Jon Bennett: Fire in the Meth Lab at Fringe

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Jon Bennett from Melbourne Australia wrote a play about his brother called Fire in the Meth Lab. His brother is in jail and in various letters he warned his brother not to write the show. In general this on man show was a coming of age story. We all have had siblings who acted like bullies. His brother was a life long bully. He showed us a clip from the Wonder Years, a TV show in which most people identify with the young boy Kevin. His brother identified with that young boys jerk of an older brother, Wayne. The older brother is picking up the younger brother after a date. Each time the younger brother reaches for the car door his jerk of a brother pulls away. The date watches the nonsense and the lad is mortified.

Jon’s brother did far worse, like sticking his dick in his brother’s ear. I can’t imagine. Things got silly when Jon shared clips from his brothers favorite pop star.  It was some Australian singer and the lyrics left little impression. He read some cards from the pop starts board trivia game and the answers were obscure and impossible to guess. Only a rabid fan might have a chance.

Things got serious when his brother decided to start a meth lab. A fire broke out and rather than leave the product to burn, his brother went in to save the meth. He then drove away before police arrived. When he was later picked up the police ordered him to get out of the car. He couldn’t. He had third degree burns and his flesh had melted onto the car seat effectively gluing him in.

Jon lost his pet dog and then befriended a dog down the street. He felt so close to this dog , that he decided to take him home. On that trek, a neighbors dog barked violently. He turned to the dog at his side and barked as well, in his mind saying “It is us against the world.” The dog misinterpreted his barking and lunged for his face, violently biting him and intending to kill. he woke up in a hospital bet with multiple stitches, deeply wounded. The dog was put down. Only much later did he learn that his brother had followed him on that day and saved his life from the attacking dog. His brother might have treated him like a jerk most of his life, but in the end brothers stick up for each other.

Banned in the USA at Fringe

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Gerard Harris from London grew up watching James Bond films rather than become a spy, he ended up becoming a comic. Being a comic does involve some international travel and his one man show is about how he has been treated like a spy or threat by the world’s super powers when he travels. His one man show was about trying to get through airport security. The posters he designed for his Fringe show at the time were not a help. One was designed like a Cuban Soviet poster. The title of the show, Banned in the USA also didn’t help as he tried to get to this year’s Fringe.

The set consisted of a  was a red couch and a folding chair to hold his laptop computer. He seemed to be making the show up on the fly with the laptop as a back up for details he might have forgotten. He is a manic storyteller. He crawled all over the couch at one time sitting on the back as he told his tale. He used to work at a tech company and his boss who usually went to conferences to talk about the companies goals and mission was not able to go so Gerard was asked to go.

The entire show was about being held up in the airport and the struggle to try and get to the conference on time. The petty nature of international borders was the ongoing theme. At one point the office that could resolve his issues was just a few yards away  but it was in another country so he couldn’t stroll over for the answers. Despite his rapid fire delivery he started to run long and so he had to wrap up his story quickly at the end. We seemed to be the guinea pigs for a dinner party story he had told many times before he decided to convert it into a Fringe show as we watched.

Title and Deed at Fringe

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Kangagirl Productions in association with Susan Turner presented Title and Deed written by Will Eno and performed by David Lee. The one man show is a dry witty meditation on life. The character questions everything. What is his roll in life, does he belong? He begins by stating that “I am not from here.” He addressed the audience intimately yet was clearly set apart perhaps a foreigner. As an artist , being apart is needed for perspective, an outsider looking in. Perhaps that is his role but he also seems mundane and everyday.

The set consisted of two empty book cases and a backpack with a stick in it. I thought the stick might be a divining rod, but he used it to strike his leg multiple times to prove to himself that he had feelings. His was an existential dilemma which he shared with reckless abandon. David’s delivery was dry and monotone, at times getting a laugh from the audience. We all question our place in the world and this show was an open forum for those concerns. He points out the things in our everyday life that are difficult for an outsider. What is most important? Family, Career? What do we miss? How do we truly feel at home? Our society which runs at a mad efficiency might be missing a few things when viewed from a different perspective.

Wanzie’s Monorail Inferno at Fringe

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Wanzie’s Monorail Inferno opened with a fabulous opening number. The theater was dark, and the actors on stage held flashlights that created a menacing effect. I was excited, it looked like we were in for an amazing ride. Unfortunately that high energy suddenly died when the first act got under way.

A bored transgender Disney hostess guided wide eyed tourists around the stage. On the monorail any impending doom was masked by the mundane. The monorail got stuck on it’s tracks leading to a forced purgatory for everyone on board and the audience. A teen wore a red bow worthy of Minnie Mouse and her boyfriend just seemed to be along for the ride. a thin rail of a woman was a choreographer who was stuck doing choreography for theme park shows. A southern bell sat next to a southern hick. A small girl got into a screaming fit and was bound and gagged by the passengers. Each person on the monorail seemed like a caricature, rather than someone with a personal history worth learning.

The southern hick had issues with the Disney Hostess but thankfully they were separated by the line of seated passengers. There was some resolution as they both told aspects of their past that showed that they both suffered and suffering is a game that needn’t be won. After a long wait, passengers were finally allowed to disembark and the hick was the first to leave. He left behind a package which I thought was a staging mistake, but it was the cause of the inferno to follow. The show is a musical but several numbers could clearly be cut without
slowing down the plot. The worst is when a passenger breaks into song
for no apparent reason. The final number had the entire cast dressed in white singing and dancing in heaven, finally finding the happiness they never found in life. I suppose the story was intended as a morality tale but I was confused.

Jack Kerouac: End of the Road at the Fringe

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Southern Winds Theatre, from Orlando, Florida presented Jack Kerouac: End of the Road at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. In July of 1969, three months before he died, Jack Kerouac, the father of the “beat movement,” appeared on William F. Buckley’s “Firing Line.” In a tirade of booze inspired talk, he shared stories about his insane, yet creatively inspired travels on the road.

The play is staged in the waiting room before Jack goes on the air. There he drinks and reminisces about his life, family and friends. He is labeled as a “Beat” which is similar to many with “Hippies” as they became known in the 1960s. His views however are rather conservative and Republican. He himself viewed hippies as degenerates. As he sips alcohol his speech slurs and hiss views become blunt.

I have done many sketches of resident authors who write at
the Kerouac House here in Orlando. The Dharma Bums was written right
here in a tiny Orlando house which Jack shared with his mom. When On
The Road became a best seller, Jack needed to borrow bus money to go up
to NYC to talk to his publisher.With such strong Orlando connections, how could I not want to learn more about his life?

He only wanted to go on the TV program to recite some of his poems, but Buckley wanted instead to get his views about the Beats. In the rare moments Kerouac does wax poetic, a sax player appears out of nowhere to perform an accompaniment to his angst. It would be nice if the history of his life flowed as if in a Benzedrine induced haze, but the writing seemed forced as if for a historic made for TV movie. Perhaps I was just put off by having to see a young vibrant man wasting away needlessly on stage. Jack died an alcoholic. We will never know what was left unwritten.

In Tandem at Fringe

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What would you give for an escape, freedom, or for complete liberty? In Tandem is inspired by the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. The Explore Composite from Orlando Florida examines the complexities of humanity and how we came to develop the relationships we have today. What bonds us? What drives us apart? How far would we go to protect the ones we love?

These ideas were explored through modern dance. In he beginning of the show, as the audience filtered into the theater. A sheet of paper was scrolled open on the floor and dancers would lie down and have their outline traced on the sheet. Each dancer in turn had their outline added to the sheet and at the end of the show the sheet was taken out and taped to the back wall of the theater. The markers unfortunately weren’t very wide, so I couldn’t see the lines added to the sheet.

 For me it was a challenging hour of trying to catch changing gestures in the ever changing flow of dance. Being a small theater, the dancers had to work in a tight area. I like that the dance company has dancers off all shapes and sizes. It wasn’t just a company of very thin dancers, which makes it more believable to present concepts that explore big concepts that affect us all. Not everything rang true for me. But as an artist, I always appreciate a chance to sketch dance.

Ruminations at Fringe

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Presented by the BAAD Project, Ruminations, like the name suggests, is inspired by the ruminations of Alan Wilson Watts. When was the last time you really took the time to stop? Stop thinking, stop doing, just listen. So often we are caught up in the whirlwind of life, always moving from one thing to the next we rarely take the time to settle in, quiet our mind, and observe. Utilizing explosive movement and captivating partnering, we delve into our relationships with each other and with nature; we explore what it means to really be present.

Alan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best
known as an interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a
Western audience. Interpreting this philosophy in dance offered some fluid modern dance. Dancers reached for the intangible as the philosopher expressed his views of the world. I cant claim to understand all of what was expressed but that might be the point.

I was pleased to see dancer Jesse Sander who has performed as Yellow at DRIP for years. DRIP just recently had its final performance after 10 years. So it was good to see the talent fostered there still influencing the arts scene here in Orlando. Orlando has a strong dance community and it always shines at Fringe.

Sh*t: An Unauthorized Musical Parody of It at Fringe

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Sh*t hits the fan when a shape-shifting evil disguised as a maniacal dancing clown feeds on the youth of Dairy, Maine. When a group of kids discover its true identity, they must destroy it, before it devours them all. From the creators and creative team of last year’s award-winning musical “ThanksKilling The Musical,” this promises to be just as absurd and equally tasteless.

 The play added back in an orgy among the kids that was left out of the movies made from Stephen King’s book “It.” The results were hilarious as the young boys reach climax and squirt silly string into the audience in an endless stream. A prime directive of the show is that it stretches and alters the reality set up by the author. Carrie kept making cameo appearances although she is from another of Stephen King‘s books. She looked magnificent in her crown and bloody dress. Gushing oozing splashing blood is a subtle metaphor for a woman coming of age.

Irreverent and often unexpected the songs added a comical bent to the show. The clown Pennywise had a large penis painted red on his white washed face. The show was a fun romp with singing dancing and plenty of silly string.

Sh*t: An Unauthorized Musical Parody of It is in the Orange Venue in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803. Tickets are $12 plus a $10 Fringe button needed to get into any Fringe Show. 18 and up – Strong Language, Mature Themes, Violence.

Weekend Top 6 Fringe Picks

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Saturday May 26, 2018

1:30pm to 2:20pm $10 plus a $10 Fringe button needed to get into any Fringe show. LUNA. Pink Venue in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803. Ana Cuellar, a Cirque du Soleil artist,  brings 8
internationally acclaimed dances to Fringe this year through her
creation of LUNA. Come and let LUNA’s emotional forces draw you in to
experience her creative spirit channeled through the movement of dance.
Featuring Cirque and top professional performers.

4:45pm to 5:45pm $12 plus a $10 Fringe button needed to get into any Fringe show. Eleanor’s Story: An American Girl in Hitler’s Germany. Gold Venue inside the Orlando Museum of Art, 2416 Mills Ave N, Orlando, FL 32803. Eleanor Ramrath Garner’s award-winning memoir of her youth, surviving
WWII as an American trapped in Nazi Berlin, adapted for the stage and
performed by her granddaughter, Ingrid. An AADW Top pick for this year’s Fringe.

5:00pm to 6pm $10 plus a $10 Fringe button needed to get into any Fringe show. Pianos to the Death Game Show. Green Venue in the Orlando Rep, 1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803. We invite you to the deadliest, rockin’ game show, where 3 musicians
play their way to survival, and the best part – the judges are you! The
LIVE studio audience! Join our Host and his sexy assistants on stage, as
you help choose the music, get in on the action, and even pick a demise
or two! All in this blood pumping spectator game, where YOU decide who
drops the beat, or just drops dead. Isn’t it time for you to be in
control?

Sunday May 27, 2018

Noon to 1:15pm $12 plus a $10 Fringe button needed to get into any Fringe show. Nashville Hurricane. Silver Venue in to Orlando Rep 1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803. Chase Padgett returns with a classic solo show featuring characters,
stories, and killer guitar playing. 40 years ago a guitar prodigy rose
to infamy and then vanished. Now we can hear the real story about the
rise, demise, and resurrection of the legendary Nashville Hurricane from
the eyes of the manager, mother, mentor, and man himself.

2:30pm to 3:30pm $12 plus a $10 Fringe button needed to get into any Fringe show. Jon Bennett: Fire in the Meth Lab. Blue Venue in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803.

Dear Brother,

How’s jail? I’ve written a show about you, is that OK? You’re in jail so you can’t really say no.

Love from your little brother,

Jon

4:45pm to 5:45pm $12 plus a $10 Fringe button needed to get into any Fringe show. 13 Dead Dreams of “Eugene”. Pink Venue in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803.  X-Files meets The Twilight Zone… in the dark! Paul Strickland and Erika Kate MacDonald  team up in this creepy
flashlight and shadow play with songs.

A body was found and
placed on display in hopes of identification. That’s when the Dead
Dreams began. Experience the shared recurring nightmares that haunted
one sleepy Ohio town, and the stranger-than-fiction story of “Eugene.”

Van Gogh Find Yourself at the Orlando Fringe Festival

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Van Gogh Find Yourself can be found in the Gold Venue inside the Orlando Museum of Art (2416 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803.) A woman in line had said that she thought Van Gogh would be sketching everyone in the audience. I let her know that would likely not be the case. No artist works that fast. He sat on the stage sketching as the audience filtered into the theater. I sat in the front row to sketch him, and he immediately started to sketch me. He really does look like Van Gogh with the thick red beard and furrowed brow. He invited members of the audience to join him on stage, saying, “people kept a distance from me my whole life.”

He invited someone on stage to be sketches by him and the comedian Polly Esther, from Dammit Jim, I’m a comedian not a Doctor took the seat offered. He stood at the easel and sketched her. She pitched her show as she was being sketched but then he explained that silence while creating is alright. He started talking about his life as a minister in a coal mining town. When he saw the suffering around him, he gave up his possessions to live more like the people he was preaching to. His father intervened and told him to stop being so dramatic. Ultimately this was not to be his life’s work.

His brother Theo suggested Van Gogh learn to paint. This he picked up with an equal passion. Theo helped support Van Gogh’s painting obsession and ultimately he settled in the south of France. He had dreams of starting an artists colony and Gauguin took Theo’s several hundred dollar stipend to join Van Gogh painting in the south of France. The two artists had totally different views on art and were soon fighting.

Van Gogh said that many of his best paintings were done in the insane asylum. Starry Night was projected on the screen. He found peace away from people. The towns people tormented him. He dispelled the notion that he cut his own ear off saying Gauguin cut him with a saber. He did admit to giving the ear fragment to a prostitute. He also dispelled the notion that he committed suicide. He claimed he was shot by a boy he approached in the fields where he painted. He didn’t want the boy to be in trouble so he kept the incident to himself. After he died, a doctor took some of his best paintings. Theo died shortly after wards of a broken heart.

When the artist on stage announced his true name was Walter DeForest, the illusion was broken. Walter was born on the day Van Gogh died.  Surprisingly the original Star Trek doctors actual name is DeForest Kelly. I had  learned many alternate truths about one off my favorite artists. As an artist this was a fun show to watch and sketch. I give it 8 of 10 sunflowers.

Tickets are $12 plus a Fringe button needed to get into any show.

Remaining show dates are:

7:15 PM

2:30 PM