One Orlando Alliance organized an Orlando Vigil for Las Vegas

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The lawn in front of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts was packed with thousands of people 16 months ago after the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Tears were shed and strangers hugged one another in a truly moving vigil to honor the victims of the nightclub shooting. Days after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, the same stage was erected in the Dr. Phillips lawn to show solidarity and support for that city which is now the site of the largest mass shooting in American history with 58 victims to date. 515 others are injured, so that number may well rise as people fight for their lives.

Pam Schwartz and I arrived a bit early expecting to find the lawn crowded with Orlando citizens who who would show their support for such a tragic event. The lawn was strangely empty. One third of the lawn was a construction zone for the new Dr. Phillips theater being built.  The entire area was surrounded by temporary concert barricades. There was no crowd to contain. A single wreath stood on a tripod in front of the stage. The press huddled together on the walkway opposite me. Desperate for some sort of story, a young reporter asked to interview me, but I explained that I had a limited amount of time to finish my sketch so I couldn’t stop to talk.

The green lawn remained empty the entire time I sketched. I had looked at some of the video footage from Las Vegas earlier that day and recall seeing people running for their lives or lying on the grass hoping not to get hit by the bullets raining down from 32 stories above. The Dr. Phillips lawn, surrounded by humble Orlando high rises, wasn’t much different than the Las Vegas field where concert goers were massacred. One Orlando high rise had several windows blown out from hurricane Irma, just as the Las Vegas gunman had blown out his hotel room window to massacre the crowd below.

Dozens of people showed up to the vigil held in Orlando. Any photos of the vigil show a few people together in closely cropped shots.  Perhaps it was just to soon. The staff at the History Center said that they just weren’t ready to accept or digest that such a horrific incident had happened so soon after the incident at Pulse. Days after the Las Vegas shooting, rainbow flags appeared on all the Orlando downtown street lights. I thought this was in solidarity for the Las Vegas shooting but it might just have been in preparation for the Gay Pride Parade coming up next week.

Someone removed the metal steps that lead up to the stage. A source at The Center said that a permit had not been applied for and thus
no one was allowed to go up on the stage. How amazing that such red tape should
come from a city who had just experienced mass murder 16 months earlier. One Orlando Alliance organizers stated that a radio station set up the stage just for the amplification and they didn’t want any speakers.

Five or six of the 49 angels in action arrived and stood silent in
front of the stage, their fabric wings flapping in the breeze.

 one PULSE Foundation president, Barbara Poma, spoke to the small group gathered from behind the stage. Her online statement read, “Finding words to convey the depth of horror we are all witnessing in
Las Vegas is just impossible. It is unimaginable that another mass
shooting of even greater scope than that of Pulse Nightclub could occur
again in this country, but indeed, it has. We must work harder to stop
these crimes that destroy human life. We pray for those whose lives were
taken, as well as for the wounded and the hundreds who will forever be affected by this monumental tragedy.”

The Orange County Property Appraiser arrived to get his picture taken in a tuxedo in front of a banner which people signed in support of Las Vegas. Mayor Buddy Dyer made a cameo and disappeared quickly. I recognized some of the Pulse family and activists like the Eskamani sisters who truly made a difference in our city following the Pulse shooting. A GoFundMe set up by Ida Eskamani for Equality Florida raised more that 2.4 million dollars for Pulse victims families. With Hurricane Maria causing so much damage in Puerto Rico, many Hispanic activists are perhaps occupied with that cause.

The Vigil held at the Dr. Phillips for Las Vegas was a small gathering by a few of Orlando’s core activists but the impression it left with me was apparent indifference by the community as a whole. The Methodist Church bells rang for each victim of the
Las Vegas shooting. I left disheartened.  The faces of the beautiful people lost in Las Vegas are just now
appearing online. All of those lost have not yet been identified. Perhaps people stayed home because mass murder is now the norm. A mass murder is defined as 4 people dying in a single gun related incident. Close to one mass shooting happens every day in America.

Pam was going to the Savoy to be a Celebrity Bartender. That event would raise funds to help The Center which is a refuge and family for the LGBT community as well as playing an important role in testing and treating sexually transmitted diseases. Sketching that event felt more supportive to an organization that makes a positive change in the Orlando community. Life goes on as social services struggle to stay afloat. I needed a stiff drink. How we memorialize is becoming increasingly important as these shootings are becoming more common.

P.S. Justine Thompson Cowan, one of the events organizers reported that
City representatives were willing to do whatever it took, helped with
permitting, and opened up garages for free parking, spending staff
resources to pull it together. He stayed
until the end and joined with what he estimated to be about 250 people as
they heard the bells toll, the Orlando Gay Chorus sing and spread out
into the audience with their voices that touched their hearts. She felt
solace. She felt companionship. And maybe even a bit of hope.

Rock of Ages at the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts.

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Scott A. Cook invited me to sketch a tech, dress rehearsal for Rock of Ages at the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts, (445 South Magnolia Avenue Orlando FL). The sound check took quite some time to balance the levels between the casts head mics and the band. Regina’s mic was not working. The battery had to be replaced but it still didn’t work. She had round glasses, rosy cheeks and long dreads tied neatly behind her. She wore a flowing rainbow striped dress and a long orange crocheted vest. Because she was such a highlight of the sound check, I assumed she must be the heroine of the story. I empathized with her plight of not being heard. The rehearsal covered just part of act two, so I’m not sure how important her story arch is to the overall show. In my mind there should always be more Regina. She reminds me of the 60s movement towards positive change.

Rock of Ages is a rock musical, with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, built around classic rock songs from the 1980s, especially from the famous glam metal bands of that decade. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Europe among other well-known rock bands. Mixed into this is the story of an aspiring actress who joins a strip club to make ends meet. She wants to develop a back a story for her character and understand her motivation. Her first over acted attempts at being sensual are quite hilarious. The other bored dancers give the costumers exactly what they want (Any Way You Want It) without any effort. Despite her awkward beginnings, the new girl is a natural and she catches the eyes of several sleazy record producers.

A construction foreman plays an important roll in praising the ceaseless construction. In a German accent he shouts, “Isn’t it beautiful?” Two scaffolds are wheeled out and dancers perform scaffholdography, by spinning and then dancing a round the scaffolds. Protesters arrive with signs and there is a squirmish with riot police. Regina is front and center in the protest. So she is the heroine I imagined. She and the entire cast sang a rousing rendition of We’re not Gonna take It and I was humming the song on the long walk back to my car.

Rock of Ages runs from September 28th to October 9th at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.  

Show Dates/Times
WED SEPT 28 – 8PM
THURS SEPT 29 – 8PM
FRI SEPT 30 – 8PM
SAT OCT 1 – 2PM & 8PM
SUN OCT 2 – 2PM & 7PM
TUES OCT 4 – 8PM
WED OCT 5 – 8PM
THURS OCT 6 – 8PM
FRI OCT 7- 8PM
SAT OCT 8 – 2PM & 8PM
SUN OCT 9 – 2PM & 7PM

Rock Of Ages – Ticket Prices:
Tue/Wed/Thu performances: $26.75, $29.75, $32.75
Fri/Sat/Sun performances: $32.75, $35.75, $38.75
There is a 12% DPC handling fee for all online/phone orders.
The 12% DPC handing fee can be avoided by purchasing tickets in person at the DPC Box Office.

Online Tickets: http://bit.ly/2bbTnaU
Box Office: 844.513.2014
Group Sales (8 or more): 407.455.5550 or groups@drphillipscenter.org
Mon-Fri 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sat 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

GET READY TO ROCK, ORLANDO!
#iwannarock #roatwf2016 #roapartytrain #orlandosbiggestpartyever

Eugene Snowden at One Pulse Sounds of Our City.

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One Pulse Sounds of Our City, was an all day benefit concert for victim’s families of the Pulse shooting in Orlando. Held at Orlando Brewing (1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, Florida). Hosted by Shadow Pearson the event featured an incredible line up of local performers.

Eugene Snowden was accompanied by Ben Brown. Eugine kept his set low key to start, but by the end, he was taking the audience to church. He stood and started stomping the stage with his bare feet. It is impossible not to get swept up by the Sheer force of his energy. Even the sketch is influenced by his performance.

It seems like I have been sketching Pulse concerts and vigils for more than a month. The memorials have been removed from Lake Eola and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.  Signs indicate that the Orlando History Center is archiving some items for posterity. I have to wonder how much is instead shipped of to land fills.

The 49 portraits created on July 3rd, are now at the Cardboard Art Festival. I hung them very high right below the ceiling. They are over a map of Orlando that has a huge heart to show where Pulse is. Visitors can take adhesive hearts and add them to the map to show the home or office. Driving to the festival I drove past Pulse for the first time since the shooting. A makeshift memorial is set up along the blacked out fence that surrounds the building Orange barricades protect the curious from the endless traffic on Orange Avenue.

Broadway for Orlando at Dr. Phillips.

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I heard that tickets for this Broadway benefit concert sold out in less than 15 minutes’ It was possible to check in on). be for the tickets were officially be sold and these people, in a virtual line had the first picks. Broadway performers came to the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts to raise money for the Pulse victim families and survivors. It was a Star studded cabaret. The local dance company Varietease gave a mesmerizing dance performance full of playful whimsy. My favorite song was “I will Survive” performed as if sung be Eartha Kitt complete with purrs. Most performances featured uplifting themes of hope.

The idea for the benefit [a when a perform heard the horrible new from Orlando. Rather than eat comfort food, he decided to go for a bike ride to clear his head. He played “What the World Needs Now” on a continuous loop as he biked through the city. He knew by the end of the ride, that he needed to record Broadway performers singing 1 song for Orlando. He mentioned the idea to a friend and it snowballed from there be coming a reality. The grand finale had the entire cast singing “What the World needs now is Love Sweet Love“. A viral You Tube video had been recorded as an homage to Orlando’s loss, so this was a much awaited performance. Actors raised their hands a bore their heads creating a heart shape with their fingertips.

Fun Home

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The cast of the New York production of Home Fun presented a stripped-down concert performance of the Tony Award-winning musical as a benefit at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. One hundred percent of the net proceeds of the performance will go to the LGBT nonprofit Equality Florida and the victims of the Pulse shooting. Half of the money raised will be distributed directly to victims and
their families, and half will support Equality Florida’s work to end
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“I think that it’s one thing to raise money, which is important,” said “Fun Home” actress Judy Kuhn. “But I think it’s also important to show up and say, ‘We’re here and we’re here supporting you.” During the introduction, the words, “We are so sorry.” brought back the tears. As the cast walked onto the stage, they got a roaring standing oration.

Based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechel, the show is about a lesbian cartoonist named Alison,  who looks back at her childhood and her sexual awakening in college. Throughout the play, her adult self holds a sketchpad as she sketched the scenes of her past. It seemed appropriate that one person in the audience should be sketching as well. Three actresses perform as Alison. The youngest dreamed of taking flight, and yearned for her father’s attention. The Tom boyish middle Alison intellectualized her sexual confusion until the right girl, Joan, kissed her.  The eldest Alison looked back on her past actions in ever scene often embarrassed by her own diary entries.

The woman seated next to Betsy, was wearing a tuxedo shirt and suspenders. She said, this was the first time she had seen a character on stage who reminded her of herself. The play addresses universal underlying themes of wanting a parent’s acceptance and love only to get their narrow minded ideas of what they consider best. As Alison was discovering she loved women, her father was seeking out young men to have affairs with. As she began to soar, he began to crash. The harsh reality was gut wrenching.

My favorite scene featured  young Alison, Gabby Pizzolo, who sees a woman unlike any she had scene before. The woman was masculine and beautiful, no handsome. For the first time she saw a woman who seemed strong and she saw herself. Her father wanted her to wear a dress and keep her hair back with a beret, but she just saw who she could be. I loved her, for finally loving herself. In a talk back after the show the young boy actor, Zell Steele Morrow, summed it up nicely. You can be who you want to be, and love who you want to love.  The two women seated in front of me held each other close. In the wake of tragedy, love still finds a way in Orlando.

The GoFundMe to help Pulse victims families has reached over 7.3 million dollars breaking all records for the internet startup. Survivors from other mass shootings have come to Orlando to show their support. Some were in the audience. There is no life outside of the need to connect. Theater like this brings a community together and this shared story, about us all, can help us come together and face what we all must overcome, to rise above hate. 

Beautiful Together

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The Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts had a sold out house for the Pulse victims concert titled “Beautiful Together“. I sat in the isle on my artist stool so I didn’t have to worry about sitting in a sold out seat. With minutes to go before the show, Mayor Buddy Dyer and his entourage sat center stage. From my vantage point, I had a great view of the sign interpreter. I couldn’t see huge chorus but I had sketched them earlier during the rehearsal.

Once again, white flower pedals fell from the rafters as names were read for the 49 victims of the terrorist attack at Pulse. The emotional response was just as heightened on the second viewing. This time more pedals fell in a constant cascading stream set to “Lord of the Dance”, by Sydney Carter . A poet named Fredy Ruiz came out, and recited a poem by Maya Angelou titled “And Still I Rise“. It was a magical moment when words written 40 years ago seemed to perfectly address the tragedy and how we all must rise up despite the loss.

The ballet was still lyrical and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and chorus lifted every soul. The audience response completed the magic of the evening. Everyone was hungry for any message of hope and the best way to express that longing is through the arts. Orlando has an incredibly vibrant arts community and on this evening 50 plus organizations came to get to help Orlando heal.If you missed this powerful evening, it is worth seeing on You Tube.

Pecha Kucha at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

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On January 8th Pecha Kucha moved into the grandeur of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, Florida). Eddie Selover  took to the stage to introduce the speakers in the brand new Disney Theater. Pecha Kucha means chit chat in Japanese. The concept is simple. Speakers present 20 slides and they can only speak for 20 seconds with each slide. There is no stopping, no going back or revising one’s words. What results is a concise easy to digest presentation without extraneous and pointless verbiage. The presentations become a for of pure poetic communication. Even poets could learn to ed and extract just the heart of the subject.

On this evening the presentation that left the biggest impression was by Evan Miga. In high school, Evan was told the the dollar bill is s well designed, that it could not be reproduced. Evan took that as y challenge and us” his computer and Photoshop , he set about producing a bill that was indistinguishable from the original. Friends were impressed and asked for then own copies. The problem was that one of this friends spent the bill. Soon, the FBI came knocking on Evan’s door. He had to answer
so me serious questions. The agents must have realized that the young
student was n, a criminal mastermind and he got off with a slap on the wrist.

The next Pecha Kucha titled “Breaking the Surface” is Friday July 8th at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, Florida) starting at 6pm.  Tickets are $24.25.

SPEAKERS:
Andrae Bailey, CEO of Central Florida Commission on Homelessness
Julian Chambliss, Rollins History Professor
Michelle Jones, Bandleader of Violectric
Kostya Kimlat, Magician Extraordinaire
Bob Kodzis, Cheerleader and Creative Catalyst
Ama McKinley, HuffPost Contributing Blogger
Marc Middleton, Founder and CEO of Growing Bolder
Alejandro Musa, Getaboard Foundation
Shawn Welcome, Performance Poet and Founder, Diverse Word

Beautiful Together before the show.

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After the Beautiful Together rehearsal at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, all the performers were served dinner and some waited in the loading dock area. The fellow in the foreground was with the chorus that was in the upper platform on stage. The conductor gave him a compliment saying he had the most impressive facial hair.

After eating, many performers posed for photos and selfies. The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra storage crates cluttered the space. Several women eating dinner were at a table near a large electronic door. A stage hand hit the button to lower the steal door and the surprised performed dodged away to avoid getting crushed. In the green room down the hall, a TV showed dance in on stage performing an improvised dance. I thought in was a recording but it was actually a live stream of Yao dancers on stage as a pre-show at the audience entered the Disney Theater.

I was sitting with Carolyn Blice, a Philharmonic French Horn player. When she saw orchestra members walking on stage on the TV, she realized she better gel on stage. I used that as my clue to go into the theater as well. I was excited to see the performance along with a full audience.

Angel Action Wings for Orlando

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Experienced volunteer seamstresses were needed on Friday, June 24th at Orlando Shakespeare Theater

(812 East Rollins St. Orlando, FL), to build “Angel Action Wings” for the upcoming Pulse Benefit at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday evening, June 28th. After the concert, 49 angels (one for each of the fallen) will be standing in tribute on the lawn of the Dr. Phillips Plaza.

The Orlando Shakespeare costume shop coordinated the effort. Volunteers brought their own scissors, seam rippers, rulers, etc. Sewing machines, sergers and materials were provided by the costume shop. 

 Jeannie Marie Haskett coordinated the effort while also getting children setup for the first day of theater summer.I arrived straight from work and Jeannie gave me a warm welcome. The scenic shop was ablaze with activity. Several dozen Disney Voluntears were busy ironing, folding and putting final touches o the wings. 49 PVC structures were built to hold the wings on people’s shoulders. the completed wing span is about six feet. H will be an impressive sight when these 49 angels stand in front of the performing arts center.

On June 28, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando
will host a special “Beautiful Together” event to benefit the OneOrlando
fund for the victims of the Pulse shooting. Over 50 local arts organizations have signed on to perform or present, including the Orlando Gay Chorus and the UCF Choir. The event will start at 8 p.m. in the Walt Disney Theater. Tickets start at $15.

Pulse Shooting Memorial in front of the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center.

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I went to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts to witness the ever growing memorial for the 49 lives lost at the Pulse Terrorist Attack. On this evening, I was going to do an event sketch at the Grand Bohemian which is right across the street.  An American Flag held up by a white PVC frame had the names of all 49 of the Orlando Citizens who lost their lives embroidered into the red stripes. A large candle said, “Hate will never win”. A rainbow colored paper chain surrounded the whole altar. There were small American flags and lots of rainbow colored pin wheels.

It was a scorching hot day and when I was offered a bottle of water, I took it. The cut flowers that were everywhere wouldn’t last long in this heat. Heart shaped helium balloons waved in the breeze. Two young high school girls approach me with a pink card. I accepted it and thanked them. A packet of Smarties was taped to the card which read, “You are Loved, Pass it on.” #Love Wins, # Orlando Strong. The O in Loved was shaped like heart. It was such a sweet gesture.  Struggling with my sketch, I is at the “This is Shit” and “I am Shit” phase of the creative process. I was certainly not feeling much love. At least the candy was sweet. I had a relative who used to work in a smarties factory in South Carolina. He used to breath in that sweetness every day. He died.

Mack became curious about my sketch and sat beside me. Evey few minutes his cell phone would whistle. He explained that the noise indicated that he got a text. Mack liked to talk. He told me that he had been to the 9/11 memorial in NYC. He was once a firefighter so he had special access. He told me that one woman at the memorial had purchased a plane ticket on one of the doomed flights. She had decided against going and traded the ticket with a friend. Her friend died on 9/11. She left the unused ticket beside her friend’s name on the memorial. 

Four volunteers huddled together in prayer under an umbrella. A break dancer performed to a song titled, “Where is the love?” I was offered several dozen bottles of water and drank two during the marking of this sketch. I even accepted a bag of Fritos. Everyone wants to do something to help. It seems rude to ignore the gestures. A grief counselor talked to anyone who would listen. It seems people often respond to grief by excessive eating and drinking. That might have something to do with constantly being offered comfort food and water.

As I got ready to go to the Grand Bohemian a Washington Post reporter pulled me a side for an interview. I explained that I was a Illustrative Reporter, but he seemed intent on asking questions. Anything I told him, I’ve probably already written here. I don’t know if my answers helped. Orlando is still in pain. I am still in pain. This coming week there will be 49 funerals. A Baptist Church group is planning to protest at some of these funerals spouting their bigotry and hate. Others will surround the funeral homes with love.  My hope is to sketch the love and turn my back on hate. As I crossed over to the Grand Bohemian, two protesters shouted to passing cars, “What do we want?” “A ban on Assault riffles!” “When do we want it?” “Yesterday!!!” I admired them.

I live on Gay Road. My upstairs neighbors have hung a rainbow flag from their balcony. The bright colors light up my view. The neighbors across the way followed. I’ve heard that my upstairs neighbors have been harassed by older tenants in the complex. That has to stop. We all need to help one another. Lets stop the divisiveness and hate.