I have sketched Brain Feldnan’s, The Boxer twice in Orlando Florida. The first time was on a sidewalk outside the Orlando Weekly Best of Awards Ceremony. At that performance I was asked to move along by police. I persisted and still got the sketch. I sketched The Boxer 15 years later at the Plaza Theater where once again it was part of the Orlando Weekly Best of festivities.
Brian then brought The Boxer to Saint Petersburg Florida where it would be part of the Creative Loafing Newspaper’s Best of the Bay 2026 Party. Brian offered me a rare opportunity to sketch his performance piece from backstage. The premise of The Boxer is that Brian is inside a tiny street newspaper distribution box and he hands out copies of the newspaper. It is a rare case of adding a human touch to keeping newsprint alive.
Since Saint Petersburg is such a long drive, Brian offered me a hotel room as well. I decided to ask his former wife, Hannah Miller to join me on the trip to Saint Petersburg. In 2010, Brian had a performance where he would marry anybody. He spun a bottle in the Orlando City Hall to pick his bride. The point was that a heterosexual could marry a stranger while a gay couple who had been in love for years were not allowed to marry. The spin of the bottle pointed at Hannah, and they were married soon after in a strange informal ceremony where one person was wearing a wrestling mask. Hannah was a consummate spokesperson to explain to the media why she had married a longtime friend but romantic stranger. Brian was so happy to see Hannah in the Saint Petersburg Coliseum () and her gave her a warm hug before he got in the box.
Brian’s staging area was filled with piles of Creative Loafing newspapers. There were about two skids of papers that he would be distributing. The larger skid I left out of my sketch since including it would have made Brian way too small in my sketch. Production manager Lee Soule rifled through papers on Brian’s behalf.
Brain lay prone on the floor with his face in the newspaper box window. He extended his hand out so people could see that he had newspapers to give away. I thought Brain had his hips on a foam pad, but Hannah informed me that he just had a cardboard box under his butt. He would have to back out occasionally to grab more papers. He let out a groan multiple times making it clear his positioning wasn’t comfortable. Twinkling lights viewable above the black curtains hinted at a magical event happening just beyond the staging area. Red lights were shining on the red box and light streamed through a narrow gap in the curtain to illuminate a short pile of newspapers.
People were so gracious and grateful each time they got a paper from Brian. I am certain there were plenty of selfies taken although I couldn’t see them being taken from where I sat. One lady said Brian had the best seat in the house as she took her paper. When my sketch was complete, I went out front and picked up a paper for myself from Brian. I leafed through it briefly, looking for the Saint Petersburg events calendar, and tried to give it back, but Brian refused to take it. I walked around to various food vendors with Hannah with the paper under my arm. There were some delicious vegetarian options. I had trouble handling all the tiny paper plates and utensils that came with the food. I “misplaced” the paper when Hannah and I ate at one of the standing tables.