Smallest Gallery in Orlando

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Trevor Fraser, an entertainment reporter for the Orlando Sentinel put out a call for artists on Facebook for what he called the Smallest Gallery in Orlando. The gallery consisted of a small strip of wall between two doors. I decided to incorporate my 12th Night Orlando Shakespeare Theater sketch to fill the space and my submission was approved.

Trevor and his wife Lindsay Fraser decided to host a party where guests could paint in the sketch. I arrived about an hour early and projected my sketch on the wall and then painted in the dark line work. I Did a bit of painting on the central Shakespearean actor and then relaxed along with Pam and watched as people finished the painting. f course everyone had their own style so the disparate areas didn’t entirely tie in together but that is part of the charm.

All the food served was part of a “Beet Off” between he and Lauren Delgato. Everything had beets in it, Beet hummus, beet salad, beet cupcakes. It is amazing the variety of tastes you can get from a humble beet. It was a fun afternoon.

This little mural wasn’t quite finished by the end of the party, so I am not sure if it ever was completed. There was some talk of using this sketch in the Orlando Sentinel for an article about the gallery, but there was no budget so I saved it for this site. The Noor Salman trial was just beginning and unfortunately the Sentinel also didn’t buy any of the 70 or so courtroom sketches I did for that trial. Only CNN, Channel 9 and Channel 6 and the Orlando Weekly used some of those sketches. March was a crazy month.

Fundraiser and Sneak Peek: Female 12th Night

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Roque  Pub  (3076  Curry Ford Road  Orlando,  FL 32806) hosted a fundraiser for the Female 12th Night. The Orlando Shakes presented the show back in February and March.

A pair of shipwrecked twins set into motion a tale of mistaken identity,
eccentricity, and unlikely love. Separated from her brother Sebastian,
quick-thinking Viola adopts a male disguise and enters the service of
the handsome Duke Orsino – only to find herself in the middle of a love
triangle. When Viola’s new boss sends her to win his unrequited love,
the Countess Olivia, her disguise proves too effective and the Countess
falls for the young girl dressed as a boy instead.

The show features  endless gender swapping and was presented at first with an all male cast. That show was then followed by several performances by an all female cast. I saw the all male cast and it was laugh out loud funny. I unfortunately never saw the whole female performance of the same show but at this Roque Fundraiser, I got to see several excerpts. I sketched the event organizers as things got started.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for March 3rd and 4th.

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Saturday March 3, 2018

10 AM to 5 PM Free. Windermere Art Affair. 520 Main Street Downtown Windermere FL.

Multi-cultural food and entertainment. Wine/cheese and craft beer face painting and balloonist for the kids and pet friendly. The Downtown Business Committee (DBC) of the Town of Windermere is
hosting the 3rd Annual Windermere Art Affair in Town Square, Downtown
Windermere. This wonderful event will be open to the public, targeting
residents of Orlando and surrounding cities, towns and suburbs. This
provides a unique opportunity to reach out to attendees from all walks
of life, especially the affluent segment of Central Florida.
 This
elite event will showcase renowned fine art artists, including the
Highwaymen, Alana O’Hern and Father Valdemar—just to name a
few—surrounded by music, food and performing arts in a festive
atmosphere. 

This is a judged event, and the judging will begin at 11:30am and be
completed by 2pm. At 2pm we will announce, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Best of Show,
and three Honorable Mentions.

3PM to 5 PM Free. Workshop on Sexual Harassment and Abuse. Orlando Shakespeare Theater at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center. Laura T. Fisher, a founder of the Chicago
Theatre Standards #NotInOurHouse, will give a presentation on preventing
sexual harassment and abuse to the Orlando arts community.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF, Theatre UCF,
Mad Cow Theatre, and Orlando Repertory Theatre (Theatres) will present
two sessions of a workshop with Ms. Laura T. Fisher, a founder of the
Chicago Theatre Standards (CTS). Workshops will be held at Loch Haven
Park on Friday, March 2,2018 and at the University of Central Florida
campus on Saturday, March 3, 2018.

In
January 2015, a Chicago actor,after hearing an account of repeated
incidents of sexual harassment at a theatre company, made a Facebook post
that decried such acts with the rallying cry, “NOT IN OUR HOUSE.”
Hundreds of responses revealed that the problem was well-known, but no
one felt safe enough to speak out. By March 2015, a code of conduct was
underway. Co-ordinated by Chicago actor Laura T. Fisher, a small group of
theatre companies and artists created the CTS.

 In
an effort to find solutions and guidelines for prevention, the Theatres
invited Ms. Fisher to present a workshop on the CTS, which have been
adopted by numerous theaters across the nation, and to address potential
issues in the theatre community.

All
members of the Central Florida arts community are invited to attend
either of the free sessions. Ms. Fisher will go through the document
contents, take questions and offer feedback, all with an eye toward
uniting rather than dividing productions, theatres, and communities.
The presentation is designed to speak to members of the theatre community
including union and non-union actors, designers, directors,theatre
teachers and professors, students, technicians, staff,
administrators,board members, and anyone connected to the theatre
community. However, the Standards are adaptable for similar disciplines
including dance, music, opera, and film.

In presenting
the work of #NotInOurHouse and the resultant CTS, Fisher conveys
the priorities of the document: to provide communication pathways to
prevent and respond to unsafe practices and inappropriate behavior, to
produce a win-win strategy for producers, performers, board members, and
audience, to enter into self-regulation in a spirit of mentoring rather
than “outing,” to “call in”rather than “call out,” and to strengthen
environments where employees are not discarded for mistakes or
misunderstandings, nor do they fear reprisal for reporting harassment or
abuse.

“Like
the rest of the nation,Central Florida’s theatre community has been
grappling with the truth that people of all genders have experienced
trauma and pain from sexual harassment,abuse, and intimidation,” states
UCF’s Cynthia White, director of Boy Gets Girl.

 “While
this is not solely a women’sissue, women have been disproportionately
hurt physically, emotionally, and financially.” Mitzi Maxwell, executive
director of Mad Cow Theater, adds. “Everyoneis asking how to change our
culture, and everyday there is a new story. We can start with our own
houses, in our community, and these workshop sessions are a beginning. We
encourage artists and administrators to join the conversation.All are
welcome.”

6 PM to Midnight. $25. Nude Nite Tampa. America’s Largest Nude Art Exhibition is more than an art show.
It is an annual art and entertainment event showing over 200 juried art
works for sale, world class body painters, national burlesque acts,
interactive installations, performance art, cirque performers and a cast
of strolling characters both in costume and out..

Sunday March 4, 2018

10 AM to noon. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfu lness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources. http://heartfulness.org

Noon to 1 PM Free. Yoga. Lake Eola Park. Lawn near the red gazebo.

7 PM to 9 PM Donation based. Fundraiser  and Sneak Peek: Female 12th Night. Roque  Pub   3076  Curry Ford Road  Orlando,  FL 32806.

12th Night at the Shakes.

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At the opening night performance of 12th Night by William Shakespeare, the director, Carolyn Howarth and the costume designer Jack Smith sat on stage for a pre-show chat. Carolyn explained that what we were about to see was an effort to present as historically accurate a production of the play as is possible. In Shakespeare’s day there was no stage lighting, so the house lights never went dark. As an artist this was a real blessing. Electric candles hung from the ceiling to illuminate the space. They seemed to float magically as if in Harry Potter’s Wizarding School.

In the day, a play could be seen for a penning which was also enough to buy an ale and some bread. For that price they would be a groundling, standing in front of the stage. More expensive cushioned seats were of course more. The church did not allow women to perform on stage, so this production is as well performed by all male actors.

The costumes by Jack smith were absolutely gorgeous. He spent time hand embroidering things right until the curtain opened. He did however praise the entire costume shop staff. Pink was a popular color for men in Shakespeare’s day and the women preferred blues and teals. All of the costumes were lush, with highly researched detail. This has to be the most well crafted production I have seen in Orlando for a long time. In Shakespeare’s day there were no sets, just a few benches and the expanses of the wooden stage. Most of the architectural elements of the previous production “Shakespeare in Love” like the arching ceiling joists, were left in place. At the end of Shakespeare in Love, Queen Elizabeth asked the young author to come up with something new “for 12th Night”. It is believed that this play was first performed for Queen Elizabeth in 1602.

The play began with a foppish Shakespearean actor pounding his walking stick to the floor. The buzz of the audience silenced and the magic began. Shakespearean accents were a melting pot of Irish, Scottish, West Country and American and the actors were carefully coached to recreate the sound and flavor. The director joked that we might catch a flash of pirate in the accents as well. The acting was over the top and comical which seemed odd at first but then I grew to love each character.

The plot involves two shipwrecked twins who both believe the other to be dead. Viola (Thomas Leverton) dressed as her brother Sebastian (Austin Larkin). As a man, Viola is caught in a rather awkward love triangle. To avoid any spoiler alert, I’ll just say that love finds a way in the end. Olivia (John P. Keller) who is mourning the death of her brother becomes infatuated with Viola who was sent by Orsino (Timothy Williams) with a message of love. Olivia’s steward Malvolio (Jim Helsinger) had a hilarious performance. He was tricked into thinking that his Olivia was in love with him and his attempts at appearing happy were endearing and over the top hilarious. Sword fights were foppish and comical. honor being served by who surrendered first in terror. Throughout the show I was laughing out loud.

This show highly deserved the standing ovation. This is one of the most polished productions I have had the honor to enjoy and sketch. We left the theater glowing. Shakespeare’s genius still shines bright 416 years later. For several hours we were magically transported back in time.

12th Night runs through March 23, 2018.

Twelfth Night runs approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.