Pandemic Film: New Year

Posted on by Thor

This is the most fun shot I worked on yesterday. At first I created a depth map that included the skeleton, but when I started animating the confetti, I quickly discovered that it overlapped him in awkward ways. I decided the skeleton had to have his own layer and he was only overlapped by the upper most confetti animation that I added at the end.

The camera pans down and with the parallax, Times Square seems cavernous. Each confetti layer was moved at different rates. The top layer moved the most and less movement occurred moving back in space.  The shot took several hours to composite but it lasts on the screen for less than a second. It was worth it.

In some ways the film is organized chronologically, in that each year with a new refrain a painting is highlighted for that years Time Square celebration. In other ways the film is arranged thematically based on the lyrics of Andy Matchett‘s song, Just Can’t Wait. The song was written in 2017 for the Fringe show Key of E, which was an apocalyptic rock musical. In so many ways the lyrics are prophetic about the way the COVID pandemic unfolded and continues to unfold.

On May 11, 2023 the United States will end its COVID public health emergency. May 11, 2023 will be this film’s birthday. 1,128,404 Americans have died of COVID-19, with about 200 more still dying every week. 250,000 American children have lost a parent. Millions of Americans are suffering from long COVID. Loneliness may not be the worst thing to come from the pandemic.

COVID is airborne, the pandemic is far from over.

Visual Fringe

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The Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest is January 9-12, 2020 inside the Lowndes Shakespeare Center at Orlando’s Loch Haven Park.  I saw several Facebook posts about the Visual Fringe tent and had to head out to see it for myself. The Visual Fringe is headed up by the incomparable actress, Melanie Leon whose comedic prowess has livened up several of the shows I have sketched at Fringe and around town. In front of the Visual Fringe tent were about a dozen orange lawn chairs so that an audience could sit of they liked to watch all the at happening.  I was happy to sit in a chair (theater seat) and started sketching. Melanie and George Cudo were seated in front of me. She joked with me and made me feel very much welcome.

I sketched Warren Hart (Famous After Death) who was working on a bold robotic image painted on a board covered in newspaper clippings. I loved the Famous After Death tag an wish I had thought of it. Also working was Osha Awesome who was doing a mixed media piece with melted crayons. Famed beside her were several framed Yin and Yang symbols with rainbows of melted wax.

After sketching Famous After Death, I checked out his portfolio on the table. It was a thick book full of gorgeous bold poster imaged from movies and other themes. I heard that he produces the work in Illustrator but he also explained that the iPad and Procreate have changed the way he works. He is desperately hoping that Procreate eventually gets vector based features which means images created could be blown up to any size. Since I have fallen in love with the program as well, we had much in common. It was awesome to meet another artist who is embracing technology in their everyday creative process.

Tonight is the last night of the Fringe Winter Mini Fest. To see a show you need to buy a $3 Mini Fest Button. Show tickets are separate and prices vary. Some shows I had sketched before during the 2019 Fringe.

The remaining shows…

12:45am Staged Reading Series: Gertrude Stein’s Do Let Us Go Away, a play.

12:45am Staged Reading Series: Spider Queen.

2:15pm Winnie’s Roch Cauldron Cabaret.

2:30pm 90 Lies an Hour.

2:45pm The Myrtle Sisters – Out of Time.

4:00pm St Kilda

4:20pm Danny Darkly’s California Screaming.

4:30pm The Dissection of a Mixed Heritage Woman.

5:45pm Six Chick Flicks. (SOLD OUT)

6:15pm Eddie Poe.

6:15pm The Lightweight.

7:30pm How to Really, Really, Really Love a Woman.

8:00pm Larry.

8:00 My Left Tit.

9:15pm Becoming Magic Mike: An Action Adventure Comedy.

9:45pm Flori-DUH.

Pepe’s Truth or Dare Dating Gayme

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To celebrate Pride Week here in Orlando I arranged with Rob Ward to sketch one of Orlando’s favorite Fringe and SAK Comedy Lab performers, Pepe!

Pepe brings an over-the-top performance and interactive LGBT Version of the classic Dating Game show, as three sexy singles play Truth or Dare to win an all expenses paid date. The tickets to get into the show at the Savoy (1913 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL) were rainbow wrist bands.

Pepe stood like a giant in his huge platform shoes and bright pink mow hawk. Even before the game got underway, he shouted out, “FREE JELLO SHOTS Beetches!” He instructed us on the proper way to rim the cup with our tongue or finger and then suck down the shot. Pam informed me that apparently I did everything wrong trying to rim the edge with my tongue and also scoop it up like an ant eater. The end result was that much of the jello remained in the cup. I was so anxious to sketch that I didn’t go back into licking the half full cup. My hands were busy on the page.

The lead contestant wore a blue t-shirt that said simply, “Send Nudes.” Pepe put a blindfold on him and then introduced the three contestants who would compete for his blind attention. Pepe played up the notion that the contestant was a hunk, not a Rhodes scholar. When the three other contestants came out I recognized the center contestant as a dancer and Fringe Performer. When he was asked “TRUTH or DARE!” He picked the dare. He was tasked with slipping a condom on a semi-large dildo the lead contestant was holding in his lap. He however could not use his fingers to unroll the condom. He managed to convince the lead contestant to to the hard work of getting the condom unrolled with his mouth as he thrust the condom deep into his mouth. It was hilarious but not as sketch worthy as someone on their knees doing the job with plenty of head bobbing.

Another contestant took a dare built around an iconic scene from Lady and the Tramp. He wasn’t a fan of Disney movies, but he had to eat a meat stick at the same time as the lead contestant until their lips met. The resulting meat mouthed kiss that followed was impassioned. Another contestant had to talk dirty while his mouth was stuffed full of cotton candy. The resulting muffled mumbling sounded more like he was grunting into a pillow. One woman in the front row must have had too much to drink since she nodded off while her friend shouted, “TRUTH OR DARE!” so loud that Pepe had to dial he back a touch to get the desired subtle effect. AS he said you don’t just shove it in you have to have some gentle foreplay.

Lisa donated a bandanna for the next dare that involved some sexy dancing that the lead contestant couldn’t see but the audience hoots and hollers must have peeked his curiosity. The bandanna was used to hide any dangling bits when the pants came down. When the red bandanna was passed back through the audience to Lisa, she gave it a healthy sniff and clutched it to her heart.

The show was over before my sketch was complete so I rushed to finish up as the audience filtered out into the bar. This was an over the top fun night that was a great intro the the Pride festivities. The Pride Parade is TODAY from 3:30pm until 5:30pm at Lake Eola. Pride is celebrating 15 years in the Central Florida community, as well as
50 years since Stonewall – a half-century of LGBTQIA+ liberation.

One of the most eagerly anticipated events of Pride Week, this year’s
festival and parade will feature more than 100 groups spanning a 1-mile
route through downtown Orlando. Throughout the day, guests can enjoy
live entertainment at multiple stages around the park, including
celebrity headliners.

My Left Tit at Fringe

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My Left Tit, written by Gwen Edward, is about two years in the lives of a cancer patient and her faithful mutt, Omie, from initial diagnosis, through experimental treatments, up until the final hours. Brandon Roberts played all the parts in this play about facing a horrible diagnosis and a pup’s faithful love and devotion given with boundless energy. Roberts shifted quickly back and forth between the heart felt monologue of the female owner and the endearing antics of her energetic pup. Lighting cues helped separate these quick mercurial jumps back and forth.

The pup dreamed of chasing fireworks that exploded in the sky. Like Wile E. Coyote in  the roadrunner cartoons, he ordered packages that would arrive at the doorstep. Any time the doorbell rang he would bark wildly and bound down the aisles of the theater. He constantly bragged that his front paws were like lion’s paws. His energy and enthusiasm were a stark contrast to the female owner’s heartfelt reflections on life and her gallow’s humor in the face of death.

Only days before seeing the show, my pup had cornered a baby possum, which she then chomped on and dragged to the center of the back yard. She dropped it on a dead patch of lawn and the possum lay still as death. I grabbed her leash before she bit it again and dragged the pup inside. I returned to the baby possum to see it lying lifeless, but breathing. I ran inside to call animal services and as I did, I saw the possum get up and walk calmly away into the bushes. I  forgot that possums play dead as a survival mechanism. For this reason, I identified with the stuffed possum that was strewn on the stage.

For any dog owner who understands the endless support and devotion of an energetic pup, this was a heartfelt show with humor to balance out the harsh reality we all must face someday.

Static at Fringe

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New Vintage Ensemble, from New Orleans, LA, presented Static, a hybrid theater, live concert production that told the story of a son using music as a means to cope with losing his father to dementia.

The show is the work of playwright Connor Kelly O’Brien, who created it after hearing Daniel Amedee’s music. The theater was dark and on the black curtain behind the performers, projections moved with the forms’ outlines in white.  I could decipher some street scenes and pedestrians moving. The theater remained dark for the duration of the show with isolated spot lights focusing on each performer, in turn, as they traded back and forth while the narrative progressed.

Connor sat house left, going through boxes of his past memories. He was never as close as he hoped he could be to his father. As his father developed dementia and his days were numbered, the son decided to take him on a road trip to try and rekindle some form of connection. The show was about the love between people and the way we cope with the hard things in life.  

All the music by Daniel was original and mesmerizing. This wasn’t your typical musical stage production. The dark, brooding production left in its wake sadness at the ways people deflect from any form of connection, with idle conversation that never gets to the heart of what should be said. Though the play felt like a personal reflection on loss, it was fictional.

The Hammered Dog at Fringe

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Freeline Productions, from Orlando, presented Hammered Dog in the Red Venue at Fringe.

Shy, insecure, and emotionally fragile, Sandra (Sarah Lockhard) met the handsome, sexually possessive Ted (Steven Johnson) at a nightclub  Sandra was clearly unsure of herself in the loud club, but when she spotted Ted, she perked up. She hesitated before approaching him and when she finally worked up the nerve, he turned to walk away and her drink splashed on his shirt. Her cursed and stormed off. Later she considered cutting herself in the alley, but he intervened, becoming her knight in shining armor. The title of the play came from Ted describing other men he would make fun of at the club. He would watch them get hammered and then try and hit on women. He would laugh at their failures and then hit on the girls himself since he was such a catch. He called these losers Hammered Dogs. I despise those who denigrate others in an attempt to raise their own self-worth.

This chance interaction quickly led to an intense, volatile relationship. He had to be the most self-absorbed and lazy boyfriend of all time. When she offered him a home cooked meal, he insisted she get him a Publix rotisserie chicken instead. It was his one redeeming quality, since Publix does have some good chicken. He was jealous at every turn, saying she was lucky to have found him. He was one of the most repulsive characters I have seen on stage.

Ted’s horrible behavior mirrored behavior she had experienced from her dad in the past. Her only life line was a gay older co-worker (Todd Allen-Long) who helped her out and listened to her, hoping she could get her life back on track. His affection and support would have driven Ted mad. So each intimate conversation was a ticking time bomb.

Under the strain of her obscure past and Ted’s emotional manipulation, her life took a fateful turn.  Some wounds never heal.

Tickets for Hammered Dog are $12 plus the $10 Fringe Button.

Only one show date remains and that is tonight:

Sunday, May 26, 2019 9:15 PM to 10:15 PM

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

Weekend Top 6 Fringe Picks

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Saturday May 25, 2019

5:30 PM to 6 PM $10 plus a $10 Fringe Button. Ladies Room: The Musical. Bikini Katie Productions, Orlando, FL. Four women meet in line for
the ladies room. They explore poor dates, societal expectations,
friendship, and why there’s ALWAYS a line for the women’s restroom. From
the writer of Beneath the Bikini, and the composer of Buggin Out: A
Small Musical, this musical journey is sure to entertain. Taking place
in the ladies room by the blue venue, you’ll want to get in line to grab
these tickets! Just like these ladies, you gotta go! It’s sure to be
#1.

13 and Up – Strong Language, Adult Content

30 Minutes

7 PM to 8PM $12 plus a $10 Fringe Button. The Agony and the Ivories.  Grown Man Productions, Chicago, IL. He feels the music and he
feels your pain. Actor, musician, and SAK Comedy Lab alum Bill Larkin
stands behind a keyboard to perform his original comedy songs tackling
subjects such as aging, homosexuality, self-esteem and social media. As
seen on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and at the Edinburgh Fringe
Festival. The Los Angeles Times calls him “bitingly satirical”. Weird Al
Yankovic himself is “a big fan”. Intended for mature audiences.

18 and Up – Strong Language, Adult Content

60 Minutes

9 PM to 10 PM $12.00 plus a $10 Fringe Button. My Left Tit: A Sort True Tale of the Magical Bond Between a Dog and her Person.  Moustache Running Club, Fayetteville, AR Brandon Roberts shares a
whimsical and touching tale of the perfectly matched pair of Omie the
dog – who has taken on a vital mission – and her person, Gwen, who is
fighting a battle of her own. Typically known for his non-verbal work
with Gromalot Theatre Factory, this is Brandon’s first solo (and
speaking) engagement at Orlando Fringe. All earnings from the show will
be donated to the New Community Project. newcommunityproject.org

13 and Up – Strong Language, Adult Content

60 Minutes

Sunday May 26, 2019

1 PM to 2 PM $12 plus a $10 Fringe Button. Pack Animals. Scantily Glad Theatre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Ever been to summer camp? Took a shit in the woods and wiped using pages from your guidebook? Speared the patriarchy on a hot dog stick and toasted it over a roaring fire?

After getting lost in the woods, a multi-badged Woodpecker and a

wildernessly-inept
Beaver must set aside their differences to find their way home. JOIN US
for an adventure through the untamed forest of sex, puppets,
bushcraft…and campfire songs!

13 and Up – Strong Language, Nudity, Adult Content

60 Minutes

5 PM to  8 PM $60. Urban Sketching Workshop at Orlando Fringe with Thomas Thorspecken.

Loch Haven Park 777 East Princeton Street, Orlando, Florida 32803. Meet at Rocket Thrower Statue between Rep and Shakes. There are benches around it. Urban Sketchers Orlando continues in its third year to bring a variety of courses on urban sketching techniques taught by talented local instructors in their home cities. All skill levels are welcome and encouraged to join us.

DESCRIPTION:

The goal of this workshop will be to sketch the Green Lawn of Fabulousness during the golden hours as the sun sets. Instruction will be provided on how to populate the scene and how to keep darkening the painted aspect of the sketch as the light grows dim.

The FRINGE is a quirky and colorful event, so students are encouraged to get inspired by color and light. A tree might flair up a bright orange as the setting sun hits it or the lights as they come on may create a romantic glow.

Thorspecken is a correspondent for the Urban Sketchers organization since 2009 and has been an official Urban Sketching instructor for three years. An illustrator and journalist he is working in and around Central Florida and has been documenting arts and entertainment for over a decade in one sketch a day for his online news site, Analog Artist Digital World. Thorspecken was an animation artist for Disney for 10 years and has taught courses at Full Sail University and Elite Animation Academy. USk Correspondent

Instructor Thomas Thorspecken will have copies of his FRINGE Sketchbook at the workshop, which contains over 200 paintings done live at the FRINGE over the past 10 years. “I have been inspired by this unique Orlando institution and I hope to share that passion with artists who attend.”

 7:15 PM to 6:15 PM $12 plus a $10 Fringe Button. Ray Bradbury’s H2O. Susan Turner and Kangagirl Productions, Orlando, FL

Ray
Bradbury’s H20- Three short stories: The Lake, Picasso Summer and The
Million Year Picnic are brought together for the first time in a World
Premiere by David Lee, recipient of The Orlando International Fringe
Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award and The Critic’s Choice Awards for
Best Director, Best Solo Drama and Best Male Performer.

13 and Up

60 Minutes

Girl at Fringe

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Beth Marshall is directing, Girl, written by Megan Mostyn-Brown, a hard-hitting drama at this year’s Fringe. When the audience entered the Gold Venue there were three black boxes on the stage and a blue suitcase. Girl consisted of three intimate stories which create a compelling account of the female adolescent experience and what it means to be “home.”

The play opened with a young girl, Hannah (Chloe Shaw), seated on the center box. Hate and ugly were scrawled on her legs. Her sister had recently died and she was trying to come to terms with this harsh reality. Days of the week flashed on the screen above her head and we watched as she spiraled downward. She had become numb and the only reality was the feeling she got when began cutting herself. Her sister might not have lived the most exemplary life, but she began to emulate her, going so far as to buy a red-haired wig to look like her.

The second scene introduced a tom boy, Lucy (Alexa Carroll), with a Polaroid camera around her neck. She didn’t try and blend in with the upper crust snobbish girls in school, preferring to keep to herself and document the moments of her life with the camera. A group of students began talking about sex and asked, “Where is the strangest place you have done it?” Well, she hadn’t actually had sex yet, but when confronted with the question she said, “In a tree,” and was shocked that they believed her. a classmate, Isaac (Matthew Gray), later called her out in private saying she was better than that. He walked her home and they began talking as if they had been friends for years. The girl’s mom, (Sierra Vennes), sat house right and began talking about the mistakes she had made in life and how she hoped she could protect her daughter from making the same mistakes.  Ultimately, that goal is impossible.

Lydia (Rachel Comeau) performed the final scene alone. Her performance was stellar. Without going into details, I will say her story had heartbreak and pain, with hope in the end. She brought the entire audience on her emotional journey and we were faced with the harsh reality of what she had to face. She cried and laughed and tried to stay strong through it all. She is the one actress I didn’t sketch, but I just had to stop and watch her performance without the interruption of glancing down at the page. She held new life dear and close to her chest, discovering what it meant to be at home.

This was heart-wrenching theater at its best. A tour-de-force of emotions.

Girl is in the Gold Venue inside the Orlando Museum of Art, 2416 Mills Ave N, Orlando, FL 32803.

Tickets are $6 along with the $10 Fringe button.

The remaining show dates are:

7:00 PM

6:30 PM

7:00 PM

Pollywood at Orlando Fringe

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Polly Esther had been through some pretty rough times, but no matter how bad things got, she could always listen to a Weird Al Yankovic recording and laugh. She addressed the Fringe audience wearing a Weird Al t-shirt. Her excitement was manic and contagious. She heard that Al would be getting a star on Hollywood’s walk of fame. This is an honor that has to be paid for, but it is still an honor.

Since she loves Weird Al so much, she decided she had to go to Hollywood to see him when his star was unveiled. The trouble was, she didn’t have the money for a plane flight or hotel stay. Deena Ronayne from Orlando Fringe advised her to start a Go Fund me page to raise money for the trip. Polly took her advice and was surprised when she actually raised the money needed for the trip. She actually surpassed her goal by a bit and decided to get a pair of sandals with plenty of bling so she would blend in on the Hollywood strip.

She hadn’t planned ahead for the trip very much, since it never seemed quite like a reality. The morning she had to leave for the airport she hadn’t packed a thing. She performed a manic mime of the frantic struggle to pack, which was quite hilarious. Polly’s 37 hour adventure was as fun and quirky as Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.

The map taped to the back wall with green frog tape showed her trip route to Hollywood. She had the names of all her contributors and added them to the map alongside the route. When she was in Hollywood, she met one of Weird Al’s entourage and he invited her to a VIP party on the day of the unveiling. When she met Al, she was amazed that he looked her right in the eye and he loved her name “Polyester!” It wasn’t until that moment that it occurred to me that her first and last name, when said quickly, was a synthetic fabric used in cheap clothing lines. 


The bottom line is that this was a fun story about one woman’s dream coming true in ways she never expected. Dream big and sometimes you might just reach the stars.


Pollywood is in the Blue Venue inside the Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803.

Tickets are $12 plus a $10 Fringe button. 

The remaining show times are:

10:45 PM

8:45 PM

3:30 PM