Phantasmagoria: Through a Christmas Darkly

Posted on by Thor

Pam and I went to a performance of Phantasmagoria: Through a Christmas Darkly at The Center for Fine and Performing Arts at Seminole State College. This wasn’t you usual Christmas fair with 3 ghosts of Christmas, it was much darker. Students form Seminole State got to work with the actors of this critically acclaimed acting troupe. The Victorian Horror Troupe recently celebrated their 10th year of production. I have had the pleasure of watching this company grow through the years. They used to perform each Halloween but have since grown to include the main stage show, a mini touring group and appearances at events throughout the year. They have grown from Central Florida to Saint Louis Missouri, and Atlanta Georgia.

The premise is simple, members of the troupe must pull a story from a box, and once a story is started it must be finished. Some stories are so sinister that just telling in itself can be dangerous. This performance was tight and polished, with each character seeming very comfortable in their role. Hawthorn (Cory Volence) was trying to begin a tale but Alteza (Camille Vela) was overacting her part as a dark sinister apparition with a black cloak. Every time Hawthorn tried to speak she let out an unearthly wail. This offered a hilarious reprieve as Hawthorn finally had to drag her off stage under one arm. Each character in turn had their moment to shine as they shared the horrors of the season.

The show culminated in a horrific retelling  of the Krampus myth. I saw children get out of their seats and stand on tip toe to get a better view of the demon best known for putting coal in stockings and much worse for those that misbehave.

Be sure to catch Phantasmagoria’s A Christmas Carol – Orlando Performances at The Shakes (812 E Rollins Street Orlando Fl.) Performances are on December 13, 14 and 16th at 8pm each night. This show offers a uniquely dark adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale “A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas”.

Tickets: – Adults – $25.00 / Student/Senior/Military – $15.00
Also availability for Will Call CASH ONLY at the door by calling the Phantasmagoria Hotline: (407) 476-5121 and leave a voice mail.

Additional Performances on Tour
DELAND: Athens Theater – December 18th
MOUNT DORA: Mount Dora Community Center – December 19th
OCALA: Reilly Arts Center – December 20th
SANFORD: Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center – Dec 21st
EUSTIS: Historical State Theater – December 27th and 28th

Space explores the horrors of living in space at Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

Space, written and directed by Cory Volence  and produced by Hubris Theater Company and the Dark Side of Saturn is a hard hitting psycho drama set in the confines of a colony ship on a 15 year mission to establish biological life on a distant planet. In the pre-show, crew members described their feelings about the mission in a promotional video. Their accounts are idealized visions of a future of possibilities.

The show opens with Chief engineer Hightower (Trini Kirtsey) in a spacesuit unable to get back into the spacecraft. The heated debate about the risks of letting him back in, sets the stage for seeing Commander Copeland (Chaz Krivan) as a power hungry despot. The commander is married to Science officer Chesky (Ashleigh Ann Gardner). She is pregnant and the commander is pleased that his family name will live on.

Living together on a tiny tin can of a ship has the crew on edge and at each others throats. The commander treats his wife like he does the crew with authoritarian disrespect. When Chesky visits Medical officer Novak (Brenna Arden), the doctor shows concern and the women kiss, free of any male domineering. The doctor herself is troubled with dreams of suicide.

A video diary station allows crew members to express their true feelings although they often have to erase their entries from the ships official record. The videos are projected on the large screen at the back of the stage allowing the audience to see jumbo tron sized close ups of the crew members faces. Dark circles show the increasing stress of living in confined close quarters with crew members who all hate each other. The crew members were all trained to perform one specialized roll on the mission. There was no cross training. That makes every member of the crew indispensable. That makes if difficult, when crew members truly want to kill each other.

I loved the show. The dark vacuum of space is nothing compared to the darkness found in the heart of a human soul. A special shout out to Chaz Kriran and Ashleigh Ann Gardner, who gave particularly noteworthy performances.

Space will have an amazing set and costumes.

Posted on by Thor

Local playwright Cory Volence wrote Space which is being presented at this years Orlando International Fringe Festival  by Hubris Theater Company from Brooklyn New York.  On the edge of the universe, in the darkest corner of our galaxy, four people will discover that the space between love and hate is as thin as a razor and twice as sharp. This dark science fiction drama follows the crew of a ship bound for a distant planet as they slowly realize that the only thing more dangerous than space is each other.

Evan Miga was working hard on a space suit for the show in the weeks before the show opens. He covered the actor in duct tape and pealed it off which gave him a mold the exact size of the actors body on which to build the suit. He fabricated it first in cardboard and then the pieces would be laser cut out of sheets of foam that were hanging on the garage wall. The show probably has the most sophisticated set at this year’s Fringe. The space ship consoles have illuminated dials and keypads. All the pieces are modular fitting together quickly with slots and groves. Everything when disassembled fits neatly in the back of Evans smart car. The set pieces were designed in the computer and then cut by a robotic arm at FACTURE  (520 Virginia Drive Orlando FL) a non-profit maker space here in Orlando.

After designing one leg of the space suit, Evan explained that he could replicate what he had done in the computer for the other leg. The suit will also incorporate glowing electronic pieces reminiscent of Tron. He then went on to design a space boot. He build the boot out of cardboard around a black leather boot. He was a bit concerned because he was using his own boot and the actors feet were bigger. He needed a size 12 which just happened to be my shoe size. I gave him one of my hiking boots to check if the sole of the space boot was big enough. It was. The tricky part of the boot design was to allow for the boot to deform when the foot rolled during a walk. Trial and error resulted in multiple attempts with the cardboard boot breaking apart rather than deforming. In the end, he found a design that worked.

Evan explained that the crew of the ship were on a 15 year mission to travel to another planed and set up a terra form device that would bring life to the new world. Being together for 15 years can challenge any relationship so the crew begin to get on each others nerves. It is a great concept and I suspect this will be one of the best shows at the Fringe this year. I can’t wait to see it. These shows will sell out These shows will sell out.

Tickets are $10. Brown venue in the Orlando Shakespeare Center 812 E. Rollins Street Orlando FL.

Remaining show dates:

May 24,  7:15pm – 8:15pm

May 26,  11:15pm – 12:15pm

May 27,  11:15pm – 12:15pm

May 28,  8:45pm – 9:45pm

May 29,  7:00 pm – 9:00pm

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