Shakespeare’s Terminator the Second at Fringe

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Shakespeare’s Terminator the Second got my vote as the most clever show at this years Fringe. The show presented by Hardly Working Productions, was a 17th century version of the film Terminator 2 Judgement Day constructed solely of lines form the plays of Shakespeare. The film is a classic and it was surprisingly easy to accept Shakespeare’s dialogue used throughout with just proper names changes to to match the screen version. The casting of muscular Matt Doman in the roll of Schwarzenegger was spot on. He would sometimes just stand still on stage looking ripped and stoic and the joke became clear that thus was all that Schwarzenegger had ti do in the original film.

Jolie Hart was wonderful as the adolescent John Connor. Pam Stone as Sarah Connor truly carried the show performing amazing monologues of her prescient visions of doomsday. John Reid Adams is as the shape shifting T-1000 parried with the terminator with some thrilling and inspired swordplay choreographed by Bill Warriner. The production was often comic in it tributes and nods towards the original film. My favorite was the liquid metal ending which they stages with a simple flaming sheet behind which many of the cast were crouched. When the T100 terminator fell into the liquid metal various cat members who had been killed by the T100 them flailed up from behind the sheet in quick succession as the unit melted into oblivion.

Director Simon Needham had the scene changes coming in quick succession with the monologues being fires off just as fast. This presented a challenge for this artist working with a traditional 17th century sketching method but I loved every entertaining moment. The only line not written by Shakespeare was, “Ill be back.”

Phantasmagoria V “Death Comes for All” in Orlando

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This is the fifth year that creator and director John DiDonna has brought classic tales of horror to Orlando in the form of a Victorian Steam punk Circus troupe called Phantasmagoria. Each year has progressed the story of this troupe’s back story and interpersonal drama. For many millennia they have had to tell the stories as a matter of life and death. Once a story is started it must be finished. This year in the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center‘s Mandell theater, platformed walkways are set up behind the audience seating. This allows the cast to circulate around and behind audience members. It is a theater in the round and you have a front row seat to experience the horror first hand.

 Since this was a rehearsal, there was a fight call that went over the fight direction by Bill Warriner. There is one spectacular sword fight that features three combatants. Even at quarter speed, the fight seemed dangerous as the three blades flashed in the stage lights. Being so close to the action you might find yourself leaning back in your chair for fear of being slashed. Megan who was juggling all the sound and lighting cues was able to act out all the staging so the lighting designer by Hatem Habashi could set the lighting cues. She playfully stomped on projected beetles that scurried on the floor.

Phantasmagoria presets tales of terror from diverse authors such as Lewis Carroll’s “Hunting of the Snark”, Charles Dickens “Captain Murderer” and many others including horrific folk tales, legends and myths from around the world!

In the tight intimate space, you will find the cast often inches from you.  During one tale, Mercury (Kaitlin Elizabeth Baxter) was behind me laughing maniacally and then gasping in horror. Having the cast so close ensures that even a sketch artist can get sucked into the drama that unfolds. The classic Edgar Allen Poe story, “The Pit and the Pendulum” had Leon (Joseph Josh Geoghagan) lying in the grasp of much of the cast. They held him aloft and then embraced him as the straps held him down in the story. Dana Mott had created wonderful projections that had rats scurrying on the floor while the shadow of the pendulum arched gracefully downward. Poe was also represented in an abridged telling of “The Tell Tale Heart” which is one of my favorite stories of horror insanity and suspense.

An Indian horror story had  Seraphina (Serafina Schiano) return from the dead as a demonic creature with multiple arms and flowing red drapery as she took vengeance on her three self centered brothers. Exotic Indian dances were beautifully choreographed by Mila Makarova and Dion Leonhard.  This show is a great way to gear up for Halloween.

Mark Your Calendar!

WHAT: “PHANTASMAGORIA V–“Death Comes for All” 

WHEN:  Oct 10th – 31st 2014

Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening performances.

Special Monday performances Oct 20th and 27th.

Halloween performance October 31st.

All evening performances at 8:30pm (Box opens at 7:50pm/Doors at 8:15pm)

WHERE: The Mandell Theatre, John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center

Loch Haven Park, Orlando, FL (Corner of 1792 and Princeton)

TICKETS: General Admission $20.00 / Student and Senior $15.00

(VIP Tickets available – $25 for all performances leading up to Halloween / $30 Halloween night. Includes drink/special gift/photo op with cast/reserved seating/Post show performance)

True West

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The Dark Side of Saturn Productions is presenting Sam Shepard‘s True West at the Orlando Shakespeare Center. I was surprised by the intricate set by Tom Mangieri. I had just been in the Mandell Theater multiple times at Fringe and got used to seeing a bare stage. Fringe just ended two days ago, so this set was created incredibly fast. This was the first time the actors got to move around in the actual space. Director Kevin Becker was in the audience seating while Chaz Krivan who plays Austin, and Cory Volence who plays Lee sat at the breakfast nook table on stage.  Lighting levels were being adjusted, so the actors got to relax for a bit.

After all the lights were adjusted, Bill Warriner, the fight director, put the actors through the paces as they fought in the kitchen. The fight began with Austin breaking a beer bottle over Lee’s head. He then slammed Lee into the counter. As Lee lay on the floor recovering, Austin grabbed an electrical chord and wrapped it around Lee’s throat. Now, this was a rehearsal, and the action was supposed to be at 1/4 speed. The safe word for Cory was “Hold”. He called out to stop the action several times. He stopped the action when he was slammed into the refrigerator, because he was concerned it might topple over. He was concerned that Chaz was getting too aggressive. In a staged fight, both actors need to feel they are in control of the action. In the heat of the moment, the fight accelerated. There was a long moment where Austin was chocking Lee. Lee’s face was beet red as he struggled. Was he struggling to say the safe word? Was this acting, or had the fight crossed over the fourth wall? Austin said, “I could easily kill him, all I have to do is twist.” Lee’s eyes bulged in his head before he fell limp to the floor.

After the fight rehearsal, there was a full run through of the play. Tara Rewis picked up the broken glass and other refuge had to be cleaned up before the play could begin.  Dorothy Massey who did costuming, had to help Cory figure out how to use his belt. “This is why I get paid the big bucks!” she joked.

The play is about two brothers, Austin and Lee. 
Austin was writing a screenplay while he watched his mother’s home. She
was on vacation in Alaska. Lee,who is the black sheep of the family,
showed up wanting to drink beer, borrow Austin’s car and in general cause mischief. He had a knack for bullying, scheming or stealing anything that he wants. Arguments erupted
but, despite their differences, these brothers did care about each other, or they would do just about anything to steal each others lives. When Hollywood agent, Saul, played by Jim Cundiff comes to the home to check the progress on Austin’s screenplay, Lee schemed his way into convincing Saul that his true life experiences in the desert would make for a great screenplay. The brothers collaborated on writing the script outline but the writing sessions never went smoothly. When the mom, played by Barbara Blake, returned home, she found the house a mess. Her crowning moment came when she grabbed a bottle of rum off the table to spare it when the brother’s brawled.

This was a powerful drama that dives deep to explore the relationship between brothers who are polar opposites, yet united by a dark past. If you are missing the mad rush of Fringe, then head to the Shakes to see True West. Nothing beats a hangover like a nice cold beer. Don’t miss it!

The Mandell Theater
Orlando Shakespeare Center

812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL

May 31 at 8PM
June 2, 6, 7, 8 at 8PM  

Tickets are:

$16 in Advance
$20 at Door
$15 at the Door with a Fringe Button

Alice Lost in Wonderland Dress Rehearsal

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Alice Lost in Wonderland written and directed by Rob Winn Anderson had its original world premiere at the Garden Theatre (160 West Plant Street, Winter Garden FL.). The show marks Beth Marshall Presents’ 9th production in partnership with The Garden Theatre. The first thing that struck me was the wonderful Steam punk mental asylum set by Tom Mangieri. It was vaguely reminiscent of the set for Wicked.

Actors gathered for a group photo and then ran through a fight sequence choreographed by Bill Warriner. Becky Eck, who played Jane stood on stage alone as other actors got into place.  I assumed from the title that I should look to sketch Alice, but it became quite clear that Jane was the lead character. I had sketched auditions and heard several dozen actresses read for the part of Jane. When I saw the monologue performed by Becky in the context of the play, I was floored, astonished at the meaning and implied emotion in her performance.

  Alice Lost in Wonderland, uses Lewis Carroll’s classic book to inspire
the story of Jane’s frantic search for what she has lost. Years
of falling in and out of mental institutions have broken her and now she
finds herself in a terrifying situation where chances are final and
journeys into dark places are both wonderful and haunting. This
whimsical psychological thriller steps out of reality and into a
shattered mind to create a classically creepy and intriguingly creative
journey through wonderland.

In one compelling moment Jane is stripped of her cheerful childhood clothes by grey institution patients. She stands bare for a moment in her bra and panties and then the patients slip the dingy grey institution uniform over her head. It becomes clear that her Wonderland quest makes her one of them. I was delighted to see Tod Caviness as the Caterpillar. He gave the character a hip 60’s flair that only a poet could perform.

Jane’s search for Alice in Wonderland is actually a way for her to avoid horrible memories from her past. As these memories surface, the play takes a dark sinister turn to face the worst in human nature. This is NOT a kids show. Issues and horrors faced are all too real. The show is quick witted and light when in the Wonderland fantasy then grey and sinister when facing the realities of doctors who consider electroshock therapy an enlightened practical approach to mental health. This show is a perfect addition to the Halloween season.

Mark Your Calendar! This show runs through November 3rd. Show times are Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $25 for adults ($21 for seniors/students). There will also be an Industry Night on Monday, October 28 at 8pm. This show is open to the public with $15 tickets for those in the theatre industry. Pilars Bar next door will be open and offering drink specials for patrons on Industry Nite Monday Oct. 28th.

Get your tickets now at BethMarshallPresents.com or GardenTheatre.org!

Violin(ce)

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Empty Spaces Theater Company’s director John DiDonna has collaborated with fight choreographer Bill Warriner to bring an experimental show to the stage where “fighting is the story.” Any writer knows that a good story must have a conflict. In this show, the dozen or so actors and dancers are waged in an eternal battle. Some of the fights are staged as a lone violin player is projected on the screen at the back of the stage, thus the title, “Violin(ce)“.

The first scenes revolved around silent film era comic violence.  Then actors recounted school yard brawls. The violence grew personal as a loving couple had their first arguments that progressed to slammed doors and ultimately domestic violence. The line between the erotic and violent was blurred. Actors came at each other with knives, sabers maces and sticks. Blades missed by inches in the type of fights you might have seen in a swashbuckler starring Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone.

McClaine Timmerman performed an incredibly limber and tortured routine, stretching her limbs beyond what should be humanly possible. Dion Smith moved  with a ballerina’s grace around the stage like a hungry lioness as she spared with DiDonna. Of course Cory Violence was in the show. His amazing performance in “The Key of E” and his last name alone guaranteed him a role. In one incredible fight, the entire cast was on stage fighting with weapons. Blades flashes inches from fresh. It is amazing no one was injured. Truth be told, many actors were bruised and battered. Though safely was the rule, adrenalin kicked in. The bruises, abrasions and emotional scars are real.

Each scene in this show is a self contained vignette with each scene building on the last as a sort of history of violence. The action is constant and progressively more intense. The show runs through July 22nd at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street Orlando FL).
The Saturday, Sunday and Monday shows are at 7:30pm.
Additional Sat/Sun twilight shows are at 4:30pm. Tickets are $20. For reservations please call 407.328.9005 – cash only at door. For credit card pre-orders please use www.redchairproject.com