Sunday in the Park With George.

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I had too step out of an artist talk back with United Arts President and CEO, Floria Maria Garcia, at Urban ReThink about the state of the arts in Orlando. It was a hot topic on which I have plenty of opinions but little time to express them. I rushed over to Church Street and sat in the very back row of the brand new Harriet Theater to see the Mad Cow Theater production of Sunday in the Park With George.  The lobby is magnificent with a large plate glass window view overlooking Church Street. The new theater offers roomier seating but the low office building ceilings offer a challenge since it limits the height of the stage sets. The stage was a blank canvas. White panels were arranged accordion style across the back of the stage. Executive Director, Mitzi Maxwell, introduced the play which she called Stephen Sondheim‘s tribute to creativity. I first saw the play in 1983 in New York City, and I fell in love with it. I would often play the cassette tape soundtrack as I painted until the audio tape eventually stretched and broke. Change is inevitable as we move on.

When George Seurat, played by Matt Horohoe, started sketching, Dot, played by Hannah Laird, the white panels were removed by actors in period costume to uncover Lisa Bucks wonderful painted rendition of the Island of La Grande Jatte. The play follows George’s life and creative process as he creates a huge canvas celebrating a Sunday in the park. His relationship wit Dot becomes strained as he looses himself in his work. This stage production brought back all the joy and emotions from the show I first experienced in New York City. Now that I am older and obsessed with capturing life, I better understand George Seurat.

In my sketch, I tried to assemble the cast in a fair approximation of where they were in George’s final composition.  Since the composition was finalized for only a short moment, I didn’t catch every character. Like any urban sketch done on location, I placed figures where they best balanced out the composition I was assembling. I placed George Seurat where the monkey would be found in his painting. The second act isn’t as strong as the first, but it features my favorite song, Art isn’t Easy! I absolutely loved this show, and the cast did an astounding job of keeping up with Sondheim’s fast paced lyrics. The show continues through October 28th. Performances are selling out so get your tickets now! As I got up to leave my pencil sharpener fell out of my lap and crashed to the floor. It popped open spilling pencil shavings everywhere. Embarrassed, I picked up a few with my fingers but decided a vacuum would hopefully pick up the delicate curled shavings with little effort.

“White: a blank page or canvas. His favorite – so many possibilities.”

– George Seurat

Orange, White and Blue Gala

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Devin Dominguez invited Terry and I to Evening in the Grove, was an Orange, White and Blue Gala honoring the Orlando Magic with proceeds benefiting the Art and History Museums of Maitland. I wore a blue and white striped shit,with a blue tie and jacket. The event was at the Sheraton Orlando North Hotel in Maitland. I had sketched a wedding reception here once. As soon as guests entered the hotel. they were greeted by Ashley and Amy, two of the Orlando Magic dancers. I wandered around the lobby looking at all the silent auction items but I couldn’t find a spot to sketch. Dawn Schreiner was doing quick portraits for anyone who wanted to sit for a bit. There were several Orlando Magic players, Bo Outlaw and Nick Anderson, sitting by themselves but they
looked bored and so I decided that the chipper dancers were my best bet for a decent sketch during the cocktail hour. They posed with people and waited patiently between photo shoots. They didn’t quite know shat to make of me and they peeked at the sketch in its early stages.

They wandered off and I debated about abandoning the sketch. I figured they were creeped out by the loony with the sketchbook. I decided to focus on features of the room and before long, the dancers were back. Amy peeked again and said, “Moving on the ink, this is getting serious.” This time I nailed down the dancers slender proportions. Raffle tickets were being sold by the arm length. Bidding on the silent auction items involved downloading a program on the smart phone where bids stacked up digitally, and you were even warned if someone outbid you. I tried to limit my palette to blue, white and orange. When I finished the sketch, I found my way to the dining area. The salads had just been served, so my timing was perfect. Speed painter, Tony Corbitt was on stage doing a painting of Paul McCartney of the Beetles. Tony usually takes his shirt off when he paints but event organizers insisted he keep his shirt on. I’m always impressed with the speed in which he nails a celebrity face using just white paint on a black board.

The live auction was lively with one of Tony’s paintings bringing in over $300. Henry Maldonado,  president of thee Enzian Theater, acted as the Emcee. Speakers pointed out that the Orlando Magic Youth Fund had distributed over $17 million dollars through the Orlando Magic Youth Fund. Programs like, Journey to the Arts, help bring culture to at risk youth who might never get that experience otherwise. A young woman named  Mercedes Beaudoin got behind the mic to talk about her experience as an intern working for the Maitland Art and History Museums. She spoke of how much she learned and how grateful she was. The arts offered a long lasting meaningful purpose. Then she choked up as she said, “especially since my mother died recently.” The room grew quiet as she regained her composure and spoke about how important the arts are in our lives. Everyone stood and clapped as she left the stage. The evening brought in a net total of $48,200. All monies raised will support art and history programming at the Art and History Museums of Maitlnd.

Flash Spooktacular Spoken Word #2

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I went to Urban ReThink, (625 E Central Blvd, Orlando), on October 9th, for readings by local authors.This edition of There Will Be Words featured eight writers reading horror stories or ghost stories that are 500 words or less. The event is held on the second Thursday of every month starting at 7PM.  Jesse Bradley was the moderator so I sketched him since he stepped up to the mic between readings. 500 words fly by mighty fast when you are sketching. Authors included, Karen Best,
Teege Braune,
Arnie Ellis,
Brendan Earl,
Whitney Hamrick,
Sam Lamura,
Rafael Lancelotta, and
Michael Pierre. John Hurst, a former Disney Feature Animation colleague, entered the event wearing a knitted beard and mustache. Walked up to a redheaded man with a beard and cap. They looked like twins. Everyone laughed as they posed for pictures together.

A small iPhone was on a tripod recording the authors. Some stories were funny while others were downright gory. One author imagined what it was like to be eaten alive. In this agonizing moment, he hoped they wouldn’t ruin his looks making it hard for him to pick up zombie chicks. One of the more horrifically truthful stories was written a half hour before the event. The author went back into his family history to talk about an uncle who was murdered by a male lover. There was little consequence for the crime. Handmade, limited edition chapbooks featuring prose from each
night’s readings are sold on site for $5 to support the event and its
authors. Burrow Press will soon be selling 5 box sets of the There Will Be
Words’ first year of chapbooks, all copies signed by the authors, as a
fundraiser for future book projects.  After the event, John invited me out with his red headed buddy for some Mexican food. My sketch was done, and I felt I should get home, so I thanked him for inviting me, and then slipped away into the night.

Dia de los Muertos

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I went to the City Arts Factory for the opening of Dia de los Muertos, the day of the dead themed art show and block party. Pine Street was blocked off around the City Arts Factory with a large stage set up, art vendors, and a food truck. Large skeletal figures surrounded the entry way. Inside it was already packed and all the art in the hall and left gallery had highly ornate day of the dead skulls. I saw a flash of pink. It was Denna Beena ducking behind some black curtains. I followed and we entered a hectic backstage dressing room and makeup area. I recognized many of the Yow dancers and Denna graciously introduced me. Carolina Suarez Garcia came in and did her own makeup. She is the public relations manager for Tacatantán Records, one of the events producers along with The Orlando Downtown Arts District and Pink Hair Productions.I tried to find order in the chaos and clutter.

There was a mad rush to get the makeup done for all the performers before the 8PM Yow Dance, Thriller Flash Mob.  I thought I was sketching Yow dancers, but it turned out that these performers helped with Dali Live’s painting performance on stage. Dali was dressed like the joker with a shock of green hair. He quickly painted a large portrait of the joker while dancing to loud techno music. Poison Ivy and the other characters danced as he painted. They were all characters from Batman movies and eventually Batman did a cameo walk on stage. The crowd loved it. There was a costume contest and day of the dead parade.

Yow dance lead the assembled crowd in the Thriller line dance. A few people joined in, but it was hot and most Central Floridians are rather reserved.  Children joined in. Terry arrived and I searched for her in the crowd. I texted each location I went to thinking it might help. I was up against the stage watching Dali Live when Terry bumped me in the shoulder. We walked away from the stage to the back of the crowd and sat on some steps behind two girls with large snakes. A guy was coaching them saying they shouldn’t let people touch the snakes heads or grab at them. Terry wanted to take a picture, but the girls wanted money.  Terry was tired, having just come from another corporate party, so I walked her back to her car and called it a night. The Dia de los Muertos exhibit at City Arts Factory is up through the end of October.

Interactive Puppetry

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At the opening of the Handmade Puppet Dreams exhibit at City Arts Factory, Heather Henson, the founder of Ibex Puppet Company, had just opened a present from a friend.
She held a sleek sculpture of a deer or ram or maybe it was an ibex. All the colorful tissue paper was on the floor, and a light breeze from someone passing by caused a sheet to move, begging me to play. I was reminded of a an interactive art performance by actress and puppeteer, Rebekah Lane, on October 16th as part of the Creative City Project. She staged her performances four times at different locations around Lake Eola. When I arrived she was stuffing colorful tissue paper into brightly colored shopping bags. She explained to me that the idea for the performance came about after she attended a recent puppetry workshop. She learned about the work of Albrecht Roser. She explained that there are two ways to approach a story. First you can write a story and then find the materials with which to tell the story. The other approach is to let the materials influence and mold the story.

I was excited at the prospect of a performance in public catching people by surprise. A small foot ladder held a wicker rattle, an iHome stereo player and some thin green wire strands.  The puppet show banner hung from a flaccid length of PVC. She eventually found an existing sign near her staging area to support the banner. She turned on the stereo, playing some Felliniesque music and she approached passers by to try and drum up an audience. First three then five people gathered. Her performance was in mime. She offered the five people the shopping bags with delight in her eyes. They riffled inside the bags looking for what she was offering. All the colorful tissue paper was in the way. Then she extracted a bright blue tissue from a bag. Playfully, she crumpled the tissue into a long worm-like shape. She crouched down and had the tissue crawl about in the grass and then look around quizzically. Others played along. Soon there was a procession of caterpillars in the grass.

They moved to the ladder where a tissue paper cocoon was built and suspended with the silky wire strands. The caterpillars went inside and later emerged. Rebekah took the newly emerged tissue and she lifted it up into the breeze. It floated and danced in the wind. Every one’s tissues flew up in the air like graduation caps hesitant to return to any head. People ran after their creatures before they could be blown into the lake. Rebekah then folded her tissue, creating wings and her hand acted as the body and legs of a butterfly. A little girl was delighted when the butterfly landed on her head. There was an innocent Gelsomina joy in this performance that playfully asked people to imagine life in the colorful, and inanimate, while offering them the luxury of play. Sometimes we all need a little reminder that life isn’t all about meetings and schedules.

Handmade Pupppet Dreams Halloween

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Halloween is coming and Handmade Puppet Dreams is ready to show Orlando, FL its darker side. In addition to a 15-foot display of puppets in City Arts Factory, this ghastly gallery exhibit will feature a 2-hour loop of Handmade Puppet Dreams creepiest, crawliest, Halloween-iest films for the public to enjoy any time during open gallery hours (11:00AM till 6:00PM) through the end of October!

 The 3rd year of the Annual Dia de los Muertos and Monster Factory. Co-produced by The Downtown Arts District, Tacatantán Records, and Pink Hair Productions, this exhibit features the work of international, national, and local artists and, this year, will feature a gallery installation by IBEX Puppetry spotlighting Heather Henson’s Handmade Puppet Dreams!

The Handmade Puppet Dreams segment of the gallery will feature puppets from the films of Ron Binion (AlienCow Puppet Show Redux), David Michael Friend (Moonfishing), Sam Koji Hale (Yamasong), Lyon Hill (Junk Palace and Incubus), Kevin McTurk (The Narrative of Victor Karloch), and Scotty Shoemaker, Tony Giordano, and Jason Murphy(Harker). Screenings will include The Narrative of Victor Karloch, Suck-A-Thumb, AlienCow Puppet Show Redux, Calalilly, Harker, Incubus, In the House of the Sin Eater, Junk Palace, Yamasong, Moonfishing, and Graveyard Jamboree.

Hannah Miller was busy getting the puppets ready for display on the day before the opening.  Midway through the install she turned on the flat screen TV to show the films. Each of the puppets I sketched were in the films. It was like having movie actors pose who are eternally patient. My favorite short film was Moonfishing which had gorgeous silhouetted settings with curvacious Art Nouveau organic curls, and a magical heart warming story. When pizza arrived at 1PM, all the other people who were hanging art disappeared never to be seen again. Hannah called Jack Fields to help as she finished the installation. I admired their teamwork when hanging the posters high on the wall. Hanging a show is hard work.

Thriller Flash Mobs

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The Creative City Project came about as a result of a conversation between Cole Nesmith and Terry Olson, the Director at Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs. The Creative City Project involves gorilla style performances in public spaces every day of the month in October.

The Orlando Ballet had a Thriller themed flash mob on October 12th in the Plaza Theater Courtyard in Downtown Orlando at noon as part of The Creative City Project. I arrived a bit late and there was a crowd of people in business attire milling around the plaza. A 7-11 which recently opened in the plaza was packed. I was afraid I had missed the flash mob but  Robert Hill, the company’s artistic director let me know that there would be three more performances about every 15 minutes. Each performance would be just three minutes. That would be a challenge to catch an entire cast dancing in three minutes. I felt I had bit off more than I could chew.


I climbed the stairs for an aerial view of the staging area. Suddenly I was surrounded by the entire ballet cast all dressed in black. They were posing for a photo in front of the Plaza Theater marquee and resting before the next performance. In the bright noon light they tended to look more like cheerleaders rather than zombies. I considered sketching them, but they went back downstairs just as I started. A woman’s piercing scream shifted my attention to the courtyard. She ran to the center of the courtyard, screaming the whole time. People turned to look concerned. Then Michael Jackson’s Thriller boomed from the sound system. The entire cast danced as zombies and ghouls. People kept gathering to watch. Then as Vincent Price laughed, the performers disappeared. The flash mob was used to help promote Vampire’s Ball which will run from October 19th to the 21st. The show is advertised as being frightening, erotic, and campy. I saw a preview from last year’s show and it looked amazing.


Tonight after 6PM at the City Arts Factory, Yow Dance will also be performing a Thriller Flash Mob as part of Dia Des Los Muertos and Monster Factory. At this flash mob, everyone is being encouraged to join in. So put on your best zombie attire and get out and dance! There will be makeup artists at City Arts Factory in case you need some extra gory wounds.

A Room with a View

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Terry and I took the Paris metro from the airport to Hotel Pantheon. We were delighted to find out that out that we had been upgraded to a room with a view. A municipal building in the square in front of the Pantheon had a wedding ceremony going on.  Colorful confetti was thrown over the coulee as they left the building. A crowd of guests stood in the street afterwards. A wedding photographer took pictures of the couple with the Pantheon as a backdrop. There was no mad rush to get to a reception. A large vintage sedan with its chauffeur was waiting at the corner.

This view was from the hotel window and it was the first sketch I did in Paris after I opened the window shutters. It was obvious from the start that there would be no shortage of interesting subjects in this city. Terry and I went inside the Pantheon to look around. In the basement there were catacombs with crypts. One room held the remains of authors Victor Hugo, 1807-1885, and Emile Zola, 1840-1902. The Pantheon had a huge pendulum suspended from the large central dome. There was an exhibit of original manuscripts from Jean Jacques Rousseau. Terry and I looked through but didn’t linger. Murals and statuary decorated every corner and alcove of the interior. One huge room housed a scale model of the Pantheon itself.

It was good that our hotel was near this major landmark since it helped us navigate back after we got lost on the myriad of angular rooked streets of Paris. Inevitably we were always lost since there was no grid pattern to follow.  Streets would often end at public places and only a few of thee street names ever seemed to actually be on the map. Once while I was trying to read the map, a little old French lady walked right into me to push me aside. She was like an ant unable to consider the notion of walking around. The country celebrates youth even more than America, so perhaps that is why the older ladies seem so bitter. I eventually abandoned the maps and wandered the streets by instinct and feel. Every turn would result in another stunning find so that is when the adventure begins. It only became important to get a feel for where the River Seine was in relation to where we were.

Skill Focus Burlesque Presents: Classis Horror

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I went to a Skill Focus: Burlesque rehearsal of Classic Horror at the Peacock Room. Skill Focus is Orlando’s premiere nerdy burlesque troupe. The Peacock Room has been lavishly decorated for Halloween with life sized ghouls, demons and plenty of spider webs. The rehearsal was just getting started and Ruby Darling, the troupes director, had the performers run through their numbers in the order they arrived to the rehearsal.  On stage Andy Matchett was setting up for the live performance by The Continentals. Andy Matchett, Matthew Mendel, and Shawn Bryant – are Orlando’s
hippest trio of musicians, who bring you all your favorite hits from the
past with tons of style and a whole lot of rock and roll. The other members of the band hadn’t arrived yet so Andy was flying solo. At one point Andy asked if anyone knew how to play guitar. One of the girls knew a few chords, so he handed her his guitar and showed her the chords he needed her to play. Then he asked for anyone who could drum. Count Dracula got on stage and pounded out a beat on the snare drum. Andy had an instant band.The other performers did arrive after a break and the Continentals gave a hip edge to each Burlesque act.

This nerdy burlesque tribute will pay homage to everyone’s favorite classic movie monsters of the past, with live music by The Continentals! Come watch Dracula, the Bride of Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and more of your favorite creepy creatures take it off to the hottest songs of yesteryear. Skill Focus is made up of hot nerdy ladies (and guys!) who love geeking
out and sequins, performing saucy, sassy, sultry striptease while
portraying their favorite characters from comic books, video games,
sci-fi, anime, horror, fantasy, you name it.

Hosted by the illustrious Chan Sterling – human encyclopedia and master
of dick jokes – Skill Focus is proud to present a lineup of seriously
talented, seriously nerdy burlesque performers from Orlando:

Ruby Darling,
Cherry Bob-omb,
Rickabilly Bond,
Syber Digit,
Shy Labuff,
Fifi Latio,
Nekkid RoboJoe,
and
Rosita “Queen of Offensive Burlesque” Sparkles.

The rehearsal was insanely fun with satin capes, baubles, glitter and plenty of flirtatious bump and grind. An eight foot stage runway will be added to the room allowing the ladies and guys to walk out into the audience. Guaranteed, this will be a standing room only show. Don’t miss the HORROR!

The show is TONIGHT, Tuesday, October 16th at
10pm. The doors and bar open at 9pm. 18+ only, please!  The Peacock Room
1321 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, with plenty of parking in back and on the side streets.

Tickets are $12 at the door. $2 off for Halloween Horror Nights team members! – If you are an Halloween Horror Night team member, please bring your work ID to the show to avoid extra charges at the door.

Tijuana Flats

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On my way to Urban ReThink, I decided to stop by Tijuana Flats, (8 North Summerlin Ave.), for some Mexican food and a sketch. I ordered a Chimichanga and a Coke. Anytime I eat alone I end up sketching. Two men sat at a table opposite me having an animated conversation about sports. The walls were covered with quirky murals of aliens in UFOs. The murals had an urban graffiti quality to them.

I’m writing this post on a flight back to Orlando from Paris. I was surprised by how much graffiti there was in and around Paris. Of course there is always more graffiti along railroad tracks. It was odd that most tags were crossed out with a single spray painted line. Only tags that were precariously high had any hope of lasting. I suppose graffiti is an ephemeral art. In a city with so much beautiful art, architecture, and history, the graffiti was just an eyesore.