Red Fox Lounge

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Mark Wayne and Lorna Lambey were an Orlando Lounge act legends. Sadly Mark passed away last spring. I’ve often wondered what act could possibly follow their brand of Vegas style kitsch. The urban legend was that Mark and Lorna’s act inspired a Saturday Night Live bit where two teachers perform for students. Part of me hoped Lorna would continue to perform although I knew that wasn’t likely. I had to return to get another sketch.

When I got to the Red Fox Lounge in the Mount Vernon Inn (110 South Orange Avenue Winter Park, ) the room wasn’t as packed as the last time I had been there. The sixties era room sported prints of horse riders on the hunt. Bathed in blue light, Patty and Michael were performing behind a poster sized caricatures of themselves. I found it odd that Patty and Michael’s business card and website didn’t once mention their last names. Perhaps this first name branding makes them seem as big as Sonny and Chere. I liked their covers of Norah Jones  songs but they couldn’t match Norah’s silky voice. They played a wide selection of covers but the music never had the energy or conviction to get people dancing or singing along. The music was kitschy and sweet but an empty caricature of the energetic originals. There is another act performing on alternating evenings and perhaps one day I’ll return.

Melinda Wagner

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Composer, Melinda Wagner, gave a talk about her music and creative process at the Timucua White House (2000  South Summerlin Avenue, Orlando). She won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for music. Her laptop was open so she could play her compositions for us. Besides composing music she is also a house wife in New Jersey. The other house wives don’t really understand what she does. When Melinda explained to one woman that she was a composer, the woman responded, “I thought all the composers were dead.”

Melinda explained that anytime she starts a composition, there is a period of angst and worry where the music is in absolute chaos. Then the piece reaches a stage where she realized it is all going to fall into place. Then she can relax and enjoy the process. When she played her music for us, she closed her eyes and listened. She explained that an artist’s roll is to take risks for the sake of beauty. She is listening and looking for a piece with heart. As she said, “Music offers composers an immeasurably rich and
generous sonic landscape in which to explore the ‘life story’ of each
musical idea — its dramas, intrigues, joys and sorrows — a life. I
strive to find various and persuasive ways of moving through the
resulting temporal narrative, and to traverse a wide spectrum of
expression and color on the way. Ultimately, I want listeners to know me; I want them to hear that while I enjoy the cerebral exercise, I am led principally by my ear, and by my heart.”

Blur

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I went to the final run through rehearsal for Emotions Dance performance of Blur at Turning Pointe Dance Studio (470 E Lake Brantley Drive, Longwood, FL). Rehearsal started at 9PM so I had time to eat dinner with Terry at home before I left. The dance company’s founder was on a conference call to California when I arrived and she told the dancers they had five minutes to warm up before starting to dance “full out”.

Using contemporary dance, Blur examines social networking, consumerism, the corporate world and reality television and asks “Are we really connected to one another”? Energetic, heartfelt and also playful choreography came together to look at our habits in today’s hectic world! Things are not always black and white. My favorite dance number involved all the dancers moving in a grid like pattern on the stage as they tapped out text messages. The driving techno music by Draft Punk Techno Logic set the fast paced beat to messages sent with little heart. “Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, melt – upgrade it, charge it, pawn it, zoom it, press it, snap it, work it, quick – erase it, write it, get it, paste it, save it, load it, check it, quick – rewrite it, plug it, play it, burn it, rip it, drag and drop it, zip – unzip it, lock it, fill it, curl it, find it, view it, code it, jam – unlock it, surf it, scroll it, pose it, click it, cross it, crack it, twitch – update it, name it, rate it, tune it, print it, scan it, send it, fax – rename it, touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it, turn it, leave it, stop – format it.” I love the lyrics! They seem to document my mad struggle to keep up with a digital world.

Tonight, Saturday September 15th, is the last performance so get to the Orlando Repertory Theatre Blackbox (1001 E Princeton St, Orlando) by 8PM. Buy it, charge it, rip it, then prepare for some truly thought provoking dance! There is an opening act by Turning Pointe Elite. Go!

The Sketchbook Project

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The Sketchbook Project has been touring the nation and it made a stop at Urban ReThink (625 East Central Blvd., Orlando). The Sketchbook Project sells small sketchbooks to artists around the country, asking the artists to return the book full of art. I participated the first year I heard about the project but it was painful to give up a full sketchbook. I learned from fellow Urban Sketchers that the Sketchbook Project retains all reproduction rights to the sketches. It is nice to have the one sketchbook in the Brooklyn Sketchbook Library but I’m not tempted to do it again.7000 sketchbooks were neatly stored in bookshelves on wheels. They can be quickly rolled off a truck to be moved to a new city. Dina Mack sat flipping through sketchbooks. As she put it, “I’m in sketchbook heaven.”

Urban ReThink which was formerly a book store seemed perfectly suited to house the collection. The first step in checking out a sketchbook was to get a library card. I already had my card from the previous year, so I skipped to step two, which was checking out a book. There was a laser bar code reader to scan the card and then you used a computer to pick out sketchbooks by theme, location or artist’s name. I picked two local sketchbooks to start. The sketchbook from Orlando was dark, brooding and full of angst. The next category I searched was “This is a sketchbook.”  I figured I’d get to see some quality sketches. One artist did catch my eye. Cheism was an artist from London and his sketches were light hearted and fun. Larry Lauria an animation instructor from Full Sail stopped in. Larry had submitted a sketchbook this time around so I tried to check out his sketchbook. It wasn’t available. Someone else must have checked it out. I seemed to keep checking out duds while the young couple next to me kept getting fun creative sketchbooks. One of their books was taped together accordion style and the whole book was one big colorful Dagwood sandwich.

Artist Mary K. Shaw sat with friends at the table in front of me flipping through sketchbooks. Blank post cards were available for artists to sketch on. If you sketched on a postcard, it would be sent to the next stop on the sketchbook tour. Robin Maria-Pedrero completed a postcard sketch and in return, she was given another artists postcard. The postcard sent her warm wishes for a beautiful day. The next step for the Sketchbook Project is a mobile library, similar to a food truck.

Artists Process

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As part of the Corridor Project‘s first show, Walk on By, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, a UCF art instructor, sat in a thrown outside Urban ReThink starting at 6pm on September 5th accepting trash offerings. That evening artists gathered at ReThink to talk about their art and process.

Wanda was dressed in a tight red corset and had a huge wig of purple hair which was woven and balled up. Red and white jewels glistened in her hair. From the moment I entered, I knew I wanted to get close to her to sketch. Wanda’s regal performance piece had previously been done at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.


She began her discussion by asking the audience what they felt her performance was about. I hadn’t seen her performance, so I kept quiet. Her question rang forth like a challenge. The room was dead silent. A little boy started shrieking and complaining in the corner. With a regal flair Wanda raised her hand and shouted out “Excuse me!” The mom ushered her son out the door. Wanda explained that people often dump their shit on the people closest to them. She said her performance art was about intimacy. In one performance piece she invited people to lie in bed with her. In the quiet moments, some people cried.


Jessica Earley who yarn bombed the front of Urban Rethink discussed her art. She is soft spoken and began her talk by warning us of her shyness. As she discussed her art, she was never at a loss for words. She gazed at the far wall of the room as she spoke. Her thoughts and passions rang true. The projector wouldn’t work but Dina Mack helped her get it running. Jessica showed us some of her more controversial paintings that she had done. One painting she did was actually censored by a costumer in a local restaurant. Her paintings often visualize woman’s issues. Some show a woman’s longings to someday have a child. A painting showing a nude woman and child couldn’t be hung. The woman had some knitting covering her lap and a single strand of yarn lead to a baby who had on a knit cap and diapers. Black crows then flew up from the child’s head towards a flaming blue cell. Jessica has been painting for the past three years and her work is astonishingly intimate and sincere. A common thread through the evenings discussions was that artists love to experiment and explore different mediums. Jessica wants to continue performance art, music, dance, installations and visual art. Self expression can come in many forms.

Red Chair Affair

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The Red Chair Affair is held once a year in Orlando at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center, (401 W. Livingston St. Orlando), to introduce the upcoming theater season. It is a opulent crash course celebration of Central Florida’s arts and culture. John DiDonna directed this intricate evening showcasing an army of Orlando talent. The logistics of just getting everyone on and off stage on time and in order must have been mind boggling. Thankfully John allowed me to sketch a rehearsal, since I had another sketch outing planned for the night of the performance.

I entered the stage door and made my way through the back stage maze of dressing rooms to get to stage right. Crowds of actors, dancers, singers and acrobats were in the halls. John shouted my name and welcomed me. Both he and Jennifer Bonner advised me to sketch from out in the house, so I abandoned the notion of sketching from back stage. Besides stage lights were blinding.  In the back rehearsal room, all the decorated IKEA Red Chairs were on table being inventoried for auction. Each arts organization decorated a chair.

YOW Dance was on stage going through a dance routine for staging. I turned my attention to the TV camera operators who were filming the rehearsal. The NuLook School of Performing Arts students performed a lively
and stylish Indian dance called “Redolare.” I caught one of the dancers sinuous lines. Comedic actors from the Orlando Shakespeare Theater performed a hilarious fast paced history of Shakespeare using a sports commentators pacing. I recognized actor Brandon Roberts who always makes me laugh. Since I’m no Shakespeare expert however, some of the analogies were way over my head. I heard that the Enzian Theater was going to screen “Notes on Biology” which we now screen every month in the Full Sail 2D Animation course to help inspire students.

National Night Out

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I went to the Winter Park Police Department (500 North Virginia Avenue, Winter Park) for National Night Out. This was a free family community event that offered food, fun, raffles and prizes. I arrived straight from work on a cloudy grey Tuesday. The street in front of the police department was blocked off and a food vendor had just set up a tent. A Monster Energy Drink pickup truck pulled up behind him. Volunteers in red T-shirts helped get things set up. A blue armored vehicle backed onto the sidewalk with several officers spotting him. I sat on a stone bench and sketched the September 11th Memorial. A woman approached to see what I was doing. She said the police chief was going to display a broken fragment from the twin towers at this event. She then offered me the opportunity to buy one of the memorial paving stones. I never did see the tower fragment but part of me really didn’t want to see it.

It began to rain and I had to run for cover. I added color to the sketch from my new vantage point under an awning. Since my car was many blocks away and I didn’t want to walk in the rain without an umbrella, I started sketching the assault rifles, hand guns and battering rams being exhibited by members of the swat team. People could try on the heavy green flack jacket and even lift a rifle to see how heavy it was. There were always people in front of this table.

I experienced a sudden hot flash and I lost feeling in my finger tips. My arms were soaked with sweat and I dropped my sketchbook. I put my head in my hands and willed the pavement into focus as a woman got her hair caught in the Velcro of the flack jacket. Friends were laughing at her plight and shooting pictures. I got a bottled water out of a cooler next to me and used it to cool my neck and forehead. I began to panic. I didn’t want my last sketch to be of fire arms. Then I realized there must be a half a dozen EMTs at the event. If I was going to pass out, this was probably the best place to do that. I slowed my breathing and drank the bottle of water. I realized walking in the rain might cool me off so I packed away the sketchbooks and walked back to my car. The rain did feel good. I managed to drive home but I wasn’t feeling great. I crashed on the couch and didn’t get up till the next morning.

Casa Feliz

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Casa Feliz (625 North Park Avenue, Winter Park) hosts free musical performances each Sunday from Noon to 3PM. Jack Fannigan invited me inside prior to a performance with a theatrical flourish. Jack used to work for James Gamble III who designed Casa Feliz. The building was slated to be demolished but Winter Park citizens wanted to save the historic building. The entire building was lifted and moved to its new home next to a golf course.

Matt, The Sax Man, Festa and Michelle Mailhot were performing on this sunny Sunday afternoon. I had sketched Matt once before at a First Thursdays event at OMA. As a matter of fact, when he opened his laptop, my sketch of him was being used as his screen saver. Michelle also performs with Toxic Audio, a talented acapella singing group. I know they have performed at the Orlando International Fringe Festival and I’ve heard plenty of good buzz, but I’ve never seen them perform. Regardless, Michelle’s voice is stellar. She sang Nora Jones’ “I don’t knew why” with incredible heart.

The evening before, I had sketched at the Red Fox Lounge where the incomparable Mark Wayne and Lorna Lamby used to perform their kitschy and fun musical lounge act. After Mark’s death earlier this year, there has been other performers trying to fill those shoes, but there is still a void. Matt and Michelle have that extra magic turning a performance into an all out party. Michelle’s daughter dressed in pink, danced in the front row. Every seat was full and the room was alive. As I packed up to leave, I noticed another artist working on a sketch. What a great way to start a Sunday afternoon.

Taste of the Nation

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Share Our Strength’s 23rd Annual Taste of the Nation was a huge success, raising $248,785 to fight childhood hunger! Local beneficiaries are Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, along with the statewide Florida Impact.

More than 2,300 people enjoyed delicacies prepared by 37 of Central Florida’s leading restaurants, bubbly and other beverages from 18 top providers, and live music by local band, Crash Reality.

The night included a silent auction presented by Neiman Marcus, chance drawings for Jet Blue tickets and an island getaway, a live auction, and an instant “wine cellar” of 100 prime bottles to the lucky person whose key opened the lock.

Emceed by DJs Scott McKenzie of MIX 105.1 and Paco of 1059 SUNNY FM, the event featured the Creekstone Farms “throw-down” cooking competition rematch. Honorary Event Chair Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orlando Restaurant Guide’s Scott Joseph, and WFTV anchor Bob Opsahl were the judges. Winning for the second year, by just two points, chef Dan Nester of Rosen Shingle Creek Resort had the privilege of signing a generous check to Taste of the Nation Orlando from Creekstone Farms.

Terry and I arrived an hour early and my sketch was blocked in before the crowds grew thick around the Orlando World Center Marriott‘s food stations. I worked from a round table while Terry scouted out all the food choices. Waves of couples joined me at the table as I worked. I noticed that if I sketched someone in line for food, they would invariably walk to my table to eat. When the sketch was finished, I looked for Terry and started sampling the amazing food offered. After several small meat dishes I was already full. I knew from last year’s event, that Chef Jean-Louis of the Royal Plaza Hotel served an amazing Bananas Foster. The line was long but I braved it since I knew it was worth it. Fresh bananas were sliced length wise in half, coated with a fine mist of nuts and fried in butter. The chefs worked with amazing speed keeping the line moving. A scoop of vanilla ice cream topped off the fried bananas along with a rich glaze. I asked for a second serving for Terry. That single serving made my evening complete. I washed it down with a Magners Irish cider.

Marshall Ellis Dance Company

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ME Dance, Inc. is the Newest Professional Dance Organization located in the heart of
Central Florida. On September 8th and 9th, they will be presenting Première. This
performance will mark the company’s first performance showcasing a diverse
repertoire from Guest and Resident Choreographers, live music by Central Florida
Composer’s Forum, and innovative collaborations with other local artists. I contacted William Marshall Ellis the dance company founder and president. Thankfully he knew of my work and he invited me to sketch a rehearsal.

The rehearsal space was in a large warehouse that was gated.  I punched in the gate code several times and the gate rolled open. I couldn’t spot building numbers so I decided to park in the lot with the most cars figuring they might be dancers cars. The front door to the building was locked. As I pulled out my cell phone, a young woman who had to be a dancer walked up and offered to shew me how to find the stage door out back. I explained that I was a sketch artist and she said, “Oh yes, Marshal told us you were coming.” She explained that they had been rehearsing for four months now. The rehearsal space was cavernous. I noticed Universal Studios costumes hung out back. I noticed a lion’s head from Madagascar. The space is also used by Aerial Adrenaline and long fabrics hung from the ceiling.

Marshall sat at a table controlling the lights and projections. Childhood photos of the dancers were projected on the screens as they danced. There were a wide variety of dance routine from red, primal dance to light, flowing, and carefree. At one point the dancer who lead me in from the parking lot, had a solo dance. She was dressed in a light flowing dress that had some form of open loop in the skirt. As she danced, her leg got caught in the loop causing her to trip up. When it happened a second time everyone realized the costume would have to be changed. One dancer did an energetic dance number and then immediately sat down next to a guitarist to sing. She was huffing at first and then sang beautifully. Marshall assured her that she would have more time to get ready at the Première performance. I am excited to see the final results from all this dedicated hard work.

You will be sure to enjoy Première. To
reserve your tickets please visit ME Dance, Inc.

Show Times:

September 8, 2012 at 8pm

September 9, 2012 at 7:30pm

Ticket Prices:
$20 General Admission

Venue:
Winter Garden Theatre 160 West Plant Street Winter Garden, Florida 34787