, prepared by none other than…
Martha Stewart. Branding, positioning, and even doing hard time. Martha Stewart is one of the few who can pull this off, and still thrive in her career. And if you take a closer look at her product lines, they aren’t anything spectacular, they are just a bit better than we would have done ourselves. Like a personal trainer gets us to do, and Arnold can talk about that for hours.
And of course, you Bonnie. The one that made this whole dinner possible. You’ve got a long overdue hug waiting for you the next time you come to NY unless I’m in LA first. I love that you help others achieve their dreams; you and I are living ours.
Love and hugs, xoxo
Jordan
Dream-living is a passion of mine, so I’m thrilled to know that you’re living yours and sharing so much joy along the way. This is a great list and I am honored to be included at this table of badassery. We will have a blast and I’ll learn so much, just being a part of this all!
Really great party, sir. See you in our next Words With Friends battle. 😉
Bonnie!
I loved this activity! I have two fantasy dinner parties. One is people from history that inspire me. The second is for my career, right now.
We have Anne Bancroft and Marilyn Monroe (who were both in their first roles in Don’t Bother to Knock), Billie Holiday (Marilyn attended many of her shows), Tallulah Bankhead (the life of the party), Peg Entwistle (who suffered from a lot of the same mental issues that Marilyn did), and Frida Kahlo (who understood all mental issues). Next would be Gena Rowlands (who played a crazy woman in Woman Under the Influence), her husband who directed her in said film: John Cassavetes (who loved to drink and always keeps the conversation flowing), followed by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (painter who knows pain and knows how to party in France; he could connect with Frida), and finally the male life of the party — who would also be able to keep the conversation flowing with all these crazy, suffering, strong artists — the one and only painter, Francis Bacon.
Second dinner party includes David Lynch — my dream director (I can be his 21st century femme fatale), Johanna Ray — my dream CD (David Lynch’s CD), Ellen Lewis — Marty Scorsese’s CD (so I can play my killer New York Italian American role), Jonathan Leder — my dream photographer (who also makes short artistic films), Caleigh Vancata — my dream agent, and Sharon Lane — my dream manager! David and Johanna already have a great relationship and would be comfortable together. Johanna would probably branch off with Ellen to compare casting notes, while David and Jonathan would end up vibing off some strange idea. Sharon and Caleigh can put their heads together to talk about me and my careers and how they are going to work together! Ha ha!
I want to know your guest list!
Thanks for this! A little morning inspiration.
xxx
Megan Penn
Outstanding, Megan. I especially love that you emailed GORGEOUS photos of all these people; a vision board of your dinner party guests. Just truly inspiring for me to see! So glad this was fun for you and I *love* what I’m learning about YOUR brand by learning whom you’d collect for these parties! So very ninja!
I think I may share my guest list in a post at my personal blog someday. This could be really fun, especially now that I’ve seen how much fun you — and other awesome readers — had with the task. I’ll keep you posted, of course! 🙂
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001907.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.