Fisher Fiesta

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Fisher Miga was the little Pomeranian pup who brought joy to so many in his recurring role as the dog behind Dog Powered Robot. I was back stage for the very first performance of that epic show and still remember the wild and boisterous laughter from the crowd. Every artist was given the same 3 minute song to act as the inspiration for their performance and Dog Powered Robot blew the concept wide open. I peeked out from behind the back stage curtains to catch a glimpse of the wild reception.

The Fisher Fiesta was a low key party to celebrate the dog who made so many people smile.

Fisher was diagnosed with cancer, on top of the other health issues he was dealing with, and his humans, Evan and Christie Miga wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to pet his little head before his ailments got worse. He was doing great given his circumstances, Christie and Evan described the last months as bonus time. Every day that Fisher was happy and comfortable was a gift.

He definitely seemed on his game, begging for treats and greeting people as they arrived.  The whose who of the Orlando Theater Community showed up to pet the little guy. I of course struggled with one last sketch. By the end of the party, Fisher retired to Christie’s back room studio where he had a comfy spot under her art table. City Commissioner Patty Sheehan was there discussing big green eggs and smoking meat in the kitchen with Pam. Photo albums were out showing the vast collection of magazine articles and clippings about the famous Pomeranian and Dog Powered Robot. I was proud to see some of my framed prints among the archives.

When Pam and I finally left, people were still arriving. Opera director Eric Pinder was parking as we pulled away. That little puppy lived an operatic life. Evan announced on Facebook on March 31, 2019 that they had to let Fisher go on Saturday morning.
He passed peacefully in a small park in Christie’s arms, looking into Evan’s
eyes, and surrounded by love. The cancer got the best of him over that last week. Fisher was a world traveler, a performer, a therapy dog, and a friend to so many. He is, and forever will be, deeply missed. I am publishing a book about the past 10 years of Orlando Fringe and he appeared so many times in my sketches, being one of Fringe’s biggest stars.

Art Class

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Dog Powered Robot rehearsals were held in this art classroom. Christie Miga taught art classes here and I decided to stop by to see a class in action. This was before I started sketching at Elite Animation Academy and it was while sketching this class in actin that I decided it was inspiring to see kids creating using pencil and paper. One of the instructors actually posed for the students and it was great t see them step up to the challenge and sketch her as she sat in her chair. Kids don’t accept limitations. If you suggest they try creating something, they create something.

It is only when kids get older that they start to feel like they aren’t doing sketches accurately enough. I on the other hand keep striving to get back some of the childhood innocence and directness each time I do a sketch. Inspiring kids to catch the world around them by sketching is a challenge but sometimes it feels so good to see a kid embrace old technology as a way to slow down and truly experience the world.

Robots and Rainbows at BART.

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Wednesday November 18th was the opening for Robots and Rainbows at BART, (1205 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL).  This show is a joint effort of the husband and wife team of Evan an Christie Miga  These are the artists who brought the blockbuster Fringe show, Dog Powered Robotto life. When I arrived, Evan was closest to the front door. He explained that he created all the robots, and that Christie art directed his paintings of laughing sun and puckering moon. He also made rocket ships out of simple plastic cups and slinkies. When the slinkies were jostled, they made a sound much like Star Wars sound effects. Later, Christie informed me that this was actually the first time Even had shown his work other than on the stage.

I figured it made sense to sketch robots digitally. Working on a tablet kind of blows my cover. People looked over my shoulder more than usual and I kept having to explain what kind of tablet I was working on. People must be attracted to the glowing screen, or perhaps the ghost in the machine lures them in. I had several pleasant conversations that put the sketch on hold, but in the back of my mind, I was concerned that the tablet battery would die before the sketch was complete. I also experienced several technical issues That I will not go into. But I resolved the problem by saving the sketch and working on it in another program. Pencil and paper never has these types of technical glitches.

Terry arrived and sighed in disgust when s saw the tablet in my lap. She prefers my watercolor sketches and feels I’m going to the dark side ever time I do a digital sketch. She took a look a the show and the shouted to me, “Should I get one!” “Sure Dear.” I yelled back. Christie shouted to me, “Tell her to get a big one!” “Get a big one!’ I shouted to Terry. Terry picked the big pink robot that looks a bit like Lollybot. Its head is a cylinder shaped hat box and its body a simple box. Its eyes have cute round lenses and there are three yellow buttons on her chest. I should really stop calling her “it”, she deserves a name. I’ll name her when she gets home.

The show is up for one month, right up until the week before Christmas. If you want to buy something truly unique for Christmas how about getting your loved one a robot or perhaps a genuine unicorn shoe. You will find one of a kind gifts, perfect for the holidays or just to keep for yourself. Both of the soft donut pillows sold immediately, but Christie says she will consider taking orders. She also has a line of hand made ornaments that will add sparkle to any tree.  Make this a Robots and Rainbows Christmas.

The Maker Faire at the Orlando Science Center showcased innovations and inventions.

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The Orlando Maker Faire was held on September 13th and 14th at the Orlando Science Center (777 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL). I went both days to see and sketch some of the cool stuff being made and showcased. I immediately went to an upper balcony overlooking the show room floor. The first thing to catch my eye was this huge roller coaster. The coaster would slowly rise up the ramp and then scream downward at top speed. It went through two loop-de-loops before returning back to the station. There was always a crowd surrounding the coaster and kids would sit on the floor to watch with rapt attention.

On the upper right of the sketch I caught a few people who were spectators of the Nerdy Derby. A large table was set up so kids and children at heart could build their own derby car. A long ramp was set up so contestants could face off to see who had the fastest car. There were bleachers set up for the screaming fans.

As I sketched, I heard R2D2 clicking and beeping at guests. He was very popular and everyone had to have their picture taken with him. It turned out that there were close to a dozen R2D2’s at the Maker Faire. Some were only partly assembled, so it was possible to see the servos and circuitry that made him run.  Dog Powered Robot and Lollybot were on the show room floor and they were so mobbed with photo requests that I felt it was to crowded and hazardous to sketch. Fisher, the dog who powers the Dog Powered Robot was complacently panting and enjoying the attention. Evan and Christie Miga who created the Dog Powered Robot franchise were a bit overwhelmed but happy about all the attention their blue boxed robot generated.

The Creative Mind Project was the Birthplace of Dog Powered Robot

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At Fringe two years ago, I was invited by Jessica Mariko to be part of the Creative Mind Project. A select group of artists were given the same music and told to create a theatrical presentation based on what they heard. I decided to edit together a series of sketches to create a video montage paced to the music.

On the opening night, I had to be backstage as the Creative Mind project was presented. My only responsibility was to walk out a projector when my piece was to be presented. I also had borrowed a film screen that I had help setting up. From backstage I peeked out from behind the curtains to see the other presentations.

This sketch is of Tisse Mallon and a cross dressing male performer right before they went on stage. I never actually saw their performance. The cardboard buildings they are standing in front of are set pieces for Dog Powered Robot. When it was Dog Powered Robot’s turn, the audience went wild with laughter.

 Evan and Christie Miga had build a simple blue cardboard robot with a square head that rotated with wild abandon. A center chest compartment opened to showcase their adorable Pomeranian dog named Fisher. As the music played, Evan as the narrator waxed poetic about his childhood dreams of living in the city. Then a loud nuclear warning clamored, and Dog Powered Robot walked out into the cardboard cityscape. Like Godzilla in a cheap B grade sci-fi movie he began to destroy the city. The odd sight of this cute dog powering the robot’s rampage was hilarious and people in the audience shouted “Dog Powered Robot!” with delight as they laughed. I only saw glimpses of that first performance from backstage, but the riotous audience was easy to hear.

Dog Powered Robot is still going strong today. They staged their own Fringe show twice and just this week, they made an appearance at the Maker Fair in the Orlando Science Center. I’m convinced that someday the stars will align and Dog Powered Robot will become an international cult sensation. Kids love these cardboard robots but adults can’t get enough. Jessica Mariko is still bringing together creative minds by hosting Local Arts Nights at Drip (8747 International Dr #102, Orlando, FL) every 4th Thursday of the month.

La Femme Fondue

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Christie and Evan Miga needed time off after the mad rush to bring Dog Powered Robot to Fringe last year. They had four months of extensive rehearsals and a whole cast of cardboard robots that were built. They were constantly managing people. After the show they decided to live in Paris for two months. Fisher Miga, the dog behind Dog Powered Robot went with them. Christie said that within four days they had settled into the Parisian lifestyle. Three days a week Evan freelanced for the design firm he was working for in Orlando. Though he was living in Paris, he worked Orlando hours, sharing his work via the Internet. That left the rest of the week open for the couple to explore Paris. They discovered quirky arts outlets that few tourists visit. Christie loved a tiny Museum of Magic that had rooms filled with mechanized tin toys. Right next to the Eiffel tower was a sumptuous garden that only Parisians frequent.

 When Christie Miga returned to Orlando she started a series of paintings inspired by the trip to Paris. Though abstract, the work is autobiographical as she explains with pure color how Paris inspired her. This series explodes with rich vibrant color. The blue is the exact color of the Mediterranean and the bright magenta reminds her of tight bright magenta pants that many women were wearing in Paris. Provence inspired her use of bright yellow and orange. She mixes her own water based paints and she has some idea how the paints will interact when they are poured on the canvas side by side. The word fondue is the feminine of the French verb fondre (‘to melt’). The colors seem to melt an flow together on the canvas. The paintings are abstract yet they feel like violent storm clouds on a distant planet or the delicate vibrant colors of a butterfly wing. The black dripping motif is used often and it reminded me of a piano keyboard as I tried to sketch it. Ironically, earlier that day, I had been writing about color for a Book on Urban Sketching. Christie’s bold use of fluid primary colors offered amazing insights about how colors interact. She worked to modern pop French music.

Many of the pieces have bold urban graphic elements that look like graffiti stencils. For instance one canvas has a bold image of the Eiffel Tower that then melts into vibrant dripping colors. Subtle blue lettering in French says, “This is not the Eiffel tower.” A bright splotch of moon then drips as well. Once Christie starts one of these liquid abstracts, she has to finish it while the paint remains wet. Amazingly she finished her canvas in the same amount of time it took me to do the sketch.

La Femme Fondue is being shown at the Timucua White House, (2000 South Summerlin Avenue, Orlando FL), on March 22nd starting at 7:30PM. This reception is one night only. The artwork and prints will be for sale.The White House is a fantastic venue to see Christie’s work since the spotlight literally make her canvases glow.

Cardboard Art Festival

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Saturday January 26th was the second day of the Cardboard Art Festival at the Orange Studio (1121 N Mills Ave, Orlando). This was a day for the kids to experience the exhibit and make their own cardboard creations. The carpeted area that had been the dance floor the night before  now had folding tables cluttered with the detritus of creativity. Parents were helping their kids cut the cardboard and robots began to take form.

I decided to sit back under some cardboard carnivores and sketch  Nathan Selikoff‘s tall cardboard man marionette. Kids, young and old alike, couldn’t resist pulling the strings. Having control of a giant’s movements can be addictive. Event sponsor, Mark Baratelli walked up to me and announced,  with a Marlene Dietrich flourish, “I do it all for the kids.” He then leaned against the wall and checked his cell phone for messages about the next Food Truck Bazaar happening that night. Later, he was ready to leave holding a thick stack of Food Truck Bazaar signs. He was off to his next event.

Evan and Chritie Miga helps kids into the new Dog Powered Robot dune buggy for photo ops. An old record player nestled inside a cardboard TV was playing Polkas and The Tiki Room music. The music added a surreal, playful atmosphere to the proceedings. Like in a Disney theme park, individual robots from Dog Powered Robot came out from back stage to pose for photos with the kids. Someone shouted out for a group photo and all the kids stood in front of me with their creations.

As Terry and I left, I saw Mark get back out of his car. I thought he had left some time ago. I shouted out, “You didn’t get very far!” He shouted back, “That’s the story of my life! You didn’t need to point it out.”

House of Blues

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I heard that Andy Matchett & the Minx were performing at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. Traffic on the Disney roads was really backed up. I’ve never seen so many cars on the road, and I worked down there for ten years.

I also heard there would be plenty of robots from Dog Powered Robot. Last year, Dog Powered Robot made a surprise visit with the band at House of Blues. Fisher, the Pomeranian who powers the robot, was unfazed by all the commotion. The stage manager at House of Blues had a fit. There is a “no pet” policy at House of Blues. There wasn’t much she could do since the crowd loved them. You couldn’t exactly have a Dog Powered Robot without the dog.

Even after breaking all the rules, the robots were back, but this time the friendly Blue Pomeranian powered robot wasn’t in the mix. The curtain opened and Andy was bound center stage, being held captive apparently by a robot with a grudge. I didn’t follow events closely, but I believe Lollybot must have saved him. I’m sure her robotic claw could have cut through the ropes. Terry was on her feet shouting, “I love you Lollybot!” She had on her Lollybot t-shirt and was as rabid as any Beatles fan. Andy Matchett & the Minx began playing and confetti canons blasted it’s colors over the crowd. Balloons and beach balls were then surfed over the crowd. People went wild. Balloons were popping everywhere and strobe lights made me dizzy as I worked on the sketch. Then, just about every robot at some point danced on stage. Ninja Noids were up on the balcony level and they wafted large hot dog shaped balloons over the crowd. A large parachute was unrolled over the crowd and Andy jumped down off the stage to join the audience as the dance under the undulating canopy. Oh yea, there was also plenty of hard driving fun rock & roll! An Andy Matchett & the Minx concert is a guaranteed good time.

Dog Powered Robot and the Subsequent Adventure.

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I arranged to meet the cast of Dog Powered Robot at the loading door of the Orange Venue at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. As I approached the green lawn of fabulousness, I realized I didn’t know where the Orange venue was. I decided to go inside the Shakes and that was a correct guess. Brittany Wine, the DPR stage manager was at the stage door in a stunning red dress. I asked about the loading door and she lead Gina Makarova and myself through a maze of hallways and back doors. Gina was using crutches and had on a temporary cast. It seems her cello had decided to wrestle her to the ground.

The DPR army gathered behind the theater along with a small mountain of cardboard robot parts and set pieces. Grace “Scully” Nolan had seen the DPR billboard on the drive over and the server saw her Blue DPR shirt and commented on how she loved Dog Powered Robot.  The servers name was Destiny which forebode a super awesome performance. Fisher was a furry bundle of energy and he barked his welcome an more people arrived. Evan Miga explained that a life sized VW van would drive across the stage Flintstones style, giving this Fringe show effects bigger than the helicopter in Miss Saigon or the Phantom’s chandelier. . The metallic garage door opened, Christie Miga picked up Fisher and the DPR Army started moving the corrugated cardboard city inside.

I thought I wanted to sketch backstage, but most of the robot parts were out on the floor of the theater. I sat in a front row theater seat, but the arms were too restrictive so I ended up sitting on my artist seat partly on stage. Brittany announced, “5 minutes to house open!” and someone shouted back “Thank you 5!” I couldn’t believe it, my sketch was barely blocked in. I would have to finish as the show progressed. Cast members in black outfits with black helmets with red miner’s lights roamed the room scanning with a long pole with a spinning light rainbow device. They muttered to each other in an alien dialect reminiscent of a Muppet’s song. The rear projection screen announced that they were Ninja Noids and were invisible. That didn’t stop the Ninja Noids from interacting with the audience as they arrived. There was playful theater magic from the start. I sketched Vic-16, (Corey Violence) and Commodore, (Zach Scot) but they only had bit parts to introduce the play.

Lolly Bot (Serafina Schiano) was delightful and she was given time to shine. Audience members were offered a $1 discount if they showed up as a robot. Her counter part, a punk purple bot, Scraperella Overdrive, played by Jennifer Guhl, added sass and attitude to the show. The villain was a grumpy old neighbor who had robotic arms played by John Moughan, and by the end of the show he had used the embigi-fication matrix to extend his reach with many giant arms. I will not give away any of the plot points other than to say that the friendly blue Dog Powered Robot saved the day. The show had the audience laughing out loud and they cheered for Fisher, the little Pomeranian at the heart of the bright blue bot. The show returned to the dreams of the big city ideals that were
endearing in the short production two years ago. It is hard to recreate the energy and surprise of that initial production. Call it destiny or call it fate, the show was a super
awesome mega win!

Show times are:

Wednesday 5/23 at 5:15PM

Thursday 5/24 at 7:45PM

Saturday 5/26 at 1:15PM

Sunday 5/27 at 3:15PM

Tickets are $11.

Dog Powered Robot Rehearsal

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Dog Powered Robot is gearing up for action at the Orlando Fringe Festival in May. Rehearsals are happening twice a week at the Jewish Community Center. When I arrived, the cast was standing in the center of the room in a circle. There were lots of new faces indicating that the show would be bigger than ever. An actor got in the center of the circle and started acting like an orangutang. Once people started to laugh, he walked back out and stood in the circle. The person who laughed first had to stand in the middle. He acted like a giraffe, regal and slow. He looked over at an actress and started to curl his long tongue the way giraffes do. She couldn’t help but laugh. So she was next. I laughed non-stop since I was safely outside the circle.

 This evening was to be devoted to choreographing several dance and fight scenes. Darci Ricciardi was in charge of the choreography. Katie Green, the DPR director asked all the froggers to rehearse their part right after the dance scene. The scene was run multiple times without the costumes. I drew all the actors in pencil and was about to ink them in, when everyone was told to “suit up”.  Lollibot, played by Serafina, wandered bewildered. She came upon this gang of deviant froggers lead by a  frog with a large fedora and a cigar. Grace “Scully” Nolan was high above everyone else on her stilts. The head frogger entered the scene between her stilts. Part of his his costume got caught on her stilt. They had to stop the scene and untangle him. “Good to know!” Katie shouted, “That’s why we rehearse.” “I was so excited when I saw his head made it between my legs!” Scully shouted back. Everyone started laughing till they were red faced.

Christie Miga sat beside the director working non stop on a moving set piece. Evan Miga entered the scene as Dog Powered Robot when needed but he didn’t suit up. New ideas playfully sparked up throughout the rehearsal. Fisher, the dog behind Dog Powered Robot, kept track of everyone. Some robots are still being constructed and refined at the Dog Powered Robot Labs.