The “One and Only” music video was being shot in the Orlando Repertory Theater. I did a sketch in the dressing room as the actresses and dancers got ready for the 80’s styled sequence. Megan Hinkle seemed to be a hair and makeup specialist. She helped Jessika Meriko with her eyeliner. Jessica had large curlers in her hair and she quickly changed into a firehouse red dress for the shoot. Britt Daley was busy teasing Darci Ricciardi’s hair. When Megan offered to help, Britt quickly acknowledged that she could probably do a better job. The room was a constant flurry of activity. I had to sketch extra fast. The male actors had dressed quickly in the same dressing room. They waited outside when they were done. Everyone looked primped and proper for the final scene.
Carry Yourself Back to Me by Deborah Reed
Author Deborah Reed used to live in Orlando back in the 1980’s. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest and her book “Carry Yourself Back to Me” had just been published. She read a chapter of the book at Urban ReThink. The main character in the book is Annie Walsh, a singer and songwriter , who has sequestered herself away in a small rural Orlando home after her husband, 0wen, left her for another woman. Owen was her muse, and since he left she was unable to sing anymore. A cricket was chirping a lovely serenade under her porch and her brother, Calder, explained that only one male cricket sang at a time. The lady crickets are mesmerized by the song. The silent male crickets sneak up on the females who are lost in lust for the singer, and snatch them away. The sad part is that the singer is short lived. He dies off long before the silent types who steal the women.
The book offered a nostalgic look at rural Central Florida. When asked where the book took place, Deborah said she was describing Clermont, out by Howell Branch Road. Of course the tangelo groves she described have been replaced with strip malls and housing developments. Deborah is a big fan of the rhythmic sentence. She would go through her copy adding comas and taking them out until the sentence had just the right cadence. She isn’t a songwriter herself but she does identify with Annie, the main character.
The drama escalated when Calder is accused of murder. He fell in love with a married Scandinavian woman and her husband was murdered. The number of affairs and family secrets was astonishing. I had to pick up a copy of the book and yesterday I read it cover to cover. I’m not that voracious of a reader, but I couldn’t put it down. The sweet smell of citrus, the springs and an unexpected winter frost all bring Central Florida vividly alive. All of the characters made mistakes and had to live with the consequences. News of the murder brings Annie’s husband, Owen back to her. But she may have been waiting for the wrong man.
Star struck, I asked Deborah to sign my sketch.
Eden Bar's New Menu
The Eden Bar outside the Enzian Theater hosted a media event to introduce new lunch menu items. I arrived right after work and started sketching before the bar got too crowded. Christie West the bar manager gathered all the staff together to discuss the game plan for the evening. When she spoke with me later in the evening, she explained that all the bartenders had gone out and shopped for unique ingredients. They then set up a drink lab where each bartender created their own signature drink. The first drink that came out was a Vodka Lemonade Lime drink in a martini glass. The drink had to be sipped using the dainty straw to avoid sipping the herbs. I made that mistake only once. When my watercolor brush ran out of water, I refilled it with this light vodka drink. The drink was delicious as well. The next drink sample was a black currant gin, also quite refreshing.
Finally some food samples arrived. The first was an Ahi tuna with mango, avocado, fresh red onion and sun dried tomato, lightly tossed with chili oil. This was a radical change from the usual menu where I might expect pizza. This was fine dining cuisine presented beautifully. Executive Chef Ed Hollingsworth is responsible for the new splash of color and tastes. A Mediterranean dish had babaganoush, hummus, sun dried tomatoes and eggplant which was a bit to salty for my taste. The dishes just kept coming, there was a Mac and Cheese Teriyaki and a stuffed mushroom that was amazing!
My favorite drink served was simply called Sugar and Spice. It tasted like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all served in a cup. I told the server how much I liked it and it turned out she was the creator. I will certainly be returning to enjoy all the Halloween themed movies in October and to continue sampling this amazing new menu.
Kelly Fitzpatrick who blogs about Central Florida night life was at the next table laughing vivaciously and enjoying herself. I was shocked to find out that days later she had passed away in her sleep. She was just 36 years old. Life is short people, make every moment count.
Fill the Grill Championship Cookoff
I rushed to Whole Foods Market after work to witness the Championship Cook off. Steve Saelg, the master chef from The Crooked Spoon Food Truck, was up against Alec Cheak, the master chef from Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. The chefs were each given $20 to spend then 20 minutes to shop and 20 minutes to prepare a delicious grilled summer meal. The stakes were high, a bronze chef’s trophy sat on the counter top waiting to be claimed. The announcer followed the chefs around the store. At the checkout counter, chef Steve realized he had gone a little over budget. He had to surrender his arugula. Then he hit the $20 mark right on the nose. Chef Alec was also over budget by ¢94. He was going to surrender his nuts, but instead returned a peach.
The chefs then raced to prepare their meals. Sharp knives sliced and diced. Steve was making a deconstructed Italian sausage. He cut up a red pepper. A bagette was toasted as he prepared a tomato sauce with pepper romano and rosemary. Chef Alec was grilling pork chops. He combined fresh lemon juice and olive oil to create a Spring mix. Apples and peaches were grilled. He whisked a balsamic reduction. Roasted red peppers were mixed in with an apricot coulis. Brie cheese was served as a side.
The judges were, Patricia Letakis of Florida Travel and Life, Kendra Lott of Edible Orlando and Bernie Tostanowski the Whole Foods prepared Foods Team Leader. Steve’s Italian Sausage was served first. He instructed the judges to assemble the ingredients into a sandwich. Patricia stacked a Dagwood sized sandwich and chomped in. Bernie held back preferring to use his fork. Chef Alec’s pork chops were savored by the judges. The brie cheese was a bold choice but it was complimented by the grilled fruit.
Chef Steve’s waited with his wife and daughter for the verdict. I figured he might get bonus points for being a family man. In the end, Chef Alec Cheak was declared the winner. The Fill the Grill trophy has a new home at Fleming’s Steak House. I desperately wanted a pork chop, instead I went home to leftovers.
Big Wheel Food Truck
Every Monday there is a farmers market that sets up in the parking lot of Stardust Video and Coffee in the Audubon Park district of Orlando starting around 6pm. I stopped by right after work at Full Sail. When I got there vendors were still setting up their tents. The Big Wheel Food Truck was parked at the entrance of the parking lot. Several flimsy roadside dividers were set up to keep cars from trying to pull into the lot to park. I decided I should order dinner from the truck. Inside the truck the three chefs were busy cutting and preparing the food. I asked if they were ready to take an order, and they weren’t. They suggested I return in about 15 minutes.
I sat across the way leaning back against a road sign and I began to sketch. Sure enough, 15 minutes into the sketch people started to line up for food. The Big Wheel Food Truck is proud of serving fresh local food that is prepared in small batches, “because, frankly, we think it just tastes better that way.” Their slogan is “Local is Lovely.” Cars kept parking in front of me so vendors could unload their gear. One fellow backed up and knocked over one of the “no parking” dividers. I picked it up for him. The next woman to back out asked if I could take care of the divider. Suddenly I was the gate keeper. I left the dividers out of the way and continued to sketch.
Finally I ordered my dinner. I decided to try a meatloaf burger made from local grass fed beef. The burger was topped with house made bacon with local lettuce, garden herbs and a big wheel onion. The burger was juicy and delicious with a creamy sauce but a bit to salty for my taste. I ordered Captain Eli’s blueberry pop to wash it all down.
Chef Tony Adams who founded the food truck had a tent set up in the market to sell local produce and to promote the truck. The truck uses twitter to let people know where the truck is parked. These up to the minute updates called “Chase our Wheels” can be found at twitter.com/bigwheeltruck. I showed Tony the sketch and asked for a business card. He thought their might be some in the truck so he jogged over and into the truck to search for them. He gave me someone’s card with his info written by hand on the back. I often run out of my business cards so I found it comforting and endearing that this was a true small local business.
The Repertory Theater’s Backstage Dance Studio
Shooting continued for Britt Daley’s music video, “One and Only.” A door at the back of the actors dressing rooms opened into a backstage dance studio. I never would have guessed that this room existed. Andy Matchett lounged in front of me along with Megan Hinkle and Kyle Raker. For much of the day, Britt had been worried that her break dancer hadn’t shown up. Scott Wilkins the writer for the music video shoot said that the one thing he needed more than anything else was a break dancer. The dream sequence was saved for last since everyone in the cast had to change into their flashiest 80’s outfits.
Will “MainSwitch” Campbell and Darci Ricciardi began working on their dance moves. “MainSwitch” brought Darci up to speed until they were a well oiled break dancing machine. Jessica Mariko had her own dance moves worked out. She wore a sleek red dress and her sensual moves could make any James Bond actress blush. Nicholas Corcoran was a bit nervous since he isn’t a dancer and he was being asked to light up the dance floor like John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever.” The biggest surprise came when Katie Peters rolled onto the dance floor in a classic roller skating disco queen outfit. She had performed as a singer during the audition scenes of the video shoot. The actress who was going to skate didn’t show so Katie stepped in. Nicholas didn’t have to work on many dance moves, he just had to help guide skating Katie as she glided around him. Tape on the rehearsal floor was a bit of a stumbling block at first but soon Skating Katie and Nick had a smooth routine worked out. Everything was worked out for a stellar dream scene.
Tisse’s Birthday Bash
I had to leave after Tod Caviness did his spoken word performance at Urban ReThink. I went to the Mennello Museum to transfer several sketches on to the mural. The work went quickly so I decided to rush back to Tisse’s birthday party. When I re-entered Urban ReThink, I saw a dancer stretching.
There was home made birthday cake so I grabbed a slice. I grabbed a seat at a table with authors Karen Price and John Connelly to see what was next on the Urban ReThink stage. Chaz Yorick came in after having seen all the downtown gallery openings as part of Third Thursdays.
Tisse first met Elise Frost through various mutual friends in the Orlando dance circle and they finally had their first full conversation at Michael Sloan’s going away party.Elise took to the stage wearing a dogs mask and holding an umbrella. Elise moved and spoke in a childlike manner. She reminded me of Totoro. Her monologue had a child’s sincerity with dark undertones. The lantern implied a character lost in the woods. She spoke of her grandmother dying, yet she didn’t like her grandmother. Was this an infants Kabuki? A sinister bedtime story? I remained mystified and bewildered.
Tisse got on stage and started talking about how she gradually discovered Orlando’s arts scene. She moved from Chicago with her parents to Celebration Florida. She hated Celebration’s theme park facade and the clutter and chintz of 192. She missed the big city. She eventually moved downtown where she began to discover the true Orlando scene. The importance of any city is in the people you surround yourself with. Orlando is a small enough city where individuals can really make a difference. The theater scene is small enough where the performers truly appreciate the audience members. The people that stand out in her life are the people who have a passion for what they do and love to help out.
Suddenly she was talking to me, calling me the “Where’s Waldo” of the Orlando arts scene. She praised my work and persistence. I stopped my sketch to listen. It felt like all eyes were turned towards me. My right eye welled up, I’m not used to so much direct praise and adulation. I don’t know how to process it. Chaz was busily taking notes. Later as Tisse praised Jessica Earley she became overwhelmed and choked up, feeling thankful for the people in her life. Chaz took that emotional pause to start singing happy birthday to Tisse. Everyone joined in as she wiped away her tears. When the song was finished and the clapping died down, Tisse said, “Thanks I needed that moment to recover.” The room was filled with love.
Demographics
Tisse Mallon knows how to celebrate her 30th birthday. She had an amazing all night party at Urban ReThink where she brought together friends from all aspects of Orlando’s arts and culture scene. She invited myself and six other artists to decorate a used U.S. Census Bureau bag. Tisse worked going door to door during the last census. Each field worker was given one of these Census Bags. When the census was over the bags were thrown out. These re-purposed bags are all now works of art. I was one of the first artists to arrive to drop off the bag. I re-purposed the mural I am working on by painting the people standing in line on the bag. Jessica Earley totally ripped apart her bag and created a charming door knob hanger of an owl. It was absolutely charming.
Inside each bag there were orange inter office envelopes. Genevieve Bernard used those envelopes to create cut out Census Monsters and Jessica used them to create a charming pine tree. She also used the envelopes to create the owl’s beak, feet and eyes. It was fun to see, “Name” and “Department” scrawled across the owl’s eyes. Scooter Cleveland sat on a table beside a bag that said, “Why Count?” in bold red letters. The bag was filled with food for the homeless. Scooter had been homeless on the streets of downtown Orlando for 18 months. He was in a car accident and a doctor told him he had to stay off his feet for four months. He was fired from his job. He stayed with family and friends but ultimately ended up on the streets. Now that he is off the streets, he is trying to establish a food share program for those who were left behind. A glass jar sat on the table beside him for donations.
Throughout the evening Tisse acknowledged and praised the artistic people that have touched her life. She pointed to Todd Caviness who helps kept spoken word alive in Orlando. He is a writer who is always willing to lend a hand to keep the arts scene vibrant in Orlando. No one expresses what it is like to be a Floridian better than him. Karen Price also read several of her short stories. One, about a mermaid with two tails was a charming morality tale (pun intended). The other was about a high school bully who later in life was served up a bitter justice of hard knocks in her violent deprived life. She didn’t recognize the female lawyer on her case as the victim of her childhood bullying. Such is fate.
Ivanhoe Village Art Stroll
Angela Abrusci the executive director of Ivanhoe Village, has helped turn the neighborhood into a vibrant artists hub. On the first Friday of every month artists gather as the sun sets and they set up display tents to showcase their art. The September gathering took place on Orange Avenue between New Hampshire and Princeton. I arrived after spending the day working on the Mennello Museum mural. I was sweaty and tired but the air cooled as the sun sank to the horizon. This was the first sketch I did outside in a long time. I realized I had left my artist stool at the museum, so I leaned against a real estate sign and stood to do the sketch.
The Washburn Imports antique shop had old furniture on the sidewalk. Artist’s tents quickly sprang up and artists relaxed in lawn chairs waiting for people to stroll by. A girl waited on the corner for a friend. The girlfriend arrived with two hula hoops. A small folk group set up speakers and began to sing. The hula hoopers shook their hips to the music. This Art Stroll is a great relaxed place to go on a date night.
Angela stopped over to say hello. A mechanical voice announced how much time pedestrians had to cross the street. It counted down, five, four, three, two, one. She beat the mechanical countdown by one second. She told me all about Ivanhoe village. I’ve been to events that Angela attended and helped organize but I haven’t had much time to talk to her since I am always sketching and she was working. It was nice having the time to talk. My sketch was complete.
Angela volunteered to help with the painting of the Mennello Museum mural over the weekend. She had posed for the mural, adding some Hollywood glamor. She brought along music and it was great to paint to disco beat. Several children showed up to paint that day as well, and Angela helped me keep them on track. She is a gifted artist as well and once I explained my working methods, she applied them with confidence. Over the course of the day I got to learn so much about her. She is a true advocate of the arts and active in charitable work. Orlando and Ivanhoe Village are lucky to have her.
Tonight there is a Mayhem Street Party on Virginia 2 Blocks west of Mills Avenue starting around 6pm to 10pm this event happens every 5th Friday. Be the first to catch a sneak peak of Orlando’s most talented performing artists and their upcoming shows. Be inspired, awed and amazed by a myriad of local performers: dancers, singers, musicians, actors, and other talented wonders. Enjoy the carnival atmosphere while exploring Virginia Drive’s array of shopping and dining. It’s a ballet, a play, a concert, a party, and it’s all on Virginia! Food, activities and amusement for all ages. Admission is FREE.
Andy Matchett
A long line of actors stood in a hallway of the Orlando Repertory Theater. They were waiting to audition. Britt Daley with her boom box strutted down the hall. The cameraman used a steady cam to go down the hallway and then he backed out the stage doorway and crouched framing Andy Matchett who was strumming his guitar. Andy did a double take when Britt walked past and he involuntarily strummed a twangy wolfs call on the guitar. His T-shirt read, “Popular” and he wore a Dog Powered Robot button on the guitar strap. 0ne of the lyrics in Britt’s “One and Only” song pointed out,”You’re wearing that T again.” Andy’s hair swelled to an Elvis styled wave in front. He wore a neat little hip amplifier.
The shot was executed again and again until it felt right. One of the stage hands tested the hallway’s light levels, fortunately it was already perfectly lit. I couldn’t sketch in the hallway without getting in the shot so this doorway was my only option to sketch the scene. My back was up against some stage curtains and ropes and wires snaked all around me. Andy of course is the lead singer in Andy Matchett and the Minx. This local band puts on a show that will rock your socks off.