Fusion Fest Open House

Posted on by Thor

A FusionFest Open House was held at City Beautiful Church, (1220 Alden Rd, Orlando, FL 32803). The primary goal was to gather the interest of volunteers and to share with the community what this new cultural event which is a celebration of diversity.

Terry Olson explained that Orlando is a melting pot and as a city we have never shied away from celebrating our roots. He said he has been to 62 different cultural events in central Florida. “I know, because I have been to all of them.” he explained. An international festival of this scope would have to be large and this meeting was the first step on spreading the word. Signs on each of the tables outlined ways that people can share their heritage.

100 booths are planned to be set up in Seneff Arts Plaza in front of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (Orange Ave and City Commons downtown). Outside City Hall and in front of the arts Center entrance there will be performance stages.

Food vendors were encouraged to serve small affordable dishes so that people attending the event can sample food from many different cultures. FusionFest is free, but you can purchase food tokens at the food and drink court. Fusion Fest is scheduled for November 24 and 25,  2018 the week following Thanksgiving. The festivities begin at noon each day.

Mark your calendar.

FusionFest

November 24 and 25, 2018

Noon to Sunset

Seneff Arts Plaza 445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801

Free.

Projected : A Creative City Project Special Event

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The Projected event was held at the City Beautiful Church (1220 Alden Rd, Orlando, FL 32803). And was a fundraiser for the Creative City Project which shuts down Orange Avenue in Downtown Orlando each year to showcase some of the cities most amazing talent.

Six projection artists came together to create an immersive world of light an sound.
Each artist brought a unique, interactive installation that allowed patrons to experience digital art in a whole new way.There was live music and dance presented with responsive light installations which cropped up throughout the evening.

Live performance elements brought the entire evening together for a compelling art experience unlike any other.

I decided to sit on the edge of the stage to look back at the room full of projections. Green and purple lasers cut through the air and a dual wall installation featured alternating stripes of vibrant color. People stood on tip toe to wave their hands through the bright green laser beams. When Pam Schwartz and I first entered, our eyes were not accustomed to the dark. A long hallway lead to the main room, but a line of tables covered with black tablecloths blocked a straight approach to the room. I had to tap the table tops with my hands to figure out what the best way in might be.

We wandered down a hall illuminated by a projection of thousands of moving points of light. Several children crouched at the end of the hall looking back at the beams of light that caused every wall to flicker with moving points of light. Later that night I saw Cole Nesmith in the hall using a red light bar to illuminate couples who posed for photos in the sea of moving points.  

Becky Lane had a room set up that was an installation that was built around the experience of her long commute to Tampa. One whole wall had a projection that showed the Florida landscape flying by shot from the side window of her moving car. Palmetto fronds were scattered throughout the room. And when I glanced in at first I saw people waving the fronds in the air. The space incorporated movement, viewpoints and puppetry to give an interactive feeling for her commute.

Outside that room was a projection that used a sensor to track a persons movements. Pam and I were standing in the area looking at Becky’s installation when we were scolded for disrupting the sensors. Only one person could be in the space at a time. Basically that person could create an image on the screen built up from a series of triangles of varying sizes. By waving their arms triangles would appear. I lost interest.

Nathan Selikoff had a projection that looked like a colorful cloud which people could manipulate by waving their hands over a sensor on a table near the projector. Some people couldn’t figure out how to manipulate the cloud because they always had their hands too close to the sensor. Eventually most people figured out the proper distance to get the digital storm to brew.

On the stage wall behind me a series of movies were projected on the wall. The brightest image was of a cloud formed after an explosion. Dancers took to the stage and improvised. One dancer held a laser and projected the point of bright light on the floor. Dancers would follow the light like a cat. The same dancers later dances behind the dual wall of bright striped colors. Their silhouettes wold break up the wall of color dramatically.

The event was very well attended, and I am sure more people kept arriving as the night progresses. This year The
Creative City Project will present their annual event, IMMERSE, on October 19
and 20, 2018. More than 1,000 artists and performers will bring the heart of
the city of Orlando to life! It is possible to book tickets early.

Sugar Crash Kids and the Forgotten Island offers family friendly fun at Fringe.

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Based on the World and Characters of Sugar Crash Kids created by Jeremiah Dunlap and Joshua Pearson, this original family friendly musical will bring a spark of fun to the Orange Venue. Imagination,
discovery, and wonder take flight when a cynical young girl, Mai (Kennedy Mason) is suddenly
thrust into a fantastic, whimsical adventure in a world she never
thought was possible.

I went to the final rehearsal at City Beautiful Church on Alden Road in Ivanhoe Village. Blue illuminated orbs were placed on the stage. Director and choreographer Holly Harris explained that they represent hope, wonder, and imagination. Mai has reached an age where anything that isn’t tangible isn’t real. She discovers that the world of the imagination is very much real.

The ensemble picked up the orbs and danced and interacted with them with fluid graceful movements. The cast must have a blast at each performance. Much of the movement is pure joyful play. Actors did somersaults, rolled over, and bumped into each other and genially had plenty of immature fun.  Cole Nesmith sang an exuberant song titled, “You’re here!” “But where’s here?” Mai asked. “Why it’s here of course!”

The show features original music, lyrics, and characters, from The Cramazingly Incredifun Sugar Crash Kids Podcast which comes to life on stage for the first time ever. The musical brings to
life a fantastic, whimsical adventure through music, movement, and large
scale puppetry.

I didn’t see the full show, but the songs I heard were amazing, and the scenes were filled with playful  joy. I have no doubt that this is a must see Fringe show. Bring the whole family!!

Tickets are $10.

Location: ORANGE Venue – Lowndes Shakespeare Center – Margeson Theater 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL

Performances:

Thursday, May 19 – 6:15 PM

Saturday, May 21 – 3:45 PM

Sunday, May 22 – 2:30 PM

Tuesday, May 24 – 7:15 PM

Wednesday, May 25 – 5:30 PM

Saturday, May 28 – 1:30 PM

Sunday, May 29 – 11:45 AM

Rusty Spoon

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Paul Alexander hired me to do a sketch at The Rusty Spoon, (55 W Church St, Orlando, FL) on Saturday December 4th. A party of about 30 people were going to gather for dinner for the first time. Paul knew of my work because of a sketch I did at a City Beautiful Church concert at the Lake Eola Band shell and the kind recommendations of talents like Aradhana Tiwari, Cole Nesmith and Holly Harris.

The group gathering was known as Cru. They are an international ministry with members coming from Africa, the Netherlands, Asia, Australia and Europe.  The person that Paul most wanted me to catch was Ken who had 25 years experience leading a Cru group in Asia. Paul is in charge of Digital Strategies which utilizes social media to promote the groups message to the world.

I was the first to arrive at the rusty spoon. The woman who greeted me at the door knew what I was up to cause she said, “Oh, you must be the caricature artist.” I cringed a bit since I’m not a caricature artist, but I let it pass. She went to get the waiter, who knew more about the large group I was going to sketch. He lead me to the back of the Spoon where four tables were reserved for the party. The waiter, who also thought I was a caricature artist, let me sit in an empty booth that thankfully didn’t have a table. I had plenty of room to work. I started blocking in the perspective of the place. Raw old fashioned Edison bulbs illuminated the scene.

Paul and Anne Alexander arrived as did my wife Terry. She spoke to the couple for a while and then went to watch the football game at the bar. Paul and Anne love this restaurant, although Anne lamented that the art work never changes. I have to admit that it is a bit odd having pigs, goats and cows staring at you from the walls, especially if you eat meat. People arrived and mingled. Then as each person took a seat, I quickly placed them in the sketch.

Amazingly, the sketch was done when everyone finished dinner. Some people wandered over to see what I was up to. One jovial fellow from Africa asked where he was. He must have been way back at the fourth table because I hadn’t sketched him. He said, “Your sketch is fine, bot it is incomplete without me.” Even Paul is hidden from view since his wife is seated in front of him. I managed to keep Ken clearly in focus although a late arrival sat in the corner seat blocking my line of sight toward Ken most of the dinner. I had to move and reduce the size of this person to keep Ken visible in the sketch. It is fascinating how much can be altered and recreated while still keeping a believable document of an important event. I didn’t have time to eat or drink, but Paul told me the food at the Rusty Spoon is delicious. With the sketch done, I rushed off to the Kerouac House for a pot luck dinner.

A City Beautiful Christmas

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I got an invitation from choreographer Holly Harris to see a City Beautiful Christmas at the History Center downtown. A City Beautiful is a recently formed church that doesn’t have a permanent brick and mortar home yet. I witnessed a fabulous celebration at the Lake Eola band shell. Cole Nesmith welcomed me when I arrived at the History Center. Much of the service would be happening inside the Orlando Regional History Center. Then the congregation would walk out into the park for an arts performance. The performance is what I planned to sketch, so I leaned against one of the tall pine trees and started blocking in the stage. There was an hour to show time.

White gossamer fabric hung from pine boughs.  The fabric glowed yellow in the street lamp light. Two sculptures of alligators are permanent residents of the park and they overlooked the proceedings. A grey bearded man with a sleeping bag slung over his shoulder was talking to Holly for the longest time. He was invited inside but he preferred the outdoor air like me. He was to thin to be Santa Claus. He stood a short distance from me and watched me intently. He struck up a conversation, letting me know he was from Ohio. Distracted and lost in the sketch, I answered his questions but kept my hand and eyes busy. I’m a bit rude when working, and he soon wandered off.

A box sat at the center of the staging area. A tech tested it out. With the lid off, it erupted, sending up a large plum of fake snow lit from below. Dancers all dressed in black began to form themselves on the grid of the stage. They all held candles. White paper bags with candles inside illuminated the path from the History Center leading people to the staging area. I had assumed everyone would sit on the grass to watch the show. I had guessed wrong. Everyone stood, and I lost my view. I had only sketched half the dancers. I could see one or two dancers between peoples heads. A fellow in front of me apologized, I told him not to worry. I’ve learned to accept any staging difficulty. I decided to relax and start painting. Catching the magical candle light at night would be a challenge.

Music was playing that sounded like Danny Elfman‘s sound track to Edward Scissorhands. Since I couldn’t see the dancers, I imagined ice sculptures forming with the chips floating in the air like snow. The luminescent pillar of snow blew skyward up above the wall of backs. For a magical moment, it was snowing in Central Florida. Air and Cole spoke messages of love, acceptance and Christmas joy, as I presume the dancers performed. Everyone in the audience was issued a candle. One single flickering flame became two, then four then a sea of light. Everyone’s voice was raised in song. There would be a second performance, so  the lights were extinguished as the crowd dispersed, I continued to sketch. The sketch felt complete even without the full cast. The gator looked hungry enough. With another hour till the second performance, I decided to pack up and head home.

City Beautiful Church

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I went downtown to the Lake Eola band shell to meet Sarah Lockhard and a Voci dancer named Brie to discuss possibly doing a live projected sketch during a dance performance. Cory Violence would be reading a Tom Waits poem called Watch Her Disappear. Apparently every day in October there will be public performances like this all around town. When I got close, I noticed musicians playing in the parking lot behind the Polish Catholic Church. Meals were being distributed to the homeless and the music suggested that they surrender to Jesus.

When I got to the band shell, I sat in the back row and waited for Sarah. A band was setting up on stage with a large screen behind them. The screen and projector system would be perfect for the performance piece Sarah was considering.  One of the tech guys walked up to me and introduced himself. He was a former student of mine who was volunteering to help out with the City Beautiful Church concert. Since Sarah was a no show, I decided to sketch the band as they did their sound check.

Cole Nesmith explained that this church would be moving into a new bricks and mortar establishment just south of Lake Eola in a couple of weeks. In the mean time they were worshiping in the park. The band was quite good, playing lively and uplifting Christian rock. I’d never heard the songs before. Some of the lyrics were, “There is an army rising up. Break every chain. I may be down but I will rise. It may be dark but God is light.” Cole gave a sermon about the Prodigal Son, who took his fathers inheritance, squandered it and then returned home begging for food and forgiveness. The point of course was that god is all forgiving and full of love. Clouds of gnats swarmed around my head. I swatted they away as I drew. I finally had to leave in the middle of a song to get away from the bugs. A couple ran after me as I walked around the lake. They wanted to see the finished sketch. Their son was at the key boards.