A Dinner Conversation: Best Show

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Pepe (Rob Ward) acted at the MC for the evening for Play in a Day. The auditorium was packed but I found a good spot on the sidelines to sketch from. Nine plays were presented all with the common theme of “Men”. Playwrights had 12 hours to write their plays and the actors and production team had 12 hours to polish and produce the plays. I followed the play written by Tracey Jane, titled The Dinner Conversation. I knew from sketching the rehearsals all day that this was a warm hearted romantic and very funny production. I was of course rooting for them to pull together and create magic on stage.

Pepe introduced each ply in turn and a bongo player accompanied him at one point. Genevieve Bernard choreographed a beautiful dance piece titled, Our Bodies Our Choice. Four woman dancers and on man performed a dance the told a story of abuse followed by a woman’s empowerment. It was bold and left me thinking. They won as the best ensemble for the evening.

Jac LeDoux and Ken Preuss were on a date at the Family Pizza Corral. The set simply consisted of a long red table on which were a series of trays where custom pizzas could be made. I was rooting for their happiness after starting life afresh after divorce. Tracey Jane made the script super easy for the actors because the characters were simply named after the actors playing the part. There were no new names to memorize. When Bennet Preuss and Melanie Leon entered things heated up. Melanie was hilarious with her sexual innuendos and double meanings behind everything she said. She just loved poking fun at her mom and embarrassing her. Melanie’s hilarious performance won her an award as Best Actress. 

While Mel was poking fun, her brother Ben was sullen and resentful.  His mom got divorced while he was away at college and now that he was back she was starting a new relationship with another man.  Jac was loving and caring at every turn and wove an analogy between personal pizzas and individual tastes. However when Ken considered putting pineapple on his pizza, the family had to unite against his pure insanity. He was a food critic and should have known better. Food and family drama were perfectly combined. For this performance I just sat as an audience member to soak it in without the struggle of sketching to distract me. I was delighted and laughed out loud.  I knew where the rough spots in the production might be, but everything flowed smoothly. 

This show directed by Kaitlyn Harrington, and with Destiny Sam as the stage manager won the top honor as the Best Show of the night. I felt so proud, because I knew the blood sweat and tears over 24 hours that went into the magic that happened that night. “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” -Mohamed Ali

NO Weekend Top 6 Picks for March 14 and 15, 2020

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Due to Covid-19 their are NO Top 6 Picks for this Weekend! Orlando is on lock down. STAY HOME. Say Safe.

The World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic. The number of cases of the virus outside China had increased 13 fold. The number of affected countries has tripled. There are no more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries. 429,100 people have died. Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals. The number of cases, deaths and countries affected will continue to climb. WHO has been following the outbreak and they are alarmed by the spread and severity of the disease and they are alarmed by the inaction by governments.  This is the first pandemic caused by a corona virus. 



County Mayor Jerry Demings announced that an Orange County Florida resident died while traveling abroad in California. As of this morning, Demings has declared a local emergency for Orange County. The emergency operations center has been activated and is fully staffed. He compared this outbreak to the three hurricanes that ravaged Central Florida in 2004.   

  • Gatherings of 200 people or more have been canceled. The goal is to stop the spread of the Covid-19 Virus. 
  • The Parks Department will cancel all programs for seniors.
  • Orange County Spring Break camps will continue as planned, but field trips have been canceled.
  • County Special events have been postponed, including Fort Christmas Bluegrass Festival and other events.
  • County run Use Force Leagues have been suspended. Little leagues and youth soccer leagues have started suspensions on their own.

City Mayor Buddy Dyer issued a state of emergency for the city of Orlando.

  • All City events have been canceled through the end of the month, including the plant sale a Leu Gardens, The Sunday Farmers Market at lake Eola.
  • All activities related to seniors have been suspended. 
  • Youth activities will go on.

Disney announced that Walt Disney World will be closed starting Sunday March 15, 2020 through the end of the month. Employees of the Disney theme parks will be paid despite the closure. The hotels at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris will remain
open until further notice. The retail and dining complexes, Disney
Springs at Walt Disney World and Disney Village at Disneyland Paris,
will remain open. All Disney Cruise line departures have been suspended. The release of Disney’s live action remake of Mulan is being delayed with no determined release date due to Covid-19 concerns. Disney has also pulled the release of New Mutants and the Guillermo del Toro produced horror movie AntlersA.

Universal Studios also announced the Universal Orlando Resort will close on Sunday. Hourly employees will be paid for any work scheduled through the end of March, a company spokesperson said in a statement. Universal Orlando’s hotels and Universal CityWalk will remain open.

Legoland also announced closure due to Covid-19.

As of today the City of Orlando has not canceled any city-hosted events and or meetings. I was at a city hosted diversitastic dining event just last night. As we ate dinner, the Theme parks announced closures. The city says they are taking the decision to cancel or postpone city-hosted events very
seriously. There are ongoing discussions that are happening every day as they continue to monitor and evaluate the situation.

CDC’s recommendations to reduce your risk of exposure:

  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20
    seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and
    after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. 

Should you see a doctor?

Ask yourself:

  1. Have you traveled outside the U.S. in the last two weeks?
  2. Have you been in close contact with someone testing positive for COVID-19?
  3. Do you have a fever greater than 100 degrees?

A
fever alone does not indicate that you need to be tested for COVID-19. But
if you’ve traveled or come in contact with a COVID-19-positive person,
you need to be tested. Call your medical provider first and get instructions on how to report for a test. Symptoms
of Covid-19 may include fever, cough difficulty breathing and sore
throat. Symptoms generally appear in two to 14 days after exposure. Health officials said most patents experience mild symptoms and can recover at home.

However some patients, particularly those with underlying medical conditions, may experience more severe respiratory illness.

Play in a Day Running Lines

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At Play in a Day, the pressure started to build in the afternoon as the actors started running lines to memorize the script of The Dinner Conversation by Tracey Jane. At times they would go through the script at breakneck speed and other times they would run through at pace. Sometimes actors would pare off and work together in another room to help each other in cementing the lines into memory. Some actors knew their lines forward and backwards right from the start while others had to work hard to commit the lines to memory. The drama of these artist supporting each other grew more pitched as the opening curtain loomed around 7pm that night.

On the fence outside there were inspirational sayings from celebrities written on the fence. One was, “I can accept failure, but I can not accept not trying.” –Michael Jordon. Another was “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” –Bruce Lee. Each saying seemed directed towards the actors as they pulled together to produce a play in just 24 hours. The script had heart, sincerity and humor. I knew I was watching some amazing theater magic. They might stumble through lines in rehearsal but on stage some undefinable force would pull everything together.

“Mistakes are proof you are trying.” -Unknown. Every sketch I do feels like a series of mistakes. It is reassuring and inspiring that live theater is as human an art.

Play in a Day Tech

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After lunch the cast of The Dinner Conversation had a chance to walk through the production on stage for lighting and sound cues. Tracey Jane wrote a magnificently simple everyday family drama set in a Family Pizza Corral where you can build your own pizza. Because of this there were no complex lighting cues, making Blue Estrella‘s job fairly straight forward.

At the end of the show Jac (Jac LeDoux) and Ken (Ken Preuss) are working on a slice of pizza together. It was decided that a reference to the potter’s wheel scene in Ghost would be funny at that moment. In that scene in the movie Demi Moore it turning a pot and Patrick Swayze snuggles up  behind her and together they sensually finger the clay together. The same sensual moment was recreated only with pizza. I can’t imagine a more sensual moment. In my sketch I put Mel, (Melanie Leon) on house left. Her hilarious stage presence lit up every scene.

Tech was quick and efficient, leaving the rest of the afternoon for the actors memorize their lines before the curtain went up at 7pm.

Pineapple Pizza Deviant

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 At the Play in a Day rehearsal for The Dinner Conversation written by Tracey Jane, Jac (Jac LeDoux) and Ken (Ken Preuss) are on a date at Family Pizza Corral. Jac was opening herself to the possibility of a new relationship after being divorced for a year. The date was interrupted by the sudden unexpected arrival of Jac’s two children, Mel (Melanie Leon) and Ben (Ben Preuss).

At the Family Pizza Corral, you get to make your own custom pizza. In this sketch Ben is mashing his dough with far more brute force that is needed. He is angry to find his mom with another man. He went to college and while he was gone she got divorced. The restaurant used to be a place that the family went to, representing some of the happier memories with his father and mother together.

Mel was a bit more playful, choosing to tease her mom about her “needs.” Jac is between a rock and a hard place in hoping her children can accept Ken. Ken can’t win. When he offers Ben some sausage, Ben angrily shoots back that he is a vegetarian. When Jac defends him to her son, she explains that Ken is a good man and that they should give him a chance. Then Ken hold out a tray of Pineapple.

This is a bridge too far. Melanie shouts out PINEAPPLE does NOT belong on pizza! Jac has to agree this is one thing that everyone in the family can agree on. Jac tries to smooth over the situation by trying to get Ken to just pick another topping. She is sure that people are watching. This is a pure comic relief. All the pent up family drama dissipates as the family rallies behind this strange and unexpected pizza deviant. It was the contrast between sweet and savory. I’ve been known to want a burst of sweet even on a slice.

As Jac tries to explain that everyone has their own personal tastes, Ben suddenly shouts out that he is gay. After a pause to take in the information, Jac is caring and accepting. She then goes on to say she is proud of him because at that moment he was a man in her eyes.  It was a heart warming family moment which Ken missed as he obsessed over his very strange pie.  The warmth of the message was so powerful because is was proceeded by so many laughs. The pain of growing up was welcomed with open arms.

The Dinner Conversation

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At Play in a Day, I spend the entire day sketching the rehearsals for The Dinner Conversation by Tracey Jane. After the cold reading at the blue round table the cast moved to the main staging area, a long red table with a series of trays lined up. I loved that the long table and the round table visually created an exclamation point. Everyone still had the script in hand but director Kaitlyn Harrington stood on the opposite side of the table guiding the actors for the staging. The setting was a Family Pizza Corral. All-You-Care-to-Create Buffet. “You Make It. We Bake It!” Jac, (Jac LeDoux) was on a date with her “Special Someone” Ken (Ken Preuss). She was a recently divorced mom of two college kids who were returning home, on the brink of consummating her first new relationship after

the end of a long marriage.

Every line of their playful exchange hinted at sexual innuendo. Ken was a food critic but had never been in the Pizza Corral. He and Jac had spent time getting to know each other but this was the first night out with the possibility of desert. However Jac wanted her kids to meet Ken before “going there.” She wanted her kids to meet Ken the following night. Being a gentleman, he was fine with waiting. As they snuggle close, pressing their fingers in the dough, Jac’s kids, Ben (Bennet Preuss) and Melanie (Melanie Leon) entered the restaurant.

Melanie brought a delightful level of comedy to the awkward exchange. Woman to woman, she spoke of enjoying toppings and of courser some sausage. Melanie had learned all about men with some healthy experimentation in college. While Melanie was playful and teasing her mom, Ben was sullen and angry that his mom was out with another man a year after the divorce. At one point he shouted, “That man is definitely NOT my dad.” The irony in that statement is that Ken, in real life, off the stage, IS Ben’s father. There were so many multi layered meanings and insider jokes in this 10 minute production that made it such a delight to discover. I watched the play performed over and over all day long as they rehearsed and it never grew old. I just loved the characters more as they were fleshed out. I was lucky to have encamped myself with this clever and fun script and cast.

Play in a Day

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Play in a Day is as its name implies a fast paced day where the the plays are written and produced in just one day. The nine writers were given the theme and their individual ‘twist’ at
the beginning of a 12-hour period of their own choosing and that was their
window for creating the script for their original 10 minute play. The directors and performers knew nothing of their script until it was unveiled to them bright-and-early Saturday morning, they then had one day to produce the work by that evening’s opening curtain at 7pm.

Play in a Day 2019 had 107 participating artists, 82 of them, including every playwright, director and stage manager, were women. In addition, each production team was assigned a title under the umbrella theme “Men”. The #MeToo movement inspired a female empowered cast and crew since women are a powerful force in the Orlando theater community.

When I arrived all the actors and crew were gathered in the Lake Howell High School (4200 Dike Rd, Winter Park, FL 3279) cafeteria. There were donuts, beagles and other breakfast items. I sipped some caffeine to get my drawing hand twitching. Each production crew already seemed to be grouped together and I wondered which production team I should sketch. Since I had sketched actress Melanie Leon before in various shows around town, I asked if she could talk to her director about having an artist shadow their rehearsals for the day. The director agreed and soon I was sketching them as they performed the first reading of the play at a small round table.

The table was already a perfect setting since the play written by Tracey Jane was titled “The Dinner Conversation.” Tracy had worked remotely and couldn’t be at the rehearsals but her humor and heart felt writing, affected every scene and interaction between the characters. Around the table sat director Kaitlyn Harrington, who was open to suggestions as the actors became familiar with their parts, yet she guided them deftly. The stage manager was Destiny Sam. The actors were Ken Preuss, his son, Bennet Preuss, Melanie Leon, and Jac LeDoux. Over the course of the day I got to see the challenges overcome as the cast committed lines to memory and transformed into their characters. The tight deadline created a level of team work and support among artists that was absolutely inspiring.

100% of the proceeds from Play in a Day went
directly to the BMP Theatre Scholarship Fund and TOP TEENS. This money
allows teens to attend master class intensives on all areas of theatre,
film/TV, arts administration, activism, acting, directing, play writing,
tech, education and leadership. The artists get to study for the month
of June and then present a showcase. Scholarships are given to the
artists to use to pursue their respective areas in the arts as they
wish.

Frankie’s Birthday Dance Party

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Frankie Messina held his Birthday Dance Party at The Imperial Wine Bar and Beer Garden at Washburn Imports (1800 N Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida 32804). Each year Frankie has a sock drive where he collects new socks for the homeless. A $$$ donation of any amount at the DJ booth, would be
used to buy brand new pairs of socks for homeless citizens on our local
streets. No middle man. The new socks would be handed directly to those in need of fresh warm
clean socks. People could also donate a pack of men’s women’s or
children’s socks. This is the least
donated item to homeless shelters. At the base of his DJ mixing station a small mountain of new socks began to gather.

Friends gathered around Frankie talking to him as he mixed the tunes. Another goal for the nights was to bring everyone
together for a  good cause and help keep our individual DREAMS alive. Which is why we get up every morning. Frankie was grateful for another
year of good health, and he felt blessed to have such love around him from some
beautiful friends. 

The music flowed non-stop from 6pm till Midnight! Giving is easy to do, and it is our duty as
humans to help each other along the way when we can. No presents for no presents for Frankie, yet socks for them! The sign on the front of Frankie’s mixing station said it all, “All that is not given is lost.”

Frankie has started sharing tunes locally on 91.5FM WPRK. Stream it live wprk.org,
or load up the free TUNEIN app on your phone and smart devises. Search
for Rollins Radio WPRK 91.5. Live fun. Drive Time Wednesdays 5-7 pm!

Weekend Top 6 Picks for March 7 and 8, 2020

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Saturday March 7, 2020

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. John H Jackson Community Center, 3107, 1002 W Carter St, Orlando, FL 32805. Purchase
quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own neighborhood by local
farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando, and other community
growers.

10am to 1pm Free. Mayor’s Jazz in the Park. 

Cypress Grove Park


290 Holden Ave., Orlando FL.

Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings invites you, your family and friends to attend a free evening of jazz. 

6pm to 8pm Free. Yoga Glow Festival. 

Novel Lucerne


733 Main Lane, Orlando FL. A high energy YogaFlow for all ages and levels. Glow paint and glow sticks provided.

Sunday March 8, 2020

9am to Noon Free. Fleet Farming Swarm Ride. 

East End Market


3201 Corrine Drive, Orlando FL. Visit farmlettes and learn about urban agriculture on a 1 to 2-mile farming bike ride.

2pm to 3:30pm Free. Florida’s Female Pioneers with Peggy MacDonald. 

Orange County Regional History Center


65 E. Central Blvd., Orlando FL. Historian Peggy Macdonald examines some of the notable women who have
shaped the Sunshine State, from Dr. Esther Hill Hawks, a female
physician who ran the first racially integrated free school in Florida,
to Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, the first female tribal chair of any American
Indian tribe in the nation.

 

1pm to 5pm Free. Love Fest. 

Quantum Leap Winery


1312 Wilfred Drive, Orlando FL. Block party with artists, vendors, food and more.

Elite Animation Academy Watercolor Class

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At Elite Animation Academy (8933 Conroy Windermere Rd, Orlando, FL 32835) I am instructing a watercolor class for the first time. These two sketches of City Arts Orlando (39 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801) were done as a lesson in capturing values. My student was instructed to paint the scene using just one or two colors. We only did a few light pencil strokes to fit the building on the page. I used a dis-guarded pallet and painted on sheets of xerox copier paper. The pallet had multiple colors but I just chose based on what value I wanted on the page. My student had quality watercolor paper to  work on. The basic premise is that any object can be painted with just three values, Dark, medium and then pure white of the page for the light value. Rather than paint the sky, the street or the sunny face of the building, they were left pure white.Towards the end of the session we added a few dark strokes that could be considered line work in the shadows of windows or the shadows of the roof overhangs.

With the first watercolor sketch complete, we then recreated the scene using a full choice of colors. We didn’t spend as much time on this painting but it went faster since we had made so man of the creative value choices in the first painting. One thing that often happens with a beginning watercolor painter is that they will start by painting the lighter areas like the sky first. Once blue paint is applied to the sky however it becomes a dark value. The building is green and again the temptation is to paint the light side of the building green first which negates the sunlight since that face then becomes dark. The goal was to repeat what was done with the one color value study by only painting the shadows and darks. On the first painting I repainted the shadow side of the building multiple times. On the color painting the shadow face of the building only has the first wash over it. Details and successive washed would be added if I had time to keep working on the painting. Another thing that happens with watercolor is that once a wash dries, it lightens up a bit. That is another reason I might hit an area of the sketch with a wash again and again.

A major lesson as well is that the watercolor sketches are not precious. There are things to like and dislike about each. The important thing is to keep dashing of studies like this. Each in turn will be better than the last although it might not feel like it at the time. It is good to be critical of your own work, as ling as it doesn’t keep you from creating more work.