This Party.  You can catch actual footage of it in action on Bravo TV’s “There Goes the Motherhood” (Episodes 4 & 5).  It was an epic evening that marked my first creative collaboration with House of Kaya. We have since gone on the create some of my favorite evenings at the Venice Supper Club.  But this was the first.
The inspiration was Eyes Wide Shut, the erotic thriller by Stanley Kubrick.  I LOVE A THEME PARTY!!!! And this is a great theme because everyone loves a masquerade party.  Plus, it’s a provocative theme so people arrive in a daring mood.  It guarantees mischief and fun!

The setting itself had to be mysterious, decadent, theatrical, and private.  This landmark Lloyd Wright house, called the “Sowden House,”  was the perfect place.  The Mayan temple-inspired structure actually has quite a creepy history, I later found out.

Layering theatrical elements like live music, performance art, and rituals are something I love to do at my parties.  All my Venice Supper Club events have some live aspect to them.  I asked House of Kaya to bring their weird and wonderful troupe of performers and we set the house on fire with golden painted nymph deer, fire dancers, and an Absinthe Fairy who pushed a cart around offering libations.
Creating living art like this requires a complimentary or totally contrasting soundtrack.  So we called on the genius of Toledo, one of LA’s most enduring Noir singers.  Alongside KCRW’s DJ Jeremy Sole, the music was seductive, strange, and captivating.  It was a magical combination.
Filming a reality show during such a party isn’t really what my friends are into so I had to come up with a way to offer some anonymity to those who did NOT want to be on camera as well as create great visuals for the cameras.  Masks do both.  It was amazing to see everyone dressed up and bringing the entire scene to life.  And my heart was so full with the love they brought.
My own outfit was another story!  You can’t ask your friends to put on masks and skimpy outfits and then not do the same!  They honored me by showing up dressed to have an epic evening.  The hostess always needs to exemplify the theme…
Celebrating your 40th Birthday under the glare TV lights and cameras is a very weird experience, to say the least.  And when you’ve got DRAMAAAAAAA going down between castmates it’s a powder keg waiting to explode.  And that it did!
What a crazy fun evening. One I will never forget… xxx, Leah