The All New Nashville Hurricane

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This Fringe show by Chase Padgett was absolute magic. Chase was originally from Orlando but he has since moved to Portland Oregon when he isn’t on the Fringe circuit. The stage was set with a single chair and a lone guitar. A spotlight illuminated Chase as he opened with an incredibly dexterous guitar performance. He warmed up the crowd by asking innocent questions. One question he shouted out was, “Who is with the love of their life?” Hands shot up. He turned to the couple to his right. “I see a problem hear” he said. “Her hand shot up like a lightning bolt, but your hand sir didn’t budge from your diet Coke.” I felt a bit guilty that my sketching prevented my hand from going up. Chase also asked a few people what their one true passion is in life. It is surprising, funny, and a bit sad that some people have no clue.

Then Chase began to relate the story of a child prodigy. This kid could repair any electronic device and he was a natural on the guitar. The prodigy’s story was related from the view points of three separate characters, his white trash mom, a conniving promoter and a kind low income southerner who was a recovering alcoholic. Chase would switch between characters or a dime propelling the plot forward. Although incredibly talented, the prodigy wasn’t as he said, “A people person.” His mind wandered in the intricacy’s of stellar dust and sub-atomic particles. He was a nerd’s nerd, unable to meet anyone’s gaze.

The promoter prayed for a ticket to the big time. His prayers were answered when he saw the boy play guitar. He saw the boy as a gold mine and he managed to steal the him away from his dead beat mom. He put sun glasses on the him and promoted him as “The Nashville Hurricane”. He bullied and forced the boy to perform, until the joy once found in playing guitar became a misery. A sunrise seen towards the end of the show made the boy realize that we are all a small part of a much bigger cosmic plan. There was  no longer a need to fear the abuse and mistreatment by others. That glowing, life affirming message is what made the show resonate. Strength and inner peace replaced uncertainty and fear when the boy faced his life head on. This is my favorite show to date, but with so many talented story tellers and shows, I know there are other treasures to be mined at this year’s Fringe. Chase’s other show, Chase and Stacy Present: Joyride was a hilarious improve show that was hilarious I highly recommend show that as well.

The remaining shows for The All New Nashville Hurricane are…

Thursday May 22,  10pm to 11:15pm

Saturday May 24,  7pm to 8:15pm

Sunday May 25,  3:15pm to 4:30pm

Tickets are $11 and the show is in the Orange Venue in the Orlando Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL.)

Judy Garland: Is it Just Me or is it Just Me?

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At the last minute, Clandestine ARTS had to pull out of the Fringe. Their show, Tuesday Morning, was replaced by the incomparable, Judy Garland performed by Mark Baratelli of thedailycity.com. Many of the seats in the Blue Venue had small questionnaires, asking which Judy Garland songs people might want to hear. The MC warmed up the crowd and Judy stumbled around back stage. Then she began to slur the lyrics to a song and she came out, greeted by thunderous applause. Props on the stage were covered with dark fabrics and she stripped them bare as she sang. Yellow medicine bottles hung from her necklace.

Her legs were often crossed or akimbo as she wavered in the spotlight. Her high heels caused her to stumble and fall more than once. Misplaced mascara gave her raccoon eyes and the lipstick was smeared all around her lips. The dark wig often hid her face and the baggy man’s dress shirt hid her supple figure. Judy is 93 but she still belts out those tunes with a vengeance.

The MC announced that local artist Thomas Thorspecken was in the audience drawing. He wasn’t talking about me however. Chase Padgett was in the audience posing as me. Chase did a sketch of Judy but he was supposed to imagine her nude. I couldn’t bring myself to go there. Judy’s medicated antics were laugh out loud funny. At times she was on the floor slayed out as she sang and other times she tried to escape into the shadows to avoid the spotlight. Some songs were just improvised on the spot to hilarious effect.

Don’t miss Judy! She is hilarious and the shows are selling out. The remaining show times are…

Tuesday May 20, 11:30pm to 12:15pm

Friday May 23, 10pm to 10:45pm

Saturday May 24, 1:30pm to 2:15pm

Sunday May 25,  8:15pm to 9pm

Tickets are $8 and Judy can be found in the Blue venue in the Orlando Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St., Orlando, FL.) If you are trying to find information about Judy in your printed Fringe program, she isn’t listed. She was a last minute replacement for Tuesday Morning.

VarieTEASE

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Terry and I went to The Venue (511 Virginia Dr, Orlando, FL), to see VarieTEASE on the first day I could get out to Fringe. Terry sat front and center while I sketched from a high top table. Smoke filled the space and a long prologue scrolled up the back wall of the stage. The dance followed the male protagonist who was dealing with a deranged ex-wife, his wife and a mistress. The performance began at a train station which was simply created with a projection of a fast moving train roaring by.

There is a playful mystical magic to VarieTEASE. The choreography was at times angular and hard and at other times soft and flowing. At all times life was depicted as a circus or carnivale act. The white face make up made every performer look like a mime or china doll. The protagonist was confronted by each woman in turn. They danced at times with sexual abandon to the point of exhaustion. There was one moment of female frontal nudity with polite pasties, so the show verged on burlesque.

Large free standing door frame shaped structures had rubbery vertical bars. These functioned at times as a prison and in one instance as harps. The man eventually was overcome by heart break and despair. The women returned in flowing light dresses to look over him. I suspect that he truly had cancer and all the drugs and needles were an attempt to slow the tide of the ravaging disease. Credits at the end of the show indicated that the cast was behind dear friends who were fighting for their lives. The show expressed a roller coaster of emotions from anger, despair, loneliness and absolute joy. Life is a dance, and this show captures that life and mysterious magic. This is a must see Fringe favorite.

Mark your Calendar!

Monday May 19, 10:30pm to 11:30pm

Wednesday May 21, 9pm to 10pm

Friday May 23, 9pm to 10pm

Saturday May 24, 4:20pm to 5:20pm

WTF? (What the Fringe?)

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The 2014 23nd Annual Orlando Fringe Theatre Festival takes place May 14th-27th in Orlando’s Loch Haven Park. Venue locations are within Lowndes Shakespeare Center, Orlando Rep (corner of Princeton and Mills)-812 East Rollins Street, and The Venue (Virginia Dr.). Kid’s Fringe is located at the Menello Museum (across Princeton from Loch Haven).

The Fringe is…

100% UNCENSORED

100% UNJURIED

100% ACCESSIBLE 

100% of $ from ticket sales go directly to the ARTISTS

Fringe volunteers manned the information table inside the Orlando Shakespeare Theater while Jeff Ferree promoted his puppet show “Girl Who Fell Up a Chimney” in his bright conical Gumbyesque outfit. Jeff waved to me, and I gave him a stiff armed wave in return. At the information table you could buy the $9 buttons which are needed to get into any show as well as the Fringe program which lists all the shows.  There are about 100 shows so the choices are daunting. The best way to find out what you have to see is to hang out at the beer tent and ask around to find out what people have seen and loved.


While doing this sketch, I was given two tips. Nashville Hurricane is “Frigging Amazing” according to Curtis Meyer. I was also told by Karen that Take Out the White Trash was laugh out loud funny. Actress Michelle Knight walked up to the information table. Michelle just completed a run of Disenchanted which is a take on Disney princesses who didn’t exactly live happily ever after. This hilarious musical comedy was first premiered at the Orlando Fringe several years ago as Bitches of the Kingdom, and now it is headed to off Broadway in NYC. This is a great example of how the Fringe is a great place to launch a creative concept.

If there is a show you feel I should see and sketch, please leave me a comment!

East End Art

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On Wednesday May 14th many of the pieces from my retrospective show were moved to East End Market (3201 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL.) I was on hand to make sure all the labels were with the right sketches. Most of the hanging was done by volunteers, Halee Sommer, Livia Morgane, and Emily Jourdan.

It started to rain heavily just as we all removed the art from Patrick Kahn‘s SUV. We all made a mad dash to the stairwell and found cover just before the deluge. The artwork made it inside without getting wet.

 22 original sketches were hung upstairs in the Community room.  Each was leaned up against the wall where it would be hung. Someone didn’t lean one of the frames back enough, and it crashed forward to the floor. The glass didn’t break, so no harm done. Some sort of morning Brunch had just ended so all the tables were set up. We decided to hang one piece over each stud in a sort of rural woodwork that covers the lower half of the wall. This resulted in even spacing between each piece and an airy well curated look to the whole room. Halee and Emily worked closely together to get all the measurements right. Emily held the hammer choked up by the hammer head.  Part of me wanted to coach her on how to hold the hammer right, but she got the job done so I let it go.  Every measurement was accurate and level. Even when mathematically accurate, each piece was checked by eye to be sure it looked level. The show was hung incredibly fast.

John Rife, East End’s owner showed us how to aim the spot lights onto the art, and then Halee took on the fearless task of sitting on top of the ladder and aiming each light. I wanted to sketch her high wire act, but aiming each light took only a few minutes. Instead I sketched downstairs in a narrow hallway where the 30 by 24 inch prints were hung. There was constant foot traffic so it was hard to find a spot where I wouldn’t block traffic. I sat near a water fountain across from the woman’s room to get the sketch.

Patrick  offered us all lunch on him. Livia speaks French, so we all ordered Parisian sandwiches. There was only one Parisian left, so I ordered a Tomato, mozzarella and basil salad. These three simple ingredients with a light touch of olive oil makes an absolutely sumptuous meal. Livia is going west on a road trip soon, so the lunch conversation turned to travel. Emily is a photographer, so we discussed the challenges of travel when you want to pause and take in the scene while the tours rush on by.  I related the details of my cross country road trip that I took from Colorado to Florida on the day after 9-11. Amazingly everyone knows where they were on that day. Livia in Europe remembered first hearing the news and Emily had just finished an exam in school when the school intercom told the teachers to turn on the TV. Her instructor disregarded the announcement at first but was eventually swayed. A strange day that few ever forget.

Stop by the East End market to see my art on display. Check out the many events held upstairs in the community room to see 22 of my originals on display.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

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Saturday May 17, 2014

8:30am to 10:30am Free. Hands Across The Land Orlando. Gaston Edwards Park 1236 N Orange Avenue, Orlando, Fl. Show support for clean energy. Now is the time to stand up let let your voice be heard. Meet like minded people who share your interests in clean energy. If you don’t start to make a difference, will you ever? This event is sponsored by the Central Florida Surf

rider Foundation. http://www.handsacrossthesand.com/

11:30am to Midnight shows on Saturday. $8 Fringe button and ticket price. Fringe! Lock Haven Park 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL. The Fringe Festival started May 14th and runs through May 27th. WTF you ask? It is an amazing assortment of un juried shows that run from the sublime to the insane. I will be living here getting as many sketches as possible. Check the Fringe schedule or just go to the green lawn of fabulousnss and ask around to find out what you have to see!

8pm to 11pm  A $15 cash donation is recommended at the door. Guys With Ties “Spring Fashion Show”. 180 Grey Goose Lounge at the Amway Center in Downtown Orlando FL. Central Florida’s Fun and Philanthropic Night of Fashion Returns With Proceeds to Benefit Guys With Ties Philanthropy of Orlando. Orlando Magic Dancer Cori Yarkin will take the stage as Emcee with DJ A-Rock spinning, creative direction by Studio|Couture and strings sensation Fretless Rock starting the show.  This year’s Spring Fashion Show proceeds benefit Guys With Ties Philanthropy of Orlando, who have been hosting themed events for nearly ten years to raise funds for numerous local charities in the Central Florida community. They put the fun back in fundraising!  Total donations made directly from Guys with Ties events are over $200,000. 

Sunday May 18, 2014

 Noon to 4pm. Free. Bookmark Book Fair. Bookmark It 3201 Corrine Drive, Suite 201, Orlando, Fl. The best part of a summer vacation is finally having time to READ. Why not have it be YOUR book ! Bookmark It’s second Local-Author Book Fair is Sunday, May 18, 2014 from noon-4pm. East End Market weekends continue to draw new and repeat visitors. #1 overheard comment at last Locally Grown Words event: “We loved getting to meet the author !” 20 tables (up to 40 authors/publishers) will line both floors and courtyard at East End Market.

2pm to 4pm Free. How the Parthenon came to be Josh Garrick. Winter Park Public Library, 460 East New England Avenue, Winter Park, FL.

5pm to 9pm Free. Orlando Food Truck Bazaar. Orlando Fashion Square, 3201 East Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL. http://www.thedailycity.com/2011/05/thedailycitycom-food-truck-bazaar.html

CRAIG’S LUST: a Sexploration

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Ryan Price of Invisible Frisbee Productions is producing an improvisational comedy show for this year’s Fringe called Craig’s Lust. I went to a rehearsal held at Rollin’s College. When I got there Ran was at the rehearsal space waiting for a meeting to clear out. The space was a small conference room on the ground floor of the Bush Science building room 102. This improv show had a creative edge because all the comedy skits revolve around the romantic crushes that people often don’t act upon. “Meeting people is hard. Meeting sane people is harder. Meeting sane
people on Craig’s list is nearly impossible! Join us for an improvised
adventure into dating, modern romance, and missed connections. Come
see us, and who knows, maybe you’ll be someone’s missed connection…
Your suggestions fuel the scenes. From the people who brought you 2013’s
improvised version of The 39 Steps.”

Stage manager Jamie Lynn Woods sat beside me filming the rehearsal. The rehearsal began with a quick session of zip, zap, zoop in which the cast members stood in a circle and threw imaginary knives at each other. Each comedy act was improvised with the actors building off of the scenarios that were offered by the other actors. I admire this sort of high wire act performed without nets. It was of course fun to watch the female actors flaunting their sexuality when needed, however if a male role was needed they could switch genders. It was when such roles were embraced with a flourish that I found myself laughing loudest.

One skit involved a company bowling outing. An employee’s wife caught the eye of the boss as she leaned down provocatively to pick up the ball. The boss patted her on the butt and she didn’t seem to mind at first. Such uninhibited lack of personal boundaries were often the source of a laugh. The woman’s husband was up for a promotion, so he encouraged her performance while hoping it didn’t get out of hand.

Nadia Garzon‘s friend was crocheting during the whole rehearsal. I could identify with his busy act of creation. At the end of the rehearsal, he gave me what he had made. It was a 4 inch high mushroom. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but it traveled with me on a trip to Virginia. I decided to “plant” the mushroom on a wrought iron public bench figuring someone would be happy to discover it. I like this idea of leaving tiny artistic tokens around town. I’m considering the notion of an Origami business card that I could leave behind wherever I have planted myself to sketch. What I lack is the time to create them.

Craig’s Lust is being performed at the Orange Venue, Lowndes Shakespeare Theater (812 East Rollins Street, Orlando Fl.)

Thursday, May 15th, 2014  10:30pm to 11:30pm

Sunday, May 18th, 2014  10:30pm to 9:45pm

Thursday. May 22nd, 2014  8:15pm to 9:15pm

Friday, May 23nd, 2014  6:30pm to 7:30pm

Tickets are $11 along with your $9 Fringe button which is needed to get into any show.

Aloft Orlando Downtown

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There was a Spring Fling presented by Orlando Style Magazine at Aloft Orlando Downtown (500 South Orange Ave Orlando, FL) on April 10th. I didn’t even know that this building nestled between OUC and City Hall was a hotel. The evening was a way to celebrate the opening of the W XYZ Bar and Re:mix Lounge with the City’s Premiere Luxury Lifestyle Magazine. There were select complimentary cocktails and appetizers, live Entertainment, fashion models and more at this Spring’s most exclusive event. The dress code was Spring-Chic but I didn’t get the memo. Neither did Bronze Radio Returns who performed live.

Fashion models were stationed all around the room showcasing skimpy swim suits. For heavens sakes, I could see their ankles! I sat on a couch and immediately started drawing the band. When I stretched my neck, I noticed two models right behind me on a mini stage. I wish I had noticed them earlier, I would have put them in the foreground. The music was lively and entertaining but it ended all too soon. Terry’s office is right across the street, so she came down to join me. She sat across from me on the other couch and fingered her phone. Psi, a former co-worker of hers stopped in and they went outside where it was less noisy to talk.

Several people introduced themselves to me as I worked and I picked up their business cards.  With the sketch done, I went outside to join Terry and Psi. There were so many beautiful people clustered around on the patio. Aloft is also a hotel. A pool sat unused on the other part of the patio. Psi said the rooms at Aloft are rather industrial and not in any way plush. If you want plush, then you stay at the Grand Bohemian across the street.

Emotions Dance Rehearsal

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Emotions Dance Company is rehearsing for the premiere of “Art Evolution“, a collaborative arts experience. Larissa Humiston the Emotions founder and choreographer invited me to be a part of the experience.  At first I thought I would do a series of sketches of the rehearsals but it is a long drive to the dance studio, and I try to reserve Sundays as family time.

Art Evolution is inspired by the famous works of well-known artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Vincent Van Gogh, Degas and more. Audiences will experience live contemporary dance by Emotions Dance Company, including a piece created by special guest choreographer, Genevieve Bernard of Voci, and spoken word poetry by artists such as Jessie Bradley, Mark Harriott and more.

I love the idea that the dance is inspired by famous paintings so I’ve started a series of paintings that show the dancers as part of the paintings. For instance the dancers gestures are evocative of the spiraling night sky in Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Video reference of the rehearsals is giving me the luxury of picking gestures that work best for my paintings. In all there will be ten paintings I need to complete that will be displayed at the Shakespeare theater during the show. I’ll likely make affordable gift cards from the series of paintings as well.

 This contemporary dance, visual art, and spoken word collaboration will
be performed twice: Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14, 2014, at 8
p.m. at The John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center’s Mandell Theatre (812 E. Rollins
St. Orlando).

Pre-sale tickets for the performance are $18 for General Admission and
$14 for Students/Seniors and will be on sale starting May 1 and will be
available through June 5. After that, tickets can be purchased at the
door for $20 General Admission or $15 for Students/Seniors.

The Solution

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The Solution was an artist collective exhibition held at the Orange Studio ( 1121 N Mills Ave, Orlando, Fl)
on April 4th.
The show represented 6 Different perspectives, 6 different backgrounds, and 6 unmistakable voices in one venue were brought together to show that our differences unite us. These ambitious artists were given no restrictions and total creative control of the 4000 square foot venue. They intended to avoid the feeling of small stale claustrophobic galleries that display limited art styles. The artist invited the public to ignite their senses and experience art in a large open environment coupled with local musical acts, modern dance and local fashion designers. The goal was to showcase the overwhelming creative talent in Orlando and bring together all these different crowds. The exhibition was free and open to the public but only for one night.

 When I arrived about an hour early, the exhibition was still being hung. One exhausted artist was asleep on a couch. Several of the paintings by Genevieve DeMarco on the far wall refused to be hung. A ladder was used to hang one of the expressive paintings high on the wall and when the ladder was put away the painting crashed to the floor. The hot paintings of Natasha Brockman were expressionistic in style. One painting had a woman holding a bird cage which was open, allowing the birds to fly off towards a blazing sunset. Natasha sat at the computer likely firing off last minute invites or checking to see who was coming to the show. Other artists included, Victorious Fidelis,
Marcela Rivera,Yve Illz Tbg.

Loose spiraling figurative wire sculptures depicted what I imagined to be dancers. A romantic couple titled “Compromise” by Jamile B. Johnson, held hands while their intestines spiraled free from their severed torsos. They didn’t seem to mind. A DJ set up her station on the white seamless photo corner. As I was finishing my sketch people began to fill in the space and move their hips. Thin fashion models were in the green room being made up. The place was jumping.