Crimes of the Heart written by Beth Henley won the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. I sketched the auditions for the show back in September and now I can see that the casting decisions made were spot on. At the audition I caught quick glimpses of isolated scenes as actresses tried out for the various parts. I was fascinated with how a talented actress could breath new life into each part.
Watching the show at the Winter Garden Theater from start to finish turned out to be an emotional roller coaster. I suddenly cared deeply for this family of 3 sisters reunited by tragedy. The show handled difficult themes of loneliness, grief and family dysfunction. The sisters laughed uncontrollably at one point when faced with the worst of family news. I found myself laughing just as hard to the point of tears. Sometimes laughter is the only way to handle grief.
Between acts music filled the theater. Aradhana Tiwari the director told me “I have waited 5 years to use that song in a show.” The song was “Wayfaring Stranger“. Its sad mellow tones suited the show perfectly. I had the rare pleasure of sitting with the director and found she was laughing just as loud as anyone in the audience.
Lenny played by Meggin Weaver was high strung, bubbly and painfully apologetic. She seemed to have to apologize for her very existence. She was the sister left behind to care for their ailing Grandfather. Her own life has been put on hold as she struggles to clean up after every family members sloppy lives. She livened up every scene she is in with her comic timing.
Babe played by Britni Leslie gives a new meaning to “I’m having a bad day, a really bad day”. Her quirky mannerisms like sprinkling sugar over a heaping spoon full of peanut butter or trying without much success to play saxophone are delightful to watch. Her thick southern accent and lighthearted charms were so authentically endearing.
Meg played by Jennifer Bonner is the black sheep of the three sisters. Her confident swaggering was a perfect compliment to Lenny’s shy skittishness. A romantic scene with a now married ex boyfriend named Doc was Hot. She and Doc both knew they shouldn’t be attracted but they could not help themselves. Going for a ride to look at the moon in a pickup truck suddenly seemed dangerous and exciting.
Chick Played by Beth Marshal has one of the funniest scenes in the play where she struggles into a tight pair of pantyhose while talking at the kitchen table. This scene got funnier as it went on and I applaud Beth for how far she pushed this character. Now I can not imagine anyone else in that role.
Toward the end of act three as Babe lights the candles on a birthday cake, she says “I’m not so all alone.” The warmth of this scene with the three sisters playfully interacting as they laugh off the hardships of life once again left me struggling to see. Crimes is running through November 29th. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM. and Sundays at 2PM. Tickets are $22. This is a show you do not want to miss.
Trees – Dance Rehearsal
One of the most challenging things I have been sketching lately is the dance rehearsals for the Trees. Here the core group is rehearsing to the Winter Medley. On this evening of rehearsals began on the main stage in the worship center of the First Baptist Church. The stage must have been smaller than anticipated because the dancers looked like they were about to run into each other. After several run throughs the director finally stood up and stopped everything. She said “Sometimes we try things and they just don’t work. We should re-think this. Lets take a break from this piece and move onto something else. If we didn’t fail sometimes we wouldn’t be successful.” To keep the rehearsal moving forward it was decided that the dancers would move upstairs to the mirrored dance room and work on the Winter Medley number. The choreographer in charge took the notes in stride and this second half of the rehearsal was lively and fun. At one point Gretchen, one of the dancers, did a dance move that the choreographer really liked and that move was incorporated into the final dance routine. Creative ideas have a way of appearing sometimes as if by accident. The director entered the dance studio after several sections of the dance were polished and refined. She sat on the floor in front and watched the improvements with joy and pleasure.
I wedged myself up against the back wall to keep out of the way while I sketched. During a break several of the actors came over and wanted to see what I was up to. It is a rewarding feeling to be a witness to the hard work that goes into making a huge show like this work. I would sketch every time the dance troupe were being given notes. These relaxed moments between periods of fast action are the windows I need to find a composition and pick out the personalities from the dancers different body types.
Fiddler on the Roof – Farewell Tour
Barnes and Noble at the Colonial Plaza Market Center had a meet and greet with the cast of Fiddler on the Roof. I have seen this show before and loved it, so I was curious to see what the cast had to say about this “Farewell Tour.” I had also read an article that said that Chaim Topol did an amazing part of playing the lead part of Tevye the Jewish Russian milkman. Topol was in the 1971 film version of the play and had performed his part more than 2,500 times over the years. Topol’s understudy was at the meet and greet. The shows theme of Tradition, rings true today more than ever. Times are hard but people with strong traditions know how to ride out the waves.
I was surprised that the seats were half full. The last time I came to one of these meet and greets, the place was packed to see the cast of Legally Blonde. I was also interesting that one actors chair remained empty much like the place setting that remains empty for the profit Elijah at Passover. The actors related the types of routines they go through in order to prepare each night for a performance. One actor stressed that “Every actor has something they do to get out of the way of the material”. He said “You have to let go and surrender to the play.” They all had hard knock stories about trying to get into and stay in the business of acting. When asked about any embarrassing moments, a story was immediately thrown out from last nights performance. The set pieces are on wheels and some have pneumatic pistons for helping move parts. That night a piston let out a long winded hiss of air which sounded very much like a person passing gas. Rather than ignore the loud unexpected distraction, the performer paused for a moment and then sniffed the air and waved his hand as if to clear the air. The audience loved it.
This event was over much sooner than I expected so I had to dash this sketch off quickly. I didn’t stick around for the autograph signing since I had to rush off to another location to get another sketch.
Tulgey Wood – Sound Stage Shoot
Tulgey Wood is a Full Sail student short film loosely built around the Lewis Carol poem “Jabberwocky“.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the Tulgey Wood,
And burbled as it came!
The film follows a young girl named Jose who discovers her parents are about to get divorced. Unable to face this harsh truth the girl runs from her home and wanders into the woods where she is transformed into a girl that looks just like Alice in Wonderland. She finds a small red camping tent and wanders in. The interior is much bigger than expected with paper lanterns, mounds of pillows and candles everywhere. Inside is a fortune teller who looks into a crystal ball summoning insights into the challenges that Jose faces. “Thus my child, it does not do to dwell on that which we have lost. For certainly, we are given more than we could ever hope to loose.”
Leander Suleiman the actress who played the fortune teller, was the one who suggested I come to the sound stage and do this sketch. When I arrived people were rushing around taking measurements and checking for lighting levels. One fellow took his time lighting all the candles and a fire extinguisher was on hand at all times. Between shots several set pieces had to be moved and twice candles were knocked over causing a flurry of activity as they tried to pick up the candle before any pillows or fabrics caught fire. A long track was set up in front of the set allowing the camera to follow the actresses movements with the candles looming large in the foreground.
Leander is a frequent guest artist at a Full Sail class that helps teach students how to direct actors. She read the part of the fortune teller and then auditions were held. The director couldn’t find anyone else that was right for the role so he tracked her down. She had just finished playing a gypsy (Madame Zeroni) in the stage production of “Holes”. So jumping into the role was easy. Leander loves both theater and film but the stage is where her heart truly sings.
Crimes of the Heart Callbacks
This sketch shows Kylie Kusco and Heather Leonardi on stage with Beth Marshall and Aradhana Tiwari watching. Some monologues from the auditions were quite memorable. One fellow had a monologue about being strip searched. The whole time he was talking he was angrily throwing items of clothing on the floor, first his shoes, his socks then his belt. I stopped hearing what he was saying and started to wonder just how far he would go to get the part. The director put her hand over her face in amusement and embarrassment. Another actor rather than recite lines from a play started talking about how he ended up in Orlando after a student work exchange program for Disney and about his first love. I enjoy hearing slices of life like that but I don’t think it got him a part.
Actors who made it to callbacks were in serious consideration for a part. They would pair up and act out scenes from the play. Some scenes I must have heard close to a dozen times yet certain performances had me laughing out loud or swept away in the romantic drama while some left me unmoved offering me time to focus on the sketch.
Any time actors would leave the stage Beth and Aradhana would turn to each other and discuss how certain actors really worked well together or how several actors bought different energies to a particular role. I do not know how they would ever decide since every actor bought something new to the table.
One actress named Kylie Kusco, really stepped up to the plate and she was asked to perform an exercise where she and Beth could only say two lines “Their is not enough time” and “their is enough time”. Each actress had to convince the other she was right using body language and raw emotion. It was like watching two matadors in a ring each circling and moving in for another emotional exchange. The director let the exercise go for a long time and I thought the performances were some of the best I had witnessed that day. There is magic in moments like this.
Near the end of the day Beth and Aradhana placed all the photos out on the table and began to organize them into groupings of possible cast scenarios. They talked about the possibilities for the longest time. I’m reminded of a line from the play Sunday in the Park with George “a blank page or canvas, so many possibilities”. I finished my sketch and packed up to leave. As I left the endless discussion continued and all the actors who had made it through the day were coming back at 5 PM to continue the process. I had to go out to Sanford to do a sketch For Orlando Home and Leisure. Here is the final cast and cheers to what should be a great show!
War of the Worlds – The Green Room
A green room is a room in a theater, for the accommodation of performers when not required on the stage. Its function is as a lounge so that performers do not have to go back to dressing rooms and are still easily accessible for their call. For the Sunday performance I finally ventured back to the green room to see the performers before they went on stage. I held off going earlier because I was concerned the actors might feel uncomfortable with me sketching them as they got into costumes. There are three sets of dressing rooms and they all open into the green room. There was a plate of cookies on the table and several actors joked about not being able to stop eating them, “This is my last cookie, honest”.
Linsay Cohen asked everyone including myself to pose for a group photo. She coached us all telling everyone “You just found out Thomas Thorspecken painted you naked”. I smiled broadly, perhaps to broadly and after inspecting the Digital shot Linsay was disappointed that none of the actors had shown disgust or dismay. Kelly – Ann Salazar was on hand in case any costuming alterations were needed. Everyone was energetic and excited. I realized I couldn’t catch all the actors so I simply locked down the few who sat down and relaxed prior to the performance. This left the actors I did sketch sort of isolated as if in an Edward Hopper painting. Perhaps that is why Edward Hoppers paintings seem so lonely, it is simply because he couldn’t sketch the joyous activity fast enough!
When the play started the green room lights were turned off since the light would bleed onto the stage. I was concerned since I hadn’t started adding watercolor washes yet. I considered doing another sketch of the actors waiting in the wings, since there was some light to be found there, but finally I returned to the green room with the stubborn intent that I always finish a sketch once it is started. Painting in the dark was actually easy once my eyes adjusted. I kept the washes fairly light so the room feels light filled.
I worked on the sketch for the entire duration of the show, about 50 minutes. This left me to experience the action on stage strictly with my ears. The performance thus had the impact of the original radio broadcast. All the visceral panic and terror could still be felt just from my listening to the play. When the applause died down, the actors poured back into the green room and there was a blur of activity as they returned to this century. The cast went out to Stardust Video and Coffee for drinks after wards, but for once I returned home to watch a movie with Terry.
You can still see War of the Worlds tonight at 8 PM at the Shakespeare Theater and tomorrow night at 7 PM. Don’t miss it! Time is running out!
War of the Worlds – Opening Night
Opening night of the War of the Worlds was pure magic! When I arrived in the lobby of the Shakespeare theater I was shocked to find the cast had assembled all my blog post sketches on a board in the lobby to share with the audience. I was deeply touched. For once I put away the sketchbook and sat in the front row center to get an up close view of the show. This was the first time I watched the show straight through without the distraction of attempting to sketch. This performance with a full audience had a panicked energy that I had not seen before. All of the actors performed the very physical scenes all out. Everyone was sweating which added a sense of authenticity to the emotions. Certain scenes left me feeling terrified. That feeling lingered.
After the play was finished and the standing ovation had died down, Terry and I were invited back to the green room for a sip of champagne with the cast. I was unbelievably happy and proud of the performers. The cast then went to the Social Chameleon and we all partied late into the night. Joshua and Terry got into a heated discussion on how events portrayed in the play in many ways resembled the emotions and fears generated on September 11th. Joshua actually said he channeled some of those feelings by re watching footage shot on that day of the people, who had to choose between being burnt alive or leaping to their deaths. I stayed at the party to the bitter end, When I finally got home and slipped into bed, thoughts of unfinished conversations and the adrenaline rush of the evening left me unable to sleep. I watched the sun slowly slip into the bedroom and then got up at 7:30 AM to go to a senior center to sketch a writing workshop. The sketch was effortless and had a renewed feeling of humanity.
War of the Worlds – First Baptist
An alternate rehearsal space had to be found for War of the Worlds rehearsals. Aradhana arranged to rehearse in the cavernous choir room of the First Baptist Church of Orlando.
It is not nap time for the actors. In this scene the public is lying on the ground after the Martian invaders have sprayed a poisonous gas over the human population. The audio playing is of someone changing 1930’s radio programs quickly. The actors coughing rise from their positions. Some actors exit the stage. The radio settles on a broadcast of German marching music and two members of the cast march toward the front of the stage. The effect is chilling and it makes you realize why hysteria was so easily triggered in these times. The scene is elegantly choreographed and perfectly timed to the music. The actors had to return to these starting positions again and again as they rehearsed the scene over and over. With each run through I would get another actor placed in the space relative to the others. Joshua and other actors have started to joke with me so I have started to feel at home at these rehearsals. Only one week remains until War of the Worlds hits the stage here in Orlando. Shows start July 31st through August 9th. Check the War of the Worlds facebook page for show times.
War of the Worlds – The Radio Broadcast
In this sketch the Mercury Theater performers, Brandon Roberts, Frank McClain, and Alan James Gallant prepare for another read through of the War of the Wolds Radio broadcast. Chantry Banks sits in the background listening to the old radio and reading a newspaper.
An amazing amount of work went into blocking the public’s performances during this rehearsal. I am discovering new ways of working and have found that I can block in a sketch when the performers repeat the stagings again and again. This will help with future sketches, allowing me to take greater chances.
After rehearsals the cast went to Tastings Wine Bar for a “Coming out Party”. The directors graciously invited me along and rather that sketch I took the time to learn more about some of the actors life stories. I learned about the struggles and sacrifices made to stay true to the calling as an actor or artist. I drank a bit more than I usually do and felt closer to the crew than ever. Mark from “The Dialy City” stopped by and I caught up with him. I had a long talk with Aradhana and tried to find some small nugget of drama in my humble sketch obsessed story. To find drama in what I do each day, I realized I might have to discuss my own character flaws and how they impact others.
After Tastings some of the cast went to see “Snack” at the Rep Theater. Driving over was a fun drama on its own. I laughed like I was back in High School. For once my guard was down and I just relaxed and had fun. Snack is a hilarious comedy and runs through July 26nd and is part of the Target Family Theater Festival. So you have several more days to go out and see this show. It was hilarious. I especially loved watching the children in the audience as they reacted. They know how to express pure joy.
War of the Worlds – Mercury Theater
Advice for reading this blogcast, Open an new internet browser window while keeping this one open. Navagate to Analog Artist Digital World in the new Browser window. Then click on this link for the audio background music. Then return to this page with the audio still playing and read the copy. When you are done reading explore the Mercury Theater Radio Performance link below and keep the audio soundtrack playing in the background. This involves some complicated internet staging but it should be worth it.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. From the Meridian Room in the Park Plaza in New York City, we bring you the music of Ramón Raquello and his orchestra. With a touch of the Spanish. Ramón Raquello leads off with “La Cumparsita.”
In this early rehearsal I finally got to see how the Mercury Theater Radio performance would work with the actors I had been sketching all along called “The Public”. I focused on the radio announcers who I hadn’t observed before and although the public was active the whole time with it’s nervous energy I didn’t focus on them as much except in this one instance in which I sketched actress Tanja Mobley Pektas as she crawled in and collapsed during the reading. Here Frank McClain reads while Alan James Gallant prepares to speak. Up until this point the Mercury theater actors and the public actors had been working in separate rehearsals. Director Joseph Fletcher had been directing the Mercury Theater actors and Aradhana Tiwari had been directing the public. Here the two groups came together for the first time and any changes in the blocking of movements on the stage were made. As Aradhana walked past me during this rehearsal she whispered to herself with excitement “This is starting to feel like the show”.