Corsets and Cuties Brings a Lush Cabaret and Burlesque to The Venue

Posted on by Thor

On July 23rd I went to a rehearsal for a Double Trouble Production of Corsets and Cuties, a Burlesque Cabaret. I made the mistake of first going to The Venue. Luckily I was a bit early and when I looked at the calendar on my cell phone, I realized I was supposed to be at Dreamworks Dance Studio a couple of miles away. The Dance studio is in a strip mall right next to Clemmons Produce Plaza which had huge watermelons in the window. When I arrived at Dreamworks, I found Babs and her husband waiting at the door to the dance studio. Babs is a producer of the show, along with Lady Jaimz. It turns out, I had sketched Babs before at a body painting party at DRIP on International Drive. Her talents had turned her model into a glittering white pixie fairy.

As we waited for someone to arrive with a key, it began to pour. Thankfully we were under cover. Performers who arrived late however were soaked along with their costumes. When one performer arrived, she complained that she had stabbed herself on the porcupine quills that were sticking out of a pocket in her purse. Now that is an occupational hazard you don’t hear about very often. I can’t imagine what kind of costume would require porcupine quills. I once took a survey to find out which Indian spirit animal I most resembled. It turns out I am a porcupine.  The porcupine walks through the world with quiet confidence. He is keenly aware of his surroundings and always prepared. He protects himself with authority without being outwardly aggressive.

I helped cover the front windows of the dance studio with tarps since there would be partial nudity at times.  It was Bab’s birthday and performers showered her with flowers and balloons. The back dressing room became a buzz of activity as the women and one male performer got into costumes. Corsets were tightened and glitter and feathers were everywhere. Risa Risqué is the performer who was kind enough to arrange my sketch outing. I spotted her in the audience of Legally Blonde way up in Eustis. She has a tattoo of tiny angels wings nestled between her shoulder blades. It is one of the classiest tattoos I’ve seen. I’ve often wondered what image I could commit to for the remainder of my life and as a visual artist my tastes change too often. I sketched Risa as she adjusted her frilly svelte costume in the mirror. I then focused on Lady Jaimz as she introduced the show. I figured she would return center stage between acts giving me multiple chances to refine her sketch. I was right.

Frank arrived. He is a blow up doll that is integral to Bab’s first number.  He was a bit flaccid when he first arrived, so she had to blow him up until he was rock hard. The inflation nipple isn’t locate where you would expect it to be. It was in the small of his back. He was a marvelous dance partner and she helped him strip. He was fully anatomically endowed and it was hilarious when she had him nestle between her ample breasts. Like most men, he was a disappointment and she cast him aside. Seven performers sang during their burlesque routines. They are consummate performers with good lungs and a knowledge of how to entice with humor. There was one costume mishap when Honey Child‘s banana belt fell off as she danced. Group dance numbers were well choreographed and polished. One group number had all the girls and Jax N. Augh wearing hats. After he stripped, he kept the hat over his privates and then let go. The hat dangled in front of him as if by magic. Even the girls dancing with him were laughing. This is going to be one hell of a show!

Mark Your Calendar! Corsets and Cuties, 2 shows only! 9pm on August 1st and 2nd at The Venue (511 Virginia Dr, Orlando, Fl)   The shows are already sold out folks.


DRIP Sketchbook Finally on Sale.

Posted on by Thor

                    
     
   
 

 

 Although I had the DRIP Sketchbook listed online, I just realized I hadn’t made it available for sale. I believe all the settings are correct now making it publicly available. If you tried to order it and ran into digital roadblocks, let me know.

Drip 1 Year Anniversary

Posted on by Thor

On November 16th, Drip celebrated its one year anniversary of being on International Drive. Long time supporters of Drip were invited for a complimentary show. The T-shirt cutting and paint station was complimentary as was the champagne. After the 50 minute Drip show there was a desert party with the cast. Jessica Mariko the dance company’s founder was beaming as she thanked everyone. “We would not be where we are today without the help of generous people, advice from friends, cash, love and support.”

During the show, Terry and I stood near a raised platform. In one dueling dance sequence, red and Blue seduced one another in a purple strobe light glow as Yellow, Jessie Sander, tore apart her apartment in anguish and despair. Terry and I were inches away as the lovers gyrated and disrobed. Yellow as always did an incredible job of clearly showing her emotions even when not dancing.

David Travers, who composed all the music for the show made a rare cameo appearance playing guitar along with the band. The band performed in the bar for the after party. Guest singers were invited up to the mic.  I was surprised to see Melissa Kasper get up and sing her heart out. She has been the longest standing cast member of Drip working tirelessly hard in the background to keep each show on schedule. Now she stood front and center and the cast whooped and screamed for her performance.

The sketch was a struggle as heads bounced and bobbed blocking the scene. A paint drenched wench rubbed her boobs up along my left arm as she looked at what I was doing. She must not have seen the ring on my finger. Get a group of women wet and covered in paint and their inhibitions turn of as they get wild. Everyone danced and screamed to the pounding rock beat. When the music died down, Terry and I headed home.

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Drip Fairy Body Paint Jam

Posted on by Thor

0n August 1st, I went to Drip (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Orlando, Fl, right behind Senor Frogs and Denny’s) to sketch the Body Painting Party after the Drip show.  Painters and models began around 7pm. They gathered in the back stage dressing room and storage area. With eight body painters and just as many models, it was going to get tight. The body painters were, Mandi Ilene,
Lori Babson Jessup,
Tanisha Morgan,
Tracy Purple, and
Cody Saults. All the body painters hat gathered to celebrate Mandi’s birthday.

Jessica Mariko, the founder of Drip welcomed me when I arrived and she went into the dressing room to be sure that models and the artists were all OK with my sketching them.  The painters had a three hour window to get a jump on their body paint creations before guests would get to see their work immediately after the Drip dance show. I focused my attention on the model directly in front of me who was already painted white from head to toe and covered in glitter. She became a stark silhouette in front of the light on the wall. An intricate pattern spiraled around her gluts.

Other models got undressed and periodically, everyone would shout “Nipples!”, followed by laughter. Pasties and thongs would be seamlessly painted to hide any anatomy that was required by social code. An urban graffiti painting shouted “Unity!” I was seated in the only chair in the, closet-room. Often my view was obstructed by models bare backs. It seems ironic that I spent much of my time trying to look past the nudity to see the figures I had started to draw.

The sketch was pretty much done when I saw Terry enter the dressing area. I stood to go meet her. She should have lead me out by the ear, but she seemed delighted to be backstage among the chaos. We got a drink at the bar and soon the Drip dancers were pouring free beer into the open mouths of guests. The live rock band began to play and the hip urban dance began. The dancers spilled drinks on each other and their relationships became clear as they moved among the crowd and teased one another.

The show follows a story line of love and betrayal. The main characters are blue and yellow as hinted at by their Drip rags covering their hair, and the paint they get covered in. When the couple embraced, their colors mixed to become green. I was wearing my Drip T-shirt which was already stained from past shows. In previous shows, paint filled water balloons had been handed to guests. Now the cast took charge, exploding the balloons by hand all over the audience. There might have been incidents in past shows where balloons had hit people in the face. The new approach guarantees everyone gets wet and messy without the dodge ball angst. Even so, a burst of paint in my face managed to loosen a lens in my glasses and it popped out as I sipped a drink later. DRIP is an in-your-face explosion of color and movement backed by a live
rock band, all in an industrial dive bar. You may get wet … you may get
messy … you WILL have an awesome time.

Mark Your Calendar! Shows are every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9pm. What are you waiting for? This is the most fun you can have with a date, loved one, or friends in Orlando.
Tickets for the show available at www.ilovedrip.com.

DRIP Fairy Body Paint Jam

Posted on by Thor

Mark your calendar, on August 1st there will be a Fairy Body Painting Jam after the Drip show. Drip is located at (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Orlando, Florida, Behind Denny’s). Come see the show and stay for the body painting or just come for the after party body painting jam.

Small Body or Face Painting will be available for guests.

Admission for after party is $5.
Tickets for the show available at www.ilovedrip.com.

Celebrate Mandi’s Birthday in style with a paint slinging dance show, some colored beer and body paint!!

DRIP is an in-your-face explosion of color and movement backed by a live rock band, all in an industrial dive bar. You may get wet … you may get messy … you WILL have an awesome time.

Painters start time is 7pm, All other guests should arrive at around 10 pm.

Painters include:

Mandi Ilene 

Lori Babson Jessup 

Tanisha Morgan 

Tracy Purple 

Cody Saults

Girls at Gay Days Kick-Off Party “One Hot Mess”

Posted on by Thor

Drip, ( 8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs, Orlando, Florida), has been hosting parties and performances for Gay Days all this week.  I was slated to do a painting live of two Drip dancers in an erotic embrace, so I went to the women’s kickoff party, “One Hot Mess.” I arrived at around 10pm and the 8:30pm performance had just wrapped up. After a performance there is a monstrous amount of clean up work that needs to be done. Wet sand has to be shoveled aside and all the water has to be removed.

I settled in a chair near the Drip T-shirt paint station where red, blue and yellow paint is available. As I started this sketch of a body painter at work, I got pelted with blue and then red paint. Women were slinging the paint at each others shirts, and I was in the line of fire. The blue and red splotches can still be clearly seen on my sketch. One woman apologized and I said it was fine. You know going in to a party called “One Hot Mess” that things could get messy.

The woman whose body was being painted didn’t have a top on, yet the Drip logo across her chest hid any signs of nipples. She checked her cell phone often as swirls and wings were being painted on her back. Jessica Mariko‘s voice announced that the dance floor was now open.  Two drip dancers worked their magic in the center of the room while the DJ cranked up the eardrum splitting beats. Jessie Sander did a solo rain dance performance standing in a kiddie pool under a Drip paint can chandelier. The crowd of 50 to 75 women were loving it.

Later three Drip dancers performed a new number I had never seen before. They each had a sack filled with white powder that covered their bodies and filled the air in rich thick clouds. After that, Jessica wanted me to do my live painting In the main dance area. Lights pulsed green blue and yellow. Painting under those conditions would be a challenge. Regardless I set up my portable easel and the dancers, Meagan Nagy and Paige Metelka, posed in front of a back lit screen. The canvas was more textured than expected and the paintbrush would run dry too fast. Regardless, I just tried to cover the canvas as fast as I could. Surprisingly this was the one time when I felt that acrylic paint was taking to long to dry. Whenever possible I shouted to the intertwined dancers to take a break. I was sweating up a storm and they had to work hard to keep the pose. When I stepped back, the canvas was a hot mess but I learned a lot doing it. A woman asked if it was for sale and I sold it on the spot. In my rush to clean up, I forgot to sign the painting. Painting on a crowded dance floor pushed me out of my comfort zone but sometimes, that is a good thing.

Two shows for the Ladies remain…

8:30PM-10:30PM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

11:30PM-1:30AM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

Drip Gay Days

Posted on by Thor

Through June 1st, Gay Days is being celebrated at Drip on International Drive (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs, Orlando, Florida). Tonight, May 31st, there is an all male cast performing at 8:30PM and 11:30PM. On Saturday June 1st at 8:30 and 11:30 there will be performances by an all female cast. I had seen the all female performance before, so I wanted to see how the tragic love story played out for the men.

The band got on stage and soon the room was ripped open with the ear splitting riffs of David Traver who also is the music director for Blue Man Group. Quickly the room was filled with men. The male dancers performed inside a makeshift inner structure where paint and sand flew. Jeans were suspended from the ceiling and when tugged they became erotic showers of sand. People were screaming and shouting.

Overall the show’s story remained the same, Blue and Yellow spark a romantic dance and as they smear their colors together they turn green. There is infidelity and a very sexy scene performed under pulsing strobe lights. With the men there was a bit more masculine shoving and athletics. Yellow was left to wash away the past to find some sense of self.

I found out that Jessie Sander who usually dances the part of yellow in the production was seeing the show for the first time as an audience member. I saw her watching the male Yellow’s every move and she shouted encouragement at the top of her lungs. The male cast had three weeks to rehearse and fine tune the show. Jessica Mariko, Drip’s founder stood on the side lines watching the show unfold. At one point she whispered to a male dancer in the dark offering advice.

There is no passive seating for the show. The audience stands on either side of the huge performance space. Everywhere inside Drip is a splash zone, everyone gets wet. I knew when to close my sketchbook this time to preserve the sketch. When water balloons were handed out to audience members, a big bear of a guy hid behind me to try and avoid getting pelted by his boy friend. I ducked left and right and he followed my every move. Ultimately he was pelted.

Weekend Top 6 Picks. 

Saturday June 1, 2013 

6PM-9PM  Superman Art Show, Acme Superstore 905 E. State Road 434 Longwood.

8:30PM-10:30PM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

11:30PM-1:30AM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

Sunday June 2, 2013

 8:00AM-10AM Free Total Body Transformation Workout. Gaston Edwards Park – Lake Ivanhoe Boat dock / next to Gargis 1414 North Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL

7PM-Midnight Free Jesse and Amy get hitched and reception/open jam all nite! On the Rocks, Lake Eola Park 195 N Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801.  Everybody is welcome! Only request is that everyone wear some sort of white shirt (for photographic reasons). We’re def not expecting wedding gifts (gravy boats, microwaves,etc…) but if you’re so inclined, we are trying to get a house, so any cash donation would be welcome (again, not in anyway necessary). We just wanna have the coolest wedding/jam fest EVER!! Bands are welcome to do 2-3 song sets, but must use stage equipment (except for guitars, if u want your own) and notify Jeremy Hagen so he can organize the chaos. We’re hoping the jams just materialize outta the insane assemblage of all the musicians in the house.

10PM-Midnight Free Sick Of It Presents: Rancid Karaoke Cover Set. Will’s Pub 1042 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32803. You come up out of the crowd and sing your favorite Rancid songs with a live band…YOU’RE the singer!

Drip “Super Heros”

Posted on by Thor

While Mega-Con was at the Orange County Convertion Center, Drip staged a special “Super Heros” themed show. On March 16th one dancer was sick so Jessica Mariko, the dance company’s founder, stepped in to perform as Red. I hadn’t seen Jessica dance since she did a solo routine at Slingapour’s downtown.  Other dancers were a bit nervous to have the creative director performing with them. Jessica performed a hot sensual dance routine with Blue that was stellar. Some dancers have the ability to grab your attention and hold it with their every move. It is obvious Jessica has that spark. It is a shame she has to spend so much time marketing and doing the paperwork to keep this amazing show afloat.

The first act,in which the romantic leads meet, happened in the bar area. I liked how the dancing happened on the bar and patrons became part of the performance. A police siren and flashing red and blue lights announced the start of the main performance. The wagon wheel was no longer above the heads of the rock band. I never understood how that wheel tied into the show anyway. A plastic cage is used in the beginning of the show protecting the audience from the sand and paint that the performers throw. This gives a false sense of security because later the walls were removed.

My sketch got drenched several times and my white Drip T-shirt was covered in paint. Unfortunately the crowd was rather thin. It must be difficult to get Sci-Fi nerds out to see cutting edge performances.

Drip Comic Art Party

Posted on by Thor

Mega Con is at the Orange County Convention Center this week and Drip is throwing a huge party every night of the week. On Wednesday March 13th, Drip (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs) had a Comic Art Party. I decided to participate by doing life sized chalk drawings of anyone in a comic themed costume on the black walls of the bar. Through March 16th, Drip is performing special Comics and Sci-Fi Shows at 8PM and 11PM each night. Tickets are $35 for the show or $43 for the show and a white Drip T-shirt. You will want the shirt because you will get wet.

Artists were invited to show any work they might have that had a comic, sci-fi or Japanese Anime theme. All mediums were encouraged. The only sketches that I could find I had done at Mega Con a few years ago. I framed them and brought them along. When I arrived, attendance was pretty thin. I asked for some chalk and waited for my first model. The dancer who performs as red, Brigetta Frias, was my first model. We both stood on a table and I sketched her life sized on the black wall. When we hopped down to see what the sketch looked like I was surprised to see how large I drew her head. That was because we were so close as I sketched her. Next, blue, Meagan Nagy, posed and my skill at drawing so large improved. All the Drip dancers wore capes. Yellow, Jessie Sander, was running around all night just to get the cape to flap in her wake.

When I sketched Tracy Lulu Brown everything clicked into place. Tracy’s goth fetish outfit with a plaid skirt and fishnet stockings seemed natural rather than a costume. It wasn’t until I was sketching, that I noticed she had horns. I exaggerated forms and the chalk lines flowed with a gestural ease. I think the fact that she was an artist put my mind at rest. A fire alarm had to be incorporated. Tracy is now working for Drip making sure every performance flows without interruption. Every action is set to a musical beat. I met Tracy’s husband AJ who had a black mask painted on his face and black dog ears.

Shane Malesky and his wife Heather were there showcasing his Chronic Damage Art.  Chris Tobar had a series of his gas mask paintings across the room from me. One artist that I didn’t get a chance to meet was doing little four inch square paintings of cupcakes on canvas. A make shift screen was set up where people could play a Super Mario Brothers road race game. Balloon artist Bruce Carr  had eight balloon arms that sprouted from his back. His entire head was enclosed in a white balloon helmet. He posed for me and his arms snaked all over the wall. He spent well over an hour creating a balloon mask inspired by one of Shane’s paintings. It was an impressive reproduction of a red face screaming. When Bruce took off his balloon helmet he broke his glasses and I believe he had to be driven home since he wouldn’t be able to drive.

I met Lynann Barr who is a beauty and special effects makeup artist. She had worked at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights where she had to crank out hundreds of face makeups a night. This was her first time doing body painting but when the evening was over she realized it had been a walk in the park. It was a first for me as well to do life sized drawings, but it was a blast. Although attendance was light, I was busy all night adding giant figures to the wall. There wasn’t an artist on hand to sketch my performance. Drip is bringing Sexy back to International Drive.