A Drink with Country Joe at the Fringe Beer Tent.

Joe Rosier had hopes of get in into the 2016 Fringe Festival. Unfortunately his name wasn’t picked in the Fringe Lottery. In the past, he had performed solo shows as a country doctor telling ghost tales, and Odysseys S. Grant relating Civil war stories. With his grizzled age and shaggy white beard, Joe was perfect for such historical roles.  Shortly after the lottery, one of Joe’s eyes closed up and minor age discomforts became serious health issues.

Chemo therapy resulted in hair loss and the need for a neck brace. That didn’t slow Joe down. He was at the years fringe and I got to spend some time with him at the beer tent. Joe posed for my Mennello Museum  Mural and I’ve sketched him a number of to the in costume. Producers, actors an directors greeted Joe like the celebrity he is. the last time I saw Joe was in December and I bumped in him while walking towards the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Joe was dressed as Santa Claus of course. As we walked past the Harp and Celt, a young woman seated outside shouted to Joe to come in. There was z private party and they needed Santa Clause. I regret not follow.’ Joe inside. I heard he was the life of the party, and all I young women sat in his lap to whisper their Christmas wishes.

Les Mamelles De Tiresias at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Les Mamelles De Tiresias (The Breasts of Tiresias) presented by Florida Opera Theater is a comical opera that was basically written to encourage people to go home and make more babies after the war. Therese is a housewife who is tired of her domestic life and wants the exciting life of a soldier. Her husband keeps interrupting her singing to come effect by demanding bacon. She unhooks her apron, and her breasts float away like balloons and she becomes a man. After she goes off to war, the husband puts on her apron and becomes the wife. As the wife he has to fend off the affections of a police officer who is taken in by the female attire. The improbable changes of sex seemed to ignite a heightened desire.

In the second act, the husband (wife) has given birth to more than 40,000 babies. All his children had successful careers in the arts making him a rich man. As a finale, the two large balloon creatures I sketched, floated over the audience. Phallic appendages gave the creatures a surreal appearance. Each had trap doors in their under bellies and those doors opened, raining balloon babies down on the audience. I had hoped to sketch the stage hands work in the pulleys that hoisted the balloons over the audience. I was asked to move twice and then to to leave the upper balcony by the spot light operator. Only staff were allowed. I finished the sketch on the ground floor in my assigned seat in row L.  Of course I was in a foul mood, but I managed to complete the sketch. To add insult to injury, I lost my bag of art brushes in the theater. I checked with lost and found, but they were never turned in.

General Tiresias wage war on childbirth. But her former husbands success in raising so many children thwarts her plan. There is a playful scene with dozens of children singing and playing hide and seek in a nursery. This was definitely one of the strangest Operas I have ever seen. I’m still not sure what to make of it.

Alone is to premiere at UCF Celebrates the Arts.

Cindy Michelle Heen, the choreographer, invited me to a rehearsal of Alone at Studio Two in the Performing Arts Center at UCF12488 Centaurus Blvd, Orlando, FL. This piece will be part of Theater UCF presents Dance 10 which will be performed on April 8th at 7:30pm in the Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. This is part of 9 Days of Free Events starting April 8th through April 16th. In order to enter the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, you must have a free ticket for an Event or a free Hall Pass. A ticket grants you entrance to a specific event at a specific time. A hall pass is valid for the entire festival and allows you to enter the center without a performance ticket’ When an event is sold out of advance tickets, a wait line forms an hour before the performance begins’ Patrons must have a hall pass to join the wait line. In 2015 all patrons in the lines got into performances.

Alone tells the story of a young woman finding her way in the world. Cindy explained that it reflects her own experience as a young dancer starting out in Orlando. Times were hard and finding refuge was difficult. Friends helped keep her spirit afloat. Now she is interconnected with so many people and she struggles just to keep up with the creative possibilities. At times the dancers moved on the stage with militaristic straight lines. At all times, the female lead was clearly defined, she was part of the crowd and at other times she was alone. Separation is hard, it is painful and yet sometimes it is needed for growth. The caged bird never flies.

The Blue Box Initiative – Michael Sloan.

On February 1, I picked up Micihael Sloan from his home and brought him to the Blue Box on Lake Dot on Colonial Drive one block West of the I-4 overpass. It was tricky finding his place so we ended up running about a half hour late. As a quick recap in case you are a new reader, Orlando passed an ordinance back in the 1990s making it illegal to panhandle in Downtown Orlando. 27 blue boxes were painted on the sidewalks as free speech zones. From sunrise to sunset it is legal to panhandle in these blue boxes.

On our drive too to  the  blue  box site,  Micihael explained that he used to perform downtown about 15 years ago and he was told that he must move to a blue. In Orlando performers seem  too be considered panhandlers with talent. I’ve been told to move along by police while sketching downtown but I was never instructed to go to a box. Anyway, I decided to ask performers to come out to each of the 27 boxes so that I can sketch performers at each of the sites. The plan is to do one sketch a week, usually on Mondays. The Blue Box Initiative group page was set up to organize and schedule performances.

As we were setting up, a man in a red shirt who introduced himself as Juju joked around with Micihael. He sat down in the shade and shouted to us, “Hey, come over here in the shade, I want to hear the music.” Micihael shouted back, “We can’t, I have to stay in the blue box.”  It was brutally hot. I realized that I need to bring sunscreen to these blue box sketch outings. The several days of col weather are already a though of the past. Micihael kept his guitar case open, but no one ever dropped any bills inside. It was hard to hear the music over the constant rush of car traffic. I could pick out that he was making up lyrics on the fly about being put in blue boxes. He was singing the blue box blues. Besides singing, Micihael did some Tai Chi which made it look like he was channeling the automotive dissonance. He also had just enough room in the box to do several cart wheels. Cars honked their approval, a loud automotive standing ovation.

There was some foot traffic. Perhaps 20 people wandered by during the performance. A young woman in a black dress walked by with a luggage cart. She reminded me of drug sales reps I have seen in doctors offices. She was actually Jenna Smith, a UCF journalism student who wanted to report on the Blue Box Initiative. She unpacked a tripod and sizable TV news camera. She was the reporter and camera woman all rolled into one. The black dress was a mistake because the sun was unrelenting. She never filmed herself asking the questions, perhaps she did that later.

Juju became infatuated with what I was doing. He stood behind me the whole time doing a play by play announcement of every item I put on the page. I’m usually oblivious to on lookers, but he was hard to ignore. A bicyclist with dreads and a wicker basket stopped for the longest time to listen. He spoke with Jenna about the social divides created by capitalism. Around 1pm a car stopped in front of the box, and a woman asked if we wanted sandwiches. My hands were busy with the sketch so I didn’t accept. Juju however accepted for us all. He gave Micihael some fruit and he offer me a cookie. I tried to refuse but he insisted, so I accepted his offering and put it in my bag. It was from the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and I ate it on the drive home. It was delicious.

Jenna stayed with us right until the sketch was complete. She then interviewed us with beautiful Lake Dot as the back drop. She plans to interview City Commissioners, so she is doing some in depth reporting on the issue. I bumped into City Commissioner Patty Sheehan that night and she was amazed by Winter Parks ordinance that bans artists. She asked me, “Orlando doesn’t do that do they?” It seemed odd that she was asking me. I mentioned the blue boxes which is an ordinance she helped spearhead.  I don’t think she realized the the blue boxes hurt the Orlando arts scene. “Well, if you need anything from me, let me know.” she said as she left.

Cole Nesmith organized a huge one night event called “The Creative City Project.” He got performing arts groups to come together downtown for a solid evening of performances outside on Orange Avenue downtown. I was told that in the beginning, Cole was instructed that the performances would have to be in the Blue Boxes which make for rather small stages. Cole worked closely with politicians to create an amazing event that took over Orange Avenue for five blocks.  But that was for one night only. If Orlando truly embraced creativity downtown then every evening the city streets could come alive. For now outdoor creativity is shoved aside into isolated blue boxes.

Rise, an Acrobatic Play was rehearsed at Orlando Gymnastics.

Rise, an Acrobatic Play is a moving, futuristic coming-of-age story about
a group of high school students dreaming of being world-class
entertainers. Under the direction of their new Diverse Physical Talents
teacher, Mr. Sam Simon, each student hopes to achieve greatness and win
one of two paid understudy roles in the Dream Empire, a well-known
traveling circus. As the students improve upon their talents and
performance presence, they struggle to keep love, friendship and rivalry
balanced in their lives. Rise is a new theatrical experience that will
electrify the mind and inspire audiences to overcome all obstacles and
rise to the top. Local Central Florida performers Tiffany Lamwatt and
Felix Betancourt play the lead roles of Max and Courtney, and 2007 World
Gymnastics Champion Shayla Worley makes a special appearance as Julie.

I went to rehearsal of Rise at Orlando Gymnastics (11821 Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando FL).The gymnasium was massive with a cheer leading squad rehearsing in one area and parkour gymnast jumping over hurdles and doing somersaults. The Rise dancers had an area set a side for all the costumes in their show. This was a dress rehearsal so everyone changed before the rehearsal got underway. The cheer leading team had to finish up be for the dancers could take to the staging area.

The first routine to be rehearsed was a Tango which had the male dance in formal black and the  female dancers in pure white and flaming red. The dance incorporated tradition tango with an urban hip hop twist. One dancer had performed with Drip Dance in the past, so I knew he would bring a fresh athleticism to the mix. Most of the routine was solidly set in place, but some spontaneous improve worked it way in as well.

The second routine to be rehearsed was called “Virtual Reality“. A middle school aged brother and sister team practiced martial arts with wild abandon while an aerialist performed in a rotating metal ring. This routine was modern and hip with dancers occupying all corners of the stage. One dancer moved like a mime whose body reacted to the music as if being hit by electric shocks. The younger dancer then moved all around the stage on a hoover board. The routine ended with a hard core first person fist fight that was beautifully choreographed to the music. As the music slowed, the final punches were thrown.

Rise is a bit of a cross between Stomp, and Cirque du Soleil. There was s vibrant camaraderie between the dancers. At any moment, a dancer might try something new, and if it pushed the boundaries, other performers would laugh and cheer.

Mark your calendar. Rise will be performed Saturday January 16th, starting at 7 pm at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts 445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, Florida 32801, Tickets are $33.75.

Anything Goes Hit Orlando.

Terry scored some tickets to Anything Goes at the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts in May. Written by Cole
Porter
Anything Goes, won
three 2011 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and
Choreography! It is touted as one of the greatest musicals in theater history, It was based on
Roundabout Theatre Company
’s production, The New York Times hails it a “musical-comedy joy” and USA Today calls it “glorious and exuberant!”

The music was memorable, and there were plenty of big production numbers that includes tap dancing and singing. The score, features some of musical theatre’s most memorable standards, including “I Get A
Kick Out Of You,” “You’re the Top,” and of course, “Anything Goes.” The story however didn’t really grab me. Two unlikely pairs set off on the course to true love, with many obstacles in the way while proving that
sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, an
exotic disguise and some good old-fashioned blackmail.

Sketching in a crowded audience is a task I seldom table. Although there was plenty of glitz light and glamour on stage, the house lights were pitch black. The only time I saw the sketch was during intermission and I rushed to finish it before the lights went black again. For the second half of the show I relaxed and simply watched. My attention wandered and I followed one actor, Reno Sweeney,  in the crowd. She seemed to carry the tunes with true gusto. Because everyone had on head mics, my suspension of disbelief was lost however. I just felt that everyone was just going through the motions. My sketch seems equally non-committed.

Heathers The Musical presents ruthless teens at the Dr Philips Center for the Performing Arts.

Heathers The Musical will run from August 13 to August 23 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
(445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, Florida). The play is based on the classic 1989 film. Westerberg High is
ruled by a shoulder-padded, scrunchie-wearing trio of Heathers,
(Lindsey Wells, Jillian
Gizzi
, and
Caroline Drage ) the hottest and cruelest girls in all of Ohio. But misfit
Veronica Sawyer (
Nicole Visco) rejects their evil regime for a new boyfriend, the dark
and sexy stranger J.D., (
Thomas Sanders) who plans to put the Heathers in their place.
 

 The dress rehearsal I attended was delayed by about an hour as microphone headsets were adjusted and other tech issues were resolved. All the actors sat on stage waiting to rehearse the one large group number in the show. I recognized actress Ally Gursky who performed as Veronica’s childhood friend, Martha Dunnstock who became the butt of the Heathers ruthless jokes. Although not popular, Martha breathed hope into the otherwise sinister student body.

The musical numbers were fun and lively although not particularly memorable. During a sound check, Nicole was asked to sing and someone on the crew shouted out, “Little Mermaid”! She began singing as Ariel and I wondered if she played the Disney Character by day. The Heathers were as ruthless as their fashion tastes. When they first entered the entire student body moved in slow motion to watch their bold strutting. The set was painted in colors that were as bright as the Heathers red, yellow and green suits and skirts. Murdered students would return to haunt Veronica bathed in a green spotlight.

High school students might do anything for their first love but Veronica’s boyfriend goes too far for an all consuming love. Veronica finally regains her morals after becoming as ruthless and mean as the Heathers.

Show runs August 13 to August 23 at various times.

Tickets start at $15.73
Ticket prices include 6.5% sales tax
Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater in The Doctor Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, Florida

Aida splashes onto the Dr. Phillips Center stage.

Encore! Cast Performing Arts presents Elton John and Tim Rice‘s Aida at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts  (155 East Anderson Street Orlando FL). Alice Ramadan from the Dr. Phillips center had invited me to sketch the dress rehearsal on July 14th. More than 160 cast, chorus and orchestra appear on stage. Juan Torres the shows production manager welcomed me when I got to the Disney Theater. Tech was still in full swing with stage hands checking lights and sound. At the security check some core cast were taking a break since they had been rehearsing all day. I realized that the actresses who signed out were slave girls in the show.

The chorus entered the theater and entered the theater filling up the front rows. They looked around in amazement at the new theater and took selfies to prove they were there. This was the first time everyone had a chance to experience the space and perform on the set. Alice got on stage and welcomed everyone. which caused enthusiastic whoop from the huge chorus! She thanked everyone for believing in the arts center and she got choked up as she told us it was our theater now. Her love for the place could soften any heart.

There were a few sound problems that stopped the rehearsal at several points. All the core cast had microphone headsets and they didn’t always work but that is why there are rehearsals, to work out the kinks. When Aida’s mic needed to be adjusted, she had to lean forward while a stage hand adjusted the electronics at her hips. Some of the chorus laughed since her pose was rather provocative. She heard this and coyly rotated her hips and arched her back which heightened the irony and soon everyone was laughing.

At the Nile’s edge, the enslaved Nubian princess, Aida (Jerusha Cavazos) becomes
romantically entangled with the Egyptian captain, Radames (Natale Pirrotta), who is
betrothed to the Pharaoh’s
daughter, Amneris (Hannah Berry Matthews). As their forbidden love grows deeper, Aida is forced
to find balance between her heart’s
yearning for Radames, and
her responsibility to lead her people.  Aida and Radames’s love for one
another becomes a shining
example of true devotion
that ultimately transcends the vast cultural differences between their
warring nations, heralding a time of
unprecedented peace and
prosperity. Elton John and Tim Rice‘s Aida is a timeless love story,
featuring an award-winning pop/rock score
from the seasoned pop duo
who brought musical life to Disney’s The Lion King. Rousing rock numbers
and heart-wrenching ballads bring
the ill-fated lovers into a
new era.

I’ve seen one other production of Aida, so I knew the music and story. I love many of the musical numbers in this show so I was swaying to the beats while I sketched. Having this many voices singing gives the show a power I hadn’t experienced before. Amneris’s song “My Strongest Suit” is a hilarious take on living a life of fashion and splendor. It is clearly an ironic look at spoiled Hollywood brats of today and the digital age’s superficial fixation on youth and fashion. It is the shows “Sex in the City” fashion runway moment. Despite having it all there is a yearning for connection that fashion doesn’t provide. The show is entertaining and often inspired.

Mark Your Calendar!

The final performance of Aida is tonight, Thursday, July 16, 2015.

Show time is 7:30 PM.

Tickets start at $33.75

The Flick presents hopes and aspirations in a tiny movie theater.

Gen Y Productions presents The Flickwritten by Annie
Baker
and was the winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 2013 Obie Award for Play writing. The Flick Premiered
Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2013 and will run at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL) starting today through July 12.

Bonnie Sprung designed the set for The Flick. She confided that the theater seats were rented from the recently closed Theater Downtown. The sconces on set are actually the bases to lava lamps. She was busy cutting and building the set right up until the rehearsal started. This was the first run through in the new space. Producer Aaron Safer arranged to get me in for the sketch.

The play is set in a single screen movie theater in Central Massachusetts that has the last remaining 35mm film projector. Sam (Daniel Cooksley) shows Avery (Marcellis Cutler) the ropes of the job on Avery’s first day at the job. The job simply involves cleaning up the wrappers and refuge people left behind after leaving the movie theater. Rose (Jessie Grossman) with her bright green hair is the projectionist and Sam feels he should have been promoted to that coveted position. He shouts up to her and she either can’t hear him or ignored him. “She hates me” Sam confides to Avery. When Rose came down from the booth, she asks Sam if he told Avery about the employee “dinner money” tradition. The “dinner money” was skimmed from ticket sales without the owners knowledge. Avery agonized in the front row with his head in his hands but ultimately gave in, not wanting to upset his co-workers.

Scene after scene plays out in the empty theater. Sam told a story about how a huge chunk of the ceiling once fell down landing just inches from an old lady. Sam and Avery play a game of six degrees of separation as they clean and it turns out that Avery in an encyclopedia of film knowledge. A love triangle develops as Rose comes on strong to Avery. The flirting escalates to an embarrassing moment when they watch a film together after hours. Each of the characters is a misfit. Avery once tried to kill himself, Rose is unable to have a relationship for more than four months, and Sam rides along as if the theater job was his only aspiration in life. Rose was appealing with her brash accent and bold entrances. She later turned on Avery and it became clear that every character was strictly looking after their own interests. Friendships aren’t as strong as the need for a minimum wage paycheck. One of my favorite scenes is when Avery recites Ezekiel 25:17 from Pulp Fiction. The drama among the employees turned out to be bigger than the dramas that played out on the big screen. I cared deeply for each character hoping they might find happiness but in this fast changing world, that hope seems mercurial. The digital age made the 35mm projector obsolete. Avery in particular yearned to keep the analog tradition of projected film alive. It turned out that if you don’t need a projector. You don’t need a projectionist. Everyone wants more for less and quality isn’t necessarily the ideal.

Kenny Howard directed the Orlando cast and I liked that there were long moments where characters had time to think and reflect. Action on a movie screen happens at a break neck pace with maybe 2 seconds before cutting to a new shot. But the action after the film ended felt more real, imperfect and more heart felt.  These characters weren’t playing their parts, they were simply living in the moment. At three hours, this is a long show. Turn off those cellphones and unwrap those wrappers and don’t leave a mess because someone has to clean up after you.

Show dates: June 17-July12, 2015

Show times vary

Tickets start at $35.00

Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater

Lobby Doors open 60 minutes prior to show time.

Theater Doors open 30 minutes prior to show time.

The Orlando Ballet brings the magic of Coppélia to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

On April 30th I went to the Dr. Philips Center for the Performing Arts to sketch a dress rehearsal of Coppélia. In Greek Coppélia means “young lady” and this comic ballet premiered in 1870. The performance was set to he music of Léo Delibes. Terry decided that she wanted to see this rehearsal, so she met me in front of the Center. When I opened the stage door, I was surprised to see a crowd of journalists. At Earth Day, I bumped into Jim Cundiff, the Interim Executive Director at the Orlando Ballet. He told me about an exciting collaboration between the Ballet, Orlando Philharmonic, and Central Florida Community Arts. It turned out that this rehearsal was the platform to officially announce this collaboration.

Robert Hill, the Ballet’s Artistic Director, David Shilhammer, the Executive Director of the Orlando Philharmonic and Joshua Vickery the founder and Executive Director of Central Florida Community Arts stood on stage before the rehearsal.  Since it’s inception in 1974, the Orlando Ballet has relied on recorded music for it’s performances. Starting in October of 2015, the Philharmonic Orchestra will perform in the pit to bring all future ballet performances to life. David Shilhammer explained that recorded music limits the performers from taking chances and varying their rhythm and timing, The orchestra can adapt to each performance allowing for greater flexibility. In April of 2016 the Ballet will collaborate with Central Florida Community Arts which has 800 singers in multiple choirs. This is a win win for all the organizations and audiences. As the Dr. Phillips Center was being constructed, critics assumed that local arts groups would never stand to benefit. This incredible collaboration proves that they can and will endure.

Coppélia concerns an inventor, Dr Coppelius, who has made a life-size dancing doll.
It is so lifelike that Franz, a village youth, becomes infatuated with
it and sets aside his true heart’s desire, Swanhilde. She shows him his
folly by dressing as the doll, pretending to make it come to life and
ultimately saving him. The rehearsal was playful and magical. The mechanical dance choreography was delightful. I had never seen this ballet and I am glad I finally did. I also admired the gorgeous painted backdrops which had a rich deep impressionistic use of color. I would think that the dancers might hold back a bit in a rehearsal, but everyone danced full out. Many of their athletic moves defied gravity.

Mark Your Calendars! The remaining performances of  Coppélia are today May 2nd at 11am and 8pm and May 3rd at 2pm at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts 445 South Magnolia Avenue

Orlando, FL. Tickets  starting at $38.75 are available online or at the box office. This really is an amazing production, and bring your kids, they will love it too.

Looking ahead…

October 30- November 1, 2015 Gisselle with music by the Orlando Philharmonic.

December 17 – 20, 2015 Nutrcacker with music by the Orlando Philharmonic.

February 5-7, 2016 the world premiere of The Firebird with music by the Orlando Philharmonic.

March 18-20, 2016 Don Quixote with music by the Orlando Philharmonic.

April 29-May 1, 2016 the world premiere of Beauty and the Beast with Central Florida Community Arts.