I just got an e-mail today asking me to consider signing up for the planning committee for my school’s big formal end-of-the-year dance (a college prom, as it were). I generally hate these kind of formal affairs, and probably won’t be attending this one. However, if I were to join the committee I like to think that I’d be able to come up with a better theme than we’ve seen in past years. It always seems to boil down to “paper streamers and rose petals”. Booooo-ring!
I’ll bet you Dopers could do better than that too. So let’s play “Think of a theme for Lamia’s school dance”!
The Rules:
The theme must be named after a song. I don’t know why they do it this way, but they always do, so we’ll play along. No restrictions here, you don’t have to stick to the usual drippy love songs.
Your theme description must include suggestions for decorations. Bonus points if your theme also covers the formal dinner and live entertainment. Most importantly, your theme must be amusing, entertaining, or comically horrific.
My entry: “One Night in Bangkok”. Giant gilded buddhas! Pretty Asian cage dancers! Thai food for dinner instead of the usual beef Wellington! And if the band sucks, we could always sit around and play chess.
Well, for “amusing, entertaining, or comically horrific” you can’t do much better than Warren Zevon. “Roland the Headless Prom King,” perhaps?
Failing that…You could try the classic “Danse Macabre.” I’ve thinking dark violet velvet for the bunting, and maybe you could dig up these guys for the live entertainment. And see if you can rent a replica of the chandelier from the human bone church in Prague.
Ranchoth
How about “Why Don’t You Go Ahead And Leave So You Can Get It On With Your Dates In The Back Seat Of Your Car, Since That’s Where You’d Rather Be Anyway, You Horny Bastards?”
This is based on the song that, um, I guess I’ll have to get started on pretty soon.
I’ve been to two balls with a Moulin Rouge theme the past year or so. Both were great. If you want a specific song to base the ball around, “Lady Marmalade” could be a good one (well, everyone knows “voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?” ;))
The girls dresseed up in fishnets and feather boas. The guys get to wear white tails, cravats and carry canes.
I’ve always wanted to have a party based on these two:
Black Flag - Spray Paint The Walls
Everybody comes in wearing normal prom clothes but also elbow and knee pads. Skateboards are a plus. Cover the walls with huge swathes of paper, hand out cans of neon spray paint to each guest and let them have at it.
The Slickee Boys - This Party Sucks
Just like the song title says, you can make an anti-party theme based on this. Instruct everyone as they come in that they are to only hang out with 2 people that they already know and ignore everyone else, especially those of the opposite sex. Hand out dribble glasses filled with punch and BBQ ribs with loads of sauce for that ruined party clothes effect that everyone has experienced. Make sure most of the lighting effects are broken or only shine in one spot. Music should skip approximately once every 30 seconds. Guaranteed to be remembered as the worst time ever. Seeing as how you won’t be attending anyway it shouldn’t matter. (You’ll have to search for the song with your favorite MP3 downloader, that’s kind of a rare track released on a live album. But it’s definitely worth it.)
