Pre-Pandemic: Four First Names Comedy

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Pam Schwartz and I went to Dragonfly Studio and Productions, 129 West McKey Street Ocoee FL to see Four First names Comedy. The acclaimed improve team featured Richard Regan Paul
and Chris Barry, for a monthly residency of improvised music, scenes,
and conversations. The evening featured as well,  some of Orlando’s best and most active independent improv
teams; The Runaways (Carolyn Fin and Rebecca Walters Penguin), Knife
Fight (Crystal Gray and Danny Loeken Marvy), Lemons (Laura Davis and
Jillian McNamara) and The Business Women (Rachel Dabney and Ray
Cartegena). Dragonfly Studio and Production’s owner and executive
producer Elaine Pechacek joined in the festivities at the piano.

Since the Covid-19 Pandemic had made live theater impossible for now, Elaine Pechacek has set the stage for virtual comedy and is asking for performers to submit video auditions. This theater is looking ahead to a bright future.



CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

MUSICAL THEATRE SINGERS / IMPROV PERFORMERS / MUSICIANS / AND THOSE POSSESSING any MUSICAL ABILITIES!

AUDITIONS are now open via video submission from now thru April 10, 2020 for 3 new musical improv teams! Submission packages MUST include all 3 of the following segments including the application form via the link at the bottom of page.

Call-backs will take place in person mid-May, COVID-19 permitting. Please note, once all teams are cast, they will be training for 3-4 months prior to any performances. Performances are slated to begin in September 2020.

VIDEO SUBMISSIONS MUST INCLUDE:

1. One minute or less of you singing a song from any genre you choose with track or live accompaniment. A cappella will not be accepted but self accompaniment via guitar, piano, uke, etc is acceptable.

2. Two minute video of any form of storytelling (for example: poem, self-written work, conversation with your mother, answer a phone call, talk to your cat, solve world peace, anything goes!)

3. Thirty second video of quick facts about yourself.

EXTRA CREDIT (NOT MANDATORY):

One to Two Minutes of any additional musical skills!

(For example: guitar, piano, tuba, dancing, rapping, beatbox, interpretive dance)

CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION and MORE INFO about teams:

https://dragonflystudioandproductions.com/improv-auditions

You can submit videos either as Youtube link(s) or as direct video files in the following formats: .mp4 / .mov / .avi

You can print and fill out the application and take a pic and send it back as a .pdf or .jpg if the download doesn’t allow you to fill it out online. We will also accept read aloud versions of the application since I know some may not have access to their normal office equipment in which case just include that video with the rest of your submission.

LEADERSHIP TEAM:

Executive Producer: Elaine Pechacek

Associate Producer and Host: Mallory Robson

Creative Consultant and Host: Francisco J. Laboy

Please email all videos to Dragonflystudiosimprov@gmail.com. All materials, including application, are due: APRIL 10, 2020.

Must be 21 or older to submit.

*Separate files and links are acceptable as long as they are all within the same email

*Please include your name in the subject line of email along with team preference. (We will consider people being cast in multiple teams)

__________________________________________________________________________________

On March 25, 2020 Phoenix Tears Productions is presenting Ophelia Staged Reading Livestream.

Due to the current state of the world and public health, the staged reading of new musical Ophelia is moved to being a live-streamed reading. 


Tickets can be purchased via the ticket link below. Anyone who purchases a ticket will be sent a link to watch the LIVE STREAM on Wednesday, March 25th at 8pm. The following morning you will be emailed a link to the recorded show which will be viewable for ONE WEEK. We thank you for your patience and flexibility at this time.

Season ticket holders will be contacted about being in a small in-person audience. If you have purchased a ticket prior to this change and would like more information feel free to email mallory@phoenixtearsproductions.com

More about the Show:
Follow the story of Shakespeare’s Ophelia as she falls for Hamlet, fails to connect with her family, and tries to figure out who she is and what she wants to be.
A new musical by Jeremiah Gibbons.
This is a staged reading that will include a talkback where we ask for audience feedback.

Seasons: The Musical

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Seasons with music by Elaine Pechacek and lyrics by Katie Hammond was first presented at Fringe back in 2014 and I had a chance to sketch that production back then. I remember saying back then that this production deserved to grow and find its way into a much bigger venue. It is now being presented at the Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801.)

Helen (Megan Valle) was young and vibrant and a night on the town ends in a one night stand with Peter (Peter Heid.) Peter is enamored with her, head over heals in love. She has plans to go to medical school but those plans are dashed when she realizes that she is pregnant. Peter like a true gentleman proposes marriage on one knee. She agrees reluctantly to marry.

Hope (Gabriella Hockensmith) since a beautiful balled about fulfilling her dream of becoming a bride. Her mother Mrs. Jones (Rebecca Fisher) discovers around the same time that she has breast cancer. As she is struggling through chemo she sees a blue bird and takes it as a sign  that thing might be alright.

Helen had doubts about her new role as a mom and the newly wed struggled to make their new roles work. I have been researching ancestors lately and often wondered what difficulties they might have had to overcome. Helen and Peters struggles were very real. The play culminates in an overpowering lullaby sing at the beginning and end off life. It is at these extremes that love is pure and absolute. I doubt there was a dry eye in the house. It is impossible to experience this play and not be touched. The song performed by Rebecca Fisher about living each moment and seizing the day was stellar.

The final performance of Seasons: The Musical is tonight,  September 21, 2019. If you have a chance to go you should not miss it.

Tickets range from $15 to $20. 

Carnival of Wonder

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I went to a dress rehearsal for Carnival of Wonder which is an interactive spectacle unlike any other, an immersive murder mystery produced by Phoenix Tears Productions. The audience is invited to attend Madam Mystique’s Carnival of Wonder, a place full of games, fun, magic, and on this August night in 1938, a murder! It’s up to each audience member to watch the suspects and solve the mystery.

A bright pop corn machine at the entrance set the carnival mood. The wall to the left was lined with carnival style games. People were invited to knock  over tin cans, for a prize of jelly beans. I was surprised that no one managed to knock them all over. A magnet might have been involved. Other games included flipping a ring on bottle necks and some game involving a fish bowl.

I was mostly fascinated by the Saoirse the Fae Fortune Teller, (Leanna Bailey) who was illuminated in a faint purple glow. She would read peoples fortunes from Cleromancy or the casing of lots. Between clients she spoke with the Dragon Handler, Tarran Rhodes, (Jason Laramee) and things got heated. Charlie (Melissa Riggins) had been demoted to being a game handler. I wondered what had caused her fall. Roulette: Mistress of Blades, (Madison Payne) gently entertained the rubes by juggling colorful silks. Mallory Sabetodos Vance, Jade Roberts and Vex Batchelder ran the games and kept the rubes in line. Elaine Pechacek of Dragonfly Studios also acted as the consummate hostess.

Madame Mystique (Kathy Romero) in a top hat ran the carnies with an iron fist. Late in the evening the Masked Magician (Kate Murray) entered and was much loved in comparison. A hula hoop performance on the main stage by Lil Red (Jacquelynn Allene Powers) gathered the crowd for what would ultimately be the main event. I went in anticipating a murder and had a suspect in mind from the first moments when I began the sketch. Though a wild guess my artist instinct was correct. The person who guesses the killer correctly got to keep the computer 3D printed murder weapon as a prize.

The last show of Carnival of Wonders is Saturday August 24th at 8 PM

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

Dragonfly Studio & Productions

133 W Mckey St., Ocoee, Florida 34761

It’s Improvised at the 129: The Musical Edition!

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Pam Schwartz and I went to Dragonfly Studio and Productions (Dragonfly Studio 129, 129 W McKey St, Ocoee, FL 34761).  To see It’s Improvised at the 129 hosted by Richard Paul, Chris Barry (Four First Names) and Elaine Pechacek behind the piano. Dragonfly Studio 129 is a charming,
intimate performance venue that is fully convertible to fit the needs of
any given production or event. The venue’s will feature a full season of events,
including additional residencies, concerts, cabarets, theatrical
productions, readings, workshops, and more.

Four First Names’ Richard Paul and Chris Barry will put Sheryl Remekie
Carbonell, John DiDonna, Tracy Frenkel, Beth Marshall, and Rob Ward
through their improv paces. Each of the acclaimed Orlando directors will
be tasked with directing an impromptu scene made up entirely on the
spot with Dragonfly Studio and Production’s owner and executive producer
Elaine Pechacek on the piano providing an original, improvised
soundtrack.

The hosts Richard Paul and Chris Barry kicked the night off by taking suggestions from the audience. What resulted was a Rocky Horror Picture Show wedding. Elaine behind the piano provided just the right musical accompaniment for they as they turned the moment into an inspiring musical number.

All the actors and directors that were invited to this improv got on stage and each in turn described their experiences. John DiDonna’s story stood out because he used improv as a training tool for law enforcement. He described a scenario in which an armed gunman was on lock down with hostages. The goal was for police to get the gunman out without harming hostages.

Beth Marshall is a renowned local producer and she uses  improv to get a new cast familiar with one another. Simple exercised like tossing an object between actors can build trust and camaraderie. Rob Ward used improv among actors at the theme parks. These actors are usually hired because they look like a character rather than based on there acting prowess. Improv allows the actors to get off script for a bit and have fun with their lines. Actors in a theme park just as in animation, must play to the rafters. Whatever they are trying to convey must read as if seen from the bloody nose section of a football stadium. When actors played a scene over the top in the small Dragonfly studio they became very funny. Tracy Frankel had the actors create a scene at a barbecue. They were auditioning for a commercial and Tracy acted as the director trying to get them to play to the camera.  The goal was to be having so much fun, that people would want to buy the condiment.

The next It’s Improvised at the 129 is Friday, September 14 at 8 PM at Dragonfly Studio and Productions 133 W Mckey St., Ocoee, Florida 34761. The show will celebrate musical improv
with an amazing slate of guests including Robyn Pedretti Kelly
(Universal Studios), Summer Aiello (Universal Studios), Emily Fontano
(SAK Comedy Lab) and T. Robert Pigott (Walt Disney World).

Join Musical
Director Elaine Pechacek, Chris Barry, Richard Paul at Dragonfly Studios
for Its next Improvised at the 129: The Musical Edition! This place is a rare gem located out in Ocoee.

$10 Online $12 At Door

Beer and Wine – Free Snacks!

Seasons continue to sweep through Central Florida

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Seasons the Musical had a huge impact at this year’s Orlando Fringe Festival. It won multiple awards and  it returned to the Orlando Shakespeare Theater for two performances on September 27th and 28th. The book, lyrics and music were written by Katie Hammond and Elaine Pechacek. Elaine accompanied all the musical numbers by performing on piano. The play mostly follows two relationships, the strong bond between Mrs. Jones (Beki Herrbach), and her daughter Hope (Kathryn Fabbroni) and then the unplanned coupling of Helen (Renee Morico) and Peter (Erin Robere).

All of the characters lives change because of unexpected moments. Helen has a few too many drinks at a high school party and decides to sleep with Peter if he plays his cards right.  That night resulted in her pregnancy. When Peter finds out he proposes marriage. Hope has also been proposed to, and she dreams of her future of happiness. At the same time, her mother has been diagnosed with cancer. The two stories unfold, each with their uncertainties and anguish.

The music propels the story forward with 23 numbers in the show. Sadness is offset by humor and laughter offset by pain. Helen isn’t sure she loves Peter, but she hopes in time that she will. When their child arrives, she finds a focus for pure unquestioned love. Hope’s mother collapses during the wedding and then Hope remains by her mother’s side in the hospital. When Hope sang of her selfish need for her mother’s love, and how she wasn’t ready to let go, I welled up. Mrs. Jones sings an incredible song to her daughter when she realizes she hasn’t much time left. She wants Hope to know she will always be loved and she tells he to never take a single moment for granted.

Not every story has a happy ending. Life is short and bitter sweet. But all of the characters made the choice to love and be loved and that makes all of life’s difficulties worth living. The show ends with a lullaby that lingers long after the show is over. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Mark Your Calendars! Seasons will be returning October 17th and 18th at the Moonlight Players Theatre (735 W Minneola Ave Clermont FL) at 8pm.

Seasons The Musical

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Seasons the Musical was without a doubt the most dramatic and moving show at this years Fringe Festival. I sat right beside Elaine Pechacek the shows co-writer, Music Director,  and accompanist. She co wrote the show with Katie Hammond. It was staged in the Venue (511 Virginia Dr, Orlando, FL). I went to the show with no preconceptions other than knowing that a friend, Deena Beena, was the Marketing and Production Manager. The show was moving and heartfelt on every level.

It followed two separate stories, one of Mrs, Jones (Beki Herrback) who has just been told that she has cancer and she has to share the news with Hope, her daughter (Katheryn Fabbroni). The other story follows Helen (Tiana Akers) who was dating Peter (Erin Robere) and they find out that she has accidentally become pregnant. Peter is madly in love with Helen and he asked her to marry him. She consents given the situation but she isn’t sure she is actually in love. As she folded her clothes, she sang a song questioning love and it’s pains and struggles. Peter enters just as she wonders aloud weather he is the one for her. Peter gave all he had to try and win her heart but still she remained reticent.

As the couple ironed out their troubles the mom sang a beautiful song to her daughter expressing her love and hope that her daughter would never take life for granted. This lullaby was the final song in the show and I could hear people in the audience openly weeping. They just weren’t wiping away a stray tear, they were overwhelmed. I did wipe aside some tears but had to finish the sketch so I kept myself in check. All the actors sang beautifully with emotion. I hope this show gets funding and is expanded to become a runaway hit. It explored love openly and it deserves all the  love it gets in return. A show this beautiful will find its way to getting produced just as a seed always struggles to find light before it reaches full bloom.