The Boxer: Newsprint is Always Worth Fighting For

Posted on by Thor

After finishing a backstage sketch of Brian Feldman’s The Boxer, I fumbled my way through the black curtains and decided to get a sketch out front. I was quickly distracted by some beautiful women dressed as playing cards. The Ace of Hearts smiled at me and I felt I needed to get a sketch of her. She quickly left the scene before I could even get my sketch pad out.

Brian’s mother and father were there to show their never-ending support for him and his work. His mom was dancing, which was great to see. Brian’s dad kept bringing me food. I guess he thought I was a starving artist and thus felt the need to keep me nourished while I sketched. There was a cake made in the shape of Creative Loafing’s red newspaper box. There had been talk of Brian using the cake for his performance but he told the organizers that he wasn’t that kind of performance artist. Brian’s dad brought me a huge chunk of cake and I later saw that it matched the size of a huge chunk that had been carved out of the cake box sculpture.

The cover band on stage would have been fine for a wedding, but they lacked the energy needed to get the whole crowd onto the dance floor. Hannah noted that the white female singer trying to match the energy of Tina Turner missed the mark.

I walked around the venue with Hannah Miller. She convinced me that I had to try hitting a golf ball in one of those virtual projection screen scenarios. I knew I would likely make a fool of myself but decided to give it a try anyway. I had to give away all my personal information on a form before someone asked me which club I would like to use for the 250-yard swing. I had no idea, and just took whatever club I was handed. My first swing was actually impressive, the camera followed my golf ball, and it landed just short of the mark but bounced down into a ravine. I thought I might hit the mark with my second swing. Hannah had her camera out and was shooting footage as my club bounced off the carpet and the ball sputtered along the fake green. If you see any footage of me taking an awful swing at a golf ball, you can ignore it, it is fake news. My first swing was glorious.

After my humiliation, I decided to return to The Boxer to sketch. The lights on the archway made the scene look like a vaudeville set. People’s eyes would light up when they saw Brian, and they would quickly approach to take the paper. Upon arriving, I had originally thought that the newspaper box being placed in a back corner of the venue would be a problem, but it wasn’t. People constantly approached and Brian gave away over a skid of papers that night. He certainly gave away more papers than he ever did at the Orlando performances.

At 9:30pm, the lights in the venue flickered and the performance was over. Lee started taking down the black curtains and packed them away in a suitcase. Brian’s girlfriend posed for a quick photo in the box before everything was broken down. Brian suggested we all meet at a nearby movie theatre to see Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s new film Digger, but it was starting in 5 minutes. It took me about half an hour circling around the block to find the hotel parking lot, so I never made it to the movie.

I laughed, I cried, and newspapers were handed out. It was a good night.

The Boxer: Backstage

Posted on by Thor

I have sketched Brian Feldman’s The Boxer twice in Orlando, Florida. The first time was on the sidewalk outside of Orlando Weekly’s Best of Orlando 2011 Party. At that performance I was asked to move along by the police. I persisted and still got the sketch. I then sketched The Boxer 15 years later at The Plaza Theater, where it was once again part of Orlando Weekly’s “Best of” festivities.

Brian then brought The Boxer to Saint Petersburg, Florida where it would be part of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s Best of the Bay 2026 Party. Brian offered me a rare opportunity to sketch his performance piece from backstage. The premise of The Boxer is that Brian is inside a tiny street newspaper box as he hands out copies of the paper. It is a rare case of adding a human touch to keeping newsprint alive.

Since Saint Petersburg is such a long drive, Brian offered me a hotel room as well. I decided to ask his former wife, Hannah Miller to join me on the trip. In 2010, Brian had a performance where he would marry anybody. He spun a bottle in the Orange County Courthouse to pick his bride. The point was that a heterosexual could marry a stranger while a gay couple who had been in love for years were not allowed to marry. The spin of the bottle pointed at Hannah, and they were married soon after in a strange informal ceremony where one person was wearing a wrestling mask. Hannah was a consummate spokesperson to explain to the media why she had married a longtime friend but romantic stranger. Brian was so happy to see Hannah in the Saint Petersburg Coliseum (535 4th Ave N, St Petersburg, FL) and gave her a warm hug before he got in the box.

Brian’s staging area was filled with piles of Creative Loafing newspapers. There were about two skids of papers that he would be distributing. The larger skid I left out of my sketch since including it would have made Brian way too small in the sketch. Production manager Lee Soule rifled through papers on Brian’s behalf.

Brian lay prone on the floor with his face in the newspaper box window. He extended his hand out so people could see that he had newspapers to give away. I thought Brian had his hips on a foam pad, but Hannah informed me that he just had a cardboard box under his butt. He would have to back out occasionally to grab more papers. He let out a groan multiple times making it clear his positioning wasn’t comfortable. Twinkling lights viewable above the black curtains hinted at a magical event happening just beyond the staging area. Red lights were shining on the red newsbox and light streamed through a narrow gap in the curtain to illuminate a short pile of newspapers.

People were so gracious and grateful each time they got a paper from Brian. I am certain there were plenty of selfies taken, although I couldn’t see them from where I sat. One lady said Brian had the best seat in the house as she took her paper. When my sketch was complete, I went out front and picked up a paper for myself from Brian. I leafed through it briefly, looking for the Saint Petersburg events calendar, and tried to give it back, but Brian refused to take it. I walked around to various food vendors with Hannah with the paper under my arm. There were some delicious vegetarian options. I had trouble handling all the tiny paper plates and utensils that came with the food. I “misplaced” the paper when Hannah and I ate at one of the standing tables.

The Boxer Returns

Posted on by Thor

15 years ago, I sketched performance artist Brian Feldman at the Beacham Theater. He set himself up inside an Orlando Weekly Newspaper box and distributed papers to people going into the Best of Orlando Party. It was a tough sketching situation and ultimately, I was asked to move along by police. I had already finished the sketch line work thankfully and when the officer left I finished the sketch while standing up. He didn’t return to once again cut off the creative process.

Brian let me know that he was having a return performance at this year’s Best of Party being held in the Plaza Live Theater. The fact that I could sketch indoors with air conditioning was already a plus. I arrived early and Brian had left my name at the door so I could get into the venue. I was given an arm band and let right in.

Brian was set up in the lobby right next to the table that the Orlando Weekly was using to welcome people to the event. I sat in my artist’s stool right across from Brian which offered a good vantage point. This time Brian became a perfect photo opportunity to folks heading into the theater. Before getting into the Orlando Weekly box, Brian met with Production Manager Lee Soule.

Brian hired actress Suzanne Faison who I had just seen at the Orlando Story Club as she told her story for the first time. I had also sketched her at Fringe this year because she performed with the Orlando Gay Chorus, and she had a solo and dance near the end of the show. I sketched her as she got prepared a little off stage. She brought plenty of energy to the performance by offering to take a photo of anyone who grabbed a paper from the boxer. She danced when the music started inside the venue and she crouched like Spider-man always finding a way to grab the attention of folks passing by.

I always like to watch Brian’s facial expressions as people pose. More important are the unexpected moments like a woman struggling to adjust her dress next to the newspaper box before she went inside. Brian’s look of surprise and dismay made me laugh out loud. I kind of wish I had left more room to the right of the box to add some of these moments but my art is a slow burn. Once I commit to a composition, I push through and hope that everything works out.

When my sketch was done, I asked Brian’s Suzanne if she needed anything. I know that Brian never takes a food or bathroom break during a performance. She asked if I could get a couple of slices of pizza from outside. After I grabbed a bit for myself from the table that Maxine’s on Shine had set up inside the theater, I went outside and found the pizza offerings. It was late in the event so there was no line. I grabbed two slices and made my way back inside. I had to go through security, which I didn’t have to do when I arrived much earlier. My art bag had to be searched, and every brush and pencil was a potential weapon. The pizza ultimately did find its way into the Plaza Live, and Brian’s energetic assistant Suzanne was so grateful. I think she had just been running in caffeine up to that point.

The Plaza Theater was the site of the murder of singer Christina Grimmie by a rabid fan the night before the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Grimmie was participating in a meet-and-greet event after her performance, signing auto graphs and selling merchandise, when she was shot multiple times by the suspect, a 27-year-old male. I could not be upset by the heightened security. Orlando lost its innocence in June of 2016.

Third Pass with Snowbell

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For this pass at the poster I wanted to play up how big Snowbell was in relation to Stuart Little. Stuart is a true gentleman with his ivy league causal jacket and vest. I wanted jealousy to radiate from Snowbell’s eyes.

I felt a bit uncomfortable that the title might not read well enough against Snowbell’s brilliant white fur. The chalky typeface I liked from the second pass at the poster I kept for the credits.

The note from the approvals meeting was that Stuart Little needed to dominate the poster instead of Snowbell’s huge face and jealous gaze.

I needed to make Stuart big and the cat in the distance smaller. This would reinforce the basic rule of perspective in that what is close to the viewer is usually bigger that what is in the distance.

I decided to keep Stuart the size he was and Snowbell underwent a major size reduction. I am thankful I was working digital because I only had to make adjustments to the one layer while leaving everything else alone. If this was an oil painting, or watercolor, then every aspect of the painting would have to be changes or redone.

I am slowly learning to appreciate the advantages of living in a digital world. Stella has been showing me how to share images using Google photos. Images shared are a full resolution. Whereas if I were to share the same images in a text, message of email, the resolution would drop to 72 DPI.

Fiddler on the Phone

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For two weeks this past spring, D.C.-based performance artist Brian Feldman was back in Orlando to celebrate 15 years of his performance based art with a series of new and returning projects. Brian did a series of performances while he was in Orlando. Brian did a series of performances while he was in Orlando. At one of the performances called Knives Out, Brian asked me if I knew of any pay phones in Central Florida where he could stage his new pay phone musical. Sounds crazy right? Pay phones are a dying breed in this digital world, but after searching for days, Brian did find one, only a few block from where he used to live in Orlando outside of the Sunco Gas station at the corner of Edgewater and Fairbanks.

Brain explained that, in the spirit of Fiddler on the Roof,  he would begin his performance right at sunset.  I was working on the Ivanhoe Brewery mural at the time. Pam Schwartz and I ordered some food from a food truck and it slowly became clear that the people inside were new to the job. My dish came out but Pam’s was held up and people who had ordered before us were still waiting. She told me to drive up to the pay phone booth since the sun was quickly setting. Luckily Brain was a few minutes late as well which is actually rather a tradition when it comes to his perfomances.

The pay phone was at a 7-11 convenience store. Brian set up a music stand and several LED light strips inside the phone booth so he could see the script from Fiddler. His idea was to sing the entire show over the pay phone to people who had signed up in advance for a call. Pam had signed up for a call, but joined me as I went to the pay phone to sketch. This  is where the real theatrical magic happened, as noisy trucks and motorcycles buzzed by on the crowded roadway. This was the third time I sketched Brian at a gas station, and knowing him, I’m sure it will not be the last. Brian is infamously known for not having a car.

Several people didn’t pick up their phones, perhaps forgetting they had signed up and thinking the call might be a telemarketer. Brian then called Pam, even though she was 10 feet away. We both could hear the performance live and she heard it from her cell phone, perhaps creating a unique stereo effect. Brian’s performance was lighthearted and fun. He would read the parts for every character leading up to each musical number.

At the same time, the Broadway tour of Fiddler on the Roof was playing five miles away at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for March 2 and 3, 2019

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Saturday March 2, 2019

8pm to 11pm Free. The Tremolords + The Wildtones. The Veranda Live 707 E. Washington St., Orlando, Florida 32801. Real. Raw. Rock and Roll.

Doors 7pm … Bands play 8-11pm

8pm to 10pm Free. Shuffleboard.  Orlando’s Beardall Courts 800 Delaney Ave Orlando FL. Shuffleboard at Orlando’s Beardall Courts at 800 Delaney Ave on the 1st Saturday of each month.

10:3pm to 12:30am Get a drink and or food. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL. Hot blooded flamenco dancing to acoustic guitar.

Sunday March 3, 2019

10am to Noon. Free. Enchanted Nature Walkabout. Mead Botanical Garden, 1300 S Denning Dr, Winter Park, FL 32789.  After all the enchanted guides health issues this past year, he plan to conduct his first
official walkabout at Mead Gardens on March 3rd, which
is s Fae Day (03/03).

2pm to 6pm Knives Out.  The Glass Knife, 276 Orlando Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Critic read select reviews of past Brian Feldman performances.

10pm to midnight. Free but get a coffee. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out and laugh, or give it a try yourself.

#txtshow returns to Orlando after 10 years.

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I began this daily sketch blog back in 2009. It was on March 3rd of 2009 that I posted a sketch of Brian Feldman‘s performance of #txtshow at the Jack Kerouac House. The room was crowded back then and I squeezed into a corner of the room to catch the crowd as they looked at their smart phone screens in the dark room. Back then not many people used Twitter or txt, so they had to be taught how to get started.

#txtshow is one of Brian Feldman’s most famous performances and the longest running independent production in D.C. theater history – returns to the venue it originated, the Kerouac House (1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, Florida 32804) exactly 10 years to the day.

For this completely interactive performance, all audience members keep their phones “on” – as a mysterious character named txt (pronounced ‘text’) recites anonymous, real-time tweets written by YOU, live and in-person.

Audience members are instructed to bring their smart phones, ideally fully-charged, and actively use them during the show’s 45 minute duration. It is not necessary to have a Twitter account in order to participate, as everyone in attendance is randomly assigned a protected and anonymous account for their use.

Unfortunately for the first  performance in Orlando there wasn’t much of a crowd. Just four of us sat in the seats set up in the Kerouac House living room. It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside, so perhaps most people were out at the beaches or enjoying outdoor activities with their families.

Tisse Malon was there with her sister offering samples of Frutisse – a new, fruit tea infusion beverage made in Orlando with love and without preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, or coloring. Pam Schwartz had joined me to the show so that meant there were just three people sending txts on their phones since my hands were busy sketching. Even with so few authors, the show as hilarious. A joke about pirates needed to be read twice for the proper delivery. Someone kept sharing animal insights that were also quite humorous. With so few authors, I kind of knew when Pam had written a txt. She was laughing so loud she couldn’t catch her breath and she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. It was a fun afternoon. Brian didn’t hold the even in the evening since the Oscars were going on that night.

There are three more performances of #txtshow remaining.

#txtshow costs  $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

• Monday, February 25 at 7:00 PM

• Tuesday, February 26 at 7:00 PM (10th Anniversary date)

• Wednesday, February 27 at 7:00 PM

• Thursday, February 28 at 7:00 PM

#txtshow is just one of 5 performances in various venues that Brain is bringing back to Orlando to celebrate 15 years of his performance art.

Wawa® Shabbawa will be on Friday, March 1, 2019 at 7:00 PM at:

Wawa Store #5145

11750 University Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32817Cost: Free Admission

All guests must RSVP on OneTable:

https://dinners.onetable.org/events/78972835-ebe8-4027-8baf-c03179dc190e

“Wawa® Shabbawa” – Brian Feldman’s newest hit dinner project – returns to Central Florida, right down the road from the second largest Jewish collegiate population outside of the State of Israel!

Knives Out will be on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 2:00 PM SHARP at:

The Glass Knife

276 Orlando Ave.

Winter Park, FL 32789

Cost: Free to attend

The public is invited to join Brian and the critics at their table, or at an adjoining patio table, and order anything off the menu of The Glass Knife (food or drink), at their expense.

Knives Out features five current and former critics from Central Florida, each taking a stab at reading 3 reviews they’ve previously written about past Brian Feldman Projects; 15 reviews for the 15th anniversary of Brian Feldman’s performance art career.

Fiddler on the Phone will have 2 performances.

• Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at Sunset (6:28 PM EST)

• Thursday, March 7, 2019 at Sunset (6:29 PM EST)

Depending on your musical number order, Brian Feldman will call you between 6:28 PM – approximately 9:30 PM EST.

The performance will come direct to your Phone (Brian Feldman will call you from a pay phone).

Free (only 16 calls available)

Register for your phone call at brianfeldman.com.

Note: All calls to area codes outside of the U.S. will be made collect.

Taking place entirely over a pay phone, this performance features Brian Feldman singing Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein’s classic Tony Award®-winning 1964 musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” a capella, one song at a time, one phone call at a time.

Specific songs from the show may be requested, and will be fulfilled in the order received. Otherwise, all songs will be allocated randomly. Phone calls will range from approximately 1 to 8 minutes.  

The Feldman Dynamic on March 8, 2019 at 7:30 PM at:

Stardust Video & Coffee

1842 E. Winter Park Rd.

Orlando, FL 32803

Cost: $15 advance, $20 at the door

Free if your last name is “Feldman” (at the door, with valid photo ID). Offer not valid if tickets are sold out prior to the performance.

The original Brian Feldman Project returns to Central Florida for the first time in over five years, and to Orlando for the first time in over 10 years.

An unprecedented reality theater event featuring a family – Brian Feldman’s actual family (Mom, Dad, and sister) – having dinner together live on stage. There’s no script, no rehearsal, and every performance is completely different. It’s not improv. It’s the reality show that will never be on TV.

The Feldman Dynamic is Brian Feldman, Edward Alan Feldman, Adrienne McIntosh, and Marilyn Wattman-Feldman.  

Jack Fields Artist Talk

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Jack Fields gave an artist talk at The Maitland Art Center, (231 W Packwood Ave, Maitland, FL 32751). I first sketched Jack when he was a puppeteer at a Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater up in the Altamonte mall. A grant from United Arts helped Jack produce a short puppetry film. Performance artist Brian Feldman made a short cameo appearance in that film.

One of Jack’s signature puppets is names Godrick. Godrick is a life sized puppet that jack slips inside. He is bulbous  with black drapery that hides any sign of feet. His large head head isn’t on the shoulders but instead juts out of the characters hips area. A hat sits where his head used to be. His articulated mouth is the one element that animates on the huge puppet. I have sketched Godrick in action at several festivals and the kids love him. There is something about his simple bell shapes form that must appeal top them.

On the table were several glittery heads from the film Happy Memories. I can’t say I understand what the film was about, but it was certainly visually stimulating. My happiest memory was seeing Brain Feldman get zapped by mystical light beams and become a cupcake headed guru.

Weekend Top 6 picks for February 23 and 24, 2019

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Saturday February 23, 2019

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

10am to 4pm Free. Sanford Farmers Market. First and Magnolia Sanford Fl. 

7pm to 11pm Free. Ybor City Art Walk. 7th Ave Ybor Tampa, Florida 33605.

Featuring a number of arts organizations and artsy businesses, be sure to R.S.V.P. here to get the official map for the walk!

This event will begin at 7pm and end at 11pm (or maybe there will be an after party!)

Here are the participating locations:

The Bricks of Ybor
Bloodline Tattoo
Ybor Arts Colony
Hot Wax
Wandering Eye Art Gallery
Dysfunctional Grace
Moon Over Havana Arts Gallery
Live Arts Labs

Sunday February 24, 2019

10am to Noon. Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources. 

3pm to 5pm $20 Brian Feldman Performance #txtshow. Kerouac House 1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, FL 32804.

10pm to Midnight Free but get a coffee. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out & laugh, or give it a try yourself.

Brian Feldman’s William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

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It is a tale

Told by an idiot,

full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

I went to sketch a one man performance of Macbeth at the Walt Disney Amphitheatre at Lake Eola Park (99 N Rosalind Ave, Orlando, Florida 32801). Several smart phones were set up on tripods to live stream the performance. The program came complete with a set of ear plugs which was a mystery at first. Brian Feldman took to the band shell stage covered in protective gear, another mystery. He held a script and was about to perform the play solo acting out every part. Brian made his acting debut in 1991 in Macbeth on the Lake Eola stage as a child actor.

Actors consider it bad luck to say Macbeth in a theater. Neil Barnes from Essex explained it this way, “Theatrical folklore has it
that, as revenge for Shakespeare’s inclusion of a number of accurate
spells within the play, a coven of witches cursed it for all eternity.
Whether or not you believe this rationale is irrelevant, though, because
the ill-fortune associated with the play is backed up by numerous
examples over its four hundred year history
Initially, King James banned the play for five years because he had such
a dislike for it, but there are also more bloody examples: there was an
unpleasant and lethal riot after one showing in nineteenth century New
York and one Lady Macbeth fell off the front of the stage while
sleepwalking, dropping nearly twenty feet. Even Olivier wasn’t free from
the curse, as one of his performances was enlivened by a falling stage
weight which landed only inches from him mid-performance.
Given the weight of evidence, it’s not surprising that actors are given
to indulge in a little superstition.” Others explained that if tickets for a particular play were not selling well, the theater owners would end the run and replace it with the ever popular Macbeth. Either way, you will never hear an actor utter “Macbeth” inside a theater.

Granted the Lake Eola Band Shell is outside, but years ago this is where Shakespeare plays were performed before the Shakes moved into the theater in Lock Haven Park. I saw a production here when I first moved to Orlando back in 1994.

Brian began his performance. The first word he uttered was, “Macbeth” followed by “Macbeth” and then “Macbeth”. He held the full script in his hands and read the entire play replacing each word with “Macbeth” and trying to maintain the emotion and relevance of each line. He was tempting fate with each word he uttered. At times Macbeths got tangled together as he trued to say them in quick succession. Now the ear plugs made sense. Hearing this endless litany of Macbeths could drive a person mad. I might have missed a few of the plot twists as I focused on my sketch.

The play in all runs about 69 minutes and I was chucking to myself the entire time despite the tragedy being acted out on stage. Irene Pynn produced and directed the production. As she said in the program, “The process was more conceptual than straightforward. Less ‘Give me a stronger emphasis on the third line’ and more, ‘How many people will curse us for doing this?'”