Fringe Merchandise

Posted on by Thor

The Fringe box office was a constant whirlwind of activity. Before you can even purchase a ticket for a show you must first get a Fringe button. I was running late to one show and had managed to forget my Fringe button at home. My button was tied to the backpack I had used to go camping for Brian Feldman’s Fringe of Nature. So I come running up to this table with just seconds to spare and I ask to buy a button. The kind sales lady informs me I can return the button after the show. I pull out my wallet and I don’t have enough cash. I rush up the ramp to an automated teller machine and withdraw some money. I rush back get the button and then rush to the box office to get the ticket. The ticket sales lady says, “I’m sorry the doors are closed already.” The Fringe is a tightly oiled machine. Show doors close on exactly the specified hour and then no one else can enter. I decided to return the newly purchased button and then I drove home to get my button and Artists Badge. I would see more shows that day, just without the rush and hassle.

The vote signs are so audience members can vote for their audience choice awards.

Follow Your Dream

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Dina Peterson is co-Directing a short film called “Follow Your Dream”. The film is about an Elvis impersonator who dreams of making it to the big time. His wife doesn’t understand the dream. While he sings in a smoky night club a young woman tries to seduce him. His wife finds out about this incident. While arguing one night his wife has a brain aneurysm. At her bedside the impersonator vows to get a 9 to 5 job as a mechanic to help pay the medical bills. Over time the wife comes to realize that she has taken her husbands dream away.
These shots were set up at the Dog and Bone British pub (9 Stone Street, Coco). When I arrived the smoke machine had just been turned on and an assistant was waving a large sheet of board around to spread it around the room. Once the smoke was ready, then the shot could start. Elvis sang 5 tunes straight through while the cameramen used hand held cameras. They also shot the songs using a tripod. At the time I sketched him, Elvis was singing “I Gotta Follow That Dream.”
As Elvis sang, Dina was dancing in front of the video monitor watching the shots. When I first met Dina she was singing karaoke in a bar very much like the one this film was being shot in. The film was shot over the course of 3 days and will be edited soon.

I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.

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Although the Elvis impersonator’s wife wanted him to live a normal 9 to 5 existence, she soon realized she loved him more when he was chasing his dream, as crazy as it might be. She found out about a talent contest where some talent scouts were going to be and she insisted he sing again.
This is the last shot in the film where he sings “I Can’t help Falling in Love with You” to his wife. This is a 360 shot where the cameraman, director and an assistant circled the table as Elvis sang. The film ends with the couple embracing. This was a challenging sketch to get because the whole bar was black except for the spot light above the couple. I was using the book light as they set up but one they started shooting, I had to turn it off because they didn’t want to see anything in the background. I worked between shots and painted a bit after it was all said and done.
Later in the afternoon there was going to be a scene where a woman in the audience flashed Elvis. I had to get to Gatorland so I had to miss it.

Cody Rivers Show

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The Cody Rivers Show, starring Mike Mathieu and Andrew Connor, had me laughing out-loud for a solid hour. I had seen this comic pair last year and I had to return for more this year. Sultana Fatima Ali and I sat in the front row and at times I leaned forward and grabbed my camping chair, fearing it might get trampled in all the physical humor. A ping pong game with an invisible ball and table relied on nothing but sound effects to bring the scene to life. The game could be played as fast as the speed of sound and such limitations as gravity and realistic timing could he ignored. This could be said of so many of the fast paced skits.

The sketch depicts a Mummenschanz like moment where the actors hands function as eyes and a mouth. Different arrangements of hands portrayed different characters.

The pace of the show was fast and furious. At times I was laughing so hard I couldn’t catch my breath.

If you go into this show with no expectations you will be blown away. I left the theater in high spirits and every time I bump into someone I know, I tell them they have to see this show. I am telling you the same. You will thank me if you go.

Fringe – Outdoor Stage

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Mark Baratelli, the editor and chief of thedailycity.com, took to the outdoor stage for two nights. Mark didn’t have a prepared script, he simply took to the stage and started talking. He started talking about waiting in line for the Cody Rivers Show. I was in line with him along with Sultana. Someone told Mark that he had parked in a construction site and he would be towed if he didn’t move his car. The line started moving and people poured into the theater. Mark didn’t have enough time to move his car and still get back for the show. He decided he had better move his car. He said this loud enough for everyone around him to hear. I didn’t think he would get towed and I told him so. Finally he decided to move his car. He was locked out of the show. He had made the right decision since a tow truck had been sent to the site.

Mark continued telling everyday anecdotal stories for more than an hour. This sort of relaxed conversational tone is very similar to blogging . He bought up a good point when he said that the outdoor stage is underutilized. There is a stigma to the outdoor stage where people assume only bad acts would perform outside. Mark thought it would be a good idea to have a panel discussion outside with all the out of town acts. This seems like a great idea. It would be a way for the Fringe audience to learn more about the performers and producers. It would be awesome if a hint of the creative process could be unearthed and mined. He particularly wants to find out more about some of the amazing one man shows like “The Bike Trip.”

Ironhead

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I went to several rehearsals for Ironhead. Ironhead is a fun quirky play about a group of friends who get sucked into a vortex after rippinq an original Ironhead instruction manual. The protagonist, who later plays Ironhead, Josh Geoghagan, just had a child with his wife and he felt playing video games was a waste of time. The friends find themselves inside the video game battling for their lives. Their objective is to find the Evil Lord of Evil Darkness and kill him.
The group of friends battles foe after foe. A particularly memorable scene happened on the Island of Cat People. Here everyone was offered cat nip as a diplomatic sign of friendship. Soon everyone is writhing on the floor together in a state of ecstasy. After rehearsing this scene, Sarah Lockhard said, “I couldn’t find an opening.” The unintended double meaning had everyone in the room laughing to the point of tears. This scene alone is worth the price of admission.
This action packed play was written by Marcie Schwalm and directed by Christian Kelly. The rehersals were held at Sleuths Mystery Dinner Theater on International Drive. When I arrived, the actors were standing in a circle. An actor would shout out another actors name and then the two actors would change places by crossing inside the circle. The pace picked up until the director asked them to just use eye contact to initiate the exchange. In another exercise the actors walked freely on the stage using peripheral vision to avoid running into one another. At one rehearsal Sarah Lockhard and Josh Geohagen arrived late because her car overheated. After an acting warm up the director asked an actor what he was thinking of. The actor said, “I was wondering when my turn would come. ” The director turned to Sarah, in tears she said, “I was thinking about my car.” That girl couldn’t lie if she tried.
Bottom line, this Fringe play was a fun filled romp.

Poetry Vending Machine

Posted on by Thor

Analog Artist Digital World

Sometimes a sketch

is all you get

a flashbulb freeze-frame image

at the stop light dams

in the river of rush hour,

the elevator climb,

the go-getters

raising their cell phones in an endless salute.

and meanwhile

down in the grass

with the grace of the snakes,

there are dancers

making angels with no need for snow

singers

following the wispy string of their voice

as the sun pulls it free

there are people

stopping in the street

against all odds

waiting on a cloud

to match that shape of their dreams.

Let the management speak

of community,

hammer those ends with gavels

mark off the moments,

The deadline of the eye is stricter still.

Sometimes a sketch

is all you get

and if you look in the right place,

all you need.

-Tod Caviness

Green Lawn of Fabulousness

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Between shows I relaxed on the “Green Lawn of Fabulousness” and did a sketch of the beer tent and crowd. Someone had a mini TV tuned in to the Magic playoff game which was going on that night at the Amway Arena. She usually attends the playoff games, and she sacrificed going to the game in order to see what Brian Feldman might do for the “Creative Mind Experiment.” Jessica Mariko is the mastermind behind the “The Creative Mind Experiment.” She invited over twenty different artists to all listen to the same clip of music and then build a performance based on what they heard and felt. The music clip is three minutes and thirty-three seconds. I took part in the project during its first performance, playing a video which had several hundred of my drawings edited together to build a sort of storyboard about life in Orlando.

I used an LED book lamp in order to see what I was doing while drawing this sketch. Several people stopped by to see what I was up to. And I am always surprised and delighted when strangers walk up to me and compliment me for the blog. The green lawn is the perfect rest stop between shows. This night there was a nice cool breeze and the sky lit up with stars was crystal clear. Every now and then as I drew, Sultana would shake her fist in the air and shout, “Defense, Defense!” In the end, the Orlando Magic crushed the Celtics.

I did not try and sketch Brian’s performance. I knew I only had three minutes, so I just sat back and enjoyed. Brian walked out on the empty stage and pulled a vegan candy bar out of his pocket. He gently unwrapped it and took a bite. He then took a second bigger bite. Soon the whole bar was in his mouth and he struggled to swallow. Before he had it all down he opened a second candy bar and shoved more in his mouth. The audience could not stop laughing. He then devoured a third candy bar and started to gag. He turned his back to the audience and hunched over. He took a few steps towards the back of the stage and went down on his knees. On his hands and knees he finally swallowed the three bars. He got up, took a bow and walked off stage. The audience was hysterical. When the show was over the audience voted for three acts in three categories. The coveted prize was a candy bar!

T-O-T-A-L-L-Y

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T-O-T-A-L-L-Y a one woman show Directed by Paula Killen and performed by Kimleigh Smith packed an inspirational one two punch. The show begins with Kimleigh reliving her young days as an energetic and virginal college cheerleader.He valley girl interactions with her girlfriends is high energy and reminiscent of the cheerleader skits on Saturday Night Live. The tenor of the high energy humerus piece changes as she relived an evening where she decides to go out with one of the football players. What was remembered as a pleasant evening is suddenly recounted at a horrible gang rape party. She looses touch with feelings in the lower half of her body and eventually has to to to a therapist. She points out that if you analyze and break apart the word it is “The Rapist”.

Slowly she regains control of her life and her sexuality. As she recounts how she started finding a Lover on Craig’s List she had the audience laughing out loud the whole time. This show is life affirming demonstrating how to take control of your life no matter what hardships or obstacles need to be overcome. She exercised and lost weight then dressed in a sultry bathrobe. Her spirit takes flight like a super hero when she discovered and rejoiced in her inner strength. The bathrobe acted like a hero’s cape. By the end of the performance I was left wanting to cheer myself. I showed Kimliegh Smith the sketch I did of her after the show and asked her to sign it for me. She was just as enthusiastic and inspiring off stage as on. She wrote on my sketch, “Be the Superman you are!”

Friday May 28, 11:45PM

Sunday May 30, 11:00PM

Cyclosa Confusa

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Cyclosa Confusa starting Andrew Conner was certainly the strangest and most entertaining show I have seen at the Fringe so far. The show started with the theater in total darkness. A creature enters the theater which has mini LED flashlights on it’s head and hands. It is very tall judging from the lights it projects around the audience. Rushing around, I could hear its joints squeaking. It wondered up and down the isles searching. Mark Baratelli had just entered the theater and ended up sitting alone at a theater left seat.

The tall green creature was on stage and disappeared behind a small white curtain. He pulled out some binoculars and started scanning the audience. He looked right at Mark and lingered. He rushed back out into the audience where Mark was seated and began massaging Marks head. He sprinkled salt on Marks scalp and then put a hard hat on with a rubber hose sticking out of the top. He pulled out a mini hand held drill and pretended to drill into Marks head. The rubber hose acted as a straw with which he sucked marks brains with delight. Even in his embarrassment Mark had the forethought to hand off his camera so Sultana Ali could take some pictures.

Mark was pulled on stage and seated in a metal folding chair with his back to the audience. The Cyclosa, now in a lab coat started running a series of obtuse and humerus tests. If Mark answered correctly he got a happy face mark, if he answered incorrectly the sad face would be checked. Many of the questions were obvious like, 2 + 2 = _____. Then came a difficult question, 3 triangles a circle and another triangle = _____. Mark thought for a moment and said, “4 kisses and a cookie.” That deserved a huge smile face check and the audience roared.

The creature looked through the bag of a woman in the front row and he pulled out an address book. On stage he offered it to Mark as a reward. Mark looked over his shoulder and held up the book smiling with a page open full of contact information. Tisse Mallon took his photo. Mark kept getting a barge of gifts and romantic advances from the Cyclosa.

Mark and a girl picked from the audience then had to perform an operation on a human heart which the Cyclosa had extricated from his tail or butt. As they worked on the heart with their utensils the Cyclosa used a spray bottle to moisten the heart and plate. He was spritzing so much that the two were lost in a cloud of wet mist.

With a series of play cards the Cyclose quickly outlined his back story. His civilization in the center of the Earth had been lost because of a rouge lave flow. He had been spared since he was surfing the lava at the time. He wanted to take Mark to his home. The Cyclosa was in love and I think so was Mark.

In the end the Cyclose offered its heart by unzipping it’s fly and attaching what looked like a clothes line to Marks helmet. The heart was strung on the line with a carabiner and then the line was pulled sending the heart over to Marks face. When the Cyclose wrote on a large card, “Will you come with me?” The audience was shouting at Mark to accept the creatures loving advances. Smitten, Mark accepted.

So much fun! Don’t miss it!

Thursday, May 27th 7:10 PM

Friday, May 28th 11:05 PM