White Rabbit, Red Rabbit

Posted on by Thor

The Ensemble Company in residence at Penguin Point Productions (1700 Oviedo Mall Boulevard, Oviedo, FL, 32765) presented White Rabbit, Red Rabbit written by Nassim Soleimanpour.The set was just a small card table with two glasses of water, some chairs, and a step stool. The empty bookcase had a tiny penguin on the top shelf. The internationally acclaimed play is an audacious experience and a potent reminder of the transitive and transformative power of theater. Beyond that, I can not say any more.

The premise is simple…

No set.

No director.

A sealed script on stage.

A different performer each night.

The Orlando performers were, David Lee, John DiDonna, Beth Marshall, and Roberta Emerson. I experienced the incomparable performance by Beth Marshall. As a reviewer, I have been sworn to secrecy. The plush white rabbit on the show poster might be deceiving. This was definitely a play themed for adults.

I can say that there were 50 people in the audience and I was audience member number 20. Beth pulled a POTUS saying she wanted to count for herself, since she needed to know that she had more audience members that the two previous shows by David and John. I wrote that number on the sketch in case it was important. After the show, I was told by people who had seen multiple interpretations, that Beth managed to linger and stretch the play a half hour longer than the two previous performances. She had a knack for letting the words sink in.

I can say that after the play I had an amazing in-depth conversation with Ed Anthony. Both of us recounted memories of people in our lives whom we wish we had helped more. This heated personal exchange was clearly fueled by the thoughts triggered by the theatrical experience we had just been through. We were left with a desire to step up and help others in this trying experience called life.

Orlando Director’s Forum

Posted on by Thor

I went to the Orlando Director’s Forum at Valencia College East Campus (701 N Econlockhatchee Trail, Orlando, Florida 32825). The forum featured a group of Orlando’s most stylistically diverse stage. This was a great opportunity to hear unique perspectives on inspiration, casting, rehearsal process, trouble-shooting, and overall creative process of directing. Seth Kubersky hosted a moderated discussion followed by a questions and answers with attendees.

The event featured (in alphabetical order)…

Rob Winn Anderson: Consulting Artistic Director – Garden Theatre

Mike Carr: Artistic Director – SAK Comedy Lab

John DiDonna: Program Chair of Theater – Valencia College, Director/Creator – Phantasmagoria

Pam Harbaugh: Director – Theater on the Edge

Beth Marshall: Producing Artistic Director/Theatre Artist – Beth Marshall Presents

Eric Pinder: Director in Residence – Opera Orlando

Donald Rupe: Director of Theatre – Central Florida Community Arts

Jeremy Seghers: Independent Producer and Director

I love these kinds of events because listening to these directors talk about the creative process reminds me that all the arts share the same creative challenges. It offered inspiration to keep sketching and painting despite any setbacks. I have seen and admired the work of each of these directors in turn as I sketch the arts scene around Orlando. Orlando has such a vibrant theater community since so man actors come to Orlando to work for the theme parks. Those rolls offer limited artistic challenges, so they are always looking for more edgy options to test their chops.

It’s Improvised at the 129: The Musical Edition!

Posted on by Thor

Pam Schwartz and I went to Dragonfly Studio and Productions (Dragonfly Studio 129, 129 W McKey St, Ocoee, FL 34761).  To see It’s Improvised at the 129 hosted by Richard Paul, Chris Barry (Four First Names) and Elaine Pechacek behind the piano. Dragonfly Studio 129 is a charming,
intimate performance venue that is fully convertible to fit the needs of
any given production or event. The venue’s will feature a full season of events,
including additional residencies, concerts, cabarets, theatrical
productions, readings, workshops, and more.

Four First Names’ Richard Paul and Chris Barry will put Sheryl Remekie
Carbonell, John DiDonna, Tracy Frenkel, Beth Marshall, and Rob Ward
through their improv paces. Each of the acclaimed Orlando directors will
be tasked with directing an impromptu scene made up entirely on the
spot with Dragonfly Studio and Production’s owner and executive producer
Elaine Pechacek on the piano providing an original, improvised
soundtrack.

The hosts Richard Paul and Chris Barry kicked the night off by taking suggestions from the audience. What resulted was a Rocky Horror Picture Show wedding. Elaine behind the piano provided just the right musical accompaniment for they as they turned the moment into an inspiring musical number.

All the actors and directors that were invited to this improv got on stage and each in turn described their experiences. John DiDonna’s story stood out because he used improv as a training tool for law enforcement. He described a scenario in which an armed gunman was on lock down with hostages. The goal was for police to get the gunman out without harming hostages.

Beth Marshall is a renowned local producer and she uses  improv to get a new cast familiar with one another. Simple exercised like tossing an object between actors can build trust and camaraderie. Rob Ward used improv among actors at the theme parks. These actors are usually hired because they look like a character rather than based on there acting prowess. Improv allows the actors to get off script for a bit and have fun with their lines. Actors in a theme park just as in animation, must play to the rafters. Whatever they are trying to convey must read as if seen from the bloody nose section of a football stadium. When actors played a scene over the top in the small Dragonfly studio they became very funny. Tracy Frankel had the actors create a scene at a barbecue. They were auditioning for a commercial and Tracy acted as the director trying to get them to play to the camera.  The goal was to be having so much fun, that people would want to buy the condiment.

The next It’s Improvised at the 129 is Friday, September 14 at 8 PM at Dragonfly Studio and Productions 133 W Mckey St., Ocoee, Florida 34761. The show will celebrate musical improv
with an amazing slate of guests including Robyn Pedretti Kelly
(Universal Studios), Summer Aiello (Universal Studios), Emily Fontano
(SAK Comedy Lab) and T. Robert Pigott (Walt Disney World).

Join Musical
Director Elaine Pechacek, Chris Barry, Richard Paul at Dragonfly Studios
for Its next Improvised at the 129: The Musical Edition! This place is a rare gem located out in Ocoee.

$10 Online $12 At Door

Beer and Wine – Free Snacks!

Beth Marshall Presented Wilds as part of the New Works Series

Posted on by Thor

Beth Marshall‘s new work series presented new works by playwrights. There were over 170 submissions and just two plays winners were selected from the play writing contest. The inaugural New Works Series featured workshop play readings from Top Teen actors mixed of industry professionals. Pam Schwartz I went to Class Act Studios (11561 Lake Underhill Road, Orlando, Florida 32825) to sketch the first play by author Lisa VillaMil. Wilds is a surrealist play about intolerance, whose plot draws from
social and political events of the past year, including Brexit, the
United States’ election, Poland’s attempted total-ban on abortion, and
the Syrian refugee crisis, particularly in relation to Hungary. It is
told in a series of short interwoven scenes of various plot lines.

The show was directed by Tara Kromer. Stage manager, (Jazzlyn Whiddonn) read at playwrights notes to set up each scene. The first scene that really struck a chord was an office meeting with men surrounding a conference table and Phoebe, (Arianna Aviles) as the only female employee. The boss (Nick Serino) ran the meeting and any time Phoebe offered insight, she was cut off. One of her ideas was repeated by one of the male employees and the boss praised him for the concept. They wanted to market their product to a female audience but refused to listen to any idea Phoebe offered.  After the meeting, the boss cornered her and asked why she was being so aggressive by speaking out at the meeting. She had actually been quite meek. It was clear that a woman has to work so much harder to have her voice heard. Men can act like assholes and be rewarded for their contributions but woman must stay subservient. In another scene Phoebe sat on a park bench and a man literally walked up and sat in her lap because he hadn’t seen that she was there. She was becoming invisible.

A politician (Joshua Huff ) spoke about the need to close borders to keep the unwanted out of our country. Every misguided word seemed to have already been said by our present president. An immigrant named Dinah (Alexia Correa) managed to make her way across the border but she was stopped by border patrol. Her baby was taken from her as she faced detention. She asked everyone she talked to where her baby was and no one would answer her. Childless she was finally released and she wandered the street with a photo of her child asking anyone she met if they had seen her child. Anger and frustration turned her into a wild animal.

One scene involved a character talking about having an extra cone receptor in his eyes that lets him see far more color that the average person. I had just listened to a segment on WMFE radio about these trichromats. As an artist I hope I have this extra receptor. One person referred to my use of color as garish, and I have tended to mute the pallet since. The point didn’t really forward the plot in the play however. In another scene a man played the part of a female nurse advising Phoebe to not have an abortion. Gender was blurred for effect. The play became surreal as one woman disappeared and the other turned into a wild cat.

The play resonated with political subjects we are all experiencing now in America. Everyone in the audience but a 14 year old agreed that the play should be produced for the stage. Beth Marshall is producing plays this year that are written by women or minorities. She is well aware that her primary audience is old and usually looking for simple escapist entertainment. Despite this she wants to present them with challenging contemporary works that challenge the status quo.

On Saturday June 30, 2018, at 3 p.m. Beth Marshall presents The Top Teens Showcase, featuring the acting, singing, musical, technical, and
performance art talents of select young emerging artists that are
theatrically coached and mentored or adjudicated by Beth Marshall
throughout the season. Local veteran industry professionals adjudicate
and award scholarships as well as we will be launching the BMP and
Billy Manes Arts Activism Scholarship. Scholarships provided by: Beth
Marshall Presents, Florida Theatrical Association and The Billy Manes
Society.This will be at Class Act Studios – 11561 Lake Underhill Road, Orlando, FL 32825. Tickets are $15.

Save Me, Dolly Parton at Fringe

Posted on by Thor

Beth Marshall’s Husband presented Save Me Dolly Parton written by Megan Gogerty. This was a one woman show featuring a witty stories of politics, pop Culture parenting and how Dolly Parton saved the day. Theresa Smith-Levin as Megan described her trip to a record store and picking up her first Dolly Parton album. She and her beau thought it would be a joke, but the music resonated with her. She didn’t want to over state, but simply put Dolly Parton is the greatest woman alive in her mind.

Megan and her husband decided to have a child and of course this loaded multiple new challenges and responsibilities into their lives. She read all the parenting books she could find, book marked the pages and figured she had this parenting thing down, at least in theory. Probably her most funny story came when she described a plane flight she needed to take. Her husband was busy so she had to take the trip alone with her baby in tow. At first the flight was pleasant with passengers glancing at her child lovingly. Then as the flight wore on her child grew tired and cranky. The next part of her story was shouted over the recorded sounds of a baby crying. She screamed that that noise has been ingrained into mother for centuries and that moms would do anything to stop that sound. Passengers were no longer glancing over with affection everyone looked annoyed.

The screaming dilemma didn’t stop on the plane. After landing she had to lug all her bags through the airport to the luggage claim. There she willed the bags to appear on the conveyor. The baby carriage arrive first thing and she lunged to get it off the line. Then she saw her bag. It had been wrapped by an airline employee in industrial grade plastic, like Seran wrap but bulletproof and terrorist proof. To quiet the baby she needed to get inside the bag. She couldn’t lean over of the baby which sounded life a fire alarm right now would fall out. She had to squat down, back straight and try and rip the plastic open with her bare teeth. She decided to place the baby in the carriage so she could complete the task and in an instant he fell asleep. In her relief she started to cry. This was something she hadn’t prepared herself for. And this wasn’t the only time this might occur. she imagined it playing out again and again each time she traveled. Hadn’t feminism solved this? She wanted more feminism.

This was a highly polished one woman show that seemed to flow without a hitch. Theresa Smith-Levin is a powerhouse of a performer. I have seen her working behind the scenes on many shows I have sketched over the years and this was the first time I got to see her raw force on the stage. If you are a young parent you needed to see this show. If you aren’t a parent like myself, you still would have laughed out loud and enjoyed the ride.

The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told.

Posted on by Thor

The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told by Paul Rudnick and Directed by Tommy Wooten, is now playing at Footlight Theater at Parliament House (410 North Orange Blossom Trail Orlando FL.)  Tim Evanicki productions backed out of producing the play, so the cast and crew are now producing the show themselves.  This same show appeared on the Footlight Stage way back in 2001 and was the first published play to appear on the stage. 

A stage manager, (Beth Marshall), headset and prompt book at hand, brings the house lights to half, then dark, and cues the creation of the world. Throughout the play, she’s in control of everything. In other words, she’s either God, or she thinks she is. Beth brought just the right amount of arrogant and bored attitude to the part.  I was laughing out loud through most of the first act. 

Act One recounts the major episodes of the Old Testament, only with a twist: Instead of Adam and Eve, our lead characters are Adam (Brett McMahon) and Steve (Tripp Karrh), and Jane (Sara Jones) and Mabel (Camilla Camilo), a lesbian couple with whom they decide to start civilization (procreation proves to be a provocative challenge). My sketch might imply full frontal nudity, but Adam and Steve wore tight bathing suits with fig leaves and then puppet floppy bits. A hilarious scene involves Adam talking to a seated Jane and his bits are hardly hidden by a loin cloth inches from her face

Act One covers the Garden of Eden, an ark, a visit with a highly rambunctious Pharaoh and finally even the Nativity. Along the way, Mabel and Adam invent God, but Jane and Steve are skeptical. This brings about the Flood, during which Steve has a brief affair with a rhinoceros and invents infidelity. No longer blissful, Adam and Steve break up only to be reunited as two of the wise men at the Nativity.

Act Two jumps to modern day Manhattan. Adam and Steve are together again, and Steve is HIV positive. It’s Christmas Eve, and Jane is nine months pregnant even though she always thought of herself as the butch one. The two women want to marry and want Adam and Steve to join them in the ceremony. A wheelchair-bound, Jewish lesbian Rabbi from cable access TV arrives to officiate. The ceremony is interrupted as Jane gives birth, and Steve confides to Adam that his medication isn’t working and that he’ll probably not survive much longer. Bound by their long life together, and the miracle of birth they’ve just witnessed, the two men comfort each other even though they know their remaining time together will be short.

THE MOST FABULOUS STORY EVER TOLD

by Paul Rudnick

Directed by Tommy Wooten

At Parliament House Footlight Theatre, 410 N. Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32805

Fridays and Saturdays, December 1 – 22

Special Industry Night Performance on Monday, December 11.

All performances 7:00PM.

Tickets: $20 at phouse.ticketleap.com or 888-202-1708

Commencement at Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

Commencement written by Clay McLeod Chapman was brought to this years Orlando International Fringe Festival by Beth Marshall Presents. Beth had wanted to bring the play to past Fringe Festivals, but it was never picked in the lottery.

The play began with the mother of the shooter (Beth Marshall) seated on stage among the ephemera of youth in the children’s wing of a hospital. A teddy bear leaned innocently against a plastic crate filled with toys. A jack-in-the-box sat on a small table next to her as she spoke. She recounted the tale of her son swallowing marbles to win the favor of a popular student. He nearly choked to death but his esophagus closed up forcing him to stop. It became clear that her son had been picked on his whole life. Beth was clearly emotionally shaken and on the verge of breaking down at any moment. She said she was sequestered away from the other moms, unable to share in their grief.

The mother of a shooting victim, (Jamie Middleton) took to the stage after Beth left. Jamie had lost a daughter. She was angry and bitter. Social workers and politicians had offered condolences but their words of comfort were not for her. She just wanted her daughter back. She had gone to the school commencement ceremonies to watch the other students graduate, she felt terror when her daughter’s name was skipped over. Her daughter had written an inspired commencement speech that she could never deliver.

In stark contrast, a student school library volunteer, (Rose Helsinger) bounced onto the stage with youthful vigor. She knew the shooter better than anyone else since he was well read. He used to write notes in the margins of books and she decided to become his friend by writing notes in response in the margins herself. They had a long clandestine conversation in the margins of multiple books throughout the shelves. It was a romantic meeting of minds, but she never acknowledged him in the halls. The thrill came from the mystery of their relationship. She recounted the fateful day when she heard a series of pops as she sat in class. It could be the drum corps but the rhythm was sporadic. She was surprised to see her mystery library pen pal enter her classroom. He wasn’t in her class. She thought he might have discovered who she was. There was an innocent thrill. But then she saw the gun and students dropped to the ground around her. She realized he didn’t know who she was and then she felt a tightness in her chest.

The young girl’s mom insisted that the shooter’s mom read her daughter’s commencement speech. In tears, Beth tried to read. This play is so powerful as it hits home in a community still recovering from the Pulse Nightclub shooting. The number of students shot was never clear but one number always came to my mind. The sadness was overwhelming. The performances stellar. A sobering show like this proves that the Fringe Festival isn’t all about fun and games, it also is a showcase for inspired serious theater.

The Whale pulls at every heart string.

Posted on by Thor

The Whale, written by Samuel D. Hunter, and Produced by Beth Marshall Presents will make its Central Florida Regional Premiere on March 18th. I arrived at a dress rehearsal about an hour before the run through of the show. Director, Rob Winn Anderson, wanted to revise several scenes that had kinks to be worked out. Ellie,Rachel Comeau read a book review she had written about Moby Dick. The play is book ended by her heart felt review, and it’s significance only becomes clear as her relation ship with her father Charlie, Michael Wanzie comes to light. The stage set by Tom Mangeri, felt like a diorama on stilts. At key moments in the play, blue and green lights would flicker on beneath the stage making it seem like the set were floating above dock moorings.

Charlie is effectively eating himself to death. His marriage to Mary, Beth Marshall, fell apart when he fell in love with another man. Estranged from his daughter, he wants to get to know her at the end of his life. He bribes her to spend time with him, by offering to help her with her school work, and offering her what turns out to be a sizable inheritance since he never leaves his apartment. Ellie is strong willed, smart, vicious, and sharp tongued but bored by school and her classmates.  She created a blog in which she complains about everyone she knows. 

Liz, Jamie Middleton, is Charlie’s health aid. She also seems scarred by life, and her morose barbed dialogue offers some of the shows biggest-laughs. Elder Thomas, Anthony Pyatt Jr. a Mormon missionary enters Charlie’s apartment to give Charlie gods word. When Liz finds Thomas preaching to Charlie she rips into his beliefs. When Ellie an Thomas meet, she manages to erode his holy facade and she has him smoking weed and confessing that he isn’t exactly who he claims to be. 


Ellie’s harsh embittered view of the world is fueled be be parents divorce. Charlie teaches an online writing course, and his lessons to his students reflect what he wishes he could pass on to his daughter. He implores his students to stop editing and rewriting every sentence. Instead, he begs them to just write from the heart. This brings us back to the moment when he asks Ellie to read her book review. The paper had been given an F because it was a review of the wrong book. Ellie was furious at her father and hadn’t bothered to read the review. She cursed her father’s request to read, not because she hated him, but because she loved him and was furious at how he had let his health go. She had written the book review years before and it highlighted how the book seemed to reflect what was happening in her own life. Although she was angered by life, this paper proved that she had a heart and cared a bout everyone around her. Anyone who could write such a heartfelt review would also have the talent to share many more stories that would touch others. My eyes welled up as she read her paper. Ellie’s eyes welled up as well. For the first time, Charlie rose from his chair and he struggled to cross the room to reach out the his daughter. She was amazing, beautiful and his life’s greatest accomplishment. 


The show combines humor with absolutely heart wrenching sadness. It celebrates what it truly means to be alive, and the strong bond of family even when it is dysfunctional. Although dark and bitter, the show also exudes hope, despite all odds. This
play was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding
New Off-Broadway Play. It won a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play and
won a Drama Desk Special Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre.


The Whale 

March 18 to April 3, 2016

Thursday 8pm, Friday 8pm, Saturday 2pm (April 2) & 8pm, Sunday 2pm
Industry Night: Monday, March 28

Winter Garden Theatre 160 W Plant St, Winter Garden, Florida

Tickets: $21 – $28

The Whale surfaces at the Winter Garden Theater.

Posted on by Thor

On June 22, 2015, I went to the Winter Garden Theater (160 W Plant St, Winter Garden, FL) to sketch auditions for “The Whale.” March 18th will be the Central Florida Regional Premiere of this play written by Samuel D. Hunter and staged by Beth Marshal Presents. I love sketching auditions, I get to witness so many talented actors that all bring their own creative take to the characters. This isn’t a story about a great white whale, but instead an intimate look at a father daughter relationship. 

On the outskirts of
Mormon Country, Idaho, a six-hundred-pound recluse hides away in his
apartment eating himself to death. Desperate to reconnect with his
long-estranged daughter, he reaches out to her, only to find a viciously
sharp-tongued and wildly unhappy teen. In this gripping and big-hearted
drama, The Whale tells the story of a man’s last chance at redemption,
and of finding beauty in the most unexpected places. This play was
nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New
Off-Broadway Play. It won a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play and won a
Drama Desk Special Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre.

Cast
Charlie – Michael Wanzie
Ellie – Rachel Comeau
Liz – Jamie Middleton
Elder Thomas – Anthony Pyatt Jr.
Mary – Beth Marshall

Production Team
Rob Winn Anderson – Director
Anastasia Kurtiak – Stage Manager
David Merchant – Assistant Stage Manager
Tom Mangeri – Set Design
Amy Hadley – Light Design
J.G. Lantiqua – Sound Design
Marcy Singhaus – Costume Design

Dates:  March 18 to April 3, 2016
Thursday 8pm, Friday 8pm, Saturday 2pm (April 2) & 8pm, Sunday 2pm
Industry Night: Monday, March 28 

Tickets: $21 – $28
Special pricing for opening night, Thursday performances, seniors and students.

This show contains adult language and scenes. Recommended for mature audiences.

A panel discussion helped students learn about Theater.

Posted on by Thor

John DiDonna, who is the Program Chair/Artistic Director of the Theater Department at Valencia College‘s East Campus, organized a panel discussion with some of Orlando’s biggest talents. The event was held in the community area right next to the campus Black Box Theater in front of the gallery which had a show of black and white photos documenting racism in Central Florida.

Beth Marshal started off the discussion, Mike Deaven and Anastasia Stacy are integral to her production company, Beth Marshall Presents. Beth basically stressed that students should have realistic expectations if they want to get into the theater business. When I sketch at Beth’s auditions, Mike is always there to play opposite someone in scenes. He is Beth’s assistant. Anastasia is Beth’s son’s girlfriend and she has become indispensable as Beth’s Stage manager. Students who go into theater tend to think they will start making over $30,000 a year, but realistically most actors, directors and stage hands all need to have a day job to pay the bills. The only way to work your way into theater is through patience, perseverance and endless determination.

Alana McMillan Friskes is the Executive Director of the Garden Theatre. I love that historic Theater with its star studded indoor ceiling. Built in 1935, it was the first movie theater built for “talkies.” The theater underwent several renovations before closing in 1963. It was then converted into a farm supply store. The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, restored the Garden Theatre which  reopened
in February of 2008. With over 200 events per season, has quickly
become a shining star on Plant Street. Alana has been integral in bringing live theater to the stage in Winter Garden.

James Brendlinger, who is the Chairman of the Department of Arts & Communications at Lake Howell High, School, is also the founder of Penguin Point Productions. James helped build and organize a huge expanded Costume Room which is an incredible resource for the theater community. I know that he collaborated with Beth Marshall Productions on Hoodies which was a powerful production at this year’s Orlando International Fringe Festival. The Central Florida Theater community is small and very interconnected. A strong reputation takes time to build, but a bad reputation is quickly discovered by everyone in this tight knit community.

Aradhana Tiwari spoke about how she admired the work of a director at Mad Cow Theatre. She had never done this before, but she asked to shadow the director to find out how he worked. He then left the theatre and Aradhana was promoted to the position of being Mad Cow’s resident director. John DiDonna shouted out “She is essentially the Artistic Director.” This is a fine parable about how curiosity and drive can lead to unexpected breaks in this business. I learned things about the Central Florida Theater Community, and I’ve been sketching from the sidelines for years. This must have been an eye opening experience for students just starting out in theater.