Weekend Top 6 Picks for December 23rd and 24th.

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Saturday December 23, 2017

7:30 AM to 8:30 AM – $32 to run. Run Run Santa One-Mile. 

Calvary Chapel Viera
(map)

(2852 Fellowship Place, Orlando, Fl.) A fast, festive one-mile course that’s perfect for everyone from elite
runners to families looking to celebrate the holidays together. All
participants receive a full Santa Claus suit to wear during the race
with registration. http://runrunsanta.com

2PM and 7:30 PM – $18-$22. Phantasmagoria’s A Christmas Carol. Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center (201 S. Magnolia Ave., Sanford, Fl.) This critically acclaimed Victorian Performance Troupe weaves movement,
dance, puppetry, projections, music and storytelling in this classic
ghost tale. 


8 PM to Midnight – Free. A Wasteland Christmas Party. Gods and Monsters
(5421 International Drive, Orlando, FL.) Christmas party with classic Christmas movies playing on the big
screens, cosplay mutant cage dancers, and special holiday drinks and
treats for everyone.

Sunday December 24, 2017.

4 PM to 10 PM – Free. Pagan Pajama Party. VAULT 5421 (5421 International Dr, Orlando, Florida 32819.) Show up in your pajamas, and get 20% off
your bar tab and purchases in the store! Enjoy Holiday drinks and
cookies with the Krampus! We’ll be playing Krampus movies on the big
screens and have a naughty elf dancing in the cage too!
We realize that most Pagans’ idea of pajamas is going skyclad, but
please do wear SOME sort of legal apparel to this party.

 6 PM to 8 PM – $7. Bad Santa and His Ten Pints of Truth (Eugene Snowden). Will’s Pub (1042 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, FL.) Christmas Eve show with free gumbo.

5 PM –  Free. Blues Jam hosted by Doc Williamson. 

The Alley (114 S. Park Ave., Winter Park, FL.) Bring an instrument and join in the fun.

An Evening with Anna Deavere Smith.

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Anna Deavere Smith is a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize nominated American actress best known to television audiences as Nancy McNally on The West Wing and Gloria Akalitus on Nurse Jackie. Anna Deavere Smith’s theater work has become an inspirational source for civil discourse. She began the evening by playing the part of the man who video taped the police brutality which resulted in death of Eric Garner by compression of neck, due to a choke hold, compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.  Anna interviews people and then recreates that interview through a theatrical performance.  The result was an infuriated outburst by someone who is shocked and horrified by the continued police brutality that is rampant today.  Sometimes witnessing improper use of force is all that can be done. 

Through a short performance and interview, audiences heard about the process of combining a passion for social causes with documentary style theatre making. Ms. Smith seeks to “discern the American character and to capture its politics.” The discussion focused on how she finds the authentic voice of the people she interviews and then creates on stage.

Her brief performance was followed by a question and answer session with the audience. Not having a TV, I haven’t seen any of the shows that Anna starred in. I admire the premise of her one woman shows which are a combination of documentary and theater.  Her discussion on how she conducts her interviews was insightful.  I clearly see the need of hearing peoples’ stories, because every voice has its place in history. 

The Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians in Philadelphia.

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Pam Schwartz and I have been binge watching American Horror Story: Freak Show.  Side show freaks were murdered in that show and then their deformed bodies were put on display in formaldehyde glass cases.  The museum curator was depicted as a woman of questionable morals who only wanted to find the most unique deformities to put on display.  Both the side show and museum were desperate for patrons as the public turned to TV instead of live entertainment.  The museum in that series must be based on the very real Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians in Philadelphia (19 S 22nd Street Philadelphia, PA 19103.)

On display in the Mutter Museum is every conceivable deformity know to man.  On a recent trip to the Ringling Museum, I saw circus posters depicting Chang and Eng Bunker who are arguably the most famous conjoined Siamese twins. They were born in what is now Thailand in 1811. They
came to the United States in 1829 to tour and speak. Eventually tiring
of life as touring performers, they married sisters and bought adjacent
farms in North Carolina in the early 1840s. Between them, they raised 21 children and managed two farms. 

When the brothers died in 1874, Fellows of The College of Physicians
conducted the autopsy and arranged for the specimens to be transferred
to the museum. On display in the main gallery are their conjoined
livers and the plaster death cast of their torsos. Fetus’ with various abnormalities were on display in glass jars on the shelves around the twins. No photography is allowed, but sketching is encouraged.  I could get lost in this place for weeks sketching all the unique forms.  

On the ground floor of the museum was an amazing art display by Lisa Nilsson.  In her Tissue Series, she created ornate quilled paper constructions that explore
the complex geography of the human anatomy.  She used
images of transverse, coronal and sagittal cross sections from medical
sources as reference. Her work finds a delicate balance between art and anatomic accuracy,
beauty and the grotesque.

The forms, made from Japanese mulberry paper
and the gilt edges of antique books, are rendered in a technique of rolled
and shaped paper called quilling or paper filigree. The technique, first
practiced by Renaissance nuns and monks and later by aristocratic women
in the 16th-18th centuries, finds a contemporary relevance in Nilsson’s
work.

The Festival of Trees.

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The Festival of Trees, now in its thirty-first year, transforms the Orlando Museum of Art (2416 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803), into a glittering wonderland filled with sparkling trees, vignettes and stunning décor for visitors of all ages. This year’s event was designed with the theme The Gift of The Holidays and took place the week of November 11-19, 2017. The Orlando Museum of Art showcased designer Christmas trees of all sizes, holiday vignettes, custom hand-designed wreaths and table décor, a gingerbread village, tabletop displays and more. Each piece was designed by Orlando’s finest designers and was available for purchase.

The museum was jam packed the day I decided to go to get a sketch.  This was the one room where  the crowd thinned out enough for me to find a spot to sit.  The tree with the helmet and banners was designed by Medieval Times.  To my right, but outside the field of view of my sketch was a Marvel Comic themed tree.  It garnered the most comments with kids shouting to identify the comic characters made even more popular by summer blockbuster movies.

I find it odd that the festival was held the week before Thanksgiving.  The holiday seems to be promoted earlier and earlier each year. 

The Santaland Diaries at Breakthrough Theater.

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You can find The Santaland Diaries starring BeeJay Aubertin Clinton at Breakthrough Theater (421 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789.) As the audience filed in, the actor on stage was decorating the Christmas Tree.  He turned to Pam and said, “Oh, so that is what you decided to wear?” She was in her sweatshirt and jeans, granted not an elegant outfit, but comfortable. I was also in a sweatshirt and my hiking boots.  BeeJay had a snarky comment for everyone in the audience to get us warmed up for the show.  

With dreams of someday landing a roll in his favorite soap opera, this actor has to resort to auditioning as an elf for the Christmas Holidays.  To make matters worse, he gets the part.  His dark view of the world is only reaffirmed as he sees the way parents force this holiday madness on their children.  

BeeJay removed his jeans and shirt to unveil red snowflake tights and an elf jacket.  His elf hat was under a pillow, and he extricated his sneakers from under a couch.  Clearly this actor wasn’t prepared for the saccharine sweet training that followed.  Some sights can’t be unseen, like the mom who was encouraging her young son to pee in the fake snow.  The high stakes horror of waiting to meet Santa brings out the worst in any parent.  

This was a fun night of pessimism with a dash of sass.  

Remaining Show Dates and Times:
Monday, December 18, 10 p.m.

What’s Up Downtown for the Holidays.

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The Downtown Development Board invited people to attend the annual What’s Up Downtown  free holiday event held at the Walt Disney Amphitheater at Lake Eola.   Held at lunch time, downtown workers were encouraged to pack up a lunch and experience song and dance performances by the Russian Ballet, Mad Cow Theatre,
Docs and Dellas, Dr. Phillips Center Premier Performance Ensemble,
Howard Middle School Jazz Band and Howard Middle School Show Choir. I decided to sketch the choir whose choreography involved lots of exuberant hand motions. 

Artist German Lemus had an easel set up and was doing a painting of the event. It is encouraging that I wasn’t the only artist documenting the occasion.  His painting involved bold acrylic brush strokes.  An office worker in front of me was having a cup of soup.  Some of the young singers were flat and a few wrong notes were blatted out, but seeing so many kids exited to be on stage was heart warming enough.  It was overcast and downright cold, but my tablet manages to help warm my hands.  

Sleigh at the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford.

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I went to the final dress rehearsal for Sleigh presented by Gromalot Theater Factory at the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center (201 S. Magnolia, Sanford, FL 32771.) In this show, a pair of shopkeepers re-define “rivalry” as they coax customers away from their competitor. And three determined mail carriers fight the elements, a poorly addressed letter, and even each other to make a delivery. The entire show is silent except for sound effects, relying on exaggerated expressions and Vaudeville styled gestures to communicate the story.

I had seen Brandon Roberts play the part of a Christmas tree years ago.  I was a bit sad not to see him reprising his roll.  A silly section of the play involves an actor wearing the foam tree to express holiday cheer.  However the tree outfits are so silly that they just evoke laughter rather than the intended joy.  I recognized the director but couldn’t quite place her at first.  It was only after the rehearsal was over that it occurred to me that it was Toni Chandler, who is Brandon Roberts’ wife.

The stage set resembled a large Christmas card.  When closed, it showed a quiet little town to set the locale.  When it was opened it showed two shops next to each other, with the address numbers 1223 and 1227.  These were a bell shop and a whistle shop.  The female actress would be walking by the shops and the bell shop owner would ring her bell.  The shopper would stop in her tracks and with a huge exaggerated child like joy she would instantly want the bell.  She would pull money from her pocket and with a cha ching sound effect she would raise it above her head.  Before she could spend the money however the other shop owner would blow his whistle.  She wanted both and the shop owners played tug of war with her desire and with her money. 

Sleigh is a quick series of silent comic scenes with plenty of physical comedy.  Actors have many quick costume changes.  In one scene an actor rushed off stage and had to return dressed as a Salvation Army bell ringer.  The scene played out as it should, but it took a long while before he realized that he had forgotten to put on his pants in the rush of the costume change.  The result was that the actors where laughing so hard they had a hard time finishing the scene.  I hope that they leave that wardrobe malfunction in the final production.

The production is laugh out loud funny and your only chance to see it is tonight at 2:00PM and 7:30PM. 

Weekend Top 6 Picks for December 16th and 17th.

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Saturday December 16, 2017

5 PM to 9:30 PM –  Free.  Orlando Zine Fest 2017.  (Will’s Pub, 1042 N Mills Ave, Orlando, Florida 32803).  Orlando’s
local zinesters, artists, and writers–plus some folks from farther
afield–celebrate and support independent publishing and DIY/T with what they think may be the tenth consecutive annual Orlando Zine Fest outside of Will’s Pub/Lil Indie’s in the
ambitiously appellated Dirty Laundry Amphitheatre.

Accessible venue – swap and/or buy!

Bar at lil indies just inside where we’ll be hosting.

Record store pop-ups and screening movies again!

Coffee/tea by Danny
~food trucks – vegan options

REGISTER HERE:
https://goo.gl/CTHSZN
no registration fee.

All are welcome

growing list of participating zines:

Citrus Beat Press/ troykodycunio.com, Event Horizon/Orlando Area SF Society / oasfis.org, Gnome Comics / instagram.com/gnomedraws, Love Your Rebellion / Loveyourrebellion.org
Nickname / nicknamezine.com, Reflections on Gun Control
Street Type Zine / streettype.bigcartel.com/product/gdm, Florida is Loud will be ongoing throughout the weekend and Saturday night at Will’s.

5:30 PM to 7:30 PM –  $10.  Orlando Cringe IX – The Holiday Show! SAK Comedy Lab, (29 S Orange, Orlando, FL 32801.) For the last show of 2017, Cringe is teaming up with SAK Comedy Lab for a very special Cringemas Show! They are bringing back a very special reader from Cringe’s and SAK’s amazing team will be performing improvised scenes completely based on their journals. They also have other surprises, so naughty or nice, it’s going to be a great show!

2 PM to 11:30PM – Free.  Kaleidoscope Open House – Yoga, Music, Drawing, Painting Event. 

Kaleidoscope Venue For The Arts (1991 Corporate Square #1, Longwood, FL). 

Kaleidoscope will be having their first free ‘Open House’ in conjunction with the
Surrealistic Dreams art show on Saturday. The Open House begins at
2:00pm with Free Yoga at 2:00pm and at 6:00pm, Live Model Drawing with
Music begins at 7:30pm, the Art Show is from 7:30pm to 11:30pm and they
may be adding more things to see and do to this event as it draws
closer!

Sunday December 17, 2017

10 AM to 7 PM – Free.  Grandma Party Bazaar 2017! Stardust Video and Coffee (1842 Winter Park Rd, Orlando, FL 32803.) It’s the fifteenth Grandma Party Bazaar and you’re invited! Bring your
friends for the best Sunday of the year. Grandma Party
is you and me and all of us making it happen, so you’d better be there
because it just won’t be the same without you. As always, the party will be held in the parking lot of Stardust Video and Coffee starting at 10 a.m. and closing at Sundown. You can get a
taste of what good ol’ Gran has to offer this year by following her on
Facebook and Instagram (@Grandma_Party). Orlando has some seriously
creative artists and makers that were hard to choose from, but she has
picked some of the best of the best to share their craft with you. There will be a raffle,  interactive booths and DJ sets by Nigel John and
Oled Dad and live music from Von Nacht, Tiger Fawn, TV Dinner and MORE!
Of course, lots food and drinks too.

If you are new to the bazaar, be sure to bring your cash (most vendors
take cards too), and finish up your holiday shopping with one of a kind
treasures. While you’re at it, buy yourself a little something too!
Parking can be a challenge on this day, but it’s a good thing they are
located in the great neighborhood of Audubon Park where there are lots
of streets. Other options are carpooling, biking and Uber.

4 PM to 9 PM – Free. Winter Garden Christmas Golf Cart Parade. Bradford Park (220 West Division Street, Winter Garden, FL.)  Are
you ready for the 2017 WG Christmas Golf Cart Parade?! They will begin their 5th annual Golf Cart Parade by gathering at
Bradford Park early to socialize and compare decorations before heading
out to tour Downtown Winter Garden and ending near Walker Field near the
Plant Street Market. They will have prizes for the best decorated golf carts so take this
seriously. All money raised will be graciously donated to the
Edgewood Children’s Ranch as they have done in past. Golf Carts only and all traffic laws still apply.

7 PM to 9 PM – $10 donation Give ME Cheer. Marshall Ellis Theatre (1300 La Quinta Dr #3, Orlando, FL 32809.) Get
in the Christmas spirit and join Give ME Cheer, ME Dance’s first
charity ball benefiting local dance organizations, events and
scholarships. Enjoy performances, food, drink, meet-and-greets, a silent
auction and raffle.

Ludovico Einaudi in concert.

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On a recent tip to Princeton, New Jersey, I arranged to sketch a concert by Ludovico Einaudi at the McCarter Theatre Center (91 University Place, Princeton, NJ 08540). 
Ludovico Einaudi is a renowned pianist and composer. The Italian musician was born in Turin, Italy where his classical career began, before he moved on to create music for film with influences of pop, rock, and folk music.

Einaudi began his career performing classical music in the 1980s after training at the Conservatorio Verdi, when he began composing orchestral and classical pieces, before progressing to more main stream music heard in popular culture in the mid 80s. As well as piano, he plays and composes for guitar, in which he is incredibly skilled and proficient. Although Einaudi is influenced by classical artists, his style is unique with the fusion of classical and popular music bridging the gap between the two genres, making his music extremely accessible to many types of listeners.

From his eclectic back catalogue of tracks he has won several awards, including Best Film Music at the Avingon Film Festival and Best Soundtrack at the Italian Music Awards. His music has also appeared in popular culture worldwide, composing the trailer music for the movie Black Swan.

His album Le Onde written for piano and performed as a solo was the best selling album in the UK and Italy, sending Einaudi to success. Still producing charting music, his latest album “In A Time Lapse” has taken him on a giant US and Canadian tour, as well as landing him a slot at the prestigious iTunes festival.

The house lights were dark for the entire evening, so I struggled to see my sketch by the dim light of my cell phone.  Through the first half of the concert, he was joined on stage by a guitarist, violin, cello, a second electronic pianist and a percussionist.  The lighting was stark with spot lights on each performer. The music is mesmerizing, leaving the impression of a dream state.  The other performers left the stage and then Ludovico performed a solo that lasted forever.  There were periodic pauses where he held his hands suspended over the keys and then the music resumed.  The percussion in one piece had a sheet of metal suspended in a vat of water.  The metal would be shaken to produce thunderous sounds muffled by the liquid.  It was an experimental way of producing unexpected mysterious sounds. Overall it was an amazing concert and if we ever have a chance to see him in concert again, would jump at the opportunity. 

The Museum of Osteology

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The tenth Orlando Urban Sketch Workshop was held at the Museum of Osteology (8441 International Dr Suite 250, Orlando, FL 32819) a few days before Halloween.  The goal of the workshop was to get artists to capture the posed skeletons with simple fluid shapes and gestures.  They were asked to not render each bone with precision, but to focus on the actions of the poses.  The museum is perfect for this since every skeleton is posed as if the creature were alive.

  My favorite example was a small critter digging into a box of Milk Duds.  As an added bonus children were trick or treating at the businesses around the Orlando Eye.  The author Chad Shea of a children’s book called, “The Skeleton in the Closet” was in the Museum of Osteology gift shop.  As we were waiting for workshop attendees to show up, he pulled me over to his table to show me his book.  The book comes with a pose-able plastic skeleton that is in line with the tradition of a Christmas Elf on the Shelf.  Parents for generations have hidden elves in their homes for the children to find at Christmas.  Well they took that tradition and have a skeleton in the closet which can be hidden.  It is a clever idea.  The author knew of Analog Artist Digital World and he said he really liked an article I wrote called “The Otter and the Gun.” Chad ended up giving me the book and skeleton package, so this will become part of my Halloween tradition in the future.  Some skeletons had a realistic human skull, and others have a skull stylized like the illustrators depiction in the book.  The author popped off a realistic skull and popped on a stylized version to give me. Unfortunately withing a minute of opening the package, I decided to check the mobility of the head and I busted the skull off the spine.  Artists, especially animators,  are the worst on toys. 

The workshop was three hours long and I encouraged students to try and complete a more finished sketch with multiple skeletons together for the last sketch.  Since I was giving each student sketch suggestions I didn’t have time to finish up a more finalized sketch myself.  I was content to do a series of studies.

I settled on a a pair of sea otters for my final quick sketch.  I was planning a computer animated film about a sea otter and a sea lion.  I have modeled sea otters in the computer and even modeled their entire skeleton, so I am familiar with their quirky long forms.  I liked the yin and yang posturing of the skeletons.  One otter had his paws behind his head, a pose that isn’t often seen in nature.  Since they preen all the time however, it isn’t an impossible anthropomorphic pose.

There were some great sketches done that night by attendees.  If you have relatives visiting this holiday season, I would suggest a trip to the Osteology Museum.  It is a rare gem right here in Orlando.