O-Town: Voices from Orlando

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I was still reporting about the Orlando International Fringe Festival last year when the horrific shooting at the Pulse nightclub happened on June 12, 2016. Fringe is once again going to burst onto the Lock Haven Park complex bringing drama, and comedy for a solid week on unrelenting theater and fun. Last year after the shooting I asked Orlando artists to go to the Falcon Bar to create 49 portraits of the innocent lives lost at Pulse. Those 49 portraits were then exhibited at the Orlando Science Center and on that evening I was interviewed about the project. That interview then became the source of inspiration for a monologue in O-Town.

Prints of the 49 portraits hung behind the stage giving the somber impression of prison bars. The play is based on a series of interviews conducted mostly by David Lee, of people who have been affected by the tragedy. It opens with a monologue inspired by Our Town written by Thornton Wilder. The opening described Orlando on the eve of the shooting. People and places would be very different the next day. A homeless man would be lighting candles at the Dr Phillips memorial site each night, a costume shop owner would soon be creating thousands of rainbow ribbons…

I spoke with Christopher Hanson multiple times about how he survived that night at Pulse. The actor playing Christopher told the story of survival and personal responsibility with humor and lots of heart. Then the actor playing me took to the stage. I was surprised to find myself tearing up based on things I had said a year ago. It seems like a lifetime ago. People in the audience were also getting choked up. One woman cried through the whole show. I had just one paper towel I had decided to bring in from the men’s room.

Other monologues described fighting hate with love using Angel Action Wings made of PVC and and white fabric. People who planned to protest the funerals of Pulse victims were blocked by these angels who would sing to drown out their hate. A first responders wife described how her husband was changed by his evening in the aftermath of Pulse. He would experience PTSD from that night onward and there was no disability for the mental anguish. Had be broken his leg then there would be help.

These stories are all part of the larger picture of an entire community trying to recover from a horrible act of violence. A year later and the scars are still there, but Orlando had answered with love and acceptance. Hateful people still thrive, feeling invulnerable in a country in which politics encourage hate and accusations.  They try to cause senseless harm, but love is stronger that hate. It was an emotional night. After the show. I was hugged by several people who recognized me. I shut my eyes and felt the warmth. Tears streamed down my face.

All the monologues in O-Town: Voices from Orlando will be presented together on the Eve of the one year mark of the attack on Pulse Nightclub on Sunday June 11, 2017 at 7pm at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in the Margeson Theater. Profits will benefit the onePulse Foundation.org.

I can’t recommend this show enough. The monologues focus the audiences attention on aspects of the tragedy that never made their way to mainstream media outlets. It is a human and multi layered fabric. I met the actor, Daniel Cooksley, who played my part on stage. He said he had never performed a part with the subject sitting in the audience.

Fringe Show Times:

May 17, 2017 at 6PM

May 20, 2017 at 7PM

May 22, 2017 at 7PM

May 26, 2017 at 8:15PM

May 27, 2017 at 12:15PM

May 28, 2017 at 11:15AM

My FAVO Pulse exhibit.

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On the first Friday of each month, FAVO, (221 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32801) a former motel on Colonial Drive becomes a place to check out the latest visual art from local Orlando Artists. Jennifer Gwynne Oliver rents a ground floor studio, and at the last minute, an artist who planned to exhibit their work in her studio backed out. I had given Jennifer a call asking if I could hand one piece just to tests the waters. She responded that I could hang as much work as I wanted. So I packed about a dozen Pulse themed sketched in a granny card and transported the work to FAVO.

The nails were already in the wall and amazingly there were just enough nails for the amount of work I transported. The traffic was slow to start but my last minute Facebook invite brought out my trusted friends who showed their support. The corner studio was offset from most foot traffic. I was told that placing a stuffed panda outside the door used to attract potential viewers. I passed the time sketching. I had a few of my Urban Sketching books on hand and one book sold. That was the one sale for the night. I am satisfied that new people had a chance to see the Pulse related work that I cintinue to produce each week.

Once it was time to wind down, all the art went back in my granny cart and it was wheeled back to my car. It was a good night to catch up with friends and share my work. Who could ask for more?

Festa Itlaiana

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I went to Lake Lilly Park in Maitland where there was an Italian Festival. The festival was in the venue right on Lake Lilly. I parked a few blocks away at the Maitland Art Center and hiked the short distance to the festival. New cars were parked on the grass from a local dealership. I decided to sketch a food tent that was doing a booming business. They were selling freshly made cannolis. Cannoli consist of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta. The heavy set guy was stirring the cannoli custard. I believe they filled the cannolis on the spot as they were sold. I was sitting next to an Italian family. The young boy was running everywhere and the petite wife seemed to be always trying to wrangle him in. They didn’t seem to mind my sketching.

Once the quick sketch was done, I scouted inside. There were expensive slices of pizza. and I ordered one. On stage was a singer who was crooning Frank Sinatra classics. The next act was an accordion player. In the corner of the venue were exotic Venetian masks. Another table offered travel plans to Italy. The audience relaxed at the round tables. By the time I made my way back outside, the cannoli vendor had run out of cannolis. I was devastated. How could I write about my experiences without at least tasting a cannoli? There was an Italian ice vendor who still had product, but I didn’t decided to try any.

The scene inside reminded me of the wedding scene in the Godfather movie in which classic Vegas performers entertained the guests. This small event just lacked that level of professional polish. In general the vendors were commercial and not necessarily Italian themed. For instance Verizon was offering information about their Internet packages. I was desperate to get rid of At&T which gave me horrible reception in my apartment. They also never figured out how to mail me my bills, so it was stressful to have to double check to make sure i was paying them despite never getting billed. Probably because of this Italian Festival, I ended up switching to Verizon and Now my reception is better and they send me monthly bills. Life is much easier. it was satisfying to get rid of AT&T which offered literally no costumer service.

In NYC there were always lots of these ethnic street festivals. I miss just running into festivals on the fly. Festivals do exist in Orlando, you just have to keep an eye out to find them.

Eye Surgery

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Artist Linda Sarasino had cateracts. Surgery was arranged for each of her eyes on separate days. Since the surgery would leave one eye with a highly dilated pupil, she needed to have someone take her to the surgery and get her home safely. I volunteered to drive. In the waiting room Linda had to fill out legal forms that pointed out every possible thing that could go wrong with the surgery with results such as blindness and death. She signed away her life and we waited. There were the usual doctors office golf and lifestyle magazine, but I decided to sketch.

Finally she was called back to the surgery room and I waited alone. She left behind her bag glasses and jacket. Time moved slowly. Surgery would involve inserting a corrective lens inside her cornea to correct her vision. She had to use eye drops 4 times a day for two days leading up to the surgery. The procedure itself would take just 15 minutes and she would be given anesthesia. The anesthesia can cause amnesia which means many people do not remember the procedure. She has had a bad reaction to the drug that causes the amnesia so they had to reduce the amount given to her. She wasn’t knocked out and she was able to see the knife cut into her eye and the lens inserted. A bright light distorted and gave her the impression that she was experiencing an LSD trip.

This is a procedure done every day and considered quite routine. But it isn’t routine for the person having it done. I sat waiting for well over 15 minutes and the legal forms had my mind wandering to worst case scenarios. When I was called back, Linda was in a wheel chair. A plastic mesh eye patch was over the affected eye. Being transparent if kept her from looking like a pirate. She was wheeled to the back door and then we walked to my ca in the parking lot.

That night, I asked her to go outside to look at the sunset overlooking a golf course. She covered her eye that had the surgery and looked at the sunset and then covered that eye to look through the new lens. She started to cry. She had never see the colors so vibrant and pure. The cataract caused everything to have a yellowish dull cast. She pointed to some subtle wisps of pink clouds  on the northern horizon. I couldn’t see the same pink. Her vision was now better than my own. as the sky darkened, I took a picture of her with her arms outstretched looking like Julie Andrews on a mountain top. As an artist sight means everything, and she had been given the gift of being able to see the world in a brand new way.

Pink Hair.

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Denna Beena and Travis Fillmen sometimes have friends over at their College Park home. They host outdoor screenings on their lawn of quirky classics like “Goonies.”  Denna has appeared in quite a few of my sketches. She is easy to pick out, because of her bright pink hair. As a matter of fact. I keep a second palette m my art bag specifically because it has just the right hot pink.

I sketched Denna and Travis’ wedding. A mannequin stood on stage with the wedding couple, and I was glad to to see that he had a permanent place in their home.

On this evening, Denna was helping a friend put pink streaks in her hair. Her black cat had a full run of the place from it’s high cabinet perch. A cross country sky exercise machine dominated the room. Travis has a gorgeous fresh water planted fish and gorgeous. It kind of makes me want to get back into the hobby.

Outside there was a Barbecue of hot dogs and hamburgers with plenty of time to mix and mingle before the movie screening. I had never seen Goonies before and I enjoyed the adolescent humor and simple quest for treasure. Simple pleasures like this make it fun to live in Orlando.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for May 13th and 14th.

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Saturday May 13, 2017

4pm to 6pm Free. Young Voices. JB Callaman Center 102 North Parramore Ave Orlando FL. Teen Open Mic Every second Saturday of the Month.

7pm to 9pm Free. Brewery Tour. Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, FL.

10:30pm to 12:30am Free, but get food and drink. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL. Hot blooded Flamenco dancers.

Sunday May 14, 2017 Mother’s Day

Noon to 1pm Free. Yoga. Lake Eola near the red gazibo. Bring your own mat.

2pm to 4 pm Free. Script Reading Workshop. Sleuths Mystery Dinner Show, 8267 International Drive, Orlando, FL. Read and workshop plays.

10pm to midnight. Free but get a coffee. Solo Acoustic Spoken Word. Natura Coffee & Tea, 12078 Collegiate Way, Orlando, FL.

Sunset “Paint In”.

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The week long Winter Park Paint Out culminated in a Sunset “Paint In” held at the Winter Park Racquet Club, 2111 Via Tuscany, Winter Park FL 32789. The public was invited to see Paint Out Artists gathered on the shore of Lake Maitland as they captured a beautiful Florida sunset from the west-facing shores Lake Maitland.

This event has become incredibly popular. I arrived right on time and had to search the entire racquet club parking lot for a spot. I believe I found the very last parking spot in the grass. And even so, two tires were on a gravel path. A line of female artists were lining the path approaching the entry to the event. I passed them and decided to get closer to the water. I settled in and started sketching from in front of a hedge. It offered some privacy since patrons couldn’t stand behind me and look over my shoulder. Since I wasn’t officially a “Paint In” participant, I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself. Even so, I had some pleasant conversations with friends.

 Artwork was available for sale the night of the event and patrons could also see the evenings completed artwork in the Polasek’s “wet room” gallery the following day. There is a definite challenge to staring straight into the setting sun. I used my baseball cap to block the sun while I sketched the artists at work. I started my sketch because I liked the heroic stance of Patrick Noze as he blocked in his canvas on the far right. His broad stance suggested a confidence with his brush strokes being driven by his arms and shoulders. In contrast, Jeff Ripple was executing a small intimate painting on the left. His piece required the delicate details of tiny brush strokes. Vladislav Yeliseyev arrived later, and set up between the two artists. Vladislav is the one watercolor artist among the 25 or so plein air painters. His loose watercolors have a limited palette and have a full value range with little use of line. I vastly a mid every piece of his that I saw in the Polasek wet gallery.


Some artists who finished their paintings had frames that they used to store The is still wet panels. I had never thought about the notion that a frame is a good way to store and transport a wet painting. many paintings were sold right off the easels. A patron could walk away with a still that night. The me were free drink samples available. I tried a coconut rum mixed with pineapple juice. H was delicious, but the shot glass sized plastic cup left me wanting more. Hal Stringer offered me two drink tickets and I cashed them in at the end of the evening for two red wines. This paint out week is a fun event I really should be a part of next year as they celebrate their 10th anniversary.

Photographer J.D. Casto remembers Pulse.

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J.D. Casto is a filmmaker turned photographer. The day before the Pulse night club shooting on June 12th 2016, he was dog sitting. That evening he started to get texts asking if he was safe. He immediately started checking online news sources and once he found 3 sources that confirmed that there was a shooting at the Pulse nightclub, he packed his camera in his bag. at 10:07pm he found a report that the first shot was fired. at 11:20 he found a report that five were dead and others injured. He rushed out to shoot photos. He caught an amazing series of photos at The Center as everyone watched the news in disbelief. He watched the entire city go through the stages of grief. All city organizations became fatigued. As an artist he had a war board to keep track of all the events he shot photos of. He worked 20 hour days. The camera offered security. For him photos give some form of closure.

After Pulse crazies crawled out of the wood work. One con-artist used the outpouring of generosity following the Pulse shootings to convince organizations to give him money which he then pocketed. The same thing happened after the Boston Bombings. On Facebook, angry people sent survivors photos of victims. Gift cards were donated for victim’s families and the FBI sat on them. Peoples moral compasses were off. On his right arm, JD got a rose pattern compass tattooed on his arm. The tattoo faces him and he considers it his moral compass. An event like this rips the blinders off and says look, the world is shit and I see it, but how do we make it better? He. wanted to be the one who who says no and stays on course, due north, while others manipulate an already horrific situation.

There was an after party for a Cabaret on the evening of the shooting. Two members walked out as the shooter walked in. A fraternity brother of J.D.’s escaped, but he lost a friend named Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado that night. He became extremely active n the Orlando Gay chorus after Pulse. He talked about a huge chorus gala held in Colorado shortly after the shooting. When the Orlando Gay Chorus arrived they found banners of support hanging everywhere. The performances were in a huge opulent opera house. When the Orlando Gay chorus performed “You Will Never Walk Alone”, the entire audience of 5000 people sang along. Shocked by the outpouring of love, there were unexpected tears on stage. The Orlando Gay Chorus has performed over 400 times since the Pulse shooting. They sang at just about every event I sketched.

Six months after the shootings J.D. was still in triage mode, still shooting photos. Being gay shouldn’t define a person. Intolerance is intolerance, is
intolerance. This horrific event forced peoples hands so that perhaps
some good can come of it. He hasn’t had time to settle in here in Orlando. He still doesn’t have a couch. However, Orlando has become his home. He has found his groove and is rooted in Downtown and found his place in the community.

Cabaret at the Bay Street Players in Eustice.

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I had never seem Cabaret before, except for a you tube video clip of the song “Willkomen”. It was a long drive from Orlando and I arrived a few minutes late. The theater was already dark and I stood in the back of the theater to let my eyes adjust. There was no chance I would find my seat number printed on the ticket. I asked if a seat was open and I believe the director David Gerrard suggested I find a seat in the back of house left.

The story is straight forward but exotic. American Clifford Bradshaw, (Austin Langford) arrived in Berlin hoping to live cheaply and write his first novel. His landlady, Fraulein Schneider, (Terri Lea Myers) begrudgingly allowed him to rent a room for a reduced rate. Her solo, “So what?” describes  her life of pain and compromise. She was excited to get a tenant who wasn’t a prostitute. Cliff is quickly invited out by another tenant to a club where the exotic and sensual nightlife became the norm for life in the big city on the verge of World War II. At the club, Cliff met dancer and singer Sally Bowels (Gabby Brown). She quickly found her way into his life, becoming his roommate and then lover.

Sally’s title song “Cabaret” is towards the end of the show and it is filled with lost hope and longing. Gabby’s singing was inspired. Sally hit rock bottom because she was unable to see the horrors to come and escape when a window of hope opened. Though a seedy life, being a cabaret singer has the false allure of fame. Kit Cat girl Crysta Marie helped get me in for the sketch opportunity, so of course I watched her every dance move on stage. Some girls had lipstick lips painted comically large but the excess was just enough.

The shows menacing central theme surfaces when Herr Schultz (Lloyd Holder) and Fraulein Schneider have an engagement party. One party goer was a member of the Nazi Party and his intolerance and hatred broke up the festivities. The theme hit close to home because today in America hatred and divisiveness seem to the the norm.

I have to applaud choreographer Amanda Warren who worked out some sensual and inspired dance routines, which are the cornerstone of the production. The Emcee (Eduardo Rivera) gave  a sensual and playful performance. He mocked authority and delighted in the decadent.Thick stage make up and scanty outfits made him a delight to watch. When the Nazi forced the crowd to sing a German anthem, the emcee lifted his trench coat to show a huge swastika drawn on his right butt cheek. The audience gasped and laughed.

The final number, “Willkomen” was about how the club was a safe place where everyone could be themselves, playfully lewd and lascivious. Everyone was beautiful, from the dancers to the piano player (Eric Branch). This sentiment mirrored words I have heard so often about the Pulse nightclub. There people felt safe to be themselves, but hatred made its way inside. Hate in the play was symbolized by a single brick dropped to the floor that reminded us all of Krystal Nacht when German youths destroyed Jewish merchants businesses. The implied threat of violence to come, reminded me of the violence that took 49 lives in one night here in Orlando. Herr Schultz ignores the threat believing it will pass and in my gut I am screaming, “Wake up!” The ever playful and sensual emcee dropped his trench coat to the floor to reveal a tattered concentration camp outfit. In Orlando life has returned to normal for most as their life goes on. Although there have been so many signs of love and acceptance since the Pulse shooting, The GLBT community still faces hate and intolerance daily. I keep hoping Orlando is moving towards a brighter future, but it is so much easier to repeat history. Will it be a profit of doom or a celebration and escape in a cabaret?

The show runs through May 14th. Tickets are $18 to$21.

Put down the knitting, the book and the broom
It’s time for a holiday
Life is a cabaret, old chum
So come to the cabaret

Creative Momentum Gathering: What You Need to Know About Publishing.

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Lezlie Laws hosted a creative momentum gathering at Cocina 214, (151 E. Welbourne Ave., Winter Park, FL). The gathering was for authors working on a writing project or dreaming of one. Leslie first emphasized that her goal was to shape the art that we were born to create. No matter where each of us was, on our creative journey, the potential to bloom is always there. She introduced Writing Your Life founder Patricia Charpentier, who helped in each step of the journey, as Leslie self published her book.

Patricia explored the next steps for publishing work. She outlines the publishing model in which it is important to know, who is doing the work, and who is paying. In the traditional model, the publisher does the work and pays. In traditional publishing today, you can’t get to a publisher without an agent. In self publishing, you do the work, and you pay the bills. There is now an indie publishing hybrid in which the publisher does the work, and you pay. Patricia does the hybrid model. If you decide to go the hybrid route, it is important to see samples, get the name and contact info for your project manager, and ask about how editing is done. There is line editing, developmental editing, and some hybrid publishers don’t even read what you submit.

You need to find out if your preferences in design are considered. How are changes made? When do changes start coating you more money? You need to find out about production. Can you approve a digital proof? Can you see a hard copy proof? Are changes allowed after a proof? How many copies of the book should you order? What is a minimum order? You need to get ISBN numbers and register your book for copyright and register the book with the Library of Congress. Do you want to create an e-book? How will you distribute and market the book? This last question is probably the most critical, and most overlooked.

You need to be an informed writer. You need to have a completed manuscript before you consider the publishing options. Finishing the book is often the hardest task. There are authors who nurse, write, and re-write a book for years. What message do you want to convey? The design of the book is critical. Not every graphic designer is a good book designer. You need to make decisions slowly and deliberately. You have to remain open to the magic. The final cost of self publishing a book might run along the lines of the cost of a really nice family vacation. As a hybrid publisher, Patricia might open the door, but it is up to the author to walk through.