Winter Park Village

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On Easter Morning I sketched at the Winter Park Village. For a short time I lived across the street from Winter Park Village on Gay Road. I rented a condo from a snow bird. While there I re-tiled the whole place which was a monstrous job. I lived there shortly after the Pulse Nightclub shooting. I remember sorting the 49 portraits on the newly tiled floor. I had to make prints for a play produced by David Lee.

I usually go to Winter Park Village to go to the Regal Theater. The Florida Film Festival uses that theater as one of its venues. I am planning to return to the Winter Park Village to get much needed camping supplies for my emergency evacuation gig bag. I realized as I was packing for Hurricane Milton that I don’t have candles for my candle lantern and I need Coleman fuel for my mini camping stoves. I also think I need to get a good backpack which will fit under an airplane seat for my many trips to Film Festivals. I have just been using my art bag, but on the last trip, my sunglasses popped out mid flight. At least that is what I assume happened. The backpack would have the advantage of having zippers to secure such items in storage pockets.

Bullock and the Bandits

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Kangagirl Productions presented Bullock and the Bandits at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. A $10, reusable button is required to enter each performance. You may purchase online or in person at the box office. This show is at the Abbey, 100 S. Eola Drive
Orlando, FL.

Step inside the haunted saloon at the World Famous Bullock Hotel for a rhythm and blues, country, and rock fueled ghost rider romp across the Wild West! Orlando Fringe Festival Lifetime Achievement Award recipient David Lee’s new band performs with special guest stars Tymisha Harris and Eddie Cooper.

“I’ve always been fascinated with Deadwood, South Dakota, which is a world-famous destination for ghost hunters. Sheriff Bullock built a hotel there in 1894. It still stands and is known to be haunted with all types of bandits and heroes of the Wild West”, explained David Lee. The talented Bandits band: David Lee, Eddie Cooper, Tymisha Harris, Tanner Kasier, Bryce Hayes, Matt Lyinx, Tom O’Hern, and Randall Scandal.

Tickets are $15. The remaining show dates are today, Saturday 28 May 2022 at 4:15PM and Sunday 29 May 2022 at Noon.

The Spitfire Grill

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I went to a dress rehearsal for The Spitfire Grill at Mad Cow Theater. The show is based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff. The music and book are by James Valcq with Fred Alley on lyrics and writing. The wonderful thing about a rehearsal is that the actors have fewer worries since they are not in front of an audience. I  am used to hearing actors exercising their voices with scales and vocal calisthenics. For this run, a loud burp echoes from back stage. The mood was set for a classy Midwestern musical.

A Stage hand was working on the moon made of wooden planks cut into  a circle. He called out to director David Lee to see of it was straight. David asked Pam Schwartz and I if we thought it was straight. I had just drawn the moon and the slats in my sketch were straight, so I shouted back, “Yep perfectly straight.” David then called back to the stage hand saying “I just asked a straight couple and they should know.” David explained that his lead singer Kari had been
the understudy for Evita at the Shakes and she had to take on the lead roll
twice in one day with just 45 minutes notice.Actors in the show also doubled as the band performing on banjo

The play opened with Percy Talbot (Kari Ringer) sitting on her suitcase. She had just been released from prison and was hoping to start life over. Based on a page from an old travel book, she ended up in the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin. Kari’s singing voice immediately dominated and the song of hope for new beginnings certainly resonated with me. The local sheriff, Joe Sutter (Sean Powell) who was also Percy’s parole officer, found
her a job at Hannah’s Spitfire Grill, the only eatery in the
struggling town.

It turned out that Pecy wasn’t much of a cook and the town gossip Effy (Leesa Castaneda) talked about her behind her back. Shelby Thorp (Brittany Halen) stepped in to also help out at the grill. Her husband, Caleb (Jason Blackwater) a quarry Foreman, however felt a woman’s place is in the home. She had to fight for the independence needed to work outside the home.

Hannah (Jac LeDoux) had wanted to sell the Spitfire Grill for years. But with no interested buyers, her two worker bees talk her into raffling it off. Entry fees were $100, and the best essay on why you want the Grill wins. Percy, a feisty parolee, winds up in Wisconsin and lands a job at the Grill. Soon, things start heating up as mail arrives by the wheelbarrow-full.

I loved every gruff Midwestern character and lost soul hoping to find home. They reminded me of the big hearted but callous and cautious people I come across when traveling to Iowa. The Spitfire Grill is an inspiring celebration of fresh starts and positive influence of any one person. It was a fabulous uplifting show and a great way to kick off the holiday season. “Say what you want, say what you will, somethings cooking at the Spitfire grill.”

The show runs through December 29, 2019. Tickets are $20 to $42.

Second Saturday Matinee: Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019 at 2:30 p.m.

Discounted Monday Nights: Monday, Dec. 16 and Monday, Dec. 23, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.

Ken Carpenter Talk backs: Take place after
each regular Thursday and Sunday performance. Talk backs are free to
audience members and are open to the public at no extra cost.

Group Discounts: Save 20% off full-price tickets with parties of 10 or more.

White Rabbit, Red Rabbit

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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.

Ray Bradbury’s H2O at Fringe

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Susan Turner and Kangagirl Productions is presenting H20, conceived and performed by David Lee. I went to a tech rehearsal to sketch. The production is centered around three Ray Bradbury short stories. The Lake had a young boy yearning for a moment alone by running along the shore. When truly alone, he began to miss Tally, perhaps his sister or a dear friend who he used to help build sand castles. At 12 years old she swam out into the lake, never to return. He built half a sand castle hoping she would return to build the rest.

In The Season of Calm Weather, George Smith and his wife were vacationing in France. He didn’t mind the art of Caravaggio or the thick wormed yellows of a Van Gogh sunflower, but he truly loved the paintings of Pablo Picasso. He hoped to one day pay Picasso $5000, telling the artist “Give us the sea, the sand, that sky, or any old thing you want, we’ll be happy.” George took a walk along the beach and in the distance saw a tan old man drawing in the sand with a popsicle stick. He was drawing incredible figures. He was completely absorbed in his work drawing one figure and then another, and another. The sand flew as he sketched wildly. What appeared was free-running bacchanal, with satyrs, fauns, wine-dipped maidens, prancing unicorns, and piping youths dancing toward distant meadows, woodlands, ruined temples, and volcanoes.

The artist stopped and discovered George standing behind him. The artist shrugged his shoulders as if saying “Look what I’ve done; see what a child? Allow an old fool this, eh?” He wanted to run back to his room for a camera to capture the scene but there wasn’t time, the sun was setting fast and the tide was coming in. He only had time to walk along the length of the creation to soak it all in before the sun slipped below the horizon.  Then, the tide came in, ironing the sand flat. I loved this story which was a reminder that nothing we create will last forever. However as artists, we can’t help ourselves.

The third story was The Million Year Picnic, about a family trip to Mars. Blue lights on the edge of the stage created subtle ripple patterns on the ceiling and walls of the theater. This visual clue tied together the three stories, which each had the common element of water. The stories were at times haunting and foreboding about how small we are in the grand scheme of the universe. David did block out each scene by moving around the stage taking on the parts of each character in turn. His goal was to focus on the rich language of Bradbury. This created a staged reading where Ray Bradbury’s mesmerizing phrasing could shine. It was raining hard while this rehearsal took place further emphasizing the theme of H2O as the storm pounded the theater roof. There was magic in every moment.

Ray Bradbury’s H2O is in the Yellow venue in the Orlando Shakes,  812 E. Rollins St Orlando, Florida 32803. Tickets are $12 plus a $10 Fringe button. The show runs 60 minutes.

The remaining show dates are:

7:30 PM

12:15 PM

8:30 PM

10:45 PM

7:15 PM

Weekend Top 6 Picks for June 9th and 10th

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Saturday June 9, 2018

8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free. Parramore Farmers Market. On 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.

1 p.m. too 4 p.m. Free. CLOWN NOSE WORKSHOP with Cheryl Ann Sanders. Valencia East Campus Building 3 Main Atrium/Lobby. To clown… or not to clown… that is the question. Clown nose can be a
great tool for any actor who is processing a scene, character, or any
physical choices. Comedy is one of the hardest crafts to master. Why?
Because we try too hard! What is funny? There are moments that make us
laugh every day, and they usually stem from the most ordinary and
simplistic acts. Learn how the clown nose can help you identify the most
honest moments, connect directly with your audience, obtain a greater
sense of timing, and gift you with a sense of safety as you embrace the
absurdity and vulnerability of life. Details and Requirements: •
participants should arrive early and be physically warm to start class
on time • long hair should be pulled back and secured away from the face
• clothing should be void of any logos or lettering, preferably solid
black, well fitting but unrestrictive, and depending on the classroom •
pictures, video, and note taking is both allowed and encouraged, but
please silence phones • participants will be led through a series of
exercises both individually and as small groups • participants will be
asked to go beyond their comfort zones • there is no right and wrong •
all supplies and props will be provided but must be returned.

5 p.m. to 7 p.m. $10 Saturday Open Studio. Orlando Artists League – Gallery/Studio 2636 W State Rd. 434, Longwood, Florida 32779. Join us for another open studio with
our model, Megan Crawford. Also, feel free to check out the artwork on display from our resident
artists!

Sunday June 10, 2018

10 a.m. 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.

1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Free. MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES – Forsythe with Rebekah Lane. Valencia East Campus Building 3 Room 113. In this three hour workshop we will explore the movement improvisation
tools developed by choreographer William Forsythe. We will take movement
and character impulses from images and expand those choices into
phrases and full movement scenes. This workshop is appropriate for all
movers – dancers and actors included.

Sponsored by Valencia College Theater and Valencia College Student Development.

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. $24.67 General Admission tickets $58.40 VIP seating in the first 3 rows, O-Town Produced and directed by David Lee.

A shorter version of O-TOWN: Voices from Orlando was Created for The 2017 Orlando International Fringe Festival and the Full Length World Premiere was Presented last June to benefit the #onepulsefoundation

This year, the event features Updated Material and Some Very Special Guests…

O-TOWN: Voices from Orlando is
a play comprised of stories, interviews and speeches from Orlando and
across the Globe collected during the weeks and months following the
Pulse Nightclub attack in Orlando.

O-TOWN was created and
directed by David Lee and features Local Orlando Theatre Artists: Peg
O’Keef, Alexander Mrazek, Mike Carr, Julie Carr, Matt Rush, Daniel
Cooksley, Sarah E Mathews, David S Monge, Fabiola Rivera, Janine Klein,
Jason Blackwater, Gabriella Juliet, Clark Levi and Jenn Gannon. I am excited to see Michael Marinachio play the part of Thor in the show.

This
year, the event will also feature: Barbara Poma (Pulse Nightclub Owner)
Neema Bahrami (Pulse Survivor) and The Orlando Gay Chorus.

Title and Deed at Fringe

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Kangagirl Productions in association with Susan Turner presented Title and Deed written by Will Eno and performed by David Lee. The one man show is a dry witty meditation on life. The character questions everything. What is his roll in life, does he belong? He begins by stating that “I am not from here.” He addressed the audience intimately yet was clearly set apart perhaps a foreigner. As an artist , being apart is needed for perspective, an outsider looking in. Perhaps that is his role but he also seems mundane and everyday.

The set consisted of two empty book cases and a backpack with a stick in it. I thought the stick might be a divining rod, but he used it to strike his leg multiple times to prove to himself that he had feelings. His was an existential dilemma which he shared with reckless abandon. David’s delivery was dry and monotone, at times getting a laugh from the audience. We all question our place in the world and this show was an open forum for those concerns. He points out the things in our everyday life that are difficult for an outsider. What is most important? Family, Career? What do we miss? How do we truly feel at home? Our society which runs at a mad efficiency might be missing a few things when viewed from a different perspective.

Red Black and Ignorant at Valencia College.

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Red Black and Ignorant written by Edward Bond is the first installment of a war trilogy. The play introduces Monster, (Daniel Cooksley) an inhuman being who presents the life that he did
not get to live because he was aborted and burnt to death in the nuclear global bombings. Killed within his mother’s womb, the play reveals the
world which would have awaited the unborn child: a post-apocalyptic
society of destruction and war.

The venue was a small circular area with cement benches. The cast uses the benches and the walkway leading to the site. The audience will be seated outside the circle. One cast member saw an animal move in the distance. She said it was the size of a raccoon but might be a possum. All the flashlights surveyed the edge of the woods. The wildlife watched the play unfold from a safe distance.

Daniel is the actor who played my part in O-Town: Voices from Orlando written and directed by David Lee. We hugged warmly as we waited for the rest of the cast to arrive. Jeremy Seghers is directing Red Black and Ignorant. He has a keen eye for staging plays in unexpected venues. He arrived carrying a pile of military clothing. He also had make up for Daniel. Daniel had to to wear colored contacts and black charred makeup. At the start of the play, the entire cast shined flashlights on Daniel while chanting an ominous hum. Daniel crawled up out of an imaginary pile or rubble. Jeremy explained that the set piece is almost done.

The mother of the monster (Blaise Terese Vance) delivered a moving monologue while her wispy frame was being lifted on the shoulders of the monster. She illuminated her own face from below with her flashlight. An imagined lover of the monster (Alyssa Zabel) spoke of what he might have become and seemed oblivious to his twisted self. The son of the Monster (Sean Kemp) found a woman (Anissa Hernandez) trapped under rubble. She screams for help but he realizes that her job would open up were she to perish. He feigns to help but leaves saying he would find help. His father comes across his son as he is debating the woman’s fate. The father takes control of the situation and saves her. While chastising his son. The best position the son manages to find is in the military. He embraces the role. His position gives him a place of power over the monster. This father son relationship was destined to be tragic.

This play explores issues of conformity, social morality, and ongoing
conflict between the individual and society, giving the story a terrifyingly
relevant and timeless tone.

Being an immersive, site-specific work, this is an outdoor show held in
a natural environment. I was advised to bring bug spray which was helpful.  The audience is advised to check in at the box office for a short,
escorted walk to the site. Walking shoes are advised.  Late seating cannot be accommodated.  It is advised to arrive 30 minutes prior to show time. This production will not have an intermission.

What:  Red Black and Ignorant.

Where:  Valencia East Campus
701 N Econlockhatchee Trail, Orlando, FL

 Show dates:

Thursday, November 9, 2017   7:30pm

to 8:45pm

Friday, November 10, 2017      7:30pm

to 8:45pm

Saturday, November 11, 2017  7:30pm

to 8:45pm

Sunday, November 12, 2017    7:30pm

to 8:45pm

Monday, November 13, 2017   7:30pm

to 8:45pm

Tickets: $12 General Ticketing; $10 Valencia students/staff/alumni and seniors.

Contact Name: Valencia College Box Office

Contact Email:  boxoffice@valenciacollege.edu/arts

Contact Phone: (407) 582-2900

Ada and the Engine at Playfest.

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Prior to the rehearsal for Ada and the Engine all the actors sat at a conference table in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater with director David Lee for a Skype video conference with the playwright Lauren Gunderson. Lauren, who lives in San Francisco has been writing plays for years and recently has been getting rave reviews. David pointed out that she has resisted the pull of both LA and NYC. There were technical glitches getting the Skype conference started, having to do with audio and it was finally resolved by ignoring the digital tech and using an analog phone.

Each actor in turn got to ask Lauren a question about the play that they had been rehearsing. Lauren reminded us that a story should involve not just the conflict of separation or failed relationships, but also the revelations and excitement that comes from true discovery. The play is about Ada, a young strong willed and very intelligent woman who had a mind for mathematics at a time when women were only known for their abilities to win a man and raise children. Her mother, Lady Byron, had every intention of seeing that she followed the norms of the day. However when Ada meets mathematician Charles Babbage, they discover a true affinity in the power of numbers and the possibility of an analytical computing machine that could solve extremely complicated mathematical problems. Their excited revelations are the basis of the first computers that used punch cards to store data. Ada’s vision of the future of this machine even went on to imagine a machine that could compose music. She envisions a whole new world where art and information converge. A
world she might not live to see.

Although it is clear that Ada and Charles are soul mates, they never become involved since she was so much younger than he was. She ends up marrying a Mr. Lovelace who is handsome and a good dancer, but his vision of her responsibilities certainly limited her future in math and science.

This was a story of love,
friendship, and dreams of the future. It is refreshing and exciting to see a play in which two geniuses inspire each other. In an age where pop culture only celebrates sports figures and celebrities, this play celebrates inspiration and ingenuity, which should always be at the heart of the American Dream.

Playfest offers seven new plays over two weekends.

Tickets for “Ada and the Engine”

By Lauren Gunderson are $10

John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center

812 E Rollins St, Orlando, Florida 32803

Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 8 p.m.

PLAYFEST SPECIAL EVENTS

PlayFest Party!

Saturday, October 28, 2017 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. – Buffet dinner provided by Bubbalou’s Bodacious BBQ.

Saturday, November 4, 2017 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. – Buffet dinner provided by Spoleto – My Italian Kitchen.

Join the featured PlayFest 2017 playwrights and actors for an
exclusive PlayFest Party inside the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare
Center. Tickets ($12) for the PlayFest Party can be added onto your
PlayFest 2017 tickets online at www.orlandoshakes.org,
by phone at (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, or in person at the John and Rita
Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street). Only 60 slots per
PlayFest Party available.

After Orlando at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center.

Posted on by Thor

I went to a rehearsal for After Orlando which is part of Play Fest at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center. The stage floor in the Margeson Theater had beautiful postcard painted images of fall foliage from New York and New England. After Orlando consists of a series of short one a c) plays that are about recovery and loss after the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. A table was set up with scripts and other materials. Each rehearsal had to be short and succinct. There was a small green
hat made out of paper that had green triangular leaves as a brim. The
theater tech explained the she was going to be a strawberry for
Halloween and the hat completed her costume.

The first play, O-Town written by David Lee is a simple narration that describes Orlando in such a way that any tourist could identify with. It was reminiscent of Our Town. Landmarks and people are identified as they are on a typical day, and then how they will be changed after the shooting. A homeless man takes is upon himself to relight all the candles at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts make shift memorial. A merchant creates thousands of rainbow ribbons that are distributed around the world. The Center is faced with an incredible challenge after the shooting and they rise like a phoenix to meet the needs. 

In another play two men chat playfully. One is a professional boxer and he doesn’t want to be seen being affectionate in public because it would make him seem weak. His partner, found on Tinder, is playful and flamboyant. He wants to go to the club, but the boxer is resolute and wants to stay in. They share a connection that goes beyond sexuality. Music fills the room and the playful partner danced with abandon trying to encourage his stoic partner to join in. When he leaves to go alone to the club, his partner begins to sway to the beat, alone. It becomes clear that one of them might not live to see the next day. 

In another play, three men interact inside the club. They are celebrating life and poking fun at American culture that ignores their Latina culture. the in playful banter is endearing. As they dance, one of them freezes looking out into the audience. Then the other two freeze to see what sees. Each in turn falls backwards, as if hit in the chest, while letting out a loud staccato beat box vocal. They turn away from the audience. After a long pause, they each say their name and age. It was a sobering moment.

There were more plays that needed to be rehearsed, but I slipped out and drove to a friends. On the drive, I saw children dressed as skeleton’s and zombies as they pillaged a neighborhood for candy.  Orlando has faced a very real horror. Seeing the children wandering in the dark was strangely reassuring.


PayFest, runs from November 3rd to the 6th.

PlayFest offers you the rare opportunity to participate in the
development of new plays. Converse with playwrights, directors, and
actors while absorbing groundbreaking new works. This four-day event
tears down the barrier between artist and audience, putting YOU at the
heart of the process.

Your input is vital to the extended life of new plays. Many audience favorites from PlayFest have been developed into full productions in Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s Signature Series!

This season we’re dedicating PlayFest to six new plays plus a special reading of The Laramie Project. All selected plays explore issues surrounding the Pulse tragedy that occurred in Orlando in the early morning of June 12, 2016.  In selecting plays for the weekend, we’re concentrating on plays that explore the following issues:

  • LGBTQ struggles and responses to violence and hate
  • Discrimination against Hispanics/Latinos and efforts for acceptance and inclusion
  • Terrorism acts
  • Mental health and gun violence
  • Individual and community responses to mass violence

  • Individual Reading Tickets: $10

  • Click here to book individual tickets for PlayFest Readings. General Admission Seating.

Save now with a PlayFest Package!

  • PlayFest Pass – $49 per person (Value: $70)

    See all 7 Readings and save with a PlayFest Pass! Click here to book a PlayFest Pass.

  • PlayFest VIP – $100 per person

    Want to make sure you get one of the best seats in the
    house?  We’re offering the opportunity to upgrade your PlayFest Pass to
    VIP status to ensure a reserved seat for all six new plays and The Laramie Project.  Become a PlayFest VIP to reserve your seat up front in one of the first four rows of the Margeson Theater. Click here to become a PlayFest VIP.

  • PlayFest Patron – $250 per individual

    Reserved seating in the front rows of the Margeson Theater,
    complimentary drink tickets, special recognition in the program, and a
    private event with the PlayFest playwrights. Make your experience a
    memorable one! Please email development@orlandoshakes.org for more information.

Make a commitment to new plays! Call the Box Office at 407-447-1700 ext. 1 for more information. All Passes Expire November 12, 2016.