Memorial Day marked the end of the Orlando Fringe Theater Festival. On this final day all the Visual Fringe artists were asked to pick up their work. As Terry and I drove to the Shakespeare Theater it once again began to rain. Driving through downtown on the 408 the rain became a torrential downpour. When we walked into the Visual Fringe room all the art was on the floor leaning up against the walls. I had to sign a form stating that I had picked up my work and then Anna helped me find my sketch. Everyone must have been up late partying because they looked exhausted. Anna gave me one last hug and then the rain let up as Terry and I exited the theater on our way out to the parking lot. Terry and I climbed into the truck and headed home. As we exited the parking lot, the sun burst through the clouds and an immense rainbow stretched from horizon to horizon. The Fringe was officially over.
Gunther Barnaby’s Traveling Show
I convinced my wife Terry to head out to the Fringe to see a show on my birthday which was May 22nd. She took me to a lovely restaurant in College Park where I had a delicious diner of duck with a cherry sauce which was to die for. When we got to the green lawn we had about an hour till show time, so we relaxed under a tent since it was raining. One of the event people had the fantastic idea of backing up one tent against another so that the audience watching the outdoor stage was not constantly getting drenched. As we waited, Gunther Barnaby’s Traveling show hit the stage. Barnaby offered an elixir which promised to cure all that ales you from Cataliptic Neuroplexy to Stoutness and Camel Toe. Two alluring young women wandered the audience handing out airplane vodka bottle sized samples of this magic potion. In the foreground of this sketch is my wife who continued to suffer from her cold. After trying the elixir she was able to get up and brave the long lines as we went on to the nights show. Perhaps it wasn’t a miraculous and complete recovery since she is still coughing four days later.
The Green Lawn of Fabulousness
There were several breaks in the rain when patrons flocked to the green lawn. Event organizers dubbed this years Fringe festival as “Hurricane Fringe”. Although no actual hurricane hit, storm clouds lingered and opened up daily on the Festival.
When evening rolled in an awards ceremony was held at the outdoor stage. Pink Lawn Flamingos were handed out as Fabby Awards. Patrons pics were announced and these shows will play on Memorial Day.
Another set of awards were handed out called the Patrons Choice awards. I submitted a print of one of my Fringe sketches which was awarded to the Best Original Play. Jessica Earley presented the award which went to “The Schaefer Killing” by the Playwrights Round Table written by Larry Stalling.
The Worm
I spent most of Saturday at the Fringe. It was hot, muggy and sunny when I arrived. I immediately went into the Shakespeare Theater to soak in the air conditioning. I found a comfortable leather chair and relaxed.
This sculpture by Doug Rhodehamel is made entirely from cassette audio tape. In an effort to keep patrons from stepping on or touching the sculpture, Doug placed a sign on the floor that stated that performance artist Brian Feldman may or may not be inside. The worm looks like it has taken and interest in the program that a Fringe patron is reading.
Kristina Goetz, the Director of Development, arrived and sat down in the leather chair next to me. We talked for a while. She said that in preparation for the Fringe she has to make sure all her bills are paid, that her laundry is done and that anything perishable is out of the fridge. She does all that because she basically lives at the Fringe for its duration. She explained that the rain has hurt revenues but now that the sun is out, people who must have cabin fever after a solid week of rain, are coming out in force.
Since I missed Flamenco con Fusion last night I decided to catch the 11:20PM show tonight. I got a ticket
and ran over to the theater just before to get in. It turns out I arrived and hour early. For whatever reason I have been constantly confused trying to get into con Fusion. In the lobby outside the show the guitarist and one of the dancers were taking pictures. I got to shake his hand and I explained that I had heard quite a bit of buzz about his guitar playing
and the show which was wonderful. From the moment the guitarist sat in the glow of a single spot light on a bare stage, I was entranced. The dancing consisted of a duel between a traditional Flamenco dancer and a Break dancer. After the high energy performance the audience stood, screamed and yelled.
The Fringe Rain Bar
Since the rain continued, keeping people from going outside to the beer tent, organizers decided to move the bar inside the lobby of the Shakespeare Theater. Besides the bar there was oriental food and pizza. Lines for the shows were at times very long so people are seeing shows despite the rain. For my birthday I treated myself to tickets to a show. Terry and I stood in line with Brad Kuhn,his sister and friends. Brad’s fiance Darlyn had sent out an e-mail saying Flamenco Con Fusion was a must see. I assumed I had taken her advice.
When Terry and I were about to go into the Theater, the ticket taker informed us that we had the wrong tickets. Several days ago I had bought tickets to The Cody Rivers Show and I had forgotten about them. Terry and I had to run over to another theater since Cody Rivers was about to start as well. It was pure luck that we managed to get in. Had Cody Rivers opened an hour earlier, we would have been up the creek without a paddle. The luck of the Fringe was looking out for me. I still would like to see Flamenco. I think I will have to see that tonight. By the way “The Cody Rivers Show” was awesome and is a must see!
Back to the sketch, as I was finishing up, the Korean girls from the food station came over to see how I was doing. They had seen me sketching outside so they knew what I was up to. I answered questions while I continued to work. One girl watched for the longest time, I usually feel self conscious when being watched for a long time, but she had such a quiet demeanor, that I felt quite comfortable. She later bought over a full plate of rice, egg rolls and salad. Since it was late, I had scored a free diner. The starving artist myth payed off. I bought a Coke from the wine Bar and I was one happy camper.
Fringe Beer Tent
When it finally stopped raining for a few hours, people flocked to the green lawn of fabulouosness and stormed the beer tent. The tent had a truck next to it with kegs that allowed servers to tap and pour the beers right out of the side of the truck. The crowd would grow thick and then on mass people would wander off to a show.
Dewey Chaffee was shooting footage of the revelers. He shot some footage of me sketching as well, and I look forward to seeing the final edit. One group of folks started singing Christmas carols behind me for no apparent reason. By the second verse I was singing along.
Tonight I also got to meet Bonnie Sprung and her mother. They have been to the Fringe for 17 years in a row since day one. Bonnie’s mom has vintage Fringe buttons pinned all over her volunteer tee-shirt. A documentary is being shot about the history of the Fringe and the two of them are going to get interviewed. I stopped sketching when I felt a large raindrop hit my hand. I closed my sketch pad and held my hand up to the sky to test for rain. Sure enough a second drop and then a third. I decided my sketch was done and I opened my umbrella and headed to my car. As I drove home it poured.
The Fringe Deluge
It has been raining for three days straight. Not a drizzle but a deluge. Beth Marshall’s facebook status reported: “Rain Rain Go Away, Fringe Fringe Is Here To Stay, Patron Patrons Come Out And Play, GAY GAY GAY GAY!:)”
The rain did not keep the intrepid artists from performing. The show must go on, but the green lawn fabulousness was deserted. I arrived early and caught this Cello player thumbing through his Fringe program guide. A line started forming behind me for the Pink Venue but the line never got long enough to block my view. I was afraid I might end up with a sketch of a bunch of rear ends although that might have been interesting. Before I was finished with the sketch the Cello player walked off. I am not sure what sho
w he was performing in that night. Another Fringe mystery.
To lighten my mood after so many days of rain, I decided to go see VarieTEASE. This dance group performed a cross between burlesque, cabaret and modern dance with costumes that would make Toulouse Lautrec proud. The performance was playful and vibrant. Unfortunately the lights dimmed and I could not see my sketchbook. I did do a series of blind gestural sketches. These performers impressed me so much however that I am hoping to catch them relaxing just before there next performance in the green room backstage.
Fringe Ticket Booth
After two days of observing the Fringe from a distance, I decided it was time to get tickets and see a show! On the Green Lawn of Fabulousness I asked four different people what their favorite show was so far and they ALL pointed me to “The Cody Rivers Show presents: Meanwhile Everywhere”. I decided a four out of four survey guaranteed that my first Fringe show would be a great one.
But before I bought my ticket I had to of course sketch the ticket booth. While doing this sketch I spotted a friend of mine Ray as he bought a ticket. I shouted out his name and then we went outside to get some Greek food for dinner. Ray and I talked about an upcoming event he is planning and about art, marketing and life in general. While we were eating, Patient X Augustine of the Asylum, aka Erika Wilhite, sat down with us and performed a twisted yet delightful piece on her accordion. The accordion was set up with a small spot light on top which lit her face in an sinister way. When her song was finished, her handler, a burly man with an upturned mustache, pulled X away with a rope.
Later a sexy female pirate with an umbrella, a wet ghost and a girl in a pink tutu with butterfly wings were handing out blow pops in a reversal of Halloween traditions. The way the pirate offered the pop was quite enticing she would say “Care for a sucker?” or “Do you want a blow…………pop?” I declined her nasty offer. I am married after all. But boy they looked good, I think I saw a grape flavored one. How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Blow Pop? I can’t stop thinking about it.
Toni Taylor at Visual Fringe
In the Visual Fringe room I had the rare pleasure of watching Toni Taylor working on one of her refined and luminous canvases. I sat at a round table across from her and began to sketch. I had just about finished drawing her when she placed her pallet on her portfolio and walked away to talk to some friends. While she was away I started drawing paintings on the walls and the insane number of fliers lying on the table. Several people started flipping through the portfolio and turned the pages over right onto the wet paints. Had I been paying attention I might have been able to stop them. When Toni returned she had to scrape off the paint with a pallet knife and wipe the pages clean with a rag. We had a good laugh about it when the damage was all cleaned up.
As I was finishing up my sketch Toni finally noticed that I was sketching. She was a bit shocked, she thought I was just writing notes. We started to talk and found that our lives had run near identical courses intersecting often. She lived in NYC at the same time I did and even was at the School of Visual Arts at about the same time as me. She lived in Washington Heights only blocks away from where I lived while in NYC. Then she moved to Orlando as I did and now she has a studio less than a mile from my studio. I seems crazy that we had not bumped into each other before. The Fringe continues to radiate its crazy unexpected magic.
Fringe Poetry Smackdown
As evening rolled around the poets took to the stage for a no holds bared Poetry Smackdown. There were five judges. Three of the judges were Fringe celebrities including Pepe with the red Mohawk, Beth Marshall The Producing Artistic Director of the Fringe, and Wayburn Sassy entertainment legend and you tube celebrity. Two other judges were selected from the audience to keep the judging fair and impartial.
This sketch is of Curtis Meyer who impressed me with his strong rap like delivery. He would close his eyes as if in a revelry and then thrust his verse upon the audience gesturing the whole time with his hands.
After heated qualifying rounds which all seemed to involve sexuality in one form or another, poets must be a horny bunch, the wheat was separated from the chaff. In the end only one poet was left standing and that was Kendra Corrie who’s poetry resonated with a confident voice and message that was inspired. Her last poem was a response to a thirty something who said “if you area not liberal in your twentys you don’t have a heart and if you aren’t conservative in your thirtys you don’t have a brain.” Her poem spoke to the depths of idealism, hope and caring. She lifted me up weightless and full of joy. Screw American Idol there should be a nationally televised Poetry Smackdown celebrating the truly creative voices that can be found right in our back yard. On that stage Kendra is my Fringe Idol.