Women in History

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Candy Dawson from Altrusa International, invited me to sketch a fundraiser for Pace Center for Girls. Pace is a nationally recognized prevention program for adolescent at-risk girls. The program understands the impact that gender responsive prevention services have on decreasing juvenile crime and in helping adolescent girls turn their lives around. The program integrates social services, education and career development in an individual manner. Pace is recognized as the most effective program in the country for keeping adolescent girls out of the juvenile justice system.

The fundraiser featured the usual silent auction items. When it was time for the main show, a valiant effort was made to get the women to stop shopping and quiet down. The girls from Pace had been rehearsing for weeks on this show. They were each dressed as a woman from the past and they had lines about how they helped forge and shape history. Candy introduced “The Supremes” with a flourish. Rather than the singing group, girls came out in black robes. They were the first women who were elected to the Supreme Court. Abigail Adams came out in a gorgeous white lace dress. Amelia Earhart came out in a vintage leather flight jacket. She forgot her lines but was helped out before she crashed and burned. Chief Warrant Officer Mia Perdue of the US Army spoke humbly of her service overseas. Her ship was the first at the front lines when the U.S. became involved in Iraq.

I was told afterwards that the girls didn’t have much confidence going into the show but they all rose up to the challenge when it was show time. I thought they seemed like seasoned actors. It warmed my heart to think theater could offer such an important lesson in Confidence to these girls from Pace.

Dog Powered Robot Rehearsal

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Dog Powered Robot is gearing up for action at the Orlando Fringe Festival in May. Rehearsals are happening twice a week at the Jewish Community Center. When I arrived, the cast was standing in the center of the room in a circle. There were lots of new faces indicating that the show would be bigger than ever. An actor got in the center of the circle and started acting like an orangutang. Once people started to laugh, he walked back out and stood in the circle. The person who laughed first had to stand in the middle. He acted like a giraffe, regal and slow. He looked over at an actress and started to curl his long tongue the way giraffes do. She couldn’t help but laugh. So she was next. I laughed non-stop since I was safely outside the circle.

 This evening was to be devoted to choreographing several dance and fight scenes. Darci Ricciardi was in charge of the choreography. Katie Green, the DPR director asked all the froggers to rehearse their part right after the dance scene. The scene was run multiple times without the costumes. I drew all the actors in pencil and was about to ink them in, when everyone was told to “suit up”.  Lollibot, played by Serafina, wandered bewildered. She came upon this gang of deviant froggers lead by a  frog with a large fedora and a cigar. Grace “Scully” Nolan was high above everyone else on her stilts. The head frogger entered the scene between her stilts. Part of his his costume got caught on her stilt. They had to stop the scene and untangle him. “Good to know!” Katie shouted, “That’s why we rehearse.” “I was so excited when I saw his head made it between my legs!” Scully shouted back. Everyone started laughing till they were red faced.

Christie Miga sat beside the director working non stop on a moving set piece. Evan Miga entered the scene as Dog Powered Robot when needed but he didn’t suit up. New ideas playfully sparked up throughout the rehearsal. Fisher, the dog behind Dog Powered Robot, kept track of everyone. Some robots are still being constructed and refined at the Dog Powered Robot Labs.

ReFresh

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ReFresh was a two-day art sale giving local artists an opportunity to showcase their artwork as well as providing art lovers with affordable, original art. The event took place at the Orange Studio, (1211 N. Mills Avenue) on Saturday April 21st and Sunday April 22nd from 11:00am – 5:00pm. Food trucks, including KBurgers, Fork in the Road, Yum Yum Cupcake Truck, Gastro-Truck, Fro2Go, and The Flattery will be on site during the event.

The Orange Studio is a cavernous one story building which is used for photo shoots. The last time I was there, Voci Dance was performing a Valentines themed show. There were three food trucks in the parking lot behind the building. The back door to the Orange Studio was open so I walked in. All the walls had framed artwork neatly framed and hung. I had expected an informal fair like setting but was pleased to see the work hung gallery style.

There were large three foot photo prints and splashy serigraph prints that depicted the start of a marathon and the Prix de France. Orit Ruben is the one Orlando artist who’s work I recognized. She does pastels of the nude figure. There were quite a few very large abstracts, both warm and cool. I was surprised I didn’t recognize more of the artists. I didn’t linger too long. I wandered back outside and decided that the food trucks were the main attraction at ReFresh. The Gastro Truck seemed to offer cheesy delights. Some people ordered food and never went inside to see the art. No one ever seemed to order anything from the Gourmet Flatbreads truck. The Fro-2 Go Truck did a brisk business. Even the woman taking orders at the Gastro Truck ordered a Fro-Yo. I hope there are more places that will open their doors to artists like this.

The Way of the Cards

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“The Way of the Cards” is a new play written and directed by Aradhana Tiwari. It will have its World Premiere tonight at 8:30PM in the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, Mandell Theatre (812 E. Rollins St, Orlando). I went to a tech rehearsal a few days before the opening. Aradhana welcomed me warmly and introduced me to Tom Mangieri, the set designer. This was the first time the cast saw the set, so stage manager, Brenna Nicely, gave them a walk through. Apparently the steps could be hazardous. The set wasn’t complete yet, but the sink had running water. Everything was a bit off kilter, giving the domestic scene an unsettled feeling

Aradhana said to the cast, “Don’t let
the largeness of the space take away from your power.” She pushed the
actors repeatedly to project to the back row. As the scenes were
rehearsed, she moved to different seats in the theater, getting a feel
for the scenes from all angles.  She handled the music cues from her iPhone.

The play is about the dysfunctional Arlington family. Tip, played by Anthony Pyatt, narrates the plays opening, structuring his narrative around a single
hand of Texas Hold ‘em. He teaches cards in order to
relay the most tragic hand of his life. He spends much of the play munching cereal trying to remain disconnected from the drama swirling around him. His mom, Sass, played by Kate Ingram,  may have been the “First Lady Of The
Vegas Strip” at one point in her poker career, but now she is simply a
tired hack who plays on a riverboat. Tips sister Tally, played by Olivia Richardson, tried to bring some order to the home but she never could fulfill her absent mothers expectations. The youngest member of the family, Lucky, played by Gabe Patrick, dreamed of someday being a “Mechanic” which is someone who knows how to cheat at cards.

Sass needed to convince Lucky that cheating at cards was disrespectful to the game. “In life there are players and there are dealers, you don’t want to look back and wish you had played a hand. The way of the cards is in the people that hold them. There is always some sucker hoping there is a special card that will save the day.” “Don’t worry mom, I’ll earn my wins.” Lucky replied.

This is a powerful heartfelt drama born right here in Orlando. Get out and experience this show for yourself. Be a player, not a dealer. We all have to work with the hand we have been dealt.

When:

April 27th through May 6th
Fri 4/27- 8:30PM
Sat 4/28- 8:30PM
Sun 4/29- 2:30PM
Mon 4/30- 8:30PM Industry Night
Thu 5/3- 8:30PM
Fri 5/4- 8:30PM
Sat 5/5- 2:30PM(Matinee, no night show)
Sun 5/6- 2:30PM

Cost:
General Admission: $15

Industry Night: $10 (Guaranteed seating with previous reservation, we
are also offering a walk-up admission of pay what you can, it’s not
guaranteed seating, but you can pay whatever you want!)

Time:
Fri/Sat/Mon- 8:30PM
Sun/Sat(5/5)- 2:30PM

For tickets and more info: Visit PlayTheMoment.Com.
(Tickets are now on sale )

The Creative Village

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The old Amway Arena was imploded at 7am several weeks ago. I didn’t get up that early to see the devastation, but a week later, I drove past the site as I was weaving my way through side roads to avoid a back up on Colonial Drive. A large banner declared the wreckage to be the “Creative Village” and I had to sketch the ironic sight. The wind caused sheet metal to flap sounding a bit like thunder. Clouds of dust rose and danced among the exposed beams. The four corner structures remained intact with dark red interior stairwells looking like bloody eviscerated flesh.

I enjoyed the Orlando Magic games I saw in this arena. I never understood why an extra large arena had to be built to house a basketball court. But what is done is done. According to a site online, The Creative Village will be a magnet for knowledge workers to live, work, learn and play – a place where high-tech, digital media and creative industry companies integrate with residential, retail, and academia in a neighborhood that is connected to the surrounding community and plugged in globally. Innovative in its architecture, thoughtfully mixing living and working spaces, the Village will be designed to enhance the lifestyle of creative people and become a supportive, business-friendly environment in which digital media and related companies can thrive. Hopefully the Creative Village will live up to its name, but for now, it looks like a war zone.

I had a wrapper from some peanut butter Girl Scout cookies in my art bag. Half way into the sketch, an ant bit my leg. I slapped it off and looked around to be sure I wasn’t sitting on a fire ant mound. I noticed ants swarming around my bag. I pulled out the wrapper which was now covered in ants and I disposed of it. Slowly the ants dispersed but some still chose to bite me occasionally.

Acoustic Eidolon

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The Timucua White House hosted Joe Scott and Hannah Alkire who are a tour-de-force of acoustic music, described as “World Music for the Soul.” In February 1998, Joe Scott and Hannah Alkire founded Acoustic Eidolon. What began as a musical adventure turned quickly into a life adventure, for both Hannah and Joe. Joe described how he builds his own double-neck guitjo. He described the intricacies of designing and playing this one of a kind instrument. His long impassioned description was followed by, “Oh, yea, Hanna plays a cello. Hanna and everyone else laughed.

It might have been fate or destiny that brought these talents together but this couple from Colorado had a unique and heart felt sound. Hannah told a story about how she checked her cello in with luggage for a United Airlines flight and what she got back was splintered and destroyed. United never accepted responsibility for the damage. Scott wrote Hannah a song called “In Your Cathedral” of condolence for the instrument which she called, her lost voice. It was the first of many love songs. This couple who madebeautiful music together eventually got married on October 14, 2001. Hannah wrote a song called “Hurricane Hannah” that expressed the whirl wind of emotions as she searched to regain her voice. A cello repairman had a large slab of wood that came from the same tree Hannah’s instrument came from. The repaired cello had just as rich a sound when repaired.

Terry, my wife arrived late, but when my sketch was done, she sat beside me and rested her head in my lap.

View from Ivanhoe

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When I was at the Palmer Feed Store Grand Opening, Brian OHalloran suggested I do a drawing of the Orlando skyline from a spot on the far side of Lake Ivanhoe. There were no big events going on, or I just didn’t know about them, so I drove to the spot he suggested after I got off work at Full Sail. It was a quiet suburban neighborhood off Princeton near the Shakes, OMA and Science Center. A street circled the lake and the homes had this wonderful view from their front yards.
There was a park bench, so I sat down and started sketching. The sun was setting so the light grew warm. The quiet peaceful scene was shattered for a moment by a speed boat pulling a water skier. A cormorant swam by on the near shoreline. I felt completely relaxed. Now I know why artists do so many landscapes, they don’t have to worry that people will move or just walk away.
Yesterday at the Florida Film Festival I saw an animated clamation film called “Venus“. In the short, a young couple, Caroline and Rasmus, had a passionate relationship, but years later find that they haven’t made love for over four months. Rasmus feels they can remedy the situation by going to a swinger’s club. Caroline is reluctant to go and embarrassed. She is about to leave alone, when another woman in the locker room describes the thrill she feels when men lust for her. Caroline looks at herself in a mirror, then goes back inside and meets a man seated alone who is a bit shy himself. They quietly, then passionately make love. In the meantime, in another room, Ramus finds he can’t perform. Embarrassed, he looks for Caroline and finds her in the throws of passion with a crowd watching. Rasmus sees how beautiful she is and when they get home, the passionate spark is re-ignited between them. This is a very European ending. In America if you knew your partner was with another man, it would end the relationship.

Relay for Life

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Marilyn Wattman–Feldman suggested I go to the Sanford Zoo to sketch the Relay for Life. My wife Terry arrived before me and I looked for her in the crowd. Tents were set up in the area in front of the zoo entrance where the zip lines are set up. There was a makeshift stage set up and I noticed a llama wearing a diamond studded tiara. A radio personality asked all the cancer survivors to come forward and stand in front of the stage. A large group of survivors, all dressed in purple T-shirts stood in front of the stage. There were young and old alike, people from all walks of life.

The Relay was an all night fundraising walk. The first lap was for the survivors lead by Clarissa the llama. The announcer didn’t realize Clarissa was a llama. “It wasn’t in my script!,” he shouted and he laughed. I saw Marilyn among the survivors as she did the first lap. Children were selling wristbands with passion. Terry and I got some bratwurst for dinner and we watched the girls make up new chants as they tried to sell the wristbands.

For $5 you could go on an evening tour of the zoo with a zoo guide. Marilyn said that the animals were more active at night. Guests were given flashlights with red gels which wouldn’t disturb the animals as much. We saw kangaroos, gators, a porcupine and some monkeys but most animals were either very well hidden or they were backstage asleep. After the tour, Terry left and I started searching for a sketch. I settled on this young zoo employee selling stuffed snakes and letting people know about the zoo tour. The snakes were cheap, like $3, and she sold quite a few. As I started putting in color, the lights all went out. I thought there had been a power failure, but someone finally explained that there was going to be an hour of silent remembrance for friends and family who had died to cancer. Paper bags with candles inside were placed all around the relay track. Some bags had photos of loved ones and many had loving tributes. Even the girls selling bracelets quieted down. It was a solemn, quiet time. The lights all flickered on, and the carnival-like atmosphere resumed. I splashed colors on my dark sketch, losing the gorilla and rhino in the dark of the night.

Jane Goodall

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Anthropologist Jane Goodall gave a talk at Rollins College about her research into the behavior of chimpanzees. The talk took place in the Alfond Sports Center. I arrived an hour or so early. There already was a huge line of people waiting outside to get in. Lauren Bradley, the PR Director at Rollins met me at a side door and she was gracious enough to help me find a seat with a good line of sight. The first two rows of the bleachers I decided to sketch from were reserved for the ushers and staff, so I sat in the third row and got to work.

Ushers were dressed in black and they had a meeting with the Fire Marshall before the doors opened. He wanted to be sure that everyone remained seated once they got inside. Student seating was in the bleachers across from me and of course VIP seating was up front on the floor of the basketball court. The doors opened and the crowd rushed in. Just about every seat in the cavernous room was filled. Footage of baby chimpanzees flashed on the screens.

Jane was announced and she stood at the podium with quiet dignity. She spoke with a sweet British accent as she recalled how she ended up pursuing her life’s dream. Jane read, “Tarzan” as a child and she imagined herself in the exotic jungle setting. When she was even younger, she wondered how a chicken could lay an egg. There was no hole big enough! She sneaked into the hen house and waited there for about 14 hours. Her mom didn’t know where Jane went, so she was sick with worry. Finally a hen layed an egg and Jane rushed to her mother to share the experience with her. To her mom’s credit, she didn’t chastise her daughter. When she saw the look of excitement and wonder in Jane’s eyes, she put aside her worry and listened. When Jane first went to Gambe in what is now Tanzania, her mother joined her, and encouraged her, since it was close to impossible to find or get close to the primates in the beginning. Sadly her mother left right before the moment an alpha male chimpanzee accepted Jane. The rest of the chimps then decided that, if he accepted her, then she must not be a threat.

Jane encouraged everyone to go to see “Chimpanzee“, a Disney nature documentary that opened in theaters April 20th. If you see “Chimpanzee” the week it opens—April 20-26, then for that one week only, Disney Nature will contribute 20 cents per ticket to the Jane Goodall Institute to protect wild chimpanzees. The funds will help, protect their home—the tropical forest, educate the next generation and Care for orphaned chimpanzees.

Jane spoke about how similar chimpanzee’s are to humans. It was assumed, back when she began her research, than only humans used tools. She found that chimpanzees not only used tools, they created tools. Both chimps and humans display sorrow, grief, joy and paternal love. She was shocked to discover that, like humans, chimps have a dark side. Humans are better at spoken communication and yet they are destroying their own resources. The environment is being destroyed for the next generations. Jane began a program called Roots and Shoots, which encourages children and young adults that they can take steps to help make the world a better and more sustainable place to live.

Earth Day at City Hall

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In the plaza in front of City Hall there was a small Earth Day Celebration with about ten tents promoting conservation and green initiatives. There were two large circular plague where all the world land masses were covered with green grass. Terry was there with her co-worker Sy. She picked up a free green earth day reusable shopping bag. In the Orlando Wetlands tent there was a baby alligator in a blue tub. People could hold the gator while having their picture taken in front of the Earth Day plaques. Red flowers decorated the edges.

There was a miniature golf course with bleach bottles and other garbage as the sand pits. Half full water bottles were being tossed into a recycling bin as a carnival game. New energy efficient light bulbs to a new totally electric car from Nissan were on display. There is now an electric outlet for a car right on Orange Avenue outside City Hall. The same gray electric car has been plugged in there the two times I’ve walked by. Todd Morgan was there representing Comprehensive Energy Services. I know Todd for his work with Harmonious Universe which helps brighten the town with colorful interactive murals. Anyone can help in the painting so long as they can hold a paint brush.

It started to rain as I was sketching so I rushed under a palm tree for some cover. Mayor Buddy Dyer walked out of City Hall and paused to look at the makeshift Earth Day Celebration, then he walked across the street toward the Grand Bohemian with two other men in suits. Be sure to stop by Lake Eola today to see all of the activities throughout the day.