Team Dog Powered Robot

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I went to some of the final rehearsals for Dog Powered Robot. Rehearsals were held at the Chandler Arts Market in Winter Park where Christie Mega works. Joey Corcoran was busy building a bot as the actors started to rehearse. The robot’s skeleton was being built from pvc tubing. Joey measured his own leg and arm bones and then transferred those measurements to the PVC. He cut the PVC using a circular saw which was outside the back door. . With all the bones cut, he assembled the skeleton in minutes using PVC elbow joints and T-joints. Then the skeleton had to undergo numerous tweaks to to give the bot just the right crumpled gesture. Fisher, the dog behind Dog Powered Robot pranced around the rehearsal space inspecting all the action.

The rehearsal involved the actors practicing the choreography involved in the epic fight scenes. It felt more like elementary playtime rather than a serious rehearsal as the actors moved in slow motion pretending to be huge menacing robots. No one was “suited up” since they wanted to practice the movements without the bulky robotic limitations. Joseph Geoghagen jotted down notes whenever any improvised line seemed particularly funny. I’m sure when the actors are encased in the incredible robot suits, the scenes will become even more epic. Everyone in the room was laughing.

This is one Fringe show you do not want to miss. I predict that these shows will sell out. I would get tickets early, or you might only hear rumors of the awesomeness as you drown your sorrow at the beer tent for having missed a historic Fringe sensation.

Show times are…

5/20 FRI 7:55PM

5/21 SAT 12:00PM

5/22 SUN 9:20PM

5/24 TUE 5:15PM

5/26 THU 7:40PM

5/27 FRI 6:40PM

5/29 SUN 1:25PM

Fringe Preview

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The Preview for the 20th Annual Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival was held at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Fringe is twelve days of art, music, dance and theatrical madness. Fringe begins May 18th through May 30th. I decided to sit in the mezzanine which was at the very back row right in front of the sound and lighting booth. I figured the green light issuing from the booth would give me enough light to sketch in and that theory worked out. There were 30 acts listed in the program so there is no way I can give you a taste from all of them. Each act had a thumbs up, a thumbs down and an F you hand gesture to rate the acts. Things got off to a great start when the “Downtowners” hobbled on to the stage. This singing and dancing group were all aged 70 to 95 and their rendition of “Stayin’ Alive” took on a whole new meaning. The audience loved them.

The festivities were hosted by Beth Marshall and Michael Wanzie. The smallest and Fringiest venue last year took place in a closet and Jeff Ferree will once again feature puppets in this cramped walk-in theater. In the preview if any act ran over three minutes, they would be interrupted by the Fringe Cheerleaders who would shout out Gimme an “F”, gimme an “R” until the audience spelled out and shouted Fringe! This kept the show moving at a fast clip. Kevin Thornton’s film where he tried to explain and justify his show “I love you (we’re f@#ked)” was hilarious.

I was disappointed when it was announced that “Dog Powered Robot” could not perform at the preview. Instead a show titled “Squatters” took to the stage. They set up a small cardboard shanty town and started an insipid act about hunting for Easter Eggs. They were then rudely interrupted by Dog Powered Robot sending Easter eggs flying and cardboard boxes tumbling. The audience didn’t know what hit them. It was a fun evening where anything could happen, and usually did. Fringe is fast approaching like a freight train with no breaks. Order tickets for your favorite shows now or you might be left in the irreverent dust.

Fabulous Fringe Fundraiser

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The Fabulous Fringe Fundraiser took place in the Shakespeare Theater patrons room. All around the edge 0f the room tables were set up with silent auction items. More than half the auction items were framed photographs of naked men. Margaret Nolen let me know that I should have sketched the little old ladies who stared at the photos in amazement. I recognized several of the die hard rabid Fringe Fans. I remember that several of these fans try to see every Fringe show during the course of the one week festival. This is a near impossible task requiring requiring split second decisions and serious planning. Everyone attending was asked to dress as if they were going to their high school prom. Bonnie Sprung wore the actual prom dress her mom had made for her. It was light blue with a plunging neck line.

Chase Padgett was playing guitar as people lined up for food. Many people stood outside in the hallway not wanting to stand in front of Chase. Beth Marshall assured them that it was alright to come in. Then Dog Powered Robot and a small army of DPR supporters all entered the room at once. They all wore blue tee shirts with the team DPR logo on it. Chase changed the lyrics to the song he was performing and he sang about Dog Powered Robot’s return. People laughed.

After everyone ate, they began to file into the Goldman Theater to see previews and excerpts from upcoming Fringe shows. I couldn’t stay for the program since I had a hot date with Terry at Paxia.

Fringe Overview

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Producers and directors for this years Orlando Fringe Festival piled into the circular Patron’s Room at the Shakespeare Theater to get a crash course overview of what they could expect from this year’s festival. The meeting lasted for several hours. My ears perked up when Beth Marshall started to discuss the issue of Bloggers. It seems everyone and their mother is a blogger these days. Last year some bloggers wrote scathing reviews and members of the cast wrote back equally scathing comments in return. It seems these “Flame Wars” only manage to discourage people from going to see the show. She instead suggested that producers put a positive spin on any review.

Beth pointed out that Fringe is always a “Fun, lively, hot mess.” This year, Pepe will be promoting shows at the outdoor stage. Brian Feldman will be offering awards picked lottery style. TheDailyCity.com will again have its Audience Choice Awards, and then there are the “Fabies” awarded on the final day of the festival. A show titled “Fringe Abridged” will recap all of what happened, highlighting shows in a break neck spoof. She advised producers to comp fellow artists into the shows as word of mouth will quickly spread if the show is a runaway hit. The second best way to attract an audience is through Facebook. Beth went on in detail about how the city of Orlando would not tolerate any posters or fliers taped on light poles, trees or any form of municipal property. It seems this had been a problem in the past and it resulted in fines.

The 20th Annual Orlando International Fringe Festival will be happening between May 19th and 30th in Lock Haven Park. The Festival is 100% uncensored, 100% Unjuried, 100% accessible, and 1OO%o of ticket sales goes to the artists. I had the best time sketching and experiencing the Fringe with friends last year. It truly highlights the best of what Orlando has to offer.

Dog Powered Robot

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Dog Powered Robot took the Orlando International Fringe Festival by storm last year. It began as a short three minute show as part of the Creative Mind Project. The premise of the Creative Mind Project was to have many different artists interpret the same music. I was there opening night since I had edited a short video using my sketches to the music. A small cardboard city cluttered backstage and when Dog Powered Robot made its appearance the audience went wild! They were laughing, screaming and shouting. I had to stay back stage, but I peaked out through the curtains. Fisher, the dog behind Dog Powered Robot was an instant star.

I went to Evan and Christie Miga’s home where they had set up a mini sweat shop making Dog Powered Robot tee shirts. Doug Berger was dabbing blue silk screen ink on the stencil and using a squeegee to force the ink through the screen onto the shirts. His wife Carla Stanton used a hair dryer to quickly dry the inks and then the shirts were hung from the rafters.In the living room hundreds of buttons were being assembled.

A few days later I returned and the garage had been converted into a robot manufacturing plant. Joey Corcoran was there helping assemble a huge robot. He was using pvc plumbing pipe to create arms which would be maneuvered by the operator like the controls inside a tank. Light flexible tubing hung above the work bench and it blinked brightly with rainbow colors.

The bright pink Lollybot was finished. Her life’s mission is to dispense candy for children. Large blue foam DPR letters stood ready to announce this phenomenon at Fringe. Music is being composed by David Traver for the show with lyrics supplied by Britt Daley. Josh Sales edited the Dog Powered Robot teaser and he is responsible for all the special effects. With the simplest of supplies and plenty of ingenuity, Dog Powered Robot is bound to make a huge splash at Fringe and beyond. A fundraiser is being held at Blank Space (201 East Central Boulevard) on March 10th starting at 8PM. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it.

Pulse of Orlando

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What follows is a fictitious account. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental…

It was another rehearsal in the weeks leading up to Fringe. The actors sat around the kitchen table at Mike’s house reading personal stories and poems. They shared several bottles of red wine. Soon the rehearsal was more of an opportunity for members of the cast to share intimate secrets. The notion that this was a reading vanished and the conversations blossomed. Todd then admitted that he had started to dance at a gay club. Having a room full of people admiring his body gave him a visceral thrill. Anna, the director then decided that we all had to see Todd perform. We piled into two cars and headed off to Pulse. I was one of the designated drivers since I had been sketching rather than drinking. Anna sat on a copy of the Alchemist that was on my passenger seat. She and Sandra had just been talking about this book. Excited, she said she had to read it and she shoved it into her large purse.

We all filed into Pulse. My bag was checked since they thought I might have a camera. I explained that I only had a sketchbook. I backed myself into a nook and immediately started to sketch. Men gyrated in the amber light. I was right behind Todd who was dancing on the bar in front of me. About halfway into the sketch Anna pulled me over to join the cast that was assembled in a tight cluster at the end of the bar and dancing. Sandra and John were dancing provocatively close. When they grew self conscious, Anna would shove them together. She was always the director even in matters of the heart. They had all been drinking some exotic shots and combined with the red wine they were feeling no pain. A guy actually groped my balls as if this was his way of saying hello. I shoved his hand aside and decided I needed to walk away and finish the sketch. I wandered back to my spot, where I had to stop sketching every time someone needed to shove into the bathroom. When I returned to the group, my sketch finished, it was obvious that Anna had been drinking too much. Todd, the male dancer was with her trying to get her to sit down. He suggested Betsy and I try and get her home. When I approached Anna she backed away and disappeared into the packed dance floor. I wasn’t about to chase her around the club. Betsy seemed sober so I asked her to talk to Anna and convince her to leave. However Betsy was busy trying to find her cell phone which she had left in the other car on the drive over.

I exited the club and waited outside. I was sure Betsy would be out any minute with Anna and her cell phone but the clock kept ticking. Then suddenly Anna stumbled out and sat on the retaining wall beside me. She didn’t realize I was there. She had been sick and she couldn’t keep her head up. I asked if she was alright and she was surprised to see me. Embarrassed she began running down the street. Betsy exited the club and we both trailed behind her, concerned she might run into traffic. She finally collapsed between two parked cars and slumped over in a seated position. I reassured her until she shouted out, “Leave me alone!” I was making matters worse. I backed off and decided this had to be settled by the cast. Tod managed to help Anna get into his car. It was agreed that we would drive her to Mike’s house where she could sleep it off. I then drove Sandra and Betsy to Mike’s and when Todd and Anna arrived, the girls helped tuck her in for the night. I waited long enough to be sure everyone was fine, then I drove home. I’m convinced the events of this night helped bind the individual actors in the show into a tight knit ensemble. I suppose I could have left at any time, but I was the designated driver, besides I got a decent sketch.

2011 Fringe Lottery

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The tension was palpable in the circular Patrons Room in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater this Monday night. A single folding table was set up at the front of the room and seats were set up in rows for the anxious crowd of performers, producers, directors and avid Fringe fanatics. For those new to the Fringe experience, it is a 13 day festival founded on the concept of offering 100% unjuried (hence the lottery), 100% uncensored and 100% accessible theater, music, dance, art and madness to all types and ages, where 100% of the box office ticket sales go directly back to the artists. The longest running U.S. Fringe Festival, the misson of Orlando Fringe is to provide an accessible, affordable outlet that draws diverse elements of the community together and inspires creative excellence through the arts. The 20th Annual Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival takes place May 18-30, 2011 in Orlando Loch Haven Park. Nine ticketed venues are located within Orlando Shakes and Orlando Repertory Theatre, along with three Bring Your Own Venues for unique site-specific performances.

Chasmin Hallyburton sat with her laptop open, ready to record the winners of the lottery. Shannon Lacek was in charge of pulling the winning acts from the bucket which was held by Beth Marshall. Beth held up her cell phone and shouted, “Everyone say hello to Brian Feldman who will be tweeting the results from Palo Alto, California!” Everyone shouted, “Hello, Brian.” Once an act was picked from the bucket, Shannon would read the title and then George Wallace would tape the card up on one of the colored poster boards. Each poster board represented a different venue. Some acts drawn from the hat caused massive shouts of delight since performers were in the room. I shouted myself when I heard Dog Powered Robot was going to have its own show! After the lottery was finished, Evan and Christy Miga stopped by to say hello. I expressed how excited I was for them, and then Christy showed me her handbag, and there was Fisher’s tiny furry face. Fisher is the dog behind Dog Powered Robot, and he is a rising star!

I went up to the poster boards and wrote down the shows that had been picked. I couldn’t read my own writing, so check out Orlando Sentinel Theater Critic Matt Palm’s list to start picking the shows you might like to see. So many friends will be performing. Brian Feldman will have an as of yet undisclosed performance in an alternative venue. Jeremy Seghers and Dewey Chaffee, and Voci Dance have shows that remain a mystery. John DiDonna will be directing a dance performance called “Unspoken.” Logan Donahoo shouted for joy when “Trash Cinema 101” was picked. I am so happy for everyone who will be scrambling to push the creative envelope in May 2011. I am busy trying to decide which acts I most want to sketch.

Red Umbrella

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As I walked past this woman reading in a rare moment of calm between Fringe performances a friend said, “That is a beautiful scene, you should sketch it.” This was a rare moment where someone actually encouraged me to take the time to slow down and do a sketch. When I am among friends and family, I usually think they would get annoyed that I am sketching rather than taking part in a conversation. At parties I often quietly listen to the conversations around me, thinking the whole time that I would love to sketch a persons expression or the warm ambiance of the room. Being invited to do a sketch therefor was thrilling.
I walked up to the woman to see how long she might be reading and to make sure she was comfortable with being sketched. She was waiting for a show and would be reading for another half an hour. I sat down and got to work.
As I was sketching Ryan Price walked up to me with his video camera rolling and he asked me a few questions. The sound quality on the video is off sync and hard to hear but it is interesting to see the way I managed to answer his questions while still working. The whole time I was being interviewed I was hoping the woman wouldn’t get up and walk away.
When the sketch was finished I rushed off and headed into another Fringe show called “The Bike Trip”. This was the best show I saw a Fringe this year. It was a one man show about one mans quest to find the origins of Acid. The monologue was quick, lively and full of humanity. It made me feel more connected to the people around me. I never asked the woman’s name that I sketched, she will always be “The Lady in Red” to me.

Fringe Line

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Just standing in line for a Fringe show is an adventure in itself. As usual at leas half of the people were fingering their cell phones sending texts or checking Facebook statuses. Many of the people in line were also actors which can be surmised from their feather boas and loud Hawaiian shirts. Well, I also saw them perform later that evening. One of the young astronautics from “Cat Women on the Moon” dances up and down the line in slow motion as if weightless. He handed out Cat Women on the Moon fliers to anyone who would take one.
Before I was fully finished of course everyone filed into the theater. After I finished up enough washes, I followed them in. This twenty first Century digital age moves a touch too fast for me to be sketching it using methods used back in the Renaissance. The only way to keep up is to ignore the final polished look of things and just let go and get sloppy!

Fringe Merchandise

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The Fringe box office was a constant whirlwind of activity. Before you can even purchase a ticket for a show you must first get a Fringe button. I was running late to one show and had managed to forget my Fringe button at home. My button was tied to the backpack I had used to go camping for Brian Feldman’s Fringe of Nature. So I come running up to this table with just seconds to spare and I ask to buy a button. The kind sales lady informs me I can return the button after the show. I pull out my wallet and I don’t have enough cash. I rush up the ramp to an automated teller machine and withdraw some money. I rush back get the button and then rush to the box office to get the ticket. The ticket sales lady says, “I’m sorry the doors are closed already.” The Fringe is a tightly oiled machine. Show doors close on exactly the specified hour and then no one else can enter. I decided to return the newly purchased button and then I drove home to get my button and Artists Badge. I would see more shows that day, just without the rush and hassle.

The vote signs are so audience members can vote for their audience choice awards.