A Kerouac House Poluck

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The Kerouac House Project supports writers wit no a writing residency program. It was part of the lore of College Park, a cozy northwest Orlando neighborhood, that Jack Kerouac lived in the area for a short time in 1957–58 when his classic work On The Road was published to much acclaim. It was also the place he typed the original manuscript of his sequel, Dharma Bums. Very few people knew exactly where in College Park he lived, and nobody seemed to be aware of the historical significance of such a place. When a new writer arrives there is usually a potluck dinner so that the writer can get antiquated with the local literary scene.

On this evening I arrived early, so I decided to sketch the house in the gloaming hour after sunset. This is the first tome I saw the historical marker outside the home. The marker was erected a few months ago to honor Jack’s legacy. Now that the home has been researched, it has become a literary pilgrimage site for visitors from out of town. Almost every author who has been a part of the residency program has reported that groups of of people will randomly show up at the door wanting to get a peek inside.

These potlucks usually end with a group of people on the porch debating literature, punctuation and work events. After a few bottles of wine, all the worlds problems have been solved, or at least viewed in an entertaining light.

Realms of the Untold brings humor and horror to the stage.

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Realms of the Untold is a brand new anthology of short plays, written by local playwright Corey Volence, the scriptwriter of the award winning 2013 Orlando Fringe musical Key of E. These six short plays are written in a style meant to evoke classic horror and science fiction shows such as The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Tales From The Crypt. These short stories are filled with the strange and the unknown, this production is sure to make you squirm, laugh, yelp in fright, and might just even give you some nightmares.

I went to a rehearsal in a suburban bungalow in Ivanhoe Village. Everything had been cleared from the living room except some set pieces and props. The opening play set the stage in a famous actors dressing room (Ken Luzadder). A star struck understudy (John Reid Adams) was greeted rudely. The boy had seen every performance. When he asked how to get ahead in the acting business, he was told that you need to sell your soul to the devil. A dark twist then redefined their roles.

Actress (Jan Taylor Hendricks) then took the center stage seated in a chair. She told a long story from her childhood. Her grandmother was from the old country and schoolkids spread rumors that the old woman was a witch. Another rumor circulated that a local lake was inhabited by a mysterious creature that ate children. When she told her grandmother the rumor, she got very serious and was warned to never go in the water. She promised, but like most childhood promises she eventually broke it. Classmates dared her to enter the lake. To save face she waded out in to the water. Jan’s performance with a sweet southern accent was incredible. I stopped sketching and sat on the edge of my seat to find out what would happen to the little girl. I have no doubt there will be standing orations for this performance.

Each play has its own emotional tone. From one horrific moment, we cut to a light comedy about a couple who are debating about a lifetime commitment. The guy (Charles Krivan) is hesitant and lacks confidence. The girl (Monica Titus) has the absolute conviction that comes from a long life of experience. The conversation between these love birds was at times hilarious. I stopped sketching and simple enjoyed their banter. The commitment turns out to be far more eternal than what can be bought with a wedding ring. A commitment of 50 years or so seems trivial in the larger scheme of things.

Monica Titus also played the part of a social worker in an insane asylum. She interviewed Ken Luzadder  who was in a straight jacket. She set him free of his constraints and then he related the tale of the fateful day that put him behind bars. He described the day with absolute lucidity. Perhaps he was sane and falsely institutionalized. The memories he related however contradicted the facts as related by the social worker. The tension between the two of them escalated until he became violent. The rehearsal had to cut at that moment since props were missing that were needed for what would follow. I honestly don’t know how this play ends, but I was left concerned for the social workers well being. Why on earth did she take off his straight jacket. He could very well be a Hannibal Lecter.

I can say without hesitation that this show is going to be one hell of a roller coaster ride. This will be a great way to kick off the Halloween season.

Show Dates: 

October 1 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

October 2 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

October 4 – Doors at 2 Show at 2:30

October 8 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

October 9 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

October 10 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

There will be discounted tickets for Military, Student, and Theme Park Employees with ID.

Ticket Link

Man’s Dominion a true story about the nature of man.

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There are some stories in American history that need to be told because they resonate through the ages. In September of 1916 the god fearing people of Erwin, Tennessee lynched an elephant named Mary. She was a star in Spark’s World Famous Circus. The 18 year old elephant had grown up in captivity.  Red Elkridge, on his second day on the job got thrown and then had his  head crushed when  Mary stomped on his skull. For this, Mary was sent and to death, and the giant railroad cranes of  the Blue Ridge Railroad were to be the engines of her demise. She was chained by the neck and hung. Man’s Dominion provided  a voice for ten witnesses and participants in this  horrific event.

Presented by Pachyderm Productions, Tim Powell performed  in this tour De-force one man show this one man show That brought ten characters to life. The play written by David Castro and directed by, Dennis Neal peals away the  layers to show man’s basest nature. I’ve seen many one man shows at  Fringe but none of them compared  to the emotional punch of this  show. A circus ringmaster opened the show, setting the scene. The show became particularly powerful when Fish, an Irish Roustabout, spoke about the lynching feeling that Red, an outsider, deserved what he got. Captain Prescott who had seen slavery and lynching gave his insights into the white man’s blood lust.  Reverend George McKee became more and more demonic as he spoke a boot man’s dominion over the animals and the need for vengeance. Hobo Joe, a clown, had spent years working beside Mary and he blamed Red for his mishandling of the billhook. A bullhook is a sharp steel hook that is used to this day to inflict  pain when used to poke elephants where there skin is the most tender and sensitive. It is a tool of torture.

There was a talk back after the show. Tim who resides in Los Angeles confided that he had reached a low point in his career. He didn’t even want to get up in the morning. He was introduced to David’s play and his southern up bringing made him the perfect actor for the part. He asked Dennis Neal to direct. This was Tim’s first one man show, and it was Dennis’s directing debut.

There were just five shows of Man’s Dominion at the Mad Cow Theater (54 West Church Street Orlando FL). The show is heading to the New York City next at the United Solo Festival on October 9th, 2015 in Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, New York City). There is only one show at 7:30pm.

for tickets visit Man’s Dominion Ticket sales and specify the 7:30pm showing on Friday, Oct 9th.

A whale rolled into Orlando.

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Poncili Creacion presented Ballenarca at the Winter Park Public Library. I believe Ballenarca is derived from baleen, which whales use to strain and eat krill,and ark, as in a large sea vessel. They had just come from Miami’s Art Basel where a Whale Arc seemed quite in order. The whale was constructed on a boat trailer.  Car jacks held up the whales massive jaw. Large metal ribs were covered with fiberglass. There was a wide cast of foam characters in the show. Orlando has a strong puppetry community thanks to Heather Henson’s Ibex puppetry.  Hannah Miller and Jack Fields were there. I would say that half the audience were puppeteers and the other half were excited children. There isn’t much of a difference between the two.

The show was colorful and surreal. There was a four legged dog fish, a red character that looked like a cross between a tooth and a heart, and an eight foot high centipede. When the centipede interacted with the kids, the squealed with delight. Kids easily accept the characters and can quickly imagine the world they inhabit. This was no longer a parking lot, but a magical under sea world. Kids don’t react the same way when high tech movies force feed every digital detail.

After the performance, kids were invited inside the whale’s open mouth. The puppeteers needed to drive the whale to Heather Henson’s warehouse where it would stay for the night. They would be on the road the next day to their next open air stage. I was invited to have dinner with the cast at Loving Hut and I jumped at the chance. On the drive to the restaurant I ended up driving right behind the whale. The tale had to be removed for the drive, but the whale still grinned at me. You don’t see a whale in traffic very often. At Loving Hut, one member of the cast was fascinated by one of my brush pens. He did a drawing of a mysterious dark haired girl with straight bangs, in the back of my sketchbook. He signed it Poncili.

The Sunburst Convention For Professional Celebrity Impersonators featured a Love Boat themed party.

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The Sunburst Convention For Professional Celebrity Impersonators is being held in the Florida Hotel in the Florida Mall, 1500 Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL.  The Convention’s website explained, “The Sunburst Convention is a great and
friendly environment helping promote the careers of Professional
Celebrity Impersonators and Look  A Likes. This is a rather unique
profession and we take it seriously.
You
can NOW see what it’s about on NETFLIX!  Look for the movie/documentary
“Just About Famous” and you will see what we are about!

I went to a Love Boat themed party on the second night of the convention. Greg showed up dressed up as Captain Stubing and all the attendees were encouraged to come in costume. Ginny Soskey a Hubspot section editor came to the convention from Boston. Before we were let in to the Hospitality suite she explained that there are 3 tiers in the celebrity look alike field. The first tier are the look alikes, they don’t necessarily need costumes to resemble a celebrity. then there are the Celebrity impersonators. They research their celebrity’s every mannerism and they often create their own costumes. The final tier are the tribute artists, they have the look, the costumes and they develop a complete act that they perform on stage.

One whole meeting room in the hotel had rows of tables with celebrity impersonators cards and promotional materials. Agents show up to the convention to scout for talent and Ilene Lieber who does PR for the convention told me that there were more agents than ever this year. Colonal Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame arrived and shook my hand. I thought his presence was appropriate since KFC is running ads now that have a Saturday Night Live comedian doubling as the Colonal. The actor didn’t look like the Colonal so I suddenly lost faith in the brand. It was like they stole my belief in Santa Claus. Another look alike showed up is a stunning outfit with jewels and a fur lined hood. Her lips sparkled orange. I thought she was Lady Gaga but it turned out she was Cher. Captain Jack Sparrow staggered about with some thick brown swill in a bottle. It wasn’t beer, perhaps it was a thick fermented cider.

The party was a blast. A tropical billboard was against one wall with a rail so celebrities could take a photo in an exotic island setting. As the room filled, people took selfies together.   The Blues Brothers hung out at the corner table. Dolly Parton later sat at the table to check her phone. The whole fun in attending the convention was trying to guess who was being impersonated. Yet this is a skill set I haven’t developed. The last thing I wanted to do was walk up to someone and say “So, who are you supposed to be?” I kept my guesses private

Apparently Charo had appeared quite a few times on the Love Boat, so there was a rather hilarious hoochie coochie contest. On stage, The Ladies of Soul performed along with the L.O.S. Band from Vero Beach. They definitely got the attendees out on the dance floor. This was a rare instance where I didn’t sketch the stage. Instead, I had to focus on the celebrity audience.

Just About Famous at the Sunburst Convention

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I went to the Welcome Party at the Sunburst Convention For Professional Celebrity Impersonators, Tribute Artists and Look Alikes at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center (1500 Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL). The hotel was right in the Florida Mall so it took me some time to locate the place. I asked the concierge where I could find the Celebrity Convention and he said, “All the celebrities are down the hall to the right. There was a large empty room and I was about to look around some more to search other rooms. Paula Dean walked in and asked where everyone was. Just then we both heard laughter from behind a door. Inside people were watching a documentary titled “Just About Famous” about celebrity look alikes. “When fans cannot get close to the real thing, these professionals step
in to fill the void. As the old adage goes, ‘imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery.’ From a celebrity impersonator convention to their
lives across the country, JUST ABOUT FAMOUS chronicles the few who have
had the fortune, or curse, of looking like the most recognizable people
on the planet.” 

This wasn’t a great sketch opportunity, but I began to realize that I as surrounded by celebrity look alikes. Right next to me was Gene Simmons, a band member from Kiss. What do you do when you discover you are sitting next to Gene Simmons? You sketch him of course. Also in the room was Johnny Depp, Barack Obama, and George Bush. Only a few were in full costume, but it was fun trying to figure out which celebrities I might be sketching. The film turned out to be much longer than expected so I had plenty of time to sketch.  I was pleased to see that a local pink haired actress who I only know as Barbie Rhinestone, had a prominent role in the film which is now on Netflix. It turns out she can become Marilyn Monroe and Katy Perry. She probably had the funniest moment in the film when she demonstrated a voice warm up exercise in which she screeched and flexed her fingers like cat talons. She made a cupcake bra for her Katie Perry persona that is hilarious. In the film she pointed out that she sort of hoped people would be impersonating her, but this was the next best thing.

Celebrity impersonators discussed how people react when they think they are in the presence of a celebrity. For some reason people feel the need to reach out and touch. One celebrity Look alike at the conference had a stalker. The guy drove four hours to cause trouble. Greg, one of the organizers of the event asked the trouble maker to step outside and the guy was escorted out of the hotel for trespassing. This is a community of people who look after each other. It also became clear from the documentary that this was a fun group of people to be around. The convention runs through Sunday September 27th.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 26th and 27th.

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Saturday September 26, 2015

8:30am to 6pm Sold Out.  FL Blog Con. Full Sail University 3300 University Boulevard, Winter Park, FL. FLBlogCon was founded on the principles of openly sharing experience and
expertise with others. This conference provides one day where we cast aside
differences in backgrounds, blogging topics, and competitive goals, and instead
embrace coming together in the spirit of cooperation, helpfulness, and friendship.
We know you will embrace this philosophy and focus on the great role models of
professionalism set by yourself and your fellow bloggers. Most importantly, we want
all bloggers to feel welcome and included, no matter their experience or background.

3pm to 3am Free.  ARTLando. Loch Haven Park, Orlando, FL. A celebration of Orlando’s Arts and Culture. Featuring a performing arts showcase, outdoor art walk, live painting, and more! Pet friendly! After the sun goes down, experience Blue Star’s Varietease, Fretless Rock and the Rock Hard Review.

9pm to 11pm  $10 Super Jam Art Show For PEACE! Will’s Pub, 1042 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL. A night of art, peace and music. With so much hate and bs going on in the world we thought a Super Jam Art Show for Peace would be a good way to promote something positive in our community. Feel free to share this event all around the FB. There will be live art, live music and there will also be a collaborative art piece (peace) that everyone can join in on!

Sunday September 27, 2015

10am to 12:30pm $10 Crealde Sketch Class.  Crealdé School of Art, 600 St Andrews Blvd, Winter Park, FL. Life drawing from  a nude model.

Noon to 2pm Free but get bite to eat. Florida Gospel Jam. Fish on Fire 7937 Daetwyler Drive Belle Isle FL.Every 2nd and 4th Sunday.

7pm to 9pm Free. Nerd Nite Orlando: Movie & Trivia Nite. The Geek Easy 114 S Semoran Blvd Suite 6, Winter Park, Florida.  Join Nerd Nite Orlando for our first ever movie and trivia nite! We’ll be doing a round of science fiction trivia, as well as screening the classic comic sci-fi film, The Ice Pirates. Come meet up, drink, and learn something new!

The Miami Project tent at Art Basel offered plenty of surprises.

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This sketch of the entry to the Miami Project tent at Art Basel in Miami Showcases a sculpture by Mei Chin titled Cabinet of Craving. The large spider, 9 x 14 x 14 feet, was made of white oak, antique English bone ware (circa 1843), footed silver tray, steel, pigmented dye, and shellac.The sculpture is an homage to Louise Bourgeois, a Houston artist and friend, Jesse Lott, and Victoria artist, Madeline O’Connor. It
assembles cross cultural adaptations found in furniture, ancient motifs
mix bred with nationalist symbols, all under the influence of
addictions that shape historical destinies. This crouching spider like
monumental sculpture pushes it’s abdomen to the ceiling. Just behind this
decorative mongrel visage, of an English bulldog and ancient Chinese
“gluttonous” taotie mask, is Victorian-style glass case revealing it’s
curious diet, an antique 1843 teapot upon a silver serving tray. The
sculpture is a hybrid monster born out of addictions and manipulations
of empires, in this case, the Victorian English craving for tea and
porcelain, the Chinese desire for silver and the insidious and illegal
trade of narcotics that lead to the Opium War.

A lounge chair and coffee table contrasted the sinister theme inherent in the spider. Catalogs where placed on the coffee table periodically that showed many o the artists works. I never picked up a catalog since I didn’t want to carry around the weight. I was already carrying 3 sketchbook ins in my art bag.

I had wandered away from the crowd I was with so that I could find a quick sketch subject. Re-finding my friends was a challenge since every tent was packed with patrons. It was easy to develop “art burn” after a few hours at which point very work of art seems pretentious and homogenized. Most of the time I was focused of winding my way through the crowds rather than focusing on the art. I also rather enjoyed the fashionable people watching.

Terry’s friend Elaine Pasekoff, had parked at a local parking lot, but Terry and I decided to stay later and then we took a bus back up to the condo in Miami Beach. Traffic is crazy at Art Basel, so taking the bus was a relief.

The Sea Fair was a unique venue for viewing art at Art Basel.

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The first Art Basel venue Terry and I went to was the Sea Fair on board the luxury yacht “Grand Lux” (100 Chopin Plaza Bay front Park South Dock Downtown Miami, FL). SeaFair offers a venue through which the world’s finest galleries are
able to deliver art to collectors’ doorsteps in a unique, self-contained
ultra-luxury seagoing venue. I sketched while Terry scouted out the galleries. Once my sketch was done, she showed me her favorite pieces. My favorite was a sketch done on a wrinkled up piece of paper. The wrinkles were incorporated into a large graphite drawing of an old man’s face.

Sea Fair is the world’s first mobile mega yacht venue. The $40 million
custom-built yacht was designed by internationally acclaimed yacht
designer Luiz De Basto. At 228 feet and 2,800 international tons, it is
the largest ship built for commercial operation on the Intracoastal
Waterway and requires a draft of only 6.5 feet allowing it to dock at
small yacht facilities in central city locations such as Chopin Plaza.

The well-appointed luxury venue features an impressive formal marble
entryway, 28 individual exhibit spaces, a coffee bar, the Luxe Lounge,
an open-air champagne and tapas bar on the aft deck, Sapore’, a formal
glass-walled restaurant/club on Deck 3, Bistro360, an informal open-air
restaurant and Bar360, a sky deck cocktail reception area.

Besides the dock side exhibition, the yacht took select patrons on sunset cruises, Brunch and Cay cruises and afternoon Bay cruises.  While enjoying the amenities, patrons could wander through the five decks which  offered 20 unique art galleries and
luxury boutiques. Cruised featured local and internationally renowned artists,
receptions, art performances and more. The yacht was ostentatious and pretentious which might help inspire wealthy patrons to want to buy art. It is a much better place to experience art than a convention center or outdoor tents. I preferred a quick walk through which minimized the risk of getting sea sick or experiencing art burn. From this venue, Terry and I rushed to a museum where an experimental dance performance was to take place.

Giving Tuesday raised funds for Florida Opera Theater.

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Giving Tuesday was on December 2nd an this fundraiser was at the Women’s Club of Winter Park (419 S Interlachen Ave, Winter Park, FL). The Club was founded in 1915, and is one of the oldest
not-for-profit community organizations in Winter Park, Florida. Giving Tuesday was created by the non-profit sector to establish a day of pure giving; to any cause that you support, believe in or are passionate about. It’s surrounded by the giving feeling of the holidays, so it turns out that it’s quite a successful day in the area of fundraising.

I was contacted because the organizer wanted a live painter while there were live performances throughout the evening (kind of like what the Glazier’s do at the Timucua White House). The original idea was to have patrons “add” something to this piece of art, so that it could be said that many people had a hand in creating this piece. People might add a few strokes themselves, or put their initials onto the canvas and the painter somehow include that as part of the painting.. The theme was to be “this is what the arts means to me”. I had done this type of thing at the Sonesta Hotel for a Downtown Arts District fundraiser. I did the 18 foot wide Orlando skyline sketch and patrons could essentially paint by the numbers. It was a disaster that I had no desire to repeat. It isn’t a great idea to give patrons that have been drinking wet paint. I did however decide to document the event with a sketch. Patrons still got to see a painting created live without getting their hands dirty.

The Florida Opera Theater singers were fantastic. This was a great way to warm up to the holiday season.