Thanks to Zac, I found out there was to be a meeting of the Young Democrats downtown at Ember (42 West Central Boulevard). When I entered the place was bustling with activity. I walked around searching for signs of the Democratic meeting. One area on the opposite side of this bar was roped off for a private gathering but I never saw signs of an organized meeting. I finally decided to sketch the folks who were gathered after work to drink, laugh and talk. With the constant flow of people the sketch was of course a challenge but I did manage to catch the people that most interested me. The people I was sketching probably were Democrats and this social gathering was “the meeting” that I was looking for.
A waitress warned me that the table I was sitting at was reserved but the party wouldn’t arrive for another hour so I could sketch till then. With this deadline in the back of my head, I made sure to work fast and get out. I never even had a drink. I am always surprised when no one asks if I would like a drink at a bar.
The Case of the Shot Huskies
I was informed about this case of animal cruelty by a friend from facebook. Getting into the Orange County Courthouse involves plenty of time waiting to get through metal detectors. The guard searching my supplies was surprised by my watercolor brushes and he squeezed the handle of one of the brushes and squirted water out over everything. As I was gathering my things he said to me “Your that artist aren’t you?” I said “I suppose so” and headed for the elevators.
Christopher Comins who is on the far left in the sketch, stands charged with 2 counts animal cruelty for shooting two Huskies. The shooting was caught on video by a tourist who happened to be on Narcoossee road on the day of the shooting, May 19th 2009. The video has animal rights activists everywhere angered. Comins lawyer has been trying to get the case dismissed arguing that Comins was acting in self defense and he had a right to shoot the dogs who were in a field near some cattle. The dog owner, Chris Butler, was placed on the stand and he said he had shouted out to Comins “Would you please stop shooting my dogs?”
The dogs lived after some expensive medical treatment. Hoochie lost an eye and Raily still has a bullet in him. Under cross examination Chris said the dogs would not hurt a fly. He got choked up as he said “People have always told me they are such beautiful dogs.”
The whole point of this pre trial hearing was that Comins lawyer was trying to get the case dismissed since his client had a right to shoot the dogs and he was acting in self defense. For two hours both sides argued their case. Judge Bob Le Blanc, though he seemed to sympathize with the cattleman, decided he could not rule on the case alone and thus this case will go to trial by jury.
As soon as I heard this, I went out in the hallway to make a call. Seated outside was Chris Butler who could not stand to watch the proceedings. He looked tired and worn like he had been crying. I told him the news that the case would be going to trial and then he stood and told me that Comins needs to answer for what he did.
Crimes of the Heart Opening Night
Crimes of the Heart written by Beth Henley won the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. I sketched the auditions for the show back in September and now I can see that the casting decisions made were spot on. At the audition I caught quick glimpses of isolated scenes as actresses tried out for the various parts. I was fascinated with how a talented actress could breath new life into each part.
Watching the show at the Winter Garden Theater from start to finish turned out to be an emotional roller coaster. I suddenly cared deeply for this family of 3 sisters reunited by tragedy. The show handled difficult themes of loneliness, grief and family dysfunction. The sisters laughed uncontrollably at one point when faced with the worst of family news. I found myself laughing just as hard to the point of tears. Sometimes laughter is the only way to handle grief.
Between acts music filled the theater. Aradhana Tiwari the director told me “I have waited 5 years to use that song in a show.” The song was “Wayfaring Stranger“. Its sad mellow tones suited the show perfectly. I had the rare pleasure of sitting with the director and found she was laughing just as loud as anyone in the audience.
Lenny played by Meggin Weaver was high strung, bubbly and painfully apologetic. She seemed to have to apologize for her very existence. She was the sister left behind to care for their ailing Grandfather. Her own life has been put on hold as she struggles to clean up after every family members sloppy lives. She livened up every scene she is in with her comic timing.
Babe played by Britni Leslie gives a new meaning to “I’m having a bad day, a really bad day”. Her quirky mannerisms like sprinkling sugar over a heaping spoon full of peanut butter or trying without much success to play saxophone are delightful to watch. Her thick southern accent and lighthearted charms were so authentically endearing.
Meg played by Jennifer Bonner is the black sheep of the three sisters. Her confident swaggering was a perfect compliment to Lenny’s shy skittishness. A romantic scene with a now married ex boyfriend named Doc was Hot. She and Doc both knew they shouldn’t be attracted but they could not help themselves. Going for a ride to look at the moon in a pickup truck suddenly seemed dangerous and exciting.
Chick Played by Beth Marshal has one of the funniest scenes in the play where she struggles into a tight pair of pantyhose while talking at the kitchen table. This scene got funnier as it went on and I applaud Beth for how far she pushed this character. Now I can not imagine anyone else in that role.
Toward the end of act three as Babe lights the candles on a birthday cake, she says “I’m not so all alone.” The warmth of this scene with the three sisters playfully interacting as they laugh off the hardships of life once again left me struggling to see. Crimes is running through November 29th. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM. and Sundays at 2PM. Tickets are $22. This is a show you do not want to miss.
Santa’s Holly Follies
Hanna Miller through facebook had informed me that the Holly’s Follies were about to start rehearsing in Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater in the Altimonte Mall. I was told to stand in a back hallway of the mall and then call on my cell. Sean Keohane opened the door I was standing near which had no doorknob. I was shocked that all the walls inside were red. We entered the theater and the stage is intricately decorated with red and gold paint. There were tiny chandeliers and small benches for the children. Sean took me back to stage left where there are steps for the puppeteers to climb up 15 feet to a boardwalk. He then took me over to stage right where there was a glass window and all the unused puppets were gathered together waiting to go onstage. We had to move some boxes and Tupperware storage containers so I could sit close and start my sketch.
The sketch shows April and Hanna on the boardwalk manipulating puppets which are on stage behind all the waiting puppets. Jack the third puppeteer is probably on another boardwalk working the curtains. The rehearsal went on for about four hours. Lighting was being worked out by Richard who was sitting out in the theater with a light board on a bench in front of him. The show involves many changes of sets with curtain drops and a huge cast of puppets. Hanna informed me that they don’t even have all the puppets yet and there are only a few more days of rehearsals before they start performances.
Several times the performance had to be stopped when puppets got tangled together. One of the kings got his strings tangled in his own crown. When things like this happen the puppet will be forced to move in a strange stilted way but the show must go on. While one puppeteer is working a puppet another might be called on to flick on a black light or drop a new curtain behind the set. It is a complicated process in a tight space and I don’t know how they keep it all straight. For hours they bent forward at the waist manipulating the strings. I have no doubt muscles were sore by the end of the night.
Trees – Dance Rehearsal
One of the most challenging things I have been sketching lately is the dance rehearsals for the Trees. Here the core group is rehearsing to the Winter Medley. On this evening of rehearsals began on the main stage in the worship center of the First Baptist Church. The stage must have been smaller than anticipated because the dancers looked like they were about to run into each other. After several run throughs the director finally stood up and stopped everything. She said “Sometimes we try things and they just don’t work. We should re-think this. Lets take a break from this piece and move onto something else. If we didn’t fail sometimes we wouldn’t be successful.” To keep the rehearsal moving forward it was decided that the dancers would move upstairs to the mirrored dance room and work on the Winter Medley number. The choreographer in charge took the notes in stride and this second half of the rehearsal was lively and fun. At one point Gretchen, one of the dancers, did a dance move that the choreographer really liked and that move was incorporated into the final dance routine. Creative ideas have a way of appearing sometimes as if by accident. The director entered the dance studio after several sections of the dance were polished and refined. She sat on the floor in front and watched the improvements with joy and pleasure.
I wedged myself up against the back wall to keep out of the way while I sketched. During a break several of the actors came over and wanted to see what I was up to. It is a rewarding feeling to be a witness to the hard work that goes into making a huge show like this work. I would sketch every time the dance troupe were being given notes. These relaxed moments between periods of fast action are the windows I need to find a composition and pick out the personalities from the dancers different body types.
Orlando Mounted Police at the Veterans Day Parade
My wife Terry has been volunteering for the Orlando Police Mounted Unit. When there is a parade the volunteers who exercise the horses during the week are put on pooper scooper duty for the parade. They take this job very seriously and this year they bought some outlandish red, white and blue wigs to wear. Terry was thrown from a horse last week and her leg is all black and blue, so her assignment was to drive the police pickup truck that followed the Police Horses. I got to sit in the passenger seat of the truck and sketch the parade while being a part of the festivities. This is the first time I have ever been in a parade! I assume the truck was an extra precaution to protect the horses from automobile traffic approaching from the rear. Whenever we entered an intersection I got to turn on the police trucks blinking blue and red lights. Whooo Hoo!
On the way from the Police Barn to the Parade route on Orange Avenue Downtown, we passed a George W Bush look alike standing in front of an Appliance store in Parramore. This guy was a dead ringer for W. He even had the scrunched up eyes and sort of uncertain way of waving at folks.
When we approached the parade there was tons of loud music pounding from the floats and yet the horses remained calm and collected.
The pooper scoopers were very popular with the crowd watching the parade. They acted with swift reflexes shoveling up the multiple loads almost as they hit the ground. The crowd would cheer when another load went into the bucket.
Hours of preparation went into getting the horses ready for the parade. Hoof black was applied to all the horses hooves and then glitter was stuck to the flax. Stars were spray painted on the horses butts and ribbons and stars were affixed to the tails. When I showed the scoopers my sketch after the parade, Kelly said, “Isn’t my butt kind of big?” I explained that I had been drawing horses butts for the past hour and that is why it might appear a bit big. Catherine said “We prepare, prepare prepare the horses, and then BOOM the parade is done.”
Parkin Lot Pickin
Every Friday at sunset for the last 20 years pickups and trucks pull into the parking lot behind the Twistee Treat on Maguire Road near Colonial Avenue and they pull down their tailgates and bet out their instruments to play Bluegrass music. Other cars pull into the lot and soon there is a small crowd sitting in lawn chairs enjoying the free music. A man in an electric wheelchair makes his way around to every member of the audience offering free CD’s of the previous weeks performances.
Brad introduced me to this local tradition. Terry joined me for a while but she had to rush off to a girls night out at the Barn. I sat in the parking lot with Brad, Darlyn and a poet named Billy Collins and his fiance Suzannah Gilman. Billy was the Poet Laureate of the United States for two years. Billy and Suzannah were a fun couple to hang around with. After listening to the music for a couple of hours, we all went over to Twistee Treat and got some ice cream. That place was doing a brisk business and I splurged on an banana split that was to die for. After listening to the music for a little longer, we all then decided to head over to Winter Garden to a place called the Attic Door which had music and plenty of drinks. The lively discussion about art and literature went on for hours. If you want a taste of real old time Florida, I highly suggest going out to the Twistee Treat parking lot on a Friday night.
Trees – Light Programming
Jeff Atkisson sits for hours in a small room behind the main stage programming the lighting that will appear on the trees. He has 12 songs that he needs to program on a miniature model of the trees, and he started off with “Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” He used an audio editing program called DP6 and instead of editing the audio he uses the programs MIDI files to turn the lights on the trees on and off. When he stacks the bars in the program to look like a staircase in the timeline for instance the lights will sweep on diagonally up the tree. First he places what he calls a blind cue on the timeline which sets the color which will happen with the next fade in or sweep. Other effects he mentioned include pops and gleams. When the light programing is finished he can directly transfer everything right over to the full scale trees.
Huge black boxes called dimmer racks stand next to the tree model with hundreds of wires hanging out of them. Apparently one of these boxes had burnt out earlier that day but that problem was resolved by the time I came in to sketch. At one point the tree just would not light and Jeff was climbing all around in the snake pit of wiring. I don’t know how he did it but after plugging in and unplugging a number of connections, everything started working again.
He took a quick break from the program sent a text message to the director to double check some notes that might be needed. He suspected the director might want less lighting action on the trees and he programmed the lights accordingly. The director called back and they they discussed the trees lighting briefly. After that conversation Jeff proceeded with quick certainty. He started telling me about the directors style which consists of pictures within pictures with very specific shifts of focus. When I thought back to the War of the Worlds, that directing style became very apparent. I also found out the Trees show has a theme which is “Reflections from the attic”. I learn something new about this show every day I come in to do another sketch.
Trees – Set Construction
Jeff Atkisson directed me to the Madd building where I would find Jon Brandt working on the sets for Trees. The building is across the street from the First Baptist Church. When I entered I expected to see a small crowd of carpenters working but this afternoon I just found Jon working alone on the set. He had no idea who I was when I walked into the warehouse but he was welcoming and accepted the idea of me doing a sketch with no hesitation. He is standing on the side of the set that will face the audience. It looks like he is putting in three tiers and there will be steps in front and in back. A large platform will go between the back steps which is for now resting on the floor. The radio was on a talk radio station about how to handle your finances.
I was fascinated by the things to be found in storage in this warehouse. Two huge Gold Academy Awards were perched on an upper level. There were street lamps and a popcorn billboard cut out. The most prevalent item however were the crosses. There were several dozen smaller crosses and then four very large life sized crosses one being made from thick tree trunks. The large tree trunk cross has two railroad spike sized wooden spikes located where the hands would be nailed up.
Jon said he was working alone because his crew had taken off early. He however was committed to work till 5PM which gave me an hour and a half to sketch. I couldn’t help but think of the idea that Jesus had been a carpenter so he must have been very familiar with the smell of sawdust and the sound of wood boards being dropped into place.
Trees with Panels
These huge 45 foot high Christmas trees now stand fully assembled and green in the First Baptist Church of Orlando. You might notice that only one panel is missing. This is because it was wired upside down but that will be an easy fix. The two 15 tiered trees were designed by Walt Keller back in 1980. Each will hold 150 Choir members who function as living singing ornaments. Both trees will have to support about 50 thousand pounds of weight when all the singers are lined up inside.
Bill Keller explained that each choir member has initials written on their legs and a yes or no. This leg marking is put in place for the tree rats who are in charge of arranging small wooden boxes which are used to keep all the choir members about 6 feet in height as seen from the audience. The yes or no is an indication as to whether the choir member would like to have their legs massaged since they must stand in one spot for so long. If the choir member snaps his or her fingers a tree rat will climb through the maze of beams and assist them by rubbing their legs. If someone is ticklish then they certainly will have “no” written on their legs. The last thing anyone would want is to have a choir member screaming out in surprise when a tree rat brushes up against their leg.
When the choir isn’t the center of attention, it is also possible for a choir member to quietly sit down to take a rest and have a sip of water. The heat generated by all the Christmas lights can be oppressive. It was estimated that there were 111 miles of Christmas tree light wiring attached to the panels. If someone feels faint and has to leave then the choir members surrounding the spot spread out a bit and the audience never notices the difference.