The Art of Dining

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Art Of Dining, written by Tina Howe in 1979 showcases the bizarre relationships three groups of characters have with food. The play is set in a New Jersey restraunt during November, newly opened by couple Ellen and Cal, who have everything riding on the success of the restraunt's opening night.

Characters include:

Neurotic short story writer: Elizabeth Barrow Colt

Publisher: David Osslow

Couple: Hannah and Paul Galt

Friends: Herrick Simmons, Nessa Vox and Tony Stassio

Restraunt owners: Ellen and Cal

The play explores themes which question the nature of dining; the "art" of dining, as constructed by traditions of etiquet and social pressures and expectations surrounding the idea that one has to entertain during mealtimes, eat and maneuver utensils with precision, clarity, sophistication and grace; all to impress whoever may be (and usually is) watching. Dining, generally speaking, is considered to be an event which brings people; friends and family; together. It is thought of as a social time when events of the day are discussed, though often, it is a time when darker things are surfaced (such as money problems). However, as shown in Tina Howe's play, the more influenceable and weak-minded people have greater potential to be affected by these pressures and expectations. Each of the characters in the play have been affected, and in a variety of ways, living with problems ranging from eating and body image disorders to personality and mental disorders.

However, none of the characters have been more affected than Elizabeth Barrow Colt. Elizabeth, after suffering childhood traumas of her mother's depression and attempts at suicide; beginning, progressing and ending with food and cooking; have left her with neurosis (a mild personality disorder in which obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive acts and feelings of anxiety are displayed) and an irrational fear of food. Already, Elizabeth had been a sensitive child, with issues surrounding mealtimes. Pressures to entertain during dinner evidently took the focus away from the food, fortunately, as her parent's eating habits turned her stomach. Constantly spitting food into her napkin, Elizabth lived in an uncomfortable and stressed environment. However, this proves merely to be the grassroots of Elizabeth's [adult] condition. Assumably, Elizabeth is normal in every other aspect of her life. However, throughout the course of the play, it becomes clear that she does not cope well in social situations, especially those involving food and dining. Her issues are highlighted in a number of speeches, loudly and intensely given, exposing the disturbing and personal events of her past. The audience sees how this has left and individual hungry for normality, balance and comfort; the ability to eat in peace, and in doing so, enjoy food.

Below: Excerpt from the play.

Elizabeth Barrow Colt: ONE AFTERNOON, WHEN I CAME HOME FROM SCHOOL, MOTHER WAS IN TEARS BECAUSE LACY HAD QUIT, WALKED OUT IN A TORRENT OF INSULTS. "NEVER AGAIN!" MOTHER SOBBED. "FROM NOW ON, I'LL DO ALL THE COOKING MYSELF!" IT WAS A BIG MISTAKE; SHE DIDN'T KNOW HOW AND SHE WAS IN THE MIDST OF MENOPAUSE. SHE KEPT BREAKING DISHES AND CUTTING HER FINGERS WITH THE CARVING KNIFE. ONE NIGHT, SHE SLICED OFF THE TIP OF HER THUMB AND GROUND IT UP IN THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL. Mealtime was much the same as it had always been. Father still talked a blue streak, mother still mashed her food into a pink soup and I still spit everything out into my napkin. But, they were paper napkins, now, and since I cleared the table, there was no chance of discovery. I breathed easier. What changed then, was the violence that went into the cooking beforehand. I never saw such bloodletting over meals! If she didn't knick herself while cutting the tomatoes, she'd deliberately slice a finger while waiting for the rice to boil. "Why bother cooking?!" she'd cry, holding her bleeding hands under the faucet. "We'll all be dead soon enough!" It was around this time that mother was starting to get...suicidal. [She starts to laugh] Oh dear, I shouldn't laugh. But, it was just so...comical! You see, mother was very comical. She used to wear hats, great turban-type creations piled high with artificial flowers and paper-mache' fruits. She wore them outside, she wore them in the house. She wore them when she cooked and when she ate...great teetering crowns that bobbed and jingled with every move. Poor mother. I don't know what it was that made her so unhappy...her menopause, her cocktails before dinner, some private anguish. It was during this time she used to threaten to kill herself. After another bloodstained dinner, she'd throw herself face down on our driveway and beg my father to put the car in reverse and drive over her. "Don't be ridiculous, dear!" He'd say, but she meant it, and would lie there sobbing "Please do it!" It was a ritual we went through every night.

Source:

"The Actor's Book Of Contempory Stage Monologues" Edited by Nina Shengold 1987, USA