Fringe: Automatic Orchestra, Just Add Music

Posted on by Thor

At this year’s Orlando International Fringe Festival, Automatic Orchestra: Just Add Music in the Blue Venue of the Orlando Shakes is an immersive improvisational orchestra where the actors are inspired by the music created by the audience. Entering the venue, there were various methods of making sound in every audience seat. I moved a rattle from my seat over to the next seat. There were kazoos, cooking pans, one of those metal barrels with metal beads wrapped around it, and so much more. I was hoping to play a trumpet while I sketched, but I didn’t see one. I would just be making the sound of a pen scratching on the page.

Actors entered from back stage and through magic portals. There were duels, fights, peaceful negotiations and so much action.  No actor ever spoke, they simply listened to what sounds came from the audience to decide what they should do next. The audience also fed off of the action. The fellow seated in front of me to my right banged a pot any time a gun was fired. It was as if the entire audience was hired to act as folly artists. Since my hands were busy sketching, I simply hummed and made other vocal noises.

If there was a story line, I missed it. Not knowing what was happening made sketching a challenge. I like to think of what the verb is before I start sketching someone. Chaos begets chaos. Kayla Fischl from her show Unconditionally, acted as the guest conductor. She had a music stand in front of her, but every member of the audience had their own agenda in terms of making sound. Conducting would be like trying to herd stray cats.

It was an hour of nonsensical experimentation. With a drink or two in you and a very open mind, you will likely have a blast. Just don’t go in expecting any three act play with  a well-defined character arc. Go in to laugh and make plenty of noise.

Here are the remaining show times for Automatic Orchestra, Just Add Music presented by Renie and Bob Productions of Altamonte Springs Florida. In the Blue Venue in the Shakes. Rated for all ages. Run time 60 minutes. Tickets are $13. Be sure to pick up a Fringe button for entry.

Saturday May 23, 5:24pm

Sunday May 24, 6:55pm

Fringe: The Black Jack Show

Posted on by Thor

The Scarlet venue at the Orlando International Fringe Festival seemed too large for The Black Jack Show. I suspect the puppeteer is used to performing for one or two people at a time. Jack and Black are two hand puppets that host a variety show that included torch songs, shadow puppets, a dog, a vampire comedian, a lion dance and two white gloves that performed between acts.

The white gloves were in my mind that stars of the show. They were entertaining and played off one another magnificently. After a puppy marionette pranced around the audience one of the white gloves popped up with puppy ears on. There was something magical about the simplicity of those two gloves. They had a humerus shtick that played off of every other act.

A COVID-19 puppet came out 3 separate times to sing cabaret numbers. Since I animated a film about COVID-19, I know that audiences are not that receptive to being reminded about how humanity, and America in particular, is ill equipped to handle an outbreak. As the COVID puppet performed her songs, I could see people in the front row begin to shut down. One person was literally nodding off. Since people during the height of the pandemic refused to accept reality by saying the virus was a hoax and vaccines carry microchips, they certainly don’t want to be reminded that COVID is now endemic and will always pose a threat to our immune systems. I was rooting for the singing COVID puppet, but her performance was accepted like a lead balloon. She left the stage saying, “I’ll be back.”

The little puppy marionette was cute, but it really didn’t have any performance potential other than sitting on its hind legs and panting. The puppeteer, who looked suspiciously like Rasputin paraded the puppy up and down the aisles of the audience. Very few people could see the puppet, so they sat wondering what was going on. It would have been nice if there was a much higher, eye level stage the puppy could have performed on.

There was a shadow box with white frosted Plexiglas on the front of it. A flashlight and shadow puppets were moved around behind the Plexiglas. The light from the shadow box illuminated about 5 people in the audience. From where I was sitting, I could not see what was being shown. From my vantage point, I was watching the puppeteer struggling to find the silhouette figures and juggling the flashlight. The flashlight kept falling as he searched for the next shadow puppet.

The lion dance puppet was much like the little puppy. Few people could see it since it was on the floor rather than up on a stage. The lion dance marionette just jumped up and down. I was just left wondering why?

Overall, this puppet variety show left me confused rather than entertained. A few drinks consumed at the beer tent before the performance could make the puppetry more palatable.

Remaining show times for The Black Jack Show by the St. Vetus Theater Company Orlando Florida. The show can be found in the Scarlet Theater in the Orlando Family Stage (1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803.) It is rated for 13 and up since there were some mature themes but no puppet sex. The show ran for an agonizing 60 minutes. Tickets are $12 and be sure you have a Fringe button.

Friday May 22, 7:15pm

Saturday May 23, 1:15pm

Fringe: Queer!

Posted on by Thor

Queer! Celebrates Latinx Queer resilience at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. The cast, each in turn, tells stories if growing up and feeling different that those around them. One female even conformed and lived the life of a mom. Deep down she knew she was stifling who she really was. Some stories were told through music, movement and projections. Some were spoken word which often resonates with me.

The stories were all tied together with a common thread of courage in being able to remain unique in a world that often the violently demands conformity. With some story tellers I would stop sketching, transfixed and wanting to quietly take in all I was being told. Some stories demand moments of quiet reflection.

Two big screens acted as bookends on either side of the stage. When the cast was speaking Spanish, the screens would project English translations. When the cast spoke English the screens projected Spanish. I loved that touch of inclusion.

America has turned dark by making war on our Latin neighbors with ICE raids. Florida leads the nation for ICE detentions and is home to Alligator Alcatraz, a concentration camp set up in the swamps southern Florida. This show is a reminder that Orlando remains a bubble of acceptance in a country that has gone mad.

The stories in the show, however, were not about politics or mistreating neighbors. The stories resonate with strength, determination and love. That is a message we need to hear in these times. No matter what your ethnicity or sexuality is, you will love this cast.

Remaining show times for Queer! Presented by Descolonizarte Tearo, Inc. Orlando Florida. Silver Venue. Rated for 13 and up. 70 Minutes. Tickets are $15.

Wednesday May 20,9:50pm

Thursday May 21, 6:30pm

Friday May 22, 6:30pm

Sunday May 24, 5:35pm

Fringe: MacSchrek, The Comedy of Ogres

Posted on by Thor

The New Players Company of Oviedo Florida presents MacSchrek: The Comedy of Orgres. This  at this years Orlando International Fringe Festival. was a fun parody that mixes Shakespeare with the animated feature film Schrek. The combination is hilarious. If you are well versed in Shakespeare you will laugh at the comedic rewrites of his classic lines. If you have no clue who Shakespeare is you will laugh at the comedic timing and fast paced staging.

The stage was often crowded with players but I just felt the need to capture Schrek in his Shakespearian pantaloons. The actress playing Donkey was hilarious and the fair Gwendolyn was stunning even in green ogre horns. When drawing Pinocchio who was hiding behind a set piece, drew his nose sticking out after he told a lie. I thought it funny that the actor thought he was hidden like a manatee trying to hide behind a strand of sea grass.

I think everyone knows the story of how Schrek went on a quest to save his swamp land. Though self-serving, in the end it became an epic quest.  The actor who plays Farquaad the prince, played the roll bombastically and over the top which played well for comic relief. Somehow his narcissistic role seemed all the more suited for politics in America today.

Long story short, this is a really fun show to catch at the Fringe this year. It is a guaranteed good time.

Remaining show times…

MacSchreck: The Comedy of Ogres in the Yellow Venue. 60 minutes. Tickets are $15.

Monday May 18, 7:10pm

Tuesday May 19, 8:35pm

Saturday May 23, 12: 15pm

Sunday May 24, 3:45pm

James Chonody Studio: Fallen Angels Project

Posted on by Thor

James Chonody was painting at Avalon Park Florida one day, and a woman stopped and introduced herself. She liked the paintings James had on display. They started talking, she said her son had suggested she stop and talk, yet her son was nowhere to be seen. Her son had been killed three months prior by a DUI driver. Mom wasn’t in the car, but the father and sister took months to recover from the crash. Her son was in the front seat passenger and he was killed.

She asked James how he started painting and he was afraid to tell her that he was a recovering alcoholic. When James started painting seven years ago, the drinking stopped. He didn’t know how she would react. She might lash out. He ended up telling her anyway. She gave him a big hug and said she was so proud of what he was accomplishing.

He asked if she would like him to paint a portrait of her son, and she agreed. The next morning, he had the painting finished in about two hours at 9am. He sent a picture of the painting and wrote “Good Morning Mother.” She called back crying and joyful. They have been good friends ever since. She introduced him to another mother who lost her son who was a high school football player killed by a DUI driver. The DUI driver was a cop’s daughter, and this was her second offense. James did a portrait for that family and was paid. He then did a portrait of a pregnant daughter who had been killed.

After that, James felt terrible charging money for these portraits, He felt like an ambulance chaser, although that was not his intent. The work came to him. He decided to start doing the portraits for free. It was good practice for his portrait work. He posted on Facebook that he would be doing these portraits for free. That is how the project started. The families in support groups started to spread the word.

A woman in Minnesota was in a Fentanyl support group and she spread the word.  She warned him that he might be flooded with requests. He said, “bring it on.” Seven people put in requests for portraits. Each portrait would take about two hours to complete, and he did this for about two years.

With each of these tragic deaths there was also suffering in the lawsuits that each family had to endure. Hearing about these lawsuits started to get to James. He did a few more portraits for families he was close with but needed to abandon the project.

James had to get brain surgery and these families reached out with their support and prayers. Several families visited him in the hospital. The portrait project had allowed James to find a support group that he didn’t know he would need. The whole project was a bit of an accident in the way it started, but he is glad he did it. He had painted 120 portraits for his Fallen Angel’s Project.

Since James knew that I wanted to sketch him working in his studio, he put out one more call on Facebook letting people know he would do a painting for free. A father in Arizona asked for a portrait of his son who had been killed in a horrible car accident. The boy had a fun surprised open-mouthed expression in the photo reference that was picked.

James works on a canvas covered in black gesso and blocks in the painting with thin layers of white paint. If he touches the canvas lightly with his brush he will paint the mid tones. Then when he loads the brush with thick white paint, he can get the highlights. His reference was on a digital picture frame above the easel. It took him about an hour to finish the first pass of the painting.

James has his studio set up in the garage and with the garage door open light floods into the space. On the back of the garage door was a large canvas painted with a blue sky with white clouds. A mystical sun and moon canvases adorned the ceiling. The walls were painted a light neutral grey. Black metal grid stands often used in street fair displays stood along every wall. His paintings were hung everywhere on these grid stands. The newest paintings hung on stands that faced the street. James tends to sell the work as fast as he creates it which I vastly admire.

Urologist Waiting Room

Posted on by Thor

At the end of my trip through Europe, following in the footsteps of my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken, I discovered that a double hernia had developed at the base of my pelvis. All the hiking I had been doing should have been good for my health, and it was. I lost plenty of weight but perhaps the weight loss revealed the hernia which may have already been developing. In my mind the hernia happened overnight. The Airbnb I was staying in had free coffee. I never drink coffee, but I decided to try a cup that night. It tasted good, so I had another cup.

In the morning, as I was getting dressed, I noticed the two rather large bulges at my pelvis. I panicked. My health insurance had been canceled because of my travels. I scoured the interned to self diagnose the situation. It was not life threatening as I at first thought. I was fine with it unless I had to lift something heavy.  My heaviest object was my backpack full of sketchbooks. I decided I could live with it and then I would get it fixed once I got back to the United States.

This trip to the Urologist was a check up on a previous operation I had which was to remove my prostate. For that operation a laser had been shoved up my flag pole and the prostate was burned away with the laser beam. It was a high tech solution. I wondered if a laser bean blast had ricocheted and caused the hernias. One internet article confirmed that was a possibility.

At this visit with the doctor’s assistant, she denied that the previous operation could be the cause. She gave me a referral to a doctor who handled hernia repairs. I had the prostate removed so that I would not need to urinate as often as I did. Traveling in Europe I found that I still had to urinate far too often. I took a pee in just about every German landmark that I sketched. A sketch takes about two hours to complete and by that time I would have to pee like a race horse. A side effect to the double hernia is a constant need to pee. The doctor’s assistant prescribed a pill that helps reduce the urgency, but my Ambetter Insurance refused to fill the prescription.

My sister in Punta Gorda Florida had the double hernia repair surgery. Her case was much worse than mine. She had to have the surgery done multiple times because the doctors botched the repair. One doctor finally fixed all the botched operations and she has been fine ever since. I started looking for information about that doctor online.

My primary goal, and the reason I was staying in Florida was to get this operation done. I would have to face sketching a series of doctor’s office waiting rooms. This wait wasn’t very long. I only had enough time to put some lines on the page and add three washes to cover the page.

David Plotkin Memorial

Posted on by Thor

I have been staying in an AirBnB in Thornton Park Orlando Florida for the past week. It has been wonderful to be able to walk to venues each day to sketch. One of the first places I wanted to sketch was at Stardust Video and Coffee. At this coffee house, Doug Rhodehamel has been assembling a magnificent display of brightly colored cardboard fish in honor of a dear friend David Plotkin.

David who was a close friend of Doug’s was a former Orlando Weekly staffer, WPRK DJ, a political activist and a cultural mover. Doug was asked by the Casselberry Arts & Sculpture House to do a solo show and he enlisted the help of David to come up with a concept for the show. Unexpectedly David died on April 1, 2025 from heart failure before the brainstorming session. Doug considered canceling the show, but decided instead to make the show a tribute to David.

Doug wondered what Dave would want to see if he were to go to the show. David was on a pickle kick. He had old drawings that Doug called war pickles. Doug decided he would build the show around pickles but also allow them to become something else. He ultimately decided to create a huge school of pickle fish swimming through the void. The fish are light and vibrant reminding anyone seeing them that there is light and wonder in the world which is often all too dark and drab. Besides the large school of pickle fish, Doug created a green pickle moon and blue corrugated cardboard columns that resembled coral. The opening reception for Flight of the Pickle Fish was on July 18, 2025.

It took Doug close to a year to cut out all the fish out of corrugated cardboard. I am familiar with Doug’s fish because he mails out a fish each year as a Christmas ornament to friends and supporters of his work. I look forward to seeing each unique fish each year. Some time in the future I hope to have a Christmas tree to display all the ornaments.

The David Plotkin Memorial Aquarium was unveiled on March 22, 2026 at Stardust Video and Coffee. Doug plans to keep making changes to the installation over time. The Stardust installation recruits many of the fish that were on display in the Casselberry Pickle Fish show along with new exotic species.

I went to Stardust Video and Coffee first thing in the morning to sketch. The online Stardust website showed photos of delicious looking waffles. At the front counter I asked for a coffee and the waffles. The woman behind the counter apologized. They no longer have waffles although they are listed in chalk on the blackboard above the counter. There was also an item on the blackboard called the Rhodehamel. I asked what the Rhodehamel was. I imagined it must be some kind of delicious sandwich. Maybe it was a pickle fish sandwich? She had no idea. The kitchen also does not open until 11AM. At least I got my coffee and set about doing the sketch. I was fascinated by a woman at the bar who was on a Zoom meeting about wine sales. Her earth toned dress had fish shapes all over it. When the sketch was complete, I went back to downtown Orlando to grab the waffles I craved.

Venetian Gardens, Leesburg Florida

Posted on by Thor

I went to Venetian Gardens in Leesburg Florida with a friend to paint. We made the mistake of getting to the gardens right before sunset. The golden hour light illuminated the far shore of the lake a golden orange. Two fishermen were out in small boats pulling in the last of their catch. It was a beautiful scene but we had to work supe fast to try and catch it.

The second it got dark, the mosquitos came out with a vengeance. We both scrambled to pack up our art supplies while getting bitten from all angles from clouds of mosquitos. I don’t even mind getting bitten, I just hate when the mosquitos buzz into my ears. I swear that every mosquito takes a kamikaze run at my ears. Hitting myself on the side of the head to try and kill the culprit is useless and deafening.

We both managed to get something 0n the page in the limited time we had. I of course would have liked more time to mix richer colors. I am considering making changes to my daily sketch kit to include gouache colors which can be applied opaque. With watercolors I can cover the page quickly with thin washes but there are times when I want to paint lights back into the sketch or mix rich pure colors. My watercolor palette is always rather dirty so finding pure color is a challenge.

In this same park there was a magnificent Christmas light display. Lights would flicker on and off in tempo with the music, and a series of reindeer would turn on in sequence making it seem like they were galloping across a bridge. I wanted to return to do a digital sketch of that display but I never got around to it. There were a few magical places to sketch in Lake County, but I have returned to downtown Orlando to search for the types of events that I have loved to sketch for years. I am on a sketching staycation in Thornton Park right now. I am staying at AirBnBs each week and walking downtown  to explore and sketch. My goal is to stay in Orlando long enough to sketch the Orlando International Fringe Festival in May.

Howie in the Hills Christmas Festival

Posted on by Thor

I went to Howie in the Hills to sketch a small town Christmas Festival. I fell on love with a home in Howie in the Hills which looked like a 1920s Hollywood hacienda. The home was on the main road where traffic is supposed to travel at 35 miles per hour, but the huge 18 wheelers seem to roar by at 55 miles per hour. The studio would have faced out on that main road.  I returned to the home a second time to see if the noise was an issue. The first time the real estate brokers had been talking constantly. This time I wanted a moment of peace to stop and reflect. There was a tall grouping of bamboo between what would have been the studio windows and the road. I considered planting more bamboo to further muffle the roar of traffic.

On the second floor the real estate broker confided for the first time that there was termite damage to a door frame. The termites had infested the home starting in the kitchen and then migrated through the walls upstairs. The door frame was so hollow that the door higes had nothing to hold onto. The door was resting 0n the floor. I hadn’t tried closing the door on my first walk through of the home. I abandoned the idea of buying that home. It was also too far from the events that I love to sketch each day. I like being able to walk to coffee shops and arts venues to sketch at a moments notice. Howie in the Hills is about an hour and a half drive from any Orlando events.

I am 0n a staycation at an AirBnB in Thornon Park, Orlando Florida. Since staying here, I have been doing several sketches every day. After I teach a virtual class tonight, I will be walking down the street to City Arts Factory to sketch Story Club. If I was still out in the country the hour and a half drive would have made the sketch opportunity a no go. The AirBnB is in a great location, but it has no WiFi, so I have to move again in a couple of days.

I parked across the street from the Howie in the Hills home I had decided was all wrong for me and I walked to the Christmas Festival. There was a stage for performers and I leaned against it to sketch the inflatable bounce houses. One of the staff who were supervising the bounce houses and slides set up beside me to eat lunch. He explained that he had to ask one kid to leave because the kid was bullying other children. By refusing the bully admission, the other kids could play without the harassment. If only politics were so easy.

I enoyed watching the kids trying to scale the rock climbing tower. One boy kept trying and failing at reaching the top. I admired that he never gave up. An older girl managed to get to the top on her second try. She raised her hands in victory and was lowered to the ground swaying on her safety rope. The little boy looked on in wonder and then attempted his climb with renewed determination. He failed again. He was dropped to the ground swinging on his safety rope with his arms dangling. I don’t know if the little boy ever made it to the top of the tower. As I packed up my sketchbook he was in the midst of another attempt.

I walked down the street filled with tents where vendors offered their Christmas knick knacks. I wasn’t tempted to purchases anything. To be honest I kind of skipped Christmas this year. My Christmas highlight this year was a Christmas market in Plettenberg Germany and sipping mulled wine while overlooking Wiesbaden Germany from a mountain top. This small Howie in the Hills estival felt overly commercial and shallow in comparison. There wasn’t much history behind the festivities. Being single and completely unattached, the holidays have less meaning. I might just treat myself to a new sketchbook or some new tubes of paint. I can’t order them online, since I don’t know where my next address will be.

No Kings Protest Orlando Florida

Posted on by Thor

Stella Arbeláez Tascón has wanted to build a large puppet for some time. When she found out that a No Kings Protest was being staged nation wide, and in Orlando Florida, she decided it was time to build a 14 foot tall puppet of Donald Trump as a Jailbird in Chief. Such large puppets are often build in Europe but it is a tradition that has not yet taken root in America. I became Stella’s studio assistant to help bring this behemoth to life.

Stella found many videos online that showed how these large puppets could be built. She borrowed from various puppet workshops to come up with her n. A walker was cut apart and when turned upside down to became the spine of the puppet. She borrowed the shoulder straps and belt from an existing backpack and miraculously they fit neatly onto the walker.

The Trump head was constructed from 1/4 inch plastic tubing which formed the three dimensional framework. Paper mache was then added to create the skin of the face. The result was a highly stylized and expressive head. In the final night of construction, I was tasked with building the hands and painting Trump’s’ Orange face. When Stella gave advice on using thin washed of red over the nose, and ears, the face started to gain a ruddy life. Bruises and blotchy skin were replicated. By 3 or 4 in the morning I had to drop off to sleep, but Stella kept working. She had to sew the huge orange prison jumpsuit by the time we would have to leave for the protest in the morning.

The rib cage of the puppet had to be cut back to allow the puppet to fit in the hatchback of her Prius. The giant head could just fit in the passenger front seat. It is an absolute miracle that the entire fourteen foot puppet managed to fit in her Prius.

Stella hired a second puppeteer to handle the extremely large left hand. She dressed like a secret service agent with a white dress shirt, black tie and sun glasses. Since I am living out of a backpack, I didn’t manage to pull together an equally stellar garb. I made due with what I had.

Assembling the puppet and getting Stella set inside was challenging. We practiced the assembly at her studio and then recreated the steps outside the parking garage near Orlando City Hall. The trickiest part of the assembly has snapping the bulk of the puppet onto the walker that Stella had strapped to her back. With the huge Trump head mounted on top, the puppet wanted to topple. I was grateful when everything snapped into place. Stella’s solid hips and low center of gravity were an absolute advantage.

The puppet was so tall that it could not walk under the covered awnings on the side of the skyscraper leading to City Hall Plaza. When we stepped out of the shadows into the open plaza people shouted out, “The hands are too big!” That is my fault, I built those monsters. The puppet would be so much more manageable with tiny little raptor hands. You know what they say about tiny hands, right? Anyway, that was the ongoing joke all day long.

We marched the puppet around every corner of the City Hall complex. In several places the tree branches were too low to allow passage. We found other ways to navigate around. Hundreds of people were gathered. I kept shouting out, “Jailbird in chef coming through!’ to help clear a path. Stella was the brains of the operation. She would let us know which direction to turn and make sure we were all lined up. If one of us walked too fast we could throw off the balance and cause the puppet to topple. When Stella wanted the hands to wave she would let us know. She then wanted us to walk the diamond shaped crosswalk in front of city hall. When we did that the honks and shouting from the cars waiting at the light became overwhelming. Crossing quickly with a fourteen foot puppet isn’t an easy task. The Trump puppet can’t break into a run when the time runs out on the crossing signal.

Since I was busy holding the rod that controls the puppets right hand, I didn’t get any sketching done at the protest. In one of the videos I saw of the protest, I overheard someone saying “Wow pretty awesome.” I was sure he was taking about my stellar puppetry performance in waving that right hand. I was a sweaty mess by the end of the day and muscles I didn’t even know I had were sore, but it was sooooo worth it.

I returned the next day to sketch city hall and then added protestors and the puppet when I got back to my Thornton Park studio. The Jailbird in Chef go plenty of coverage on the news and social media.