Man’s Dominion a true story about the nature of man.

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There are some stories in American history that need to be told because they resonate through the ages. In September of 1916 the god fearing people of Erwin, Tennessee lynched an elephant named Mary. She was a star in Spark’s World Famous Circus. The 18 year old elephant had grown up in captivity.  Red Elkridge, on his second day on the job got thrown and then had his  head crushed when  Mary stomped on his skull. For this, Mary was sent and to death, and the giant railroad cranes of  the Blue Ridge Railroad were to be the engines of her demise. She was chained by the neck and hung. Man’s Dominion provided  a voice for ten witnesses and participants in this  horrific event.

Presented by Pachyderm Productions, Tim Powell performed  in this tour De-force one man show this one man show That brought ten characters to life. The play written by David Castro and directed by, Dennis Neal peals away the  layers to show man’s basest nature. I’ve seen many one man shows at  Fringe but none of them compared  to the emotional punch of this  show. A circus ringmaster opened the show, setting the scene. The show became particularly powerful when Fish, an Irish Roustabout, spoke about the lynching feeling that Red, an outsider, deserved what he got. Captain Prescott who had seen slavery and lynching gave his insights into the white man’s blood lust.  Reverend George McKee became more and more demonic as he spoke a boot man’s dominion over the animals and the need for vengeance. Hobo Joe, a clown, had spent years working beside Mary and he blamed Red for his mishandling of the billhook. A bullhook is a sharp steel hook that is used to this day to inflict  pain when used to poke elephants where there skin is the most tender and sensitive. It is a tool of torture.

There was a talk back after the show. Tim who resides in Los Angeles confided that he had reached a low point in his career. He didn’t even want to get up in the morning. He was introduced to David’s play and his southern up bringing made him the perfect actor for the part. He asked Dennis Neal to direct. This was Tim’s first one man show, and it was Dennis’s directing debut.

There were just five shows of Man’s Dominion at the Mad Cow Theater (54 West Church Street Orlando FL). The show is heading to the New York City next at the United Solo Festival on October 9th, 2015 in Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, New York City). There is only one show at 7:30pm.

for tickets visit Man’s Dominion Ticket sales and specify the 7:30pm showing on Friday, Oct 9th.

GOAT Actors Studio Annex

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Dennis Neal was conducting his second three week intensive actors workshop at the GOAT Actors Studio Annex, (650 S. Northlake Blvd., Suite 430, Altmonte Springs). The Greater Orlando Actors Theatre class was offered two nights a week with four hour sessions. The invitation stressed that each person would be working on a play of their choosing, as well as
other work. This class was for those WILLING TO WORK and SERIOUS ABOUT
THEIR CRAFT!

About a dozen actors sat at tables edging the corporate training room. The first question Dennis would ask each student was, “Why are you taking this course.” The answers helped define where each artist was on their personal journey. There were far more women than men who wanted to learn. Each actor was asked to bring a monologue they could read. A young woman named Denise was the first at bat. Her mom sat beside her. Denise got up and sat in a lone chair in the center of the room facing Dennis. He stressed that the class wasn’t about judgement or winning his acceptance. Jokingly he warned Denise, “I will  break you down.”  The room grew quiet. There was tension in the air.

Denise confided that she was nervous. She had written her own monologue in which she confronted a boy making  unwanted advances. “You think I’m that kind of girl?” she said. Dennis interrupted her and asked her to delete all the inflections and flourishes. He wanted her to just say the lines like she was speaking. He would then use hand signals to indicate when he wanted her to slow down or speed up a line. She was flustered, thrown off balance. Her eyes welled up. She asked to be excused and ran to the bathroom. Dennis asked another actress to go in and see how she was doing.

Each actor got up in turn to work on their monologue. Alecia traveled two hours to get to the class. Dennis shouted out, “Lets take it to the wall!” He said, “Every scene goes back to love and fear.” The most important thing an actor must keep in mind is, “What do I want.” Even more important, “Nobody is perfect.” Sarah Lockhard had already memorized her monologue. She played the part of a manic receptionist talking at a break neck pace. She was quirky, quick witted and hilarious. When she was done, Dennis asked, “Do you drink coffee?” “Heck YEAH!” she shot back. Everyone laughed.

Dennis asked one actress to just speak to another actress about maturity. Everything she said came from the heart. There was no script. Authenticity flowed. Dennis used the exchange to point out that honesty is the best tool in any actor’s tool box. The young actress, Denise, had returned and she was the last to again take the center stage chair. Dennis said, “I may bark, but I don’t bite.” This time she performed admirably, working hard to accept advice and dig deep inside to express herself with absolute honesty. By the next class, each actor was expected to be “off book.” Then, the real work would begin.

Satchmo at the Waldorf

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I went to an open rehearsal for Satchmo at the Waldorf on the evening before its world premiere. The play was written by Terry Teachout perhaps best known as the Wall Street Journal theater critic. The play, directed by Rus Blackwell stars Dennis Neal. The play was based on 650 reel to reel tapes that Satchmo, Louis Armstrong, made over the course of his career. A tape to tape recorder was on set and a few times Dennis spoke directly to it. Circular tables were arranged cabaret style around the stage.

During the course of the play Dennis plays both Satchmo and his lifelong manager Joe Glaser. He transformed instantly and believably on a dime. It is through this relationship that the hidden details of Armstrong’s life were revealed. Although fellow performers referenced him as an “Uncle Tom”, singing and waving a handkerchief mistral style for the white folks, he was actually quite a bad ass with a sharp tongue. Talking to a reporter about whites spitting at young black children going to desegregated schools, he called them out for what they were, “Mother f*ckers!”

Looking down at his trumpet, he remarked about how lucky he was to find Lucille, the love of his life. “She know this trumpet come first, even before her. That’s my livin’ and my life.” He had never had a Christmas tree growing up and she set one up for him as a surprise. He looked at the lights all night. He wouldn’t let her shut it off.

Dennis Neal gave an inspiring performance. He never played the trumpet but his monologue slowly unraveled the inner spirit of a great performer. Tech for the show broke down at one point when a sound effect was lost and had to be tracked down. Dennis sat quietly on the stage, waiting. He said, “Bad scrimmage, great game.” It was like Satchmo himself waiting for the world to catch up to his inner driving force. Terry sat on stage with him. Photographer Kristin Wheeler took the opportunity to photograph the actor and playwright together. This was a historic moment. A great show was about to be born.

Performances are at 7:30pm Thursday through Saturday and at 2:30pm Sundays through October 2nd at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Tickets are $20general and $16 for seniors and students. Call 407 405-8091 or e-mail SatchmoWaldorfAstoria@gmail.com for more information.

Project F – Vocals

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This was the second Project F rehearsal I was able to attend and sketch. When I arrived at the Shakespeare Theater there were only a few actors gathered in the space. Aradhana Tiwari, the director, explained to the actors gathered that this night they would begin with a viewpoints session and then move on to vocalizations for the first time. After more actors trickled in, Aradhana turned off the house lights leaving only the Ghost lamp to illuminate the stage. The actors began to walk the grid. Viewpoints is an acting regiment in which actors explore tempo, shape, duration, line, and form. When Aradhana described the process it was as if she was describing the creation of a beautiful canvas using actors and their creative spirits as the medium. She just returned from a month long viewpoints training session in NYC and her intentions and purpose were strong and clear. She often jumped up on the stage to join the actors and affect the session. My favorite quote which came up in the evenings review was, “Art is intention.” The actors were asked to do everything on the stage with a strong clear intention.

After a break. The actors were asked to sit on the stage and review some status updates that had been typed out by the director. All of the updates began with the ubiquitous Facebook “is”.

_____ is wishing and hoping.

_____ is work…again!

_____ is popping Advil like their Tic Tacs.

_____ is sending out healing energy, joy & swirling peas. Namaste ya’ll.

In the next view-pointing exercise, Aradhana divided the actors into 2 groups. When one group moved, the other group would remain still. Actors were asked to only move when they had a status to vocalize. Some fascinating things happened as one group would move in and around the other groups architecture. Sarah Lockhard lead one group and she moved frantically around the stage crouched and peering about as if she was being followed. She said, “Sarah has 534 friends.” The other actors echoed “534 friends” while mimicking her movements. At one point Dennis Neal stood still on one corner of the stage and all the other actors gathered around him. The moment became all about him.

Aradhana said she wants to explore archetypes. She asked the actors to consider what archetypes need to be in the show and how they can be represented through rhythm, melody and movement. She wants the actors to capture a persons signature through movement.

Natalie Peterson expressed the concern that she actually felt scared at one point in the session. Themes of voyeurism and exhibitionism were surfacing and they want to explore the extremes of those ideas. Dennis pointed out that everyone in the room is an exhibitionist, on some level. Aradhana pointed out that shy people can become exhibitionists on Facebook. Mary Hill pointed out that at times she could tell when an actor was reciting a line and when they were speaking from the heart from a personal space. Mary was bought into the cast because she has never been on Facebook. She honestly has no idea what most of the cast was talking about as they spoke of “pokes”, “likes” and “followers.”. She wandered the grid as an outsider.

There was some discussion on how Facebook promotes “revolving door relationships.” Just as in NYC where so many people are in constant close proximity, friendships and relationships can often be short and intense, then people move on. Facebook has the effect of throwing everyone into close proximity, knowing intimate details of people who barely know each other and perhaps have never met in person. This play has limitless potential and I’m excited by the possibilities.