Orlando Fringe: The Magic Castle Still Stands?

Posted on by Thor

I wanted to sketch a show that several people had suggested that I should sketch, called The Magic Castle Still Stands, in the Scarlet Venue in the Orlando Family Theater. I had the ticket with QR code on my phone.

I was running late because the Visual Fringe Story event had run late. I needed to run across the lawn to the Family Theater. I couldn’t run straight across because the lawn of fabulousness was fenced off, so I snaked my way past food trucks and tents.

At Scarlet I didn’t notice any line. I was too late. The audience had already gone in. I walked up to a scarlet colored table and paused. I heard a crowd laughing to my right. I followed the laughter and walked trough two large swinging doors. There was no one to check my ticket, so I walked in.  I peaked around a corner and saw  that the place was absolutely packed. There was no way I would find a seat.

I noticed someone behind me and figured he must be a Fringe volunteer. I asked him if the show was sold out. He shrugged. Then he started talking loudly into his cupped hand followed by making a radio hiss and clicking sound. Oh…. He was not a volunteer…. He was a performer. I stopped asking him questions. he had enough on his mind. I went to the top of a house right staircase and discovered that there was a flat area away from the bleachers where a video camera was set up to tape the show. I decided to sketch while standing beside the camera. I liked that I was removed from being seated in the midst of the packed mask less crowd. There was a metal railing blocking part of my view, so I simply didn’t sketch it.

The Magic Castle Still Stands was described in the program to be a show blurring the lines between reality and imagination. It is supposed to be a show of self discovery and sacrifice. What I was seeing wasn’t that. It was a raucous two man comedy show and the crowd was hooting an hollering like a rodeo crowd. This felt like humor targeted to the QAnon crowd. Something was off. Did these comedians run a completely misleading description in the Fringe program? Maybe that was part of the joke. Well, I was committed, and kept sketching.

What followed were a series of two man comedy sketches with different themes. There were Top Gun pilots. pirates and bungling burglars. On sketch I rather liked was a re-imagining of the Abbot and Costello sketch “Who’s on First‘” The sketch was re-written so it worked with modern gender identification pronouns. I still remain confused with identifications of them and they so I got a chuckle. There really should be a pronoun for people who are COVID conscious. Male. female of non-binary they are a rare breed.

It wasn’t until the next morning that I found out that I had not sketched The Magic Castle is Still Stands but instead 10 Sketches with Rauce and Joel. I had slipped into the peach venue instead of the Scarlet venue by mistake. If something can go wrong, it always does in my world.

Orlando Fringe: Visual Fringe Storytelling

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Bobby Wesley pulled together a storytelling event in the Visual Fringe. The idea is that the storytellers would pick two pieces of art that related to their story and those would be on the easels as they spoke. The event was held in the round planetarium room inside the Shakes.

I arranged to meet Keith Brown in the venue since he purchased a print of one of my sketches. He peaked over my shoulder as I was sketching. Then it turns out he was one of the story presenters. He told a story about one of his greatest tricks as a teen. He desperately wanted to meet a girl and had an otherworldly number of condoms in his pocket.

Bottom line, he was with teens who were someplace they shouldn’t have been and a policeman was there to catch them.

As the policeman was interrogating and lecturing them,  Keith began clandestinely removing fist fulls of condoms from his pocket and dropping them where they could not be seen. When the policeman pulled him aside, Keith offered to show the policeman a trick. Reluctantly the policeman agreed. When the trick was done the policeman said simply, “Pretty cool, you can go.” So Keith’s greatest trick as to use magic to evade the law.

Kaytlin Baily told a horrifying story of her decision to ride a rodeo bull ride right after a breast reduction surgery. I will not go into the gory details, and I already spoke about Megan Phillips incredible story of revelation and healing in a previous article. I loved the incredible diversity of stories from Fringe artists who come from every walk of live.

Orlando Fringe: Eleanore’s Story, Life After the War

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Ingrid Garner is such a dynamic force as a story teller. Actually she is more than a storyteller, she is a cast of thousands.

Eleanore’s Story: Life After the War follows a show I got to experience and sketch back in 2018. In that show we followed the life of an American family who were stuck in Germany as World War II broke out because one member could not return to America.

In this sequel we got to feel the relief as the family prepared to get out of the largely leveled Berlin which had been carpet bombed into oblivion. Somehow every member of the family had survived.

However the United States would not pay for Eleanore’s mom to return. The family agonized but her mom insisted they go and she would find a way out later.

The steamer trunk was packed and the family left with mom still in Berlin. The view of the statue of Liberty brought tears to the eyes of every one. Americans were so different that the Germans they left behind. They were well fed and moved with drive an purpose.

In the American high school the bell announcing the change of classes reminded the young girl of bomb warning sirens. Flashbacks happened in quick succession. I might have drawn Ingrid in a quiet moment as she face the audience but se was in constant motion, reenacting every horror and joy.  A kiss from an American boy brought back a memory of Soviet soldiers kicking in the front door and making themselves at home. Every woman knew what would happen. Eleanore tried to avoid the possibility by looking sickly. Her mother on the other hand, took pride in her beauty. When the inevitable moment came her mother shouted that they were all Americans. Amazingly the threat of raping American allies, diffused the situation.

The show is based on a published memoir by her grandmother. I really want to read it now to learn more.

Orlando Fringe: Grease Too!

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I sat first in line for 1001 Red Flags early in the Fringe. As I waited, Megan Phillips came up and handed out the flyer to her show Grease Too! She then gave an exuberant pitch. She then sand one of the numbers as we waited. As I sketched other shows I was advised to see Grease Too twice by Fringe die hards.

Then I sketched a Visual Fringe Story Telling hour produced by Bobby Wesley of Orlando Story Club. Megan Phillips told a story during that program and it was intimate and visceral. She teared up letting us all know this was the first time she was relating the memories. By the end of her story I was welling up and felt a deep respect for her journey.

Back to Grease Too which was a high energy romp where she related her insights into two of the campiest films ever made. I had seen Grease 1 but never saw Grease Two. After her insanely fun commentary, I feel I have experiences both films from a vibrant new perspective.

Producer Bobby Wesley was seated beside me which put me at ease, because I am often concerned that the glow of my iPad screen might distract any audience around me.  A box of Oreos were being passes around during the show. I had one in line and one during the first act.

Megan had one knee high bobby sock on her left leg. I desperately wanted to paint a white bobby sock on her other leg but that leg was bare. Megan was playing a very young girl at the equivalent of a pajama movie viewing party. A persistent bully at school tried to make her feel small, but her love of these musicals let her spirit soar and she lifted our spirits along with her own.

As she was making her final announcements, the Fringe Festival producer Tempestt Halstead came in and announced that Megan’s show had won the blue venue patrons pick award. The audience went wild and Megan stood and jumped in place with her hands to her face. I feel so lucky to have been sketching as Megan felt the sharpest knives of memories stabbing their way back into her consciousness and then the absolute joy of being recognized for her joyous talents. Life is bursting at the seams as I quietly sit and sketch. As an artist my hear swelled.

Grease Too! has one more show tonight.

Sunday May 26, 12:20pm

The show is in the Blue Venue and rated 13 and up. It has a run time of 60 minutes and tickets are $15. There will also be another show scheduled since she won patron’s pick. Trust me you will have a blast and discover a new summer love.

Fringe: The Curve

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The Curve at the Orlando International Fringe Festival features, Genie Carter, a San Francisco bases circus performer. She used simple projections to note the sections of the show such as the prologue.

As a child she entered a Chinese acrobatics class and fell in love. One of the masters however warned her that the curve of her back would hold her back. That didn’t stop her from wanting to become a seasoned acrobat.

She compared the practice to classic gymnastics. She did a classic gymnastic tumble with the typical arching beginning and end poses. With the new practice the tumble was similar but with jazz and so much more flair.

The show is a mix of so many elements, like mockumentary style advertisements, sock puppets, and most important an intimate view into her journey as an artist. I loved when she realized that she had spent so much of her career hoping for someone to pluck her out of obscurity to fit her into their project. When she realized she could create her own projects she blossomed. Even if a number doesn’t quite work out as rehearsed, if you take a big bow, the audience will love you for the effort. Any flaws make the performer all the more appealing. I give the show 4 cartwheels.

The Curve is in the Blue Venue in the Orlando Shakes. It is rated for all ages with a run time of 60 minutes. Tickets are $15.

One showtime remains…

Saturday May 25, 3:05pm

Fringe: A Drag is Born

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I loved the opening minutes of A Drag is Born at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. After the usual opening introductions, one of which was by a Fringe volunteer, wearing a pink flamingo hat, who had no idea she would end up on stage. The house grew silent. There was a glorious lengthy instrumental fanfare and then again a long silence.

People in the audience began to clap which would fade and then come back in another enthusiastic wave. I soon realized someone seated in the front row at house right was starting the clapping waves. I was trying to draw the guy in the baseball hat and he kept looking in that direction, so I stopped drawing for a while.

The guy in the front row was indeed the performer, Canarian artist Edu Diaz. I just learned this today, but the Canary islands  belong to Spain but are geographically in the north of Africa. He tried to make a break for the exit but a spotlight caught him. The audience had to encourage him to get up on the stage, which he did reluctantly. He leaned in towards a microphone and was shocked when he sounded like a seasoned female Broadway  musical actress.

What followed was a glittering and glorious performance as he pealed away layers to show off vibrant outfits in various colors of the rainbow. He understood the burlesque art of pealing off a glove with slow deliberateness. He never uttered a word but the audience was 100% behind him and wanted him to succeed. At times there was audio of a crowd muttering which I took as judgement which he learned to ignore. The show was part vaudeville, part clowning and part a celebration of brilliant fashion and individuality. The performer transformed from an awkward guy in a drab hiking outfit, into a diva that gained the love of the audience. At the start his expression was sad, and frightened but by the end his faced beamed with confidence and joy. The audience stood for a long standing ovation.

After the performance, Edu said that this was his first time leaving the creative bubble of New York City and he loves the energy of the Orlando Fringe. You should go, it is a fabulous time. I give the show 5 outfit changes.

The show is in the Pink Venue at the Orlando Shakes. It is rated 13 and up with a run time of 60 minutes. Tickets are $15.

The remaining show times are…

  • Thursday May 23, 7:55pm
  • Saturday May 25, 7:10pm
  • Sunday May 26, 10:45pm

Fringe: Whore’s Eye View

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Whore’s Eye View presented by Old Pros from New York City is an eye opening show about the 10,000 years of history of the oldest profession as told by Kaytlin Bailey who was herself a sex worker. In the stool beside her was a burbon which she sipped whenever the audience clapped.

The history itself was astounding with men throughout history finding ways to demonized women to the point where it is unsafe for a woman to walk a street alone even today. From Hammurabi to Trump history just keeps repeating itself. In June of 2022 the supreme court overturned Roe V. Wade effectively removing a woman’s right to an abortion. In the past, strong willed woman were burnt at the stake. Taking away a woman’s right to choose is much the same practice.

I was amazed to find out that the first woman to run for President in the United States was a sex worker. No it was not Hillary Clinton. Her name was Victoria Clafin Woodhall and she ran for president back in 1872. She was an activist for women’s rights and labor reforms. Woodhull was also an advocate of “free love”, by which she meant the freedom to marry, divorce and bear children without social restriction or government interference.

The show is part comedy and a large part lecture, but that might just be because I had so much to learn. For instance I learned that a woman’s clitoris is not just the little nubbin men have been told to tickle, but rather it is the size of a hand. Whoah!

When Katlin got married she couldn’t help but think that her husband was getting a really good deal.

The show was such a whirlwind of information and it left me wanting to learn more. It is backed by Amnesty International, The World Health Organization, Human Rights Watch and UNAids. They all agree that decriminalizing sex work is the only policy that reduces violence.

I highly advise you see this show. You will leave the theater wanting to make a difference.

Remaining show times…

  • Thursday May 23, 8:00pm
  • Saturday May 25, 7:30pm
  • Sunday May 26, 3:00

Fringe: Hyde

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Push Physical Theater of Rochester New York presents Hyde at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. Hyde is being staged at the large Peach venue in the Orlando Family Theater.

As the performer was introducing the show he got a phone call from his mom who was late to the performance. He held a finger up to put the audience on hold and tried to convince his mom that she should be able to use google maps to find the venue. Visibly shaken he handed off his phone to someone in the audience and told them to get on stage and hand it back the phone should it ring.

A dynamic immersive physical performance began where he was tumbling with another performer. At the height of the piece, the phone rang and the audience member ran on stage to hand the phone back. The mom on the phone wanted to turn back, she had already missed too much of the show. The performer was crushed. He asked if there were any mothers in the audience and needed to know if there love for their child was unconditional. What would Hyde’s mother be like?

In the recesses of the stage, illuminated in a green light, a mother sat opposite her son who looked sunken and devastated. She slowly got up and walked behind him and put her hand on his shoulder and leaned over to rest her forehead on his head. Cut to black.

The PUSH Company engages with undeserved populations in areas of some of the highest  poverty rates and little access to the arts. The show abstractly addressed an underlying cause gun violence in America. Americans seem content to ignore gun violence until it happens in their back yard, even then thoughts an prayers are offered and nothing is done. Physical theater is being used to try and wrap its arms around the root causes of violence. If people have a creative outlet, they might not need a gun.

Hyde is rated 13 and up. The show is one hour long and tickets are $15.

Remaining show times:

  • Wednesday May 22, 6:00pm
  • Friday May 24, 7:10pm
  • Saturday May 25, 2:10pm
  • Sunday May 26, 8:00pm

 

Fringe: Love Crumbs

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The Orlando Fringe show, Love Crumbs is being performed at the upstairs theater in City Arts in Downtown Orlando. Due to some technical issues the press preview for the show was canceled, so the performance I sketched was the first time the show was being performed with all lighting and sound cues in place.

This show has heart, showcasing love in all its forms. Several members of the cast had to deal with people not being able to pronounce their name correctly. Ha’ani Hogan was often mistaken for being Hawaiian but she offered the audience a lesson in geography to note that her families home island of Guam is actually closer to Australia that Hawaii.

On monologue which hit me the hardest was a man reading from his diary about the isolation he felt after becoming divorced. Over time he began to accept the isolation. His life began to turn around when he started going to a coffee shop regularly. Like Norm from Cheers people greeted him as he entered. He felt he belonged. He met a woman but that relationship didn’t last either. This time the isolation didn’t hit as hard, he wanted the best for her. Projected on the screen during his performance was a tiny sapling of a plant held up by spindly planter legs. It reminded me of the air plants I have started to use to camouflage the broken fence posts in the yard of my recent rental. New life softens the darkness.

Danielle Ziss gave a moving angst filled performance that took place in a pristine colonial kitchen. I know Danielle for hosting amazing story tellers, but this was a story that plumbed the depths of despair using movement and raw emotion as her medium. Another moving scene had two men literally bump into one another and fall in love. In the panic of the moment they forgot to ask each other’s names, but social media brought them together.

Other acts celebrated pets and friendships. The idea of finding the perfect mate can be the cause of so much stress. It is better to just enjoy each moment that we have together on this earth. The show celebrates supporting one another and honoring our differences. You will laugh, you will cry and you will feel the love. I give the show 5 hearts.

Love Crumbs is rated 13 and up. The run time is 60 minutes. Tickets are $15.

The remaining show times…

  • Tuesday May 21, 6:00pm
  • Wednesday May 22, 9:00pm
  • Saturday May 25, 1:30pm
  • Sunday May 26, 7:30pm

Fringe: The Light Bringer

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The Light Bringer is a one woman Fringe show about an Arab family coming to America and finding the American dream.

I thought I might be sketching the performer seated beside the lantern but Laila Lee immediately jumped up and related her tale with endless enthusiasm.

She was a young girl when her family immigrated to America. She loved discovering American culture which conflicted with her parents wanting to hold onto traditional ways. She truly had the energy of a 12 year old as she discovered American music and fashion.

Around her neck was a long shining yellow scarf. It turned out that scarf was actually a hijab which should be worn around a woman’s head. In high school she wore it as a bandanna to look cool.

Her desire to blend in and accept American fashion came head to head with her fathers ideas of what would be good for her. He wanted to marry her off to save her from becoming an American slut. Laina had to choose between her family or becoming who she felt she needed to become. As another act of rebellion she started taking acting classes which lead to her eventually taking the stage today and I am glad she did. There is a second show she has developed which takes off where this show left off. I for one desperately want to know more.

This was an amazing show brimming with energy. I give it 5 hijabs.

The Light Bringer is in the Blue Venue. It is rated 13 and up with a run time of 60 minutes. Tickets are $14,

Remaining show times:

  • Thursday May 23, 7:00pm
  • Saturday May 25, 9:20pm