Stardust Video and Coffee was the host to the annual Grandma Party. The streets around Stardust were crammed full of parked cars. I had never seen such a crowd at the venue. The Grandma Party started several years ago as a place for local fashion designers, bookbinders, painters, knitters, silversmiths, vintage dealers, bakers and print makers to showcase and sell their work. Everything found here was hand crafted and original. There was a stage set up for local musicians to perform as well but they were not playing when I arrived. I wandered around and bumped into a few friends as I searched for my sketch of the day. Anna McCambridge’s mom, Vicki was celebrating her birthday and she blew out a candle on a cupcake to celebrate.
I ultimately became infatuated with Alchemy, an outdoor hair cutting booth. The seats were always full as women and men rotated in to have their hair cut. It was a challenge to capture the hair stylists who were in constant motion but it was worth the effort.
When I finished this sketch I went to the stage to listen to the music. At the end of the final number a girl dresses in a red and white overalls stood next to the stage and threw confetti when the song ended. Although titled the Grandma Party, most of the crowd was hip and young. These were Orlando’s true bohemians and they knew how to party.
Jai-Alai Fronton is Saved from Closing
I had heard a report that the Jai – AlaiFronton in Casselberry was going to close and it’s last day was to be December 27th, several days after Christmas. The facility has 75 full time employees. I decided to go and sketch on this final day of betting. When I arrived I bought the one dollar ticket and went through the turnstile. I was told I would have to have security check my bag of sketch supplies. The security guy was located on the far side of a fast food stand almost hidden from sight. I held the bag open and he lazily nodded his approval. I took the escalator to the second floor and I heard the sound of the Jai–Alai ball being tossed around. Three men were on the court and there wasn’t a soul in the stadium seating. I watched for a while but I don’t know the rules and they looked like they were just practicing. No lights were on but I noticed a men’s room so I decided to use it before I got to the third floor off track betting area. Then when I was leaving I discovered the bathroom door had locked behind me!
I tried turning the door knob in different ways figuring it might have a trick to it. I couldn’t believe it. I was locked in and the floor was deserted. I started trying other doors in the men’s room figuring there might be another way out. I opened the far back door and it looked like a broom closet for the janitors. The closet itself had a door and I tried it. That door lead out to a tight metal spiral staircase. I decided this was my only option so I stepped out onto it. Old candy wrappers and potato ship bags crunched under my feet. I had to wonder why there was so much garbage in a stairwell. I wound my way up to the third floor. At the top of the steps I found myself in the employees area behind the betting cages where they take money. A guard stood with his back to me at the swinging door which lead out to the betting floor. I said “Excuse me.” and squeezed past him.
Out on the betting floor I let out a sigh and immediately started sketching. When I was about half finished a security officer approached me and said “Can I help you”. My stomach tensed. He had no intention of helping me. He pointed out that I had been behind the betting counters and that I would have to leave. I explained the situation with the bathroom but his mind was stuck on only the one detail of my story, I had been behind the counter and that is State property. He seemed to feel that being back there is punishable by imprisonment or leaving the facility. He felt I had been acting strangely since I arrived in the Fronton. As he said this the men standing behind him were shouting “Common 4, common, go, go 4 go. You can do it! Ooooh mother f*#&^%$!” I thought it funny that he found my sketching to be strange behavior. I continued to reason with him but he returned again and again to the fact that I had been behind the counter.
Actually my talk with him turned into a bit of an interview in the form of an argument. I found out that the Fronton was NOT going to close since an unnamed buyer had come in and bought the facility. The new buyer is possibly going to bring card rooms to the now rundown facility. The security guard eventually decided I wasn’t worth the trouble and he left, or rather stood a short distance away watching my every move. A food vendor named Valerie walked over to see what I was up to. She was glad the place was going to stay open. She had worked here for years. The sale of the Fronton isn’t final yet, and if it falls through another date will be announced for its final day.
Speakeasy at Will’s Pub
Tod Cavinass hosts a poets open mic every Tuesday night after 9PM at Will’s Pub located at 1040 North Mills Avenue. When I entered the bar I noticed one lone poet writing from his bar stool perch. Tod warned me that the event never starts on time. This evening there was some sort of community swap meet or market filling the room so I wandered around and looked at the old LPs, crafts and art. They started to break down their tables and by 10PM the market was gone. Tod worked diligently to fill the room with chairs and tables and soon the room was full of poets.
On the walls of the room were dark sinister paintings featuring skulls and nudity. Tod took to the stage and introduced the first poets. Two of the poets in this sketch, the one with the blue cap and the one with the orange shirt were a poet team.The poet with the ball cap took to the stage and periodically the fellow in the orange shirt would shout out “Rewind”from the back of the audience, and the poet on stage would back up his poem then continue forward again. Their energetic delivery was inspiring.
The young girl on the far left in the sketch had the amazing ability to bend herself up like a pretzel. She is disjointed and can fold her arms in inhuman ways. I was still sketching and didn’t notice her as she showed friends the first time and I was pleased when she was willing to demonstrate for me a second time.I will have to get a sketch of her some day if she is able to hold one of those uncomfortable looking poses.
A writer from the Orlando weekly read a poem about how he infected his work computer when he was researching a story about how some people surf porn sites while at work. So in the name of research he looked up some of these sites. One of them gave his computer a virus . The tech had to inform his boss that a malicious porn site was to blame.
Driving Miss Daisy Auditions
Beth Marshall Presents will bring “Driving Miss Daisy” to the Winter Garden Theater February 12th to the 28th. I sat in on the auditions for this show. Seated at the table are Aradhana Tiwari, the Director, and Beth Marshall the Producer. This auditions process stood in stark contrast to the auditions for Crimes of the Heart. Crimes took 2 agonizing days for the cast to be solidified but this auditions process was fast and painless taking only about 3 hours with about a dozen actors and actresses auditioning.
One actress with a bit of a haughty attitude who reminded me of Sheila in Chorus Line, entered the room and when she greeted the director she wouldn’t let go of her hand. The actresses head shot was from about 20 years ago. After doing the reading she demanded to read another section of the play. Beth said that would be fine and she could come back in after the next set of actors had finished their audition. The actress said emphatically “I should say so”. After a long pause, Beth said, “You know what, lets not waist your time or mine, you can leave.” Beth felt bad for the actor who had auditioned with this actress. She could see that he was embarrassed by the exchange.
Another actress who auditioned for the roll of Daisy was about 30 or 40 years to young for the part. She walked in wearing a black dress with a white lace collar and a gray haired wig. She reminded me of Norman Bates Mother in “Psycho”. Beth glanced over at me and smiled. I was smiling as well. There is something charming about an actress going for a role which is so out of reach.
When I sketched the auditions I tried to pick the actors that I felt were best for the rolls to go in my sketch. At this audition I hit a home run and sketched Elizabeth Murff who will play Daisy and Michael Mormon who will play Hoke. I had met Elizabeth once before at Beth Marshall’s Halloween Party. Elizabeth had won for the best costume as a Cougar. Michael who is 60 had played the roll of Hoke 20 years ago. He has a natural ease and seems very comfortable in the role. Elizabeth brings a humor and honesty to the part of Daisy that is endearing. When she said “Hoke, you are my best friend” the sincerity of this unlikely friendship warmed me, even in this early reading.
As they were packing up to leave, Beth remarked to Aradhana, “Now I had experienced the most difficult and the easiest auditions ever with you.”
2009 Sketchbooks on Display!
The Analog Artist Digital World blog was started January 1st of 2009 by artist Thomas Thorspecken with the commitment to post a sketch a day documenting Orlando culture. Assembled for the first time are all the sketchbooks from that year long journey. As the blog rolls into another year, we look back at the events, people and places that defined Orlando in 2009. People start to wander in around 8PM often after attending First Thursday at the Orlando Museum of Art. Dandelion offers a fun after party.
At the opening there is going to be a band and there are two other shows going on in the back rooms. One show features records painted with musicians portraits by Rebecca Rose. The other room features photography. Come on down. It will be a great way to kick off the New Year!
If I Had My Way by Joseph Hayes
If I Had My Way was written by local playwright Joseph Reed Hayes. This reading of the play at the Winter Park Playhouse was funded in part with a development grant from United Arts of Central Florida. The play is set in Central Florida in 1945 at a time when there was a POW camp where the Kissimmee airport is now located. Margaret Perry had left her southern home and was educated in Atlanta and New York. Her mother lived her whole life in the ranch home in Central Florida and when she became ill her daughter returned to take care of her. Margaret resented every aspect of having to work in the ranch taking care of her sick mother. She rejects friends and suitors until one day an Italian POW, bought to the ranch as replacement help, teaches her her the power of love though the beauty of fresh cooked food. Joseph read a section of the play in which Bernice, a young 19 year old woman who works in the kitchen, dreams about her future husband who she has yet to meet.
The play deals with bigotry and hate in the old South. Joseph says the play is influenced by the Blues and you can feel the lonely rhythm throughout. This is a serous play about lonely souls in hard times. Yet towards the end of the third act the actors talk about the scent of Orange blossoms which is a sweet smell that once experienced, is never forgotten.
I attended the reading because Darlyn Finch a local poet and friend had been asked to play the part of Mrs Alecia Jamison the ailing mother. Darlyn didn’t have to act to pull off a convincing southern accent and she did fit the part perfectly. In a question and answer session following the reading Joseph explained that the play is still a work in progress. Some lines changed as he worked with the actors. Even in this early stage the play packs a punch and I felt deeply for each of the characters. I hope that when the play is presented on the stage for the first time I will be there to sketch.
South by Northwest
As of January first I have launched a second blog called South by Northwest. It is intended as a visual dialogue between myself and Gabi Campanario. We will both post one sketch a week and they will be displayed as diptychs side by side. We welcome comments. I am excited about where this 3142 mile collaboration might lead.
“Take My Beard, Please!”
On New Year’s Eve at 7 PM Brian Feldman had his marquee sign set up outside Urban Stylez Barbershop at 7 North Rosalind Avenue, right across from the Orlando Public Library and next to Blank Space. To attract additional attention an 8-foot high inflatable barber pole also danced in the street. I arrived a little early and considered drawing the inflatable barber pole, but felt it would take too long. Minutes later, Brian arrived with his parents. Inside, he set out his Best of Orlando plaques on a ledge and disappeared into the back room of the barbershop. I asked which chair Brian would be seated in and the second chair was pointed out.
I started one sketch but felt I was too close to the action and the barber might block my view most of the time, so I started a second sketch which offered a better overview of the room. I started this second sketch drawing the fellow getting his hair buzzed. Then, when Brian stepped out and was seated I started blocking him in. Brian asked if anyone in the audience would like to have a first cut using scissors and Jeff Wirth stepped up to the plate. I sketched Brian’s head at the moment his beard was beginning to be buzzed off. He didn’t look happy about these first cuts. The beard came off in less than a minute, and then the straight edge was taken out to give Brian a really close shave. The chair was reclined and Brian’s face covered with a hot towel. He looked nervous as the straight edge was taken to his throat.
Brian’s huge head of hair looked very much out of place without the beard, and he asked the barber to cut it as well. From the audience, Jeff Wirth shouted out, “It’s a double feature!” For a reasons unknown, I still do not understand why Brian asked that 2011 be shaved into the side of his new haircut.
The event was shot live by Brian’s dad using his iPhone and was posted on The Daily City even before the shave was finished. Brian handed out beard masks to everyone who attended.
Muni String Quartet
Terry and I met for dinner one evening in Winter Park. As we ate dinner the sun set and the street lights came on. We ate in an outdoor patio area with a view of the New England Avenue. This city block was recently gentrified in the last several years. All of the store fronts are brand new. The street was blocked off by police. Walking from Terry’s car, a man asked me why the street was blocked off and I had to reply that I honestly didn’t know. Art galleries and stores were open late. Terry saw a bull dog inside a clothing store and she went inside. The store owner was just outside the front door talking to a friend. Though Terry lavished attention on the dog, he never once looked away from his owner. He quietly stood vigil. The owner explained that every first Monday this street would be shut down to traffic so people could stroll through the stores shopping for the holidays.
Outside a violin store this quartet began to play Beetles songs and holiday music. Terry left me with the quartet to sketch while she shopped. There were many folding chairs set up in the street but besides myself there were only maybe four other people seated. Only in Florida could you get to see a quartet playing outside the warm glow of a music store without jackets on. When they finished I started walking back to my truck. Terry had already decided to go home. I heard music coming from Central Park so I changed course and went to investigate. An old Doris Day film was being screened in the park. Young couples cuddled for warmth under blankets. I considered trying to finish a second sketch, but I was tired and who knew how soon the film might end. What a gorgeous night, full of surprises.
“Dressed to Kill” New Years Eve at the Enzian
This is officially my first sketch of 2010. I had four other parties I was considering for New Year’s Eve, but Brian Feldman and Tisse Mallon told me about this $5 James Bond themed party at the Enzian Theater. At $5 admission, it may have been the best deal in town. Approaching the theater, I could feel the electric excitement of the crowd. Terry and I had to park several blocks away because the lot was overflowing. At the Eden Bar outside, people were packed shoulder to shoulder. One man in a black jacket had a huge scar down the side of his face and he was petting a white rabbit. This villain explained that the rabbit was much more sinister than the cat used in the Bond movie, From Russia with Love. Beautiful women were everywhere, dressed in gorgeous gowns. Groups were voguing for the cameras. There was a red carpet to the theater entrance. A movie screen was set up outside and crowds were seated at the tables watching. Gunfire ricochets could be heard from every angle.
I found Brian, Tisse and Mark Baratelli almost immediately. It turns out Mark had scored a table thanks to his Blog, The Daily City.com, so we tried to get in. Everybody but Mark was turned away at the door since we did not have wristbands. So we stood in the line for wristbands. The line never seemed to move. Terry proactively sought out the General Manager of the Enzian and got us wristbands.
We squeezed past the bouncer and found Mark’s table. There were only two chairs at the table and four of us, so I hiked back to my truck and got my portable chair. Once seated, I scanned the crowd and started sketching. Faces were lit everywhere by the warm loving glow of iPhones and other portable devices. The music was so loud that you really could’t talk, so I imagine people might have been texting one another even as they were seated at the same table.
After the ball dropped, Terry and I got on the dance floor. We got caught up in a line dance to a song I had never heard before. The music roared “To the left, to the left, to the right, to the right, turn yourself around, turn yourself around!” It involved a few chorus line kicks and shuffling left and right. We caught on pretty quick, although the crowd itself was never very organized. The smooth slippery beat was addictive. Dancers batted blue and white balloons around the dance floor. The strobe lights tended to blind me so I usually danced with my back to the stage.
We left the Enzian and then headed over to Matt McGrath’s house. His place had a group of actors and actresses all shoulder to shoulder at the backyard bar. Leander Suleiman, an actress I had sketched before, was there and I introduced her to Terry. We all toasted with champagne when New Year’s came around for Chicago.
Matt and I chatted for a while and I found out he is going to be a producer for a possible Orlando Fringe show called “Project F.” The show is fourth on the waiting list to get into the Fringe, but he’s excited about the project, and we discussed it for quite a while. Other than talking to Matt and Leander, I didn’t socialize much. I was winding down. Matt claimed that his party would be going strong till 11:45 AM, but I didn’t have the ambition to keep partying. We returned home happy and pleasantly exhausted.
