Key of E – The Full Cast Recording of the End of the World!

The Key of E took the 2013 International Fringe Festival
by an apocalyptic storm. Help this award-winning apocalyptic rock musical record soundtrack come to life! You know you want it. The completely new and original apocalyptic rock musical by Andy Matchett won 11 Audience Choice Awards,
the most of any show in the history of the awards, including Best
Musical and Best of Fringe. A Kickstarter has been created to help
produce the soundtrack to the show on CD and Vinyl! The goal of the kickstarter is to raise $3,000 before August 21st at 5PM. To date, $280 have been pledged. Donate to the Kickstarter to guarantee you get your copy of the music.
For and donation of $250 or more you can get a signed archival print of the Key
of E Monster as seen on this site.

Mark your Calendar, The Key of E will be returning to the stage starting August 23rd to August 31st at The Venue (511 Virginia Drive Orlando FL). Tickets to the show are just $10. Show times are at 8PM. Seriously, this show will rock your face off!

Eating Pasta Off the Floor

Maria Grazia Affinito shared her story of her contentious relationship she had with her mom in the red venue at this year’s Fringe. Her mother actually tries to sell Maria off in the supermarket. Maria’s imitation of her mom’s mannerisms and speech were hilarious. Once while watching a documentary about the atrocities of WWII, her mom grew silent. Maria realizes that her mom must have been raped in the war. She then recounts how the smell of cold cement could bring her right back to a horrible incident involving four boys.

The way Maria recounted and acted out every incident with her mom was heart warming and humerus.  This was a mother daughter relationship that had endured many knocks. There were times when Maria literally wanted to kill her mom and it took the soothing reassurances of a relative to keep the peace. This relationship stood up to the test of time and trials. There was plenty of laughter and some sadness and when it was all told, the audience stood and applauded.

Orange Street Riders

I didn’t spend as much time at the Fringe outdoor stage as I usually do, but I heard Jessica Pawli did an amazing job booking local bands. There was one opportunity that happened between shows and I was waiting for Terry to arrive. The Orange Street Riders were performing and it was a great set. They performed with an energetic harmonica player, a guitar and drums. Large cans of libations were on the stage. Listening to these guys made me realize that I should make more of an effort to sketch the local music scene. Rick Lane was in the audience bobbing his head in appreciation.

Antony Bolante the writer of this years “Onomatopoeia“, met me as I was working to pick up a sketch. He thought ahead and actually had an 11 by 14 inch portfolio to slip the sketch into. I know that piece is going to an appreciative owner. Anyway two thumbs up for The Orange Street Riders. I’ll be looking to catch a longer set from them sometime in the future. Time to hit the open road.

Burnt at the Steak

Carolann Valentino Productions of NYC, presented a one-woman musical featuring 18 hilarious characters portrayed through song, dance, comedy and audience improvisation at the Orlando Fringe. She reenacted her time managing a multi million dollar steakhouse in NYC. The one thing I learned is that you can earn $200,000 a year managing the service staff at such a restaurant. Unfortunately such a job is all consuming allowing little time to go to auditions as an actress.

One guy got up from his seat in the audience mid way through the show and exited through the fire exit. I was seated on my artist stool next to the exit so I closed the door behind him to keep the harsh sunlight from cutting across the stage. I wondered if he couldn’t stand the show or if he had to pee after drinking too many beers in the beer tent. The fire exit wouldn’t close completely but at least it didn’t set off an alarm.

As an autobiographical piece, the act seemed a bit self serving. The salary mentions came across as bragging and the imitations of the staff she managed seemed comic at the staff’s expense. Carolann called several men up to sit in the restaurant chairs and she had some flirty interactive fun with them. The musical number with audience participation, highlighted all the different cuts of beef using a Sound of Music song as the foundation. Orlando is a service industry town and this show made me realize that I never want to work in a restaurant. Of course in Orlando you are lucky to make minimum wage with no benefits. The premise of the show was sound, but it seemed to run too long.

God is a Scottish Drag Queen

If you have ever questioned how God can do some of the things he does, then the notion that “God is a Scottish Drag Queen” makes some sense. Mike Delamont from Victoria BC Canada was God. Two Colbertesque posters of god in a floral dress pointed at the audience. The second God stepped on the stage with his rain barrel sized Gastronemius muscles bulging, the laughter never stopped. He skewered everything from Justin Bieber to the Pope. I grew a bit uncomfortable as he made fun of the Irish with a photo of an obvious slovenly drunk. I’m half Irish on my mother’s side, but who cares, I laughed anyway.

God called up an audience member to teach her how to dance. She followed along with a practiced line dancers confidence. By the end of the hour, I had been laughing so hard my sides hurt. The buzz on the Fringe lawn that this was a hilarious show was right on the mark.  God was matronly yet always ready with a sharp quip. Thank God that God has such a sharp sense of humor. If he had a prime time news hour show, I most certainly would tune in.

The Dark Fantastic

I had seen Martin Dockery give an amazing performance at last year’s Fringe Festival. He delivers his monologues with explosive expressiveness. A single spot light illuminated him seated at a small table wearing a cowboy hat at the beginning of this performance. I was itching to draw, but I couldn’t see the sketch page. In time I realized the house lights would never come up , “duh, it is called the DARK Fantastic”, so I blindly put lines on the page as Martin spoke about an incredibly evil character. The stark empty stage forced the audience to imagine the depths of the story.

At first, I was mesmerized by every cadence of Martin’s delivery. Faint music underscored his delivery and there was a verse like cadence as he spoke. He would speak fast and then hang on a word, teasing the audience with what might come next. In time however my mind wandered. I couldn’t follow the murderous meanderings of a deviant mind for long. As the story turned to terminal fear, I struggled with finding order in the darkness.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday June 8th 2013

10am – 6pm FREE Bizarre Buying Bazaar, Ripley’s Believe it or Not 8201 International Drive

7pm – 8pm $10 Boogie Shoes starring Marcy Schwalm at Breakthrough Theater 419A West Fairbanks Avenue Winter Park FL

7pm – 11pm Apartment E “Essentials Saturday” 20 Year Anniversary. Lake Ivanhoe Orlando, Florida. A day of giving back. A celebration of Orlando creativity and community.

Sunday June 9th 2013 

noon – 2pm Broadway Brunch at Hamburger Mary’s 110 West Church Street, downtown. I heard this is an all Disney show. Show tunes, drink specials, and an amazing
show with Broadway performances by The Minx, Ginger Minj, and special
guests. Seating at 11:00am with show starting at 12pm

1pm – 3pm $5 Film Slam. Enzian Theater. Originally a project of University of Central Florida’s Downtown Media Arts Center, the Enzian became the home of FilmSlam when DMAC closed in 2006. Now in its fifth year, Film Slam continues to be a popular outlet for indie and student filmmakers throughout the State of Florida.

3pm – 4pm $10 Boogie Shoes starring Marcy Schwalm. Breakthrough Theater 419A West Fairbanks Avenue Winter Park FL

If you have suggestions for the weekend top 6 Picks, contact us at analogartistdigitalworld@gmail.com or leave comments here.

The House of Yes

At Fringe, I was handed a “House of Yes” button on the green lawn at Lock Haven Park. It was red white and blue so I assumed the show might be a political comedy. The Penguin Point Productions play and its polished production values took me by surprise. It was about a brother, Marty (Justin M.G. Hughes), who returned home with his naive fiance, Lesly (Monica Joyce), from the city. I quickly became obvious that his twin sister, Jacqueline (Adele Papoosha), had suffered a nervous breakdown. She was ecstatic about his return. She fancied herself to be like Jackie Onassis. It became clear that Marty and his Mom (Marcie Schwalm), didn’t get along. Mrs. Pascal’s sarcasm,wit and cold high brow detachment added much needed humor to every scene. The whole family put on airs. I knew nothing about the play or the later film staring Parker Posey. I grew more uncomfortable as the play progressed.

When Jackie-O finds out her brother is engaged her mood sours and it is clear to all that she is off her medications. Late that night she convinces her brother to play a childhood game. They reenact the Kennedy Assassination and she nurses him and her gentle kisses turn to passionate love. Lesly discovers them and slips away disgusted by the incest. Meanwhile the younger brother, Anthony (Max Herskovitz), became obsessed with Lesly and he seduces her with a story of a brain tumor and his virginity. The mom discovers these two and in a comic moment just shakes her head and walks off stage as if nothing would surprise her.

The next morning Mom tries to convince Leslie to leave, blackmailing her with what she had seen the night before. Leslie has much more backbone than anyone in the family gave her credit for and she refuses to leave without Marty. She wants to save him from this strange incestuous family. To keep him home, Jackie-O flushes Marty’s car keys. She convinces Marty to play the KFK Assassination game one last time saying he could leave afterwords. Crying she pulls the trigger. This time the gun was real. Jacky-O held the president’s blood stained head in her lap. I left feeling unnerved and shocked.

Loon

Wonderheads from Portand, Oregon brought “Loon” to this years Fringe.  This life sized puppet acted out every scene in mime. A sad faced aging man stood at the beach with his mothers remains in a jar. He went to scatter the ashes and just got his hands and clothes covered in ash. He is faced with dating and when asked about his favorite person he wrote mom. There was a collective awww… from the audience.

Things look up for him when he falls in love with the moon. He pursues the moon with a child like ambition.  There is one magical moment where he has the moon cupped in his hands and his hands spread apart leaving the glowing orb floating in space between his hands. I still don’t know how it was done. I haven’t experienced that type of wonder and amazement since I saw a planetarium show about beings of light as a child.

Loon was the well deserved patron’s pick for the green venue. It was funny, touching and heart breaking. When the actors came out for a bow after the show, I was surprised to discover that the old man was played by a young woman.

Magical Mystery Detour

The Fringe Show, “Magical Mystery Detour” featured Gemma Wilcox as more than 20 characters. The story followed her on a road trip that the actress took as she questioned life and love. The actress would switch characters on a dime even becoming inanimate objects like the car or a coin. As she drove down the road, the dog would be panting happily in the back seat and the car would talk about road conditions. There was a certain child like joy as Gemme became an annoying buzzing fly who spouted rude comments. Catching Gemma as she switched characters every few seconds was a challenge, but luckily she drove fairly often.

A particularly memorable scene involved her decision to get a massage. Her dog stayed behind at the car and she was lifted by a brawny masseuse.  As she floated in bliss, wondering if the masseuse was single and how many children they should have, she switched back to the dog who had just met another dog and they were sniffing butts. Switch back to Gemma as she planned a life filled with pleasure and sensitive touch. Back to her dog who was humping wildly. Gemma panted and thrush her hips with abandon. As she intellectualized and reasoned, her dog was just being a dog. It was hilarious.

There is a dancer’s grace as she shifted from a soaring seagull into the woman climbing lighthouse steps. It is from this high vantage point that she surveyed her life. The troubled reason for her pilgrimage became clear and she was ready to move on. Her relationship was on the rocks and her mother had just died. The ending was poignant as she blew her troubles into a coin and threw it into the ocean. As a one woman show, this was a real tour de force, theater at it’s best. I left the theater glowing.

Chocolate Thunder White Lightning

Some Fringe shows offer incredible drama, uncovering personal insights, while others are just plain silly. Chocolate Thunder and White Lightning fell under the second classification. It was a blaxploitation written by a white guy, Al Pergande. The play was performed in the Orange venue in the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center.

Valensky Sylvain starred as the flashy Chocolate Thunder. He wore a loud yellow feathery hat and a long pink boa. Jackie Pitts played his new partner in crime, White Lightning. She played her part with a British accent and innocent wit. The premise was that Chocolate Thunder was an old school cop whereas White Lightning was tech savvy. Eric Branch played an over the top villain always petting a stuffed penguin. I felt bad that his silly antics got no response from the audience.

The Expositionettes filled in the gaps between scenes with song. There were gaps everywhere. This production reminded me of plays I had seen at “Play in a Day” in which everything had to be thrown together in 24 hours. There were awkward moments where actors forgot their lines and everyone stood still, wondering what they should do next.

Granted the show was a hot mess, but I was still rooting for the local talent to push through and make the show work. If the show was just a touch worse, it could have classified as a campy cult classic, but, no it struggled short of that mark. There were a few loud laughs from the audience, but the long interludes of silence hinted that all too often the humor missed the mark.