One Voice Orlando: A Year in Reflection.

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This concert was postponed because of Hurricane Irma.  It was rescheduled for November 4th at 6 pm at the Timucua White House (2000 South Summerlin, Orlando, FL 32806.)   All proceeds benefited Proyecto Somos Orlando (the funds will benefit Pulse survivors and and also Puerto Rico relief efforts). My short film, “Finger on the Pulse,” was also screened.



Leonard Bernstein said, “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, and more devoted than ever before.” This evening was a celebration of Orlando’s community and healing and was hosted by Luis Martinez.

Proyecto Somos Orlando is a one-stop shop wraparound service program created in the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy to provide critical support to the LGBTQ+ and Latinx community regarding issues of mental health and education.

The program featured 10 performances of songs from operas and Broadway shows.  My sketch featured soprano Arleen Ramirez.  Jessica Devaney showed a short film called “Love the Sinner.” The filmmaker grew up in a church with strict moral codes.  Later in life she fell in love with another woman and her place in the church was no longer secure.  The church considered her life style a sin.  In an incredible interview with a pastor, she explained to him that she could go to church alone but her partner would feel unwelcome.  He began to question his own moral code.

The final performance of the evening, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel left the tone of hope for the future.  Being a privileged white heterosexual male citizen, I have never had to face bigotry and hatred in person.  Since Pulse, I have heard so many stories of the bigotry that still remains today and is even encouraged by the President.  We have a long road ahead of us.  Every day seems to bring a new storm.  Something somewhere has to give. 

Living Room Screening – Short Film Program.

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Living Room Screenings showcased a handful of films (each under 20 minutes). The theater was Tisse Mallon‘s living room (736 Boardman St., Orlando, FL 32804). Banks Helfrich and Tisse Mallon presented independent local films in real, live living rooms. Living Room Screening events go beyond movie night and into an intimate shared experience which includes the films, a discussion with the the creators and the reflections and thoughts of the audience.

One short stop motion film featured a matchbox car that dreamed of flying and morphed into an airplane. Another film looked like black and white surveillance video from a factory at night. There was some activity in the background but I couldn’t make out what was happening. Another film had the characters interacting in a run down apartment, it was perhaps the truest representation of what life is like in Orlando. Darlyn Finch showcased a short film titled Sewing Holes which is based on one of her books. It had a mother sitting on her daughter’s bed, contemplating shooting herself as her daughter slept.

My own short film, Finger on the Pulse was shown at the Living Room Screening prior to this one. My sketchbook at the time was filled with Pulse related documentary sketches, so it was nice to take a night off, relax and soak in some thought provoking entertainment. These Living Room Theater screenings seem to have moved to the new Blue Bamboo Music Center for the Arts.  The Elar Institute, which branched off from Living Room Theater, has been offering more educational seminars as of late. Periodically, the Institute posts quotes on Facebook, “Our emotions are communication from that part of ourselves which is connected to the truth of the universe.”

On Saturday, September 16 from 11 AM to 12:30 PM, Banks Helfrich is hosting Life Screenings – One Minute Film Festival at the Orange County Library (101 E Central Blvd, Orlando, Florida 32801). The festival looks
“Outside the Lines” at what happens when a film festival and library
mash-up. The purpose is to create a library beyond a library and a film
festival beyond a festival. Preceded by donuts and coffee, one
minute films will screen back to back; post exhibit, filmmakers will be
on hand to participate in a lively talk back. Films are chosen on the basis that they show a world we love to live in.

Finger on the Pulse exhibit at City Arts Factory.

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This solo City Arts Factory Downtown Arts District (29 S Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida 32801)

exhibition is up from December 15, 2016 to January 13, 2017
Artist Opening Reception: Third Thursday December 15, 2015 6-9pm

Thomas Thorspecken (Thor) presents “Finger on the Pulse“, Orlando’s Artistic Expression. After the Pulse tragedy, Thor went to every vigil and fundraiser possible to documents Orlando’s attempts to heal. This project continues as he sketches family and friends of victims along with survivors, employees and first responders. For some the healing will take a lifetime.

Thor has been documenting arts and culture in Orlando for the past 10 years by doing a sketch a day and writing articles that share the city’s history. The project began as a New Years resolution, and has become a lifestyle.

The show features 19 prints of the sketches done in the weeks and months following the Pulse tragedy. I transported all the framed pieces to City Arts Factory in  granny cart. All the pieces were protected using a bed sheet and some towels. It was such a luxury to be able to walk from my Thornton Park apartment downtown. Ive gotten spoiled since I moved from the dingy Winter Park apartment I was renovating these past 6 months.

Anyway, each print has a QR code on the label that leads to a full write up about each event sketched. Orlando is still healing. For some the healing will take a lifetime. A News 13 TV reporter, John Davis, shot footage as I hung the show, and then He interviewed me about all the Pulse themed sketches I have been doing. The story went live that night, but since I don’t have a TV, I didn’t see it. I contacted a Pulse survivor about an interview at the History Center, and she said that at the moment she read my request, my name was mentioned on Channel 13 News. That coverage helped me land the interview and sketch.

I’m heading over for the opening soon. Be sure to stop out to City Arts Factory before January 13th to see the show and possibly pick up some of my art for your art collection.

After Orlando

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Margaret Nolan has worked diligently to bring “After Orlando” to the stage. Usually it takes years for a theater production to come to life. In Orlando, nerves are still raw, so Margaret felt it was important to bring After Orlando to the stage only months after the Pulse shooting. “It was a labor of love. [I’ve] been steeped in it daily since the 1st week of July and it’s taken an emotional toll….but so worth it to present these important plays and project to honor the Pulse tragedy.” Margaret wrote me. The event was sold out.

After the Pulse tragedy NYC creators Zac Kline and Blair Baker invited fellow theater artists to create short plays and poetic pieces as a response to create something with heart, and spirit.  After Orlando is now a collective of over seventy playwrights from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Uganda. Plays are being presented in venues and universities all over the work and will be published in an anthology by No Passport Press.

Margaret commissioned and curated Orlando based writers to join in the conversation. The evening consisted of 20 short plays with ten local playwrights showcasing their talents. My short film, “Finger on the Pulse” was screened right after intermission. As I entered the theater, Paul Casteneda said he was close tears watching the film at the last rehearsal. There were tech issues but they were resolved right before the opening. My favorite play was written by young playwright Rose Helsinger. Called “Albino Crocodile“. It was a monologue be young actress who witnessed a gay classmate being bullied in the school halls. The bullying centered around a mispronunciation of Albino. Albino Crocodiles have blood red eyes and beautiful white skin. When an albino goes to the watering hole all the other crocks go  “Hey what is this? We can be seen around the likes of you.” At a girls slumber party conversations turned to boy crushes. One girl confided that she had a crush on another girl. She was shunned like the albino. She however stood resolute finding a strength and joy in being herself.

A Poem by Aradhana  Tiwari called “I remember I am a Rainbow” got me choked up. The poem started showcasing a storm’s approach and violence. Despite the turbulence and darkness the rainbow emerged to explain the joyful meaning behind it’s every color. It was somewhere around the description of a yellow bird chirping happily and taking flight that I broke down. It was a dark theater. I didn’t have to wipe away the tears.

Other heart wrenching plays, had actors exchanging messages and phone calls in a desperate attempt to find out if loved ones were lost. Janine Klein had an incredibly powerful monologue as a mom getting ready for bed and seeking silence from social media. Her sleep is disturbed by phone calls and she discovers her son is among the missing. Janine grew desperate, hoping her son was alright. Her love was palpable even as she described the tattoo he loved and she hated. She faced the possibility that her son might be forever silent.

The final play, had all the actors on the stage. I imagine the final production would have 49 actors. Rebecca Fisher recited a series of joyful phrases beginning with “Today is a good day to…” Tell someone you love them, hug a stranger, to take dance lessons, to sky dive… All the statements came from the obituaries found for the 49 victims in the Orlando Sentinel. It ended the evening on a high note, reminding us all to live life to the fullest. Life is a gift that is all too short. Part of me wants to shut down, to steer dear of the pain. But compassion and hurt bubbles to the surface any time I see OrIando’s Creative community unite to answer bigotry and hate with an enlightened response. As Paul Castineda said, “I’m proud of all my fellow
artists.”

Finger on the Pulse at the Livingroom Theater Shorts Program .

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Banks Helfrich and Tisse Mallon present independent local films in real, live living rooms. Living Room Screening events go beyond movie night and into a shared experience which includes the film, the creator and the reflections and thoughts of the audience.
This evening’s intimate experience consisted of a number of short films and a conversation with the creators.

Having just finished editing “Finger on the Pulse“, I sent Tisse and Banks a Facebook messages asking if the short was a good fit for then Living room Theater Shorts program. Amazingly my last minute submission squeaked into the lineup.

Filmmakers included.

Ariel Zengotita
Kevin O’Neill
Rokaya Mikhailenko
Logan Anderson
Ferio Dismo

  My film, “Finger on the Pulse” began and the room fell silent.
You could hear a pin drop. I thought something might be wrong. When the
credits rolled there was an unexpected thunderous applause. In the talk
back I described my experience showing the 49 portraits at the Orlando Science Center,
and once again I choked up when I described how one victim’s sister
reacted when she saw the exhibit. I was advised to Show the film at the Enzian Film Slam and the Global Peace Film Festival. I need to clean up the edit and burn it to DVD to make those submissions.

My favorite film was titled “Lean” by director Kevin O’Neill. In that film, actor Dennis Neil sat in a rocking chair on to porch of a weathered southern cabin. He held a tiny music box and the camera zoomed in o his face as he remembered his past. The flash back scene was saturated white in a southern school room. A pretty girl with blond curls pay full glances back at the boy as they both do their school work. She places the music box on his desk. Later, he is helping her with her homework and their fingers touch above the school book. A storm breaks out and they run outside to dance in the rain. I felt uncomfortable. with a black boy and white girl playing together in the south, things couldn’t end well. The boy sits down in the mud and the girl follows suit. His white shirt and her white dress are soon playfully covered in mud. He reaches out to hold her beautiful curls and then they hold hands. Just then the girls mom drives up and she drags her daughter away. We flash back to the present and Dennis goes inside the cabin and hands the music box to a woman in bed. She looks sick but has the same beautiful blond hair. The moral is that love sees no color. I loved the film.

Other films included a toy car that acted like a caterpillar and built a cocoon to become an airplane, by Ariel Zengotita. A poetic southern travelogue by Logan Anderson, A quirky film about science and perception by Ferio Dismo, and a hot Flamenco dance piece that followed the dancer’sromance, motherhood, and ultimately her husband’ death by Rokaya Mikhailenko.

Finger on the Pulse.

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At Pints for Pulse, The City Song Players performed Finger on the Pulse for the first time since it had been recorded a week before.  Shadow Pearson was on piano, and Eugine Snowden got on stage to help with vocals. The song has been picked up by a subsidiary of Sony and paperwork is still be in filled out.  The song is just two minutes and forty seven seconds as Shadow explained, it is we radio friendly. All sales of the song are now be in donated to onepulsefoundation.org.

A news camera was trained on the stage, and on c again, I felt like I us witness to history.  All the beer tents were far away, so no one was crowded up to the stage. There was no refuge from the sun. I sketched fast hoping not to burn to the complexion of a lobster. Before I knew it, the song was sung and the beer soaked crowd cheered its approval. Even as we numbed ourselves with beer, art can still punch through reminding us of what cause we are drinking for. Actually, I didn’t drink a sip. My cause was to witness and sketch this performance.