Fringe: Then, Eve

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The World of Billy Jane from Orlando Florida presented Then, Eve at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. God created Adam and then Eve was left to create herself. In one awkward moment the lights in the theater went black and Eve had to figure out how to procreate with Adam. From the grunts and painful silences, it seemed that the encounter was a failure. Eve never needed to see Adam again.

Eve was eternally curious and went about spending her time naming the species of animals, including thousands of beetles. She learned all she needed to know from her animal companions. She was dressed a bit like an explorer in a loose white garb like Laurence of Arabia with a hip satchel.

Eve’s monologues were centered around how humans can best spend their time on earth. Her curiosity kept her from ever experiencing a dull moment. With so many facets to creation she wanted to see and learn all she could.

She discovered a caterpillar which then spun a cocoon and later emerged as a butterfly. Eve imagined that she too would experience a metamorphosis. Though she could not spin a cocoon, she did morph in how she saw herself in the world. The play is largely about personal growth and learning each and every day to alter a naive a limited world view. The show was often laugh out loud funny while being tender and insightful.

Coming at the Biblical story of creation from my Sunday school upbringing, I assumed Eve was the world’s first woman. It wasn’t until very late in the show that I realized that Eve was Transgender. My affection for the character didn’t change but my mind exploded.

The show was named one of the “Best Shows of the Fringe Festival” by the Orlando Sentinel and received glowing praise from the Orlando Weekly for its fluidity and gut-punch emotional depth.

Fringe: The Suitcase

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Ayni Performing Arts of Orlando Florida presented The Suitcase – La Maleta at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. This solo show starred Peruvian artist Gio Quezada who also wrote the show directed by Jorge Bazalar. The Suitcase was inspired by Quezada’s own journey immigrating to the America from Peru and explored themes of resilience, identity, and the immigrant experience.

With the current administration, immigrants all across America are being terrorized by ICE Agents who violently pull them from their jobs, courtroom and the streets and detain them in concentration camps. Living in constant fear makes the American dream a distant memory for all.

Gio gave a voice to all these people who are struggling to survive today. The character she portrayed was named Lucia, a graceful ballet dancer. The arts in America are also under attack so her idyllic profession makes surviving in America even harder. Before arriving at the festival, The Suitcase production was backed by a United Arts Individual Artist Grant, which makes me particularly happy.

Besides her own story, she related stories of Latin Americans from other countries who had uprooted their lives to come to America. The journeys are often insanely dangerous, but they all hope the American dream might still be alive.  This show was so important to see given the temperature of hatred and intolerance being spread in America today.

The stories told were true hero’s journeys. The souls brave enough to make the dangerous journey are also the souls who are brave enough to build a life here. Yet today there are so many stories of children being separated from parents and other atrocities that make it clear that we are living in inhumane times. The inhumanity helps distract from the presidential criminal actions that define the news every day.

After the performance I walked on stage to look at the suitcase which was open. It was filled with so many family photos from a family struggling to make a life here in America.

On the Statue of Liberty…

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!”

Does this mean anything anymore when ICE agents are detaining people who are immigrants or citizens?

The “golden door” seems now to be a crude detention cage. I feel that The Suitcase was the most timely, important and brave play I saw at this year’s Fringe. Through personal stories it illuminated the dark heart of America today and the loneliness of trying to survive in a capitalist society. Even as a privileged white American, I identify with her story.

Fringe: Bullock and the Bandits IV: Devil in Deadwood

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I have sketched the Bandits before so I knew I could expect an amazing rock concert experience. Presented by Orlando, Florida Kangagirl Productions, Bullock and the Bandits lit the stage on fire with their music while honoring the western souls that passed away. The Renaissance theater hosted the Bandits. There was a disco mirrored horse in the entry hall. The Renaissance Theater has a new video monitor wall and the Bandits made full use of the screen for amazing visuals throughout the show.

David Lee as Sheriff Bullock was the lead singer and host for the band. Tamisha Harris as Stagecoach Mary, performed a stunning dance routine while stripping away layers of her black mourning dress. Her prowess as a singer and dancer lit up the stage. The show has a unique cowboy goth aesthetic that I love.

A visual that appeared often was the Bullock hotel which is in Deadwood South Dakota. This haunted western hotel must be the home for so many lost souls. The souls performing on stage might be ghosts but they certainly caused the audience of the living to go wild.

Tymisha Harris won the Outstanding Individual Performance (Musical) Critics’ Choice award at the Orlando International Fringe Festival for her trifecta of roles across three shows, which included her performance as Stagecoach Mary in Bullock & the Bandits alongside her roles in Josephine and Masquerade of the Red Death.

Fringe: Odyssea’s Family Tree

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Odyssea’s Family Tree produced by Project no.19 Performance Company, and sponsored by Dandelion Fitness, at the Orlando International Fringe Festival followed the journey of dancer Odyssea Siren through a series of pole dances. When the audience entered the theater all the dancers were lying in fetal positions on the stage. I started sketching immediately knowing I didn’t have much time to catch all the poses. Accuracy had to take a backstage seat to gesture. Lines of candles radiated from the center hub of the stage creating a romantic glow and spotlights illuminated quadrants of the stage as needed.

Each dancer then took turns performing on the 12 foot pole. I only tried to capture one dancer, and the challenge came from trying to capture the constant motion of dancers suspended, inverted and twirling around the pole. Between sets, the pole was vigorously wiped down.

Portraits were hung on clothing racks at the back of the stage. I didn’t know they were portraits until late in the show when the lighting allowed them to be seen. I believe the point was that the audience could see a dancer’s portrait after seeing how gracefully she moved and hearing her story.

The show, directed by Max Pinsky, featured contemporary dance and spoken-word pieces that showcased stories of generational trauma and survival. I didn’t really follow the story line; I just marveled at the athleticism of the pole dancers.

When in college, I went to 42nd street to do a series of sketches of strippers and pole dancers. Back then  42nd street was very gritty. This show elevates the pole dances to more of an art form but the uniforms of garter belts, thongs and high heals was very much the same. I would never get tired of sketching this much exposed anatomy in fluid motion. It was a thrilling show to sketch.

Fringe: Dreamwalker

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Cloud Feather Productions from Punta Gorda Florida presented Dreamwalker at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. Center stage was the largest Unity Drum in America. Most of the audience was invited on stage to beat bamboo xylophones and the huge Unity Drum. A small plush unicorn sat on a bar stool at center stage.

On the screen AI generated animations were used to tell a tale about anthropomorphic animals being warriors. I could not hear most of the narration from the animation shown because of the drumming. In general, there was a story about a Clan of the Unicorn. That story was impossible to decipher

I stopped trying to make sense of the proceedings and just went along with the flow of the mushroom fever dream. The show was written and directed by Joseph Breton on guitar, with Manuela Bass and Sarah Giustra offering back up on various instruments. So, was this a musical? Certainly not in the way Schmigadoon is a musical

Though billed for all ages, the show with its sappy AI generated animations seemed geared for grade school children who might not mind the artificially flavored imagery. The cast was warm and inviting but the choice of projected AI animation to tell the clan story missed the mark for a staged production. Heart felt narration as if told around a campfire might have better expressed the message which I think was about community, compassion, and unity though I really am not sure about the show’s intentions. When the cast was singing facing the largely empty audience bleachers, they would have their backs turned to the members of the audience on stage. The interactive aspect of the show was inspired but the staging felt fractured.

Had I chosen to bang away on a xylophone instead of sketching, I might have had a different impression of the show. My feelings about the cult like AI generated animation however were visceral. If such polished turds of animation are what we face in the future to tell stories, then humanity as a whole is in trouble, no matter how hard we try to drown it out by beating a drum.

Fringe: 110% Wizard

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Kieth Brown related that the last time he was at the Orlando International Fringe Festival, his life was changed when a talent scout approached him and Keith was given the opportunity to offer his amazing feats of magic on Norwegian and Virgin cruise ships. Though highly in demand, Keith once again returned to Orlando Fringe.

When he packed up his magic arsenal for a trip on American Airlines to get to his first cruise ship experience, the Airline managed to lose his luggage. The airlines sleight of hand disappearing act did not deter the magician; Keith had to build a show from scratch using everyday items found on the ship. He still came up with a show that managed to amaze.

Keith’s magic is small in scale but huge in its ability to amaze. The magic could be a simple a slight of hand card tricks to mentalist deductions. In one amazing trick he pulled an audience member on stage and managed to somehow have the item being sought appear inside of an unopened can which had to be cut open with tin snips. How was it done? I have no clue; it was pure magic.

I had seen Keith’s show from the 2024 Fringe, so I knew I would be amazed. The show was in the Peach venue which is a huge theater. Keith uses video to allow even people seated in the nosebleed seats to see the magic up close. This magician always delivers.

110% Wizard won Best of the Fest at the 2026 Orlando International Fringe Festival for the 4th year in a row.

Fringe: 50% Non-Verbal

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This Orlando International Fringe solo show by trombonist/dancer/actor C. Neil Parsons from Somerville, Massachusetts, was a variety act that was indeed not about long monologues. His trombone performances were on the abstract side treating the instrument as more of a folly device for making sound. The music was more of form of communication rather than a defined tune and the other form of communication was physical movement.

Neil did utilize speech and vocal play as well by describing the inner jumble of his thoughts at night.

I decided to try and sketch Neil doing his dance number. The stage felt so huge for the solo performer.

In one act, Neil played trombone while 3 volunteers walked around the stage looking at their iPhones. There was something very poetic in that musical number where the volunteers never looked up from their digital devices until the moment they came to rest.

This show was very avaunt guard and experimental. The acts were as varied as the thoughts in the performers’ mind. I was entertained and intrigued. I didn’t need to make sense of all that happened, I enjoyed it for what it was. What was it? You might ask. I am not always certain.

The show was well-received by reviewers and drew sold-out crowds.

Fringe: Big Gay Jesus

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Big Gay Jesus The Third Coming with Arthur Davis III at the Orlando International Fringe Festival promised, a sparkle soaked comedy cabaret packed with psychic readings, fashion healing, dance breaks and divine absurdity. It was to be a hilarious heart opening spectacle of self-salvation.

I didn’t feel any salvation. What I did witness was a very handsome man with long hair doing multiple costume changes. Jesus did display his dexterity with some very high kicks but any choreography wasn’t to be found.

Several audience members were brought on stage and Jesus did attempt some psychic readings by asking them leading questions in which the answer would be obvious but presented as a mysterious discovery. Jesus did have a sense of humor.

Jesus looked much like Fabio only without holding a sweaty damsel in distress. The mantra behind his  religion was that sinning is winning, clapping is mandatory and giving to his Venmo account is divine.

The show was a random mash up of ideas that managed to tie together. When Jesus waxed poetic about his trip to burning man, I was carried away with his story telling but the audience interactions felt forced. Who am I to judge how Jesus might interact with everyday humans. The bottom line is that Jesus is a fine specimen of a man to look upon, amen.

Big Gay Jesus won a coveted Patron’s Pick award, which earned the highly acclaimed, sell-out production an additional performance slot at the festival.

Pulse Remembrance Ceremony

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June 12, 2026 marked 10 years since the brutal murder of 49 people who were dancing and celebrating life at the Pulse Nightclub. The week after that massacre, I put out a Facebook invite asking artists to meet at the Falcon Bar and Gallery in Thornton Park to do 49 portraits in one night. Sixteen artists answered the call. 49 portraits were completed that night. I did four portraits so on average that is about how many each artist could have completed. Some artists lovingly completed one portrait while others did more.

The portraits were used for a play about Pulse created by David Lee called O-Town: Voices from Orlando. The play was a collection of monologues taken from firsthand accounts of survivors, first responders and volunteers. The 49 portraits hung as a backdrop for each performance. When the play’s run was complete, I was given all the portraits which I placed in my archives in the studio. They stayed there for 10 years.

With the 10-year anniversary approaching I decided that the portraits should hang around Lake Eola for the day. The shooting at Pulse began about 2am on June 12, 2016, so I decided that the portraits should go up around Lake Eola starting at 2:02am. Hannah Miller volunteered to help me in mounting the portraits to trees. I am so happy she came to help because it made the task so much more pleasurable. I feared the portraits might be torn down or vandalized considering signs of hope and acceptance are often covered over or violently opposed in today’s America. We proceeded anyway.

A lake staffer walking by let us know that it would be his task to take all the portraits down first thing in the morning. News 13 had set up a little outdoor studio on the south side of the lake. He asked if the portraits were related to what the news station was doing and we didn’t say they were not related we just said they were a memorial. As we got ready to hang the last portrait of Cory James Connell a reporter came over to ask us a few questions. The reporter, who was off camera, was choked up, which I certainly didn’t expect.

In the evening of the 10-year anniversary, I went to the United Methodist Church in downtown Orlando for a Pulse Remembrance Ceremony. I had my large clear portfolio case which I planned to use to collect the 49 portraits afterwards. I had a pair of scissors to cut mounting strings, which I hoped would not be seen as a weapon. There were police officers all around the church. Everyone was given a candle, but I refused since I knew I would be sketching. The program featured a reading of the 49 names, the church bell being rung 49 times, a performance by the Orlando Gay Chorus a poem read by poet laureate Camera Gaither and words for several family of the victims. When Miranda Bebe, the sister of Jason Benjamin Josaphat asked for action to remove high powered assault rifles from the streets there was overwhelming acceptance, but Orlando is a bubble in a deep red state that worships the blood letting in the name of gun rights. Prayers might be offered, but never solutions.

The Orlando Gay Chorus sang, “We all Have a Pulse” which absolutely floored me. I stopped sketching to let the music wash over me. It was a stellar performance and the highlight of my day. After the ceremony, which was heartwarming and overwhelming, I walked back to Lake Eola. When I got to the lake,  a huge rainbow arched from shore to shore. A fine rain was soaking the portraits and I decided they had to be collected.

Collecting the portraits was easier than putting them up. Some had been dismounted by the wind and people had re-tied them back on the trees. One portrait was missing and I chose to think someone collected it to give the family. Honestly if they had all been collected and given to family, I would be happy.

I let all the artists know via a Facebook invite that their work was hanging at Lake Eola for the one day.  I considered waiting until midnight, but I doubt I could have stayed awake that late since I had been awake all of the previous night hanging the portraits. As I was taking them down, a police man approached and asked my name. He must have thought I was stealing the portraits. Police had been informed that they must make sure the portraits remained hanging. I thought the portraits would immediately be taken down and considered vandalism, but Orlando embraced them.

Like the Queen of the Night blooms, these portraits appeared for a brief moment and then were gone.

Fringin & Flagons Presents: The Last Stand Tavern

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Michael Marinaccio and Tracy McCoy acted as the MCs setting each scene in The Last Stand Tavern which was staged at in Ten10 Brewing which was the perfect venue at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. Different guest performers are introduced at each show, adding to the chaos.

The show was built around a Roll Playing game, or TTRPG (Tabletop Role-Playing Game). I am not very familiar with roll playing games, so I had to take the show at it’s face value. I think that some of the audience reactions came from a familiarity with certain RPGs. Every scene was completely improvised often to hilarious effect.

Improv actors seated on the stage had to stand in for characters in an apocalyptic vision of the word where zombies are about to overrun a tavern. Players would roll a large die to determine the energy they might have to overcome each obstacle.

Though starting playful and light, the zombie hoards and dark lord are too much for any character to overcome. Each roll of the die resulted in an almost certain bloodbath. Perhaps that is just the way of the world. None of us will get out of this game alive. Heroes are the first to go.

The bottom line is that was a fun Fringe show with many unexpected turns and plenty of laughs.