Phantasmagoria XIII: Poe Through the Tales Darkly

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Tonight is the final performance of Phantasmagoria XIII: Poe Through the Tales Darkly at the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater in the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts. Tickets are about $35. The cast performs the haunted stirrings of The Raven to the sheer terror of The Tell Tale Heart. . . and from the grim tolling of The Bells to the bittersweet grieving of Anabelle Lee along with a selection of other whimsical, macabre, and terrifying stories and poems, you are invited to celebrate an evening of Poe’s works. The perfect way to usher in the Halloween season!

I knew going into this sketch that I would not have time to finish, so the paint was added back at the studio. This is a rather panicked, making of sketch that was done in a carriage house as the cast of Phantasmagoria posed for a photo for the promotional materials for Phantasmagoria XIII: Poe Through the Tales Darkly. It was a hot day and the carriage house was set up to look like a long abandoned attic. Items in the set are often reminders of past performances. Everything on hand had a taste of the macabre.  Thin fabric veils and spider webs dangled from hard mannequins and the rafters. Two dolls occupied an ancient wheel chair. Madness permeated the very wall boards and electrical conduits that ran along the rafters.

You could cower in the darkness or delight in it’s pure dark insanity.

7PM June 12, 2021 at Pulse

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June 12, 2016 is he day 49 people died while dancing at a Pulse Latin Night celebration. At 7PM on June 1, 2021 a Remembrance Ceremony was held at the club which is still standing and surrounded by a temporary memorial wall covered in photos.

The event was to be telecast on the jumbo trons at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts front lawn as well. Concerned about crowds I considered sketching from the front lawn but decided to sketch at the club instead. est Esther Street was shut down being blocked by a pink Lynx bus. Suburban side street were shut down for blocks, and police cars blocked traffic driving north on Orange Avenue as well, effectively securing the site from any fringe lunatics.

Folding chairs were set up in the street intersection and the stage was on the North West corner of Esther and Orange. All the seats were occupied when I got there so I walked around looking for a safe spot to sketch from somewhat removed from the crowd. I settled on sketching from behind the media cameras which were set up in a line in the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot across the street from the club.

I couldn’t hear much from my vantage point but I did hear the names of the 49 victims being read. It was brutally hot and the remembrance was over just before the sun set.

Reverend Kathy Schmitz: After Pulse

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Advisory: Please note that this post is about the Pulse Nightclub Massacre on June 12, 2016. It may contain sensitive and difficult to read content. Post written with narrator’s consent.  

Reverend Kathy Schmitz is from the First Unitarian Church. The church provided grief counseling for many first responders after the Pulse Nightclub Massacre.

On June 11, 2016 an intern at the church as doing the last service. When Kathy got out of bed she felt relaxed and she checked the headlines. She saw that there had been a shooting on Orange Avenue. She did not know Pulse at the time. She thought, maybe this was a drug deal gone wrong. She didn’t know the scale of what had happened.

At 7:45, the intern called and mentioned the headlines. They decided that the intern would start the service and then have the children’s story early which wold open up the service to just the adults. Details were still scarce. The first details about the scale of the event didn’t come out until 10AM and the service was at 11AM. People stated showing up for service early. She monitored things from the back row while the intern gave her sermon.

Logan Donahue is a member of the church and he arranged to connect Kathy with the Center’s director Terry DeCarlo. The blood mobile just happened to be at the church that morning. She called the hospital to see if they needed chaplains but they were covered. Just after 11AM Dr. David Hargove asked if the church could provide space for counseling for a couple of days. The church has six classrooms which could be used. Counseling began at 1PM that day. Dr. Hargrove had 600 licensed therapist volunteers on his list. The rooms were constantly staffed. In some ways it was just as important for the counselors to be there. They helped each other in coming to terms with what they would have to deal with inn the coming weeks.

Donations began to pile up at the church. Food was donated to the coalition of the homeless. The Tom Brady campaign was looking for space, Equality Florida ended up using the library as a community organizing space. The church staff stepped up to the plate to make it all work. On the first night they were warned against having vigils because there were safety issue. In the library people were gathered trying to arrange a vigil for Monday June 13, 2016. The city was saying, ‘Don’t do it.’ Someone dialed the Mayor Buddy Dyer at 11PM. They left a message saying ‘There is going to be a vigil, we need to find a way to make it work.’ The next morning the mayors office called with multiple people on the line and they said, ‘OK we here that there has to be a vigil but give us an hour to find a location.’ The location was changed from the Lake Eola Bandshell to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Then the media began it’s barrage of interview requests. About 20 church staff and volunteers went to the Dr. Phillips Center to help set up  for the vigil. She was involved with the vigil. She spoke prior to the tolling of the bells. The bells were on a timer. The program was running behind. There was a rush to get her on stage but then they found out the bells had been reprogrammed. It was hot. She wasn’t certain exactly when the bells would ring so she had to time what she said. Improv classes she had takes at SAK helped keep her on track. She asked all gathered to take a moment to reflect prior to the ringing. She felt responsible for holding the space for 7000 people. The ringing of those bells for about 8 minutes was the most intense moment of her life.

UCF Woodwind Ensembles

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UCF Celebrates the Arts presented UCF Woodwind Ensembles in the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater inside the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801). The stage is referred to as the Pegasus Stage. The evening began with an Oboe Trio. As they performed I was busy sketching the audience around me.

The UCF Flute Knights performed Pegasus Gallop and March of the Trolls which I rather enjoyed. The UCF Clarinet Choir performed The Tournament which had four movements, The Entry of the Knights, The joust, Lament for the Wounded and Triumph of the Victors. I always like compositions that follow linear story lines.

The Centaurus Woodwind Quintet was followed by UCF Saxophone Ensemble. 17 saxophone players crowded the stage with every shape and size of saxophone. They performed Colonial Song and Molly on the Shore both composed by Percy Granger.The final performance was excerpts from Carmen by Georges Bizet. The stage was filled with every form of woodwind. One instrument I had never seen before it looked like a six foot tall paperclip. It was a contra bass flute and gave off a deep resonant sound.

UCF Brass Ensembles Concert

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The UCF Brass Ensembles Concert as held in the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801) as part of UCF Celebrates the Arts. Getting through security with art supplies was it’s usual adventure. I also brought along opera glasses but since we were seated so close I really didn’t use them.

The evening consisted of 6 different Ensembles which meant I  had to work  fast since all the music stands and any chairs would move for each ensemble. The first ensemble was for the UCF Trombone Choir directed by Dr. Luis Fred. I managed to sketch two trombone players before they were done playing.

The UCF Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble was next and I dashed off one tuba player before they left the stage. There was a world premier of a composition called Avalanche by Thomas Harrison.  I tried to envision how the music evoked an avalanche but the music left me cold. Another horn ensemble was then followed by the Colbourn Brass Quintet. Their performance was the highlight of the evening for me. They performed Wachet auf, Ruft uns die Stimme by Johann Sebastian Bach. Translated the title is Awake the Voice is Calling Us. The performance was dedicated to a present day performer of Bach’s works who had recently died.

A final fanfare was followed by the stage filling with all the performers from that evening as they performed a combined ensemble. Though i didn’t count the stage was filled with horn players shoulder to shoulder. The strength in numbers filled the hall. I grew up playing coronet which is like a small  trumpet. It was my earliest passion in the arts, so I love the sound of horns.

Fusion Fest Open House

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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.

Elixir of Love at The Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts.

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Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love) was a light hearted operatic comedy that was staged for free at the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave

Orlando,
FL
32801.) This truly classic opera endures the ages and speaks to the hearts of all who come in contact with it. 

Elixir tells the story of a young, poor man, Nemorino (David Soto Zambrana)
who tries to win the heart of a beautiful wealthy woman, Adina (Romana Saintil). Add to
the mix a blustering self-absorbed officer, Belcore (Justin Morrison) and a traveling
quack doctor, Dr. Dulcamara (Juan Tomas Martinez) who claims to sell potions that cure
everything from psoriasis and old age to diabetes and – well, you name
it! – and you have the principal cast of one of the most beloved and
melodic operas ever written.

This modernized adaptation featured a cast member on a Segway which clearly set the scene in the modern day. The painted backdrop set the scene in a modern day park. Nemorino yearns for Adina from a distance. Sergeant Belcore his passion for Adina. Dulcamara sells a bottle of a love elixir to Nemorino who drinks it. He approaches Adina with a confident swagger and she is turned off and decides to flirt with Belcore. It was basically a story of how drinking lots of wine builds your romantic confidence and love wins in the end. It was a fun operatic romp.

The production was staged as part of the week long UCF Celebrates the Arts.

Dance 10 at the Dr.Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

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Dance 10 featured 80 dancers who performed at the Disney Theater in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (455 S. Magnolia Avenue Orlando FL.) The performance was one of many during the week long UCF Celebrates the Arts. In the spring of 2015, the university launched this

festival to celebrate UCF’s visual and performing arts through plays, exhibitions, and musical performances.

For its second year, the School of Performing Arts and the School of Visual Arts and Design, in

collaboration with community and university partners, has prepared a showcase of UCF’s

vibrant disciplines to delight and educate audiences. The festival included over 30 performances by Theatre students and Music students, as well as gallery and interactive exhibitions by student visual artists. The showcase brought to Central Florida a celebration of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the school’s student artists. 

The Disney Theater was packed for Dance 10. I had to find a spot in the nose bleed seats. Many of the people  in the audience around me seemed like they might be dancers themselves. With the low light, I  painted the scene with just the three primary colors, red yellow and blue. It was a good lesson in leaving out local colors like the colors of a dress or the tint of a blouse, and instead just focusing on large washes to cover the page quickly. Photography and video wasn’t allowed but no one mentioned that art could not be created at a festival of the arts.

Would you have been selected for the Noor Salman Jury?

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Any media inquiries to purchase courtroom sketches should call or
text (407) four five zero-0807. I am out of touch while in the
courthouse. I will get back in touch ASAP.

Today a jury will hear opening arguments in the Noor Salman trial in Orlando, Florida. Noor Salman is accused of aiding and abetting her husband Omar Mateen as he planned the horrific attack on the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando that left 49 people dead. Each prospective juror filed out a questionnaire which narrowed down the pool to start. I heard there were 600 questionnaires sent out. Each prospective juror was assigned a number and asked to come in individually for follow-up questions. Judge Paul G. Byron‘s first question was whether the person had served on a jury before, and more importantly had they been the foreman on that jury. The biggest concern is that someone might want to get on the jury and their mind is already made up prior to hearing any evidence of testimony. The roll of a juror is to keep an open mind and listen to both sides of every argument in court.

Next, Judge Byron wanted to get a feeling as to what media coverage each juror had been exposed to. Everyone in Orlando experienced the initial coverage just following the Pulse Nightclub massacre on June 12, 2016, but some people immediately return to life as usual. He specifically searched for what news coverage prospective jurors heard about Noor Salman herself. his primary concern is that each prospective juror be able to set aside the media coverage they had seen and only consider the evidence and testimony given in court.

The next line of questions had to do with religion. Do you have friends who are Muslim? What do you know about Islam? Would you assume Noor Salman is guilty just because she is Muslim? She was born in the United States and is a citizen. Do you feel the prosecution might have the same bias as the president? Everyone was effected by the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers on 9-11 in some way. Would you be able to set your feelings aside about that attack and judge the case based solely on facts presented in court? Have you been a victim of terrorism here or overseas? Do you know anyone who is directly effected by the 17 student and teacher murders at Parkland High School in south Florida?

Noor Salman is charged with an indictment. An indictment is not evidence, it is just a document that states what she is accused of. The indictment cannot be considered as proof of what Noor did, it is not evidence. Would you as a juror feel pressure from the community to find her guilty even if the evidence did not prove her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt? We are all presumed innocent in a court of law. We each walk in with a clean slate and it is the job of the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We all have the right to remain silent. Mrs. Salman does not have to testify in this case. If she elects not to testify can you not hold that against her?

He asked about each prospective juror’s deliberation process. Are you quick to form an opinion or do you need to weigh all the evidence before forming an opinion. Are you reluctant to change your mind once it is made up? Do you have negative feelings about people who use gun ranges for recreation? I most certainly wouldn’t make it on the jury partly because of my intense involvement in trying to understand how Orlando had tried to heal since the horrific shooting, and because I can’t stop myself from sketching. I am literally not allowed to enter courtroom 4B with a sketchbook. I would have my press privileges revoked and would be escorted form the building. A pencil is a dangerous weapon.

The case begins today at 9 AM at the Federal Courthouse (401 W Central Blvd Orlando Florida). The case begins exactly one month after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has called for a walkout in honor of that mass shooting. Students across the country are organizing similar walkouts. In an e-mail, he wrote, “Our community has been so inspired by the students at Stoneman Douglas,
students here in Orlando and across the country that have pressed
lawmakers to approve school safety and pass measures aimed at preventing
gun violence. In solidarity with our students, and to honor the victims, join us for a
walkout to the lawn of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing
Arts (445 S. Magnolia Ave. Orlando, Florida.)” It seems that the mass shootings are happening closer and closer together. There have been 10 school shootings since 17 students were murdered in Parkland. The town officials are just now considering collecting memorabilia from the memorial site after religious leaders hold a ceremony on the evening of the one month mark. 

Hand to God at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

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Hand to God written by Robert Askins, was presented by Generation Productions at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and was an unexpected, hilarious, and irreverent production. In a church Sunday school class, students are using puppets in a morality play. Timothy, a shy boy, played by Jerry J. Jobe had a puppet with plans of his own. The puppet calls out Timmy’s attraction to Jessica (Devan Seaman) in rather lascivious ways. Jason, (Andrew Romano) skulked with crossed arms and was anxious to cause trouble. The Sunday school puppetry teacher was Margery (Rebecca Fisher) and she was also Timmy’s mom.

The play’s title is a bit misleading. From the moment the foul-mouthed puppet on Timmy’s hand spoke for himself the laughs just kept on coming. This is no quiet morality play. The underlying unspoken heartfelt drama came from the loss of Timmy’s dad. The brunt of the action was aimed at resolving the fractured relationship between Timmy and his mom. The stakes got higher when Pastor Greg (Jason Blackwater) insists that Margery present a play at the next service. Timmy, knowing he has no control over what the puppet might say, has to let his mother down.

Both Jason and Pastor Greg made advances on Margery. She was left devastated after her husband’s death and crashed against the rocks. The classroom became a devil’s den complete with a satanic star and a teddy bear, pubic hair included, with an arrow through it, when Timmy and his puppet take over.

One of the funnier moments came when Jessica decides to speak to Timmy’s puppet through her own puppet. The result is a hilarious 5 minute sex scene with the two puppets as she is able to confide in Timmy, all as the distracted puppets bumped together. The production was a blast being a cross between Little Shop of Horrors and the Exorcist. Rebecca Fisher as Margery was fantastic. This was an amazing role for her. Jeremy J. Jobe also did an amazing job as he tried to remove the satanic puppet from his life.

The play was produced by Aaron Safer, and featured direction by Kenny Howard. The set design was by Bonnie Sprung, with costumes by Kyla Swanberg, and lighting design by Amy Hadley.