Dandy Darkly’s All Aboard at Fringe

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Dandy Darkly’s All Aboard was a high energy hour of sinister story telling. “Where were you the night the Gaybird Steamer ran off her tracks?”
Resplendent storyteller Dandy Darkly served up another audacious hour of
hypnotic Southern Gothic grotesquery: creepy robots, African spider
gods, beauty shop gossip and inbred redneck freaks. Oh, also trains!

An ongoing stream in the flowing story line was the mass marketing of Lollybot, a toy that every child had to have. It had a hypnotic single eye. Of course, I couldn’t help but think of the pink Lollybot of Dog-Powered Robot fame. The mastermind behind his marketing mania was similar to Henry F. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life. He only cared about the money that could be made. Greed ruled supreme.

The story told was delivered at a feverish pitch the entire show, much slipped by me as I concentrated on the details of costuming and the set. Giant golden spiders embellished Dandy’s shoes and lapel. Tassel’s waved and Dandy gestured. Glittering golden tights and puffy sleeves fully engrossed my attention. A golden goblet on a tiny side table lit by candles, was used to quench Dandy’s parched lips when he needed to pause to let a story point sink in.  A quilt of spiders, pumpkins, top hats, Easter eggs, presents, and a one-eyed robot acted as a backdrop for all that unfolded.

The existential world of the south he painted was dark, mysterious, and sinister. Danger loomed at every turn.

Tickets are $12 plus a $10 Fringe button.

Remaining show times are:

9:00 PM

2:45 PM

Black Wood at Fringe

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Pam and I happen to have been binge watching Dark Shadows, a goth 1960s live TV show. The show ran for an incredible 1,225 episodes. We are still watching the first season, though it seems like it has been forever. Black Wood, written by Steve Schneider and directed by David Russell, recreated what it might be like for the cast of that tradition of live TV. I have a rather personal memory of watching Dark Shadows as a child. My mother was diagnosed with cancer and she spent most of her time in a NYC hospital away from our suburban New Jersey home. Towards the end, she came home and I would sit in bed with her watching Dark Shadows each day. To me the show seemed dark and sinister, often dealing with people struggling to stay alive after having their blood sucked away by Barnabas Collins… a VAMPIRE! This was one of the last memories I had of being close to my mom. I was 10 years old.

Black Wood featured a young method-acting student, Caroline (Melanie Leon) landing a prize role right after graduating from acting school. Her excitement and enthusiasm was thrilling. The long time cast of the show, however, was jaded, just trying to get through each episode without stumbling. To open her first appearance, Caroline read an opening monologue into the mic. Her throaty, reflective, and dreamy performance was perfectly in line with every intro that proceeded the actual on-air drama. In her monologue, she dreamed of how her life would change once she was finally confronted by Black Wood. The intern on the program, William (Hannibal Callens), was black and he tried to hold back a giggle. This was an ongoing joke.

The cast were professional actors faced with having to go live before the cameras for each show with only a brief rehearsal and script rundown. The sinister vampire of the series was Peter, playing Victor (J.D. Sutton.) He had a magnificently chiseled face, reminiscent of Vincent Price. One constant when watching the TV show live is that actors often stumbled horrifically over their lines. In this stage comedy, Victor as an aging actor was the one who would forget his, leaving the cast stunned as they tried to redirect him on the live broadcast. It left room for plenty of comedy and dark terrified stares off into the scary unknown.

This is my favorite Fringe show so far. I have the advantage of being in the midst of watching Dark Shadows. If you have never seen the goth 1960s drama, then some of the subtle jokes might be missed. But I had a blast. When Caroline let it slip that she was proud to be working on a soap opera, the whole cast gasped. They didn’t like referring to their show as a soap opera. They preferred to call it a daytime drama. Soap operas suck, but reality bites. I am certain that Barnabas Collins would approve.

Tickets are $12 plus a $10 Fringe Button. Show dates are:

Thursday May 16, 2019 at 8:45 PM to 9:45 PM

Saturday May 18, 2019 at 3 PM to 4 PM

Wednesday May 22, 2019 at 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM

Saturday May 25, 2019 at 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM

Sunday May 26, 2019 at 10:45 PM to 11:45 PM

Abridged Orlando Fringe Sketchbook

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The Abridged Orlando Fringe Sketchbook documents 10 years of the Orlando Fringe in sketches. The project began in 2009 and today, 10 years later, the sketching continues. Above is a sample of the first 10 pages of the book.

This abridged Fringe Sketchbook is 110 pages with over 200 sketches. The book is going to press now and will be available at the 2019 Orlando Fringe Festival. Each year has a few paragraphs highlighting my favorite shows of the year. The goal has been to assemble every sketch done at Fringe shows over the past 10 years at an affordable price.

The books will sell for about $25 at the Orlando Fringe. If you would like to pre-order a book contact pam-schwartz@hotmail.com. If you pre-order we will arrange to give you the book when you arrive at the Fringe Festival. If there is enough interest we will print more books. We can take orders via pay pal, checks, or of course, cash. As an added bonus, prints and original Fringe paintings, are being offered at half price. $100 per print, and $200 for an original. Should you want me to frame the art I can arrange that for $100 more. If you order original art or a print, you will get an Abridged Orlando Fringe book thrown in for free.

A much larger 249 page book that has all the original articles written for Analog Artist Digital World is also being produced.

Dammit Jim! I’m a Commedienne, Not a Doctor!

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Dammit, Jim! I’m a Comedienne, Not a Doctor!
was a one woman show written and performed by Polly Esther at the 2018 Fringe Festival. She wore a short skirt and gold tights that made her look a bit like a Star Fleet Cadette. Her shirt had Spock’s live long and prosper, hand gesture printed over her chest.

An innocent suggestion of watching “Star Trek: The Next Generation” for the first time quickly turned into obsession with the entire Star Trek universe. Every series. Every season. Every film. Then came the Las Vegas convention. These are the voyages of Polly Esther, her ongoing mission to explore this strange new world and how this universe has helped her boldly go forward in her journey as a recovering alcoholic.

At one of the Star Trek Conventions she me someone else who was a recovering alcoholic and they decided on a whim to send out an invite for anyone else to come to their hotel room. They were shocked by how many people showed up to that meeting.  It was a heart warming reminder that we are not alone in our troubled path through life. Her fan girl enthusiasm was a joy to watch and her story gave some meaning and significance to the whole Fan Convention phenomenon. Embrace your geek, and share it with the world.

God Bless Cambodia at the 2018 Fringe

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In God Bless Cambodia, Randy Ross is a chronically single man who decides to travel the world through four continents after the loss of a job. He hopes to change his luck with love. Yet as he highlights his many relationships it becomes clear why he is hopelessly single. His world travels world result in more sexual misadventures.

Reading a travel guide book he learns that you can travel cheap if you travel like a backpacker. On a trip to his local camping store he meets a colorful sales person. He asked for a 60 liter backpack with a waterproof cover, and the salesman had him covered. He added “I don’t know if your going to Bangkok, but if you are, I highly recommend a massage at a place called tugs.” Taken aback, He noted the info and decided to ask for a travel shirt. “In Ko Samui there is a body spa called the curious finger.” The salesman sniffed his pinkie to relive the memory. TMI but in the end Randy spent $500, but as he left the shop he decided not to shake the salesman’s hand.

Much of the show was laugh out loud funny. I can identify with this middle aged man’s desire for travel after the loss of a relationship. It was like Eat, Pray, Love, minus the praying and with high class literary sex instead of love.

For Love Sir: Letters of Life, Love, and Sacrifice

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Mikael A. Duffy of Bent Book Productions wrote For Love Sir: Letters of Life, Love, and Sacrifice and she invited me to a rehearsal at Dragonfly Studio and Productions, (133 W McKey St, Ocoee, FL 3476.) This Fringe Production was built around real letters home from service men and women.  “For Love, Sir” is a beautiful and poignant piece following the lives of
three service members and their families as they experience the
hardships and lifestyle of active duty. This story is inspired by real soldiers
and their families over the course of American History.

Two young lovers have to separate as he goes off to service, a mother has to leave her daughter behind and a son leaves his loving mother. Their stories unfold as they write home. Ideals turn to the gritty reality of the senseless violence to the point where the son can no longer write the truth of his new reality. Though staged in modern day fatigues and uniforms, the language has the romantic flair that existed when people wrote letters rather than 140 character tweets. Only at the end of the play does it become clear that these letters were written during the civil war, World War I and Vietnam. It became clear that the overriding themes of love and loss never change with time. The sacrifices remain the same.

When the mother and daughter tearfully ran towards each other to be reunited, a chair got in their way and they couldn’t decide which way to get around the obstacle to embrace. It was a funny but very real accident of staging that I hope remains in the final run through. Being an early rehearsal there were a few kinks yet to be worked out. But it was was very clear that this production has heart.

Tickets are $12 along with the purchase of a Fringe button which is needed to get in any play during this 13 day festival that runs from May 15th to May 28th. For Love Sir: Letters of Life, Love, and Sacrifice is in the Red Venue inside the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (812 East Rollins Street
Suite 300 Orlando, FL 32803).

The remaining show dates are:

1:00 PM 

8:00 PM 

8:00 PM 

8:45 PM 

6:30 PM

Do you Fringe? If so, I will see you on the Loch Haven park Lawn of Fabulousness. Let me know which shows I absolutely HAVE to sketch.

We Don’t Play Fight at the Fringe.

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I was surprised and pleased to see an entire wrestling ring set up inside the Orange Venue at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803) for We Don’t Play Fight. Professional wrestling is a form of theater in itself with each character having a back story. A wrestling promoter introduced the show explaining that he was searching for new talent to bring to the wrestling ring so that he might earn his way back into the big leagues. A female wrestler built like a tank wanted to begin training. The trainer like a drill Sargent didn’t allow her to training in half measures. She had to be all in or she should  get out. He yelled at her and berated her trying to get her to bring some anger into the ring. Her sister who never spoke a word, watched every move. These sisters had been in a car crash that killed both their parents. The shy sister watching the ring hadn’t said a word since the accident.

After an extensive slow motion training sequence it was finally time for the brick house sister to have her first match. She was doing great against a low class hick when the referee blew his whistle to end the first bout. she was clearly winning. When her opponent fell to the mat, it made a loud drum like resonating thud. When she turned her back to her opponent to walk to her corner of the ring, he blindsided her and broke her arm in a clear act of unsportsmanlike conduct. The silent sister came roaring into the ring to save her sister. She whaled on the hick who specifically hurt her sister to end her career. He was helpless against the silent sisters fury. She jumped off the ropes to pin him down and then she held him in a menacingly long choke  hold. The promoter desperate for a new wrestler had found a Tasmanian devil the the silent sister. When he offered her the job, she shouted with delight.

People in the audience played along shouting, cheering and booing when needed. The spectacle verged on the edge of art imitating life. An evil clown, whose sloppy make up reminded me of the Joker from Batman,  wrestled against a gold masked Adonis. Story fell to the wayside as the wrest;ling bouts heated up. I had hoped for a solid linear story, but action usurped story structure. Still, it was fun to watch the wrestlers throw themselves at each other in the loud tympani of a ring. Wrestling is big in Orlando right now with Full Sail hosting the WWE. A large wrestling logo blocked views of Lake Eola last month and people were always shooting photos of themselves in front of the garish monolith. There is no accounting for taste. 

Tickets are $12

Remaining show times for WE DON’T PLAY FIGHT:

Sunday May 28, 2017 at  4:30pm

Martin Dockery’s Delirium at Fringe.

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Delirium is a one man show starring Martin Dockery from Brooklyn New York at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. He is an amazing story teller. His high energy delivery is unrelenting. He has the most expressive hand gestures of any storyteller I have ever seen. His gestures are as expressive as the story being told.

He told a story about his desire to set up a restaurant at Burning man that only served strawberries. The irony was that he wanted the restaurant to have a huge staff of waiters, maitred’ and sous chefs. He had a year to plan but when burning Man fast approached, he realized he hadn’t done a thing to make his dream a reality. He finally decided to do it himself with a few throw pillows and a cooler. Embarrassed, he set up shop one night as everyone else was partying. He decided to call out to a hulk of a man in a black trench coat and dark hat. He though he had made a mistake as the man approached. however the man sat down and ordered a strawberry dish. Martin realized as he served up the dish that he should make small talk since he was sort of like a bartender. The conversation turned serious as the man related a story about that last time he was at burning man.it involved a relationship with a tragic ending. Just the act of listening helped the man in his healing process. A simple and silly concept served just one costumer, but the interaction changed both men.

Another vivid story revolved around the loss of Martin’s dog. His description of why dog ownership is so enticing had me wanting to get a dog for myself. There is something about walking down a street with a dog that is so excited about everything he encounters. As Marti  sat at his computer doing human things, he could look across the room at the dog and there was a realization that they were is that space and time together. Martin was there when the dog had to be put down because of a cancerous growth. The loss was devastating.

So many of his stories were about love and loss. With the loss still fresh in Orlando after the Pulse shooting that took 49 lives we all need to be reminded that love is possible despite the darkness of the infinite universe. It is the one thing that makes sense when facing an indifferent world. The frantic delivery of each tale makes the telling of the stories seem imperative and desperately needed. This is theater at its best with a storyteller relating stories that can touch and perhaps change and inspire anyone who listens.

Tickets:

Wednesday, May 24, 2017, 10:45 pm EST at the Pink Venue $12 plus a Fringe button.

Trading Soles at Fringe.

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I went to a rehearsal of Trading Soles written by Franco Colon. This show is a Bring Your Own Venue production. BYOV venues allow for more choices off of the usual Fringe lawn epicenter of the festival. The rehearsal space was off set from the road so it wasn’t easy to find. Actress Crysta Marie guided us in. The empty showroom had a two beds and several night stands. Bodies were lying on the floor.

Director Joseph Adam Gonzolez quickly explained the shows premise. BEN (Justin Cortes), an awkward freshman, meets his new roommate in college, ELI, (Franco Colon)an
arrogant, charming sophomore. BEN and ELI are complete opposites and do
not get along due to their differences. Ben has enough and tries to
move out of the dorm, but that’s when the chaos begins. Just when things
couldn’t get worse, they switch bodies. ELI sleeps
in his shoes and then they talk about walking in someones steps. They
wake up to find they are in each other’s bodies, more like trading
souls.

BEN and ELI have no choice but
to come together and figure out what in the world just happened. ELI is a closeted gay, and towards the end of the play while in his friends body, he comes out to Ben’s, mom (Crysta Marie). Her scream scared me half out of my whits. I wasn’t expecting it.

I only got to see the last few scenes of the play. I’m not sure why bodies littered the floor. The sketch was finished in a panicked flash.

TRADING SOLES remaining show times:
Thursday, May 25th, 10 PM
Saturday, May 27th, 7 PM
Sunday, May 28th, 4:30 PM

TICKET PRICING:
$10.00 Fringe Button (Sold at Breakthrough Theater 421 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789) $9.00 + $1.25 ticketing fee (ONLINE or AT FRINGE BOX OFFICE ONLY. TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT BREAKTHROUGH)

O-Town: Voices from Orlando

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I was still reporting about the Orlando International Fringe Festival last year when the horrific shooting at the Pulse nightclub happened on June 12, 2016. Fringe is once again going to burst onto the Lock Haven Park complex bringing drama, and comedy for a solid week on unrelenting theater and fun. Last year after the shooting I asked Orlando artists to go to the Falcon Bar to create 49 portraits of the innocent lives lost at Pulse. Those 49 portraits were then exhibited at the Orlando Science Center and on that evening I was interviewed about the project. That interview then became the source of inspiration for a monologue in O-Town.

Prints of the 49 portraits hung behind the stage giving the somber impression of prison bars. The play is based on a series of interviews conducted mostly by David Lee, of people who have been affected by the tragedy. It opens with a monologue inspired by Our Town written by Thornton Wilder. The opening described Orlando on the eve of the shooting. People and places would be very different the next day. A homeless man would be lighting candles at the Dr Phillips memorial site each night, a costume shop owner would soon be creating thousands of rainbow ribbons…

I spoke with Christopher Hanson multiple times about how he survived that night at Pulse. The actor playing Christopher told the story of survival and personal responsibility with humor and lots of heart. Then the actor playing me took to the stage. I was surprised to find myself tearing up based on things I had said a year ago. It seems like a lifetime ago. People in the audience were also getting choked up. One woman cried through the whole show. I had just one paper towel I had decided to bring in from the men’s room.

Other monologues described fighting hate with love using Angel Action Wings made of PVC and and white fabric. People who planned to protest the funerals of Pulse victims were blocked by these angels who would sing to drown out their hate. A first responders wife described how her husband was changed by his evening in the aftermath of Pulse. He would experience PTSD from that night onward and there was no disability for the mental anguish. Had be broken his leg then there would be help.

These stories are all part of the larger picture of an entire community trying to recover from a horrible act of violence. A year later and the scars are still there, but Orlando had answered with love and acceptance. Hateful people still thrive, feeling invulnerable in a country in which politics encourage hate and accusations.  They try to cause senseless harm, but love is stronger that hate. It was an emotional night. After the show. I was hugged by several people who recognized me. I shut my eyes and felt the warmth. Tears streamed down my face.

All the monologues in O-Town: Voices from Orlando will be presented together on the Eve of the one year mark of the attack on Pulse Nightclub on Sunday June 11, 2017 at 7pm at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in the Margeson Theater. Profits will benefit the onePulse Foundation.org.

I can’t recommend this show enough. The monologues focus the audiences attention on aspects of the tragedy that never made their way to mainstream media outlets. It is a human and multi layered fabric. I met the actor, Daniel Cooksley, who played my part on stage. He said he had never performed a part with the subject sitting in the audience.

Fringe Show Times:

May 17, 2017 at 6PM

May 20, 2017 at 7PM

May 22, 2017 at 7PM

May 26, 2017 at 8:15PM

May 27, 2017 at 12:15PM

May 28, 2017 at 11:15AM