Sugar Crash Kids and the Forgotten Island offers family friendly fun at Fringe.

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Based on the World and Characters of Sugar Crash Kids created by Jeremiah Dunlap and Joshua Pearson, this original family friendly musical will bring a spark of fun to the Orange Venue. Imagination,
discovery, and wonder take flight when a cynical young girl, Mai (Kennedy Mason) is suddenly
thrust into a fantastic, whimsical adventure in a world she never
thought was possible.

I went to the final rehearsal at City Beautiful Church on Alden Road in Ivanhoe Village. Blue illuminated orbs were placed on the stage. Director and choreographer Holly Harris explained that they represent hope, wonder, and imagination. Mai has reached an age where anything that isn’t tangible isn’t real. She discovers that the world of the imagination is very much real.

The ensemble picked up the orbs and danced and interacted with them with fluid graceful movements. The cast must have a blast at each performance. Much of the movement is pure joyful play. Actors did somersaults, rolled over, and bumped into each other and genially had plenty of immature fun.  Cole Nesmith sang an exuberant song titled, “You’re here!” “But where’s here?” Mai asked. “Why it’s here of course!”

The show features original music, lyrics, and characters, from The Cramazingly Incredifun Sugar Crash Kids Podcast which comes to life on stage for the first time ever. The musical brings to
life a fantastic, whimsical adventure through music, movement, and large
scale puppetry.

I didn’t see the full show, but the songs I heard were amazing, and the scenes were filled with playful  joy. I have no doubt that this is a must see Fringe show. Bring the whole family!!

Tickets are $10.

Location: ORANGE Venue – Lowndes Shakespeare Center – Margeson Theater 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL

Performances:

Thursday, May 19 – 6:15 PM

Saturday, May 21 – 3:45 PM

Sunday, May 22 – 2:30 PM

Tuesday, May 24 – 7:15 PM

Wednesday, May 25 – 5:30 PM

Saturday, May 28 – 1:30 PM

Sunday, May 29 – 11:45 AM

A Day Devoted to Dance.

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Holly Harris, a talented local choreographer and dancer helped bring National Dance Day to Orlando.  National Dance Day celebrates dance by offering a whole day of free dance instruction to anyone who attends. This incredible event just happened to fall on the same day as the 48th International Sketch Crawl, so I contacted Holly, a she agreed to allow artists to sketch the entire day’s activities.

This year’s event encouraged families and friends to begin the morning of July 25 at the National Dance Day Orlando (NDDO) Community Celebration, located at Orlando Cultural Park, (the lawn in front of the Loch Haven Neighborhood Center) to participate in exercises, dance routines, and performances by Central Florida dance professionals.

Within walking distance of the park is the Orlando Ballet Central Campus where 30 free specialized dance classes will be offered throughout the day to ages 3-100, including special needs movement classes. Central Florida dance company directors, choreographers, and fitness instructors will share different styles of dance through body conditioning, dance technique, and choreography at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

National Dance Day Orlando desires to bring educational, community-driven dance opportunities to non-dancers and dancers alike! About six artists came out to sketch for the day.

The day began at 8:30am with  Stretches and Cardio

9:00am – 1st National Dance Day Routine

9:30am – Performances by Professional Central Florida Dance Companies

10:00am – 2nd National Dance Day Routine

10:30am – Performances by Professional Central Florida Dance Companies

National Dance Day was bigger than ever.

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National Dance Day fell on the same day as the World Wide Sketch Crawl.  I contacted Dance Day organizer Holly Harris and she was gracious enough to let host the Orlando Sketch Crawl, conjunction with National Dance Day. About 5 or 6 artists joined me and we documented the all day event with our sketches. This sketch was done in one of the Orlando Ballet dance studios. This free dance class was all about Latin Dance moves and the drummer set the heated beat. I’m certain the many of the people taking the class had never moved like the before. The instructor would demonstrate a move and then each dancer would had to follow his moves in turn. It was a hot and passionate class.

A few dancers relaxed while leaning against the mirrored wall but most dancers lined the room and were constantly on the move. I had filled a sketchpad already and so this sketch wheat on the back of a sketch page. This was a great day of catch in dance gestures, but I also insisted on completing finished compositions. It was fun to see how different artists captured the non stop action.

National Dance Day brought out a huge crowd.

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On July 26th of 2014, National Dance Day hit Orlando. It was held at the Orlando Ballet Central Campus (2201 McRae Avenue Orlando FL). The Free event featured 15 classes with 13 styles of dance in 3 dance studios. This was the second annual
celebration that aimed to educate, inspire, and promote the Orlando dance
community. This event was specially designed to promote
progressive development of dancers, celebrate the diversity of Central
Florida’s dance professionals, and further connect the Orlando dance
community. This year’s event encouraged dancers and non dancers
alike to participate in a variety of 15 free dance workshops. These
classes were taught by local Orlando dance company directors,
choreographers and fitness instructors who lead participants
through body conditioning, dance technique and choreography at beginner,
intermediate, and advanced levels. National Dance Day Orlando brought opportunities
to those who love the art of dance by encouraging ongoing education.

I parked in the Theater parking lots on Princeton and walked towards the dance studios. I’ve never been inside this dance space before, so I didn’t know what to expect as I approached.  The dance studios are in a large building right next to the railroad tracks. There were a few dancers standing outside the entrance chatting. I was amazed when I entered. The entry hall was packed with dancers taking a break between classes. Holly Harris who was instrumental in organizing the event, welcomed me. She gave me a quick tour showing me the 3 huge dance studios. Every dance studio was packed. Hundreds of people had showed up to dance. To say that the event was a success would be an understatement.

I settled in, sitting in the back corner of a studio. Sketching a crowded group of dancers, all doing the same dance moves is probably the greatest sketch challenge there is. I contented myself with catching each dancers unique gestures and body proportions. The instructor further complicated the sketch by insisting that dancers in the back rows should move up while the front rows moved back. This allowed everyone a chance to see the dance moves up close and added a sense of panic and chaos to my sketch. I stayed for the duration of the samba class and then packed up my kit. I could have stayed all day capturing dancers but I keep my sketch habit to one a day. Otherwise I’d get lost in the process and never come up for air. Art requires some balance to work its way into becoming a life.

As I was leaving I bumped into Larissa Humiston who is the founder and lead choreographer for Emotions Dance. She was with Taylor Shepherd, who is one of Larissa’s incredibly talented dancers. On stage Taylor is fierce and commands attention. They were about to teach a beginning and intermediate Contemporary dance class. Larissa understands the advantages of collaborating with artists of all kinds. I worked with her doing a series of paintings that were projected before each dance piece for a show titled “Art Evolution“. It was a very rewarding experience.

Rusty Spoon

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Paul Alexander hired me to do a sketch at The Rusty Spoon, (55 W Church St, Orlando, FL) on Saturday December 4th. A party of about 30 people were going to gather for dinner for the first time. Paul knew of my work because of a sketch I did at a City Beautiful Church concert at the Lake Eola Band shell and the kind recommendations of talents like Aradhana Tiwari, Cole Nesmith and Holly Harris.

The group gathering was known as Cru. They are an international ministry with members coming from Africa, the Netherlands, Asia, Australia and Europe.  The person that Paul most wanted me to catch was Ken who had 25 years experience leading a Cru group in Asia. Paul is in charge of Digital Strategies which utilizes social media to promote the groups message to the world.

I was the first to arrive at the rusty spoon. The woman who greeted me at the door knew what I was up to cause she said, “Oh, you must be the caricature artist.” I cringed a bit since I’m not a caricature artist, but I let it pass. She went to get the waiter, who knew more about the large group I was going to sketch. He lead me to the back of the Spoon where four tables were reserved for the party. The waiter, who also thought I was a caricature artist, let me sit in an empty booth that thankfully didn’t have a table. I had plenty of room to work. I started blocking in the perspective of the place. Raw old fashioned Edison bulbs illuminated the scene.

Paul and Anne Alexander arrived as did my wife Terry. She spoke to the couple for a while and then went to watch the football game at the bar. Paul and Anne love this restaurant, although Anne lamented that the art work never changes. I have to admit that it is a bit odd having pigs, goats and cows staring at you from the walls, especially if you eat meat. People arrived and mingled. Then as each person took a seat, I quickly placed them in the sketch.

Amazingly, the sketch was done when everyone finished dinner. Some people wandered over to see what I was up to. One jovial fellow from Africa asked where he was. He must have been way back at the fourth table because I hadn’t sketched him. He said, “Your sketch is fine, bot it is incomplete without me.” Even Paul is hidden from view since his wife is seated in front of him. I managed to keep Ken clearly in focus although a late arrival sat in the corner seat blocking my line of sight toward Ken most of the dinner. I had to move and reduce the size of this person to keep Ken visible in the sketch. It is fascinating how much can be altered and recreated while still keeping a believable document of an important event. I didn’t have time to eat or drink, but Paul told me the food at the Rusty Spoon is delicious. With the sketch done, I rushed off to the Kerouac House for a pot luck dinner.

Words We Wear

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I bumped into Becky Lane in the Full Sail parking lot and she told me about a show she is working on called Words We Wear. Kevin Barber and Aradhana Tiwari are co-directing and Holly Harris is in charge of choreography. Becky invited me to a rehearsal at Movement Arts Studios.

Words We Wear is a 60 minute original performance piece that includes dance, acting, and mixed media. There is an ensemble of 20 female performers.

The show itself is relatively secular. It is about exchanging negative words for more positive words, but the final call to action is faith based. An organization called Epic Vita contracted Becky and the rest of the creative team and heavily influenced the content of this show. They focus on Christian Women’s Ministry.

At the rehearsal, blue tape marked a grid on the floor. The female cast were walking aggressively as if on the streets of a big city. They wove together in a tight knit pattern. If a performer got in the way then the dancer would stop, turn at a right angle and move in another direction. At one point rows of dancers had to move past one another and the squeeze was so tight they bumped shoulders. A fraction of an inch adjusted the movement and the bumping stopped.

The next sequence rehearsed involved movements related to exercise. They wanted to have a quick beat to the movements and Becky demonstrated an accelerated yoga routine where she did sun salutations and downward facing dog to a quick eight beat. The effect was both funny and awe inspiring. Aradhana chimed in, “These moves will be simplified, you can all thank me later.” Everyone applauded Becky’s performance, thankful they wouldn’t have to repeat it.

As I was finishing my sketch, the women rehearsed a routine involving the drudgery of sorting laundry. The baskets of clothes became part of a delicate angst filled dance. Performers experimented and improvised slowly allowing the routine to find it’s own form. This is what I love about sketching rehearsals, there is an open sense of childlike play that brings a piece to life.

Aradhana explained that the show was built around a quote from Maya Angelou. Aradhana explained that certain events in her own life have made the shows theme particularly relevant at this time in her life. Maya said, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, ““Someday we will be able to measure the power of
words. I think they are things. I think they get on the walls, they get
in your wallpaper, they get in your rugs, in your upholstery, in your
clothes and finally into you.”

The show will be playing at the Goldman Theatre in the Orlando Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL).

Saturday, December 14th at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM

Sunday, December 15th at 8:00 PM.

You can purchase tickets on the EpicVita website.

Shadow Play

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On September third, I went to Movement Arts Studio (1602 Philadelphia Ave, Orlando FL) to watch a rehearsal of a dance piece by Holly Harris. The two performers were Rebekah Lane and Ariel Clarke. Becky has an acting/puppetry background and Ariel is a contemporary dancer and instructor at Focus Performing Arts Center in Lake Mary. Both are representing Canvas Creative Movement Coalition at The Shift Unity in Motion.

Holly explained the premise behind the creative movement and dance piece. “A year ago I read through some silly fables from a
book called, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day. A three-line
poem in that book stood out to me called The Shadow.”

‘Once there was a man was was afraid of his shadow.

Then he met it.

Now he glows in the dark.’

“When Larissa asked me to present an
experimental movement piece for The Shift, I immediately went to my idea
board to find this poem. I thought I could lead an audience on an
imaginative journey of sight, sound, and feeling through the art of
creative movement. In the beginning of the duet, you see Becky reading
and as she yawns she suddenly takes notice of her shadow for the very
first time. She is connecting the black mass that is seen on the stage
floor with the light coming from the lamp and it confuses and frightens
her. One minute into the piece, her shadow is personified by another
dancer, who at first alarms her but then reveals that she is simply an
abstract continuation of her body and mind as they move in sync
together. As the piece continues to develop, the shadow guides Becky
into exploring the mysteries of the world that often go by unnoticed
like a solitary shadow.”

This rehearsal space is inside a huge warehouse with tapestries and gilded mirrors on the walls. Large blue fabric was draped elegantly over the long dancer’s mirror. The rehearsal involved Becky and Ariel developing the first three minutes of the piece.One particularly memorable moment involved Becky walking in a wide arc ad Becky as her shadow matched her steps as she rotated on her hips on the floor. Movement was developed in a playful collaboration. Holly watched the dancers shadows to be sure everything worked.

Mark Your Calendar!  The Shift which involved pieces developed by six dance companies will be September 13th and 14th in the Goldman Theater in the Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 E. Rollins Street Orlando FL) at 8pm. Tickets at the door are $20.

Macbeth

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Sisyphus Productions presents Macbeth at this years Fringe Festival. This stripped version of Shakespeare’s classic play of corrupting
ambition and madness remains faithful to the text while incorporating
grotesquely seductive movement and macabre visuals. The show explores the
role of fate as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth yield to the seductive
prophecies of the trio of witches and embark down a long road on which
“blood will have blood.”

I went to a final dress rehearsal at Edgewater High School just a few days before the play hits the stage in the Shakespeare Theater. I bumped into actress Sarah Lockard in the Shakes and mentioned that I would be sketching Mac… She stopped me and said I couldn’t utter the title in the theater. You see, the play is cursed and uttering its name will bring down the fortunes of any theater company. Paul Horgan explained at the Fringe Pub Crawl that theater companies that were struggling would stage Macbeth and then falter. It was a self fulfilling prophesy.

Michelle Kraus does an astonishing job as Macbeth’s wife. She seduces Macbeth, played by Jason Skinner, into committing murder to make his way to the thrown. He is filled with self doubt and loathing but her pure unfaltering lustful ambition sways him to the deed.  As he laments the bloody dagger, she takes charge snatching the dagger from him and washes it clean. The simple set of pillars and blocks gradually tumbles into ruins as the play progresses. Later Lady Macbeth is plunged into darkness and insanity trying to rub the invisible blood from her hands. Michelle looked off stage in my direction. Her eyes blazed with horror. Although the room was bathed in florescent light, her intensity was frightening.

Holly Harris had three actors cloaked in a stretchy material and their graceful gestures became strange featureless abstractions. Their writhing fluid movements were creepy and effective. Jimmy Moore who directed the play along with Michelle confided that the Fringe play he worked on last year wasn’t very good. However he has every reason to be proud of this ambitious production. This huge cast of at least 15 actors gives the play a dark and epic feel. Although the blood red walls of the auditorium seemed appropriate for the production, I need to see the show again on the dark moody Fringe stage complete with lighting effects. I have no doubt this production will shine bright. You should see this hour and a half production, just don’t utter the title in any theaters halls. If you order tickets inside the theater, refer to it as “The Scottish Play“. “What’s done can not be undone.”

What: Macbeth

When:

Saturday May 18th at 9:00PM

Tuesday May 21st at 10:00PM

Saturday May 25th at 7:00PM

Sunday May 26th at 1:45PM

Where: Gold Venue in Theater Downtown, 2113 N Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL

Tickets: $10 plus a Fringe Button

A City Beautiful Christmas

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I got an invitation from choreographer Holly Harris to see a City Beautiful Christmas at the History Center downtown. A City Beautiful is a recently formed church that doesn’t have a permanent brick and mortar home yet. I witnessed a fabulous celebration at the Lake Eola band shell. Cole Nesmith welcomed me when I arrived at the History Center. Much of the service would be happening inside the Orlando Regional History Center. Then the congregation would walk out into the park for an arts performance. The performance is what I planned to sketch, so I leaned against one of the tall pine trees and started blocking in the stage. There was an hour to show time.

White gossamer fabric hung from pine boughs.  The fabric glowed yellow in the street lamp light. Two sculptures of alligators are permanent residents of the park and they overlooked the proceedings. A grey bearded man with a sleeping bag slung over his shoulder was talking to Holly for the longest time. He was invited inside but he preferred the outdoor air like me. He was to thin to be Santa Claus. He stood a short distance from me and watched me intently. He struck up a conversation, letting me know he was from Ohio. Distracted and lost in the sketch, I answered his questions but kept my hand and eyes busy. I’m a bit rude when working, and he soon wandered off.

A box sat at the center of the staging area. A tech tested it out. With the lid off, it erupted, sending up a large plum of fake snow lit from below. Dancers all dressed in black began to form themselves on the grid of the stage. They all held candles. White paper bags with candles inside illuminated the path from the History Center leading people to the staging area. I had assumed everyone would sit on the grass to watch the show. I had guessed wrong. Everyone stood, and I lost my view. I had only sketched half the dancers. I could see one or two dancers between peoples heads. A fellow in front of me apologized, I told him not to worry. I’ve learned to accept any staging difficulty. I decided to relax and start painting. Catching the magical candle light at night would be a challenge.

Music was playing that sounded like Danny Elfman‘s sound track to Edward Scissorhands. Since I couldn’t see the dancers, I imagined ice sculptures forming with the chips floating in the air like snow. The luminescent pillar of snow blew skyward up above the wall of backs. For a magical moment, it was snowing in Central Florida. Air and Cole spoke messages of love, acceptance and Christmas joy, as I presume the dancers performed. Everyone in the audience was issued a candle. One single flickering flame became two, then four then a sea of light. Everyone’s voice was raised in song. There would be a second performance, so  the lights were extinguished as the crowd dispersed, I continued to sketch. The sketch felt complete even without the full cast. The gator looked hungry enough. With another hour till the second performance, I decided to pack up and head home.

Connected: An Interactive Experience

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Connected: An Interactive Experience was sold out. Aradhana Tiwari directed the show, and Holly Harris was the choreographer. I had a ticket but unfortunately didn’t have one for Terry. Jimmy Moore decided I could start sketching the space early so long as I used my artists stool. I picked a seat in the second row and saved a seat for Terry. All the seats in the theater had been set up with audio ear buds. This was a huge undertaking to set up in the 15 minutes or so before the house opened. Wired had to be duck taped to the floor and each audio connection tested. Terry and I were going to share a set of ear buds. The cast circled up in the center of the black box theater. Cole NeSmith said, “We are asking the audience to take chances, and I hope we all step up to take those chances with them.” He climbed into a three foot square box and he shouted to me, “Don’t look Thomas!” The stage manager shouted, “One minute to house open!” People shouted back, “Thank you one!”

The audience rushed in, and sure enough every seat was taken.  An announcer or guide, addressed everyone asking them to raise their hands if they could hear him. Everyone raised their hands, but I was sketching, my hands were busy. The show began with an isolated spotlight on the box, center stage. A light emanated from a hole at the top of the box. Two dancers circled and interacted with the mysterious box and then Cole, as Jacob was pulled out. Jacob’s mouth was taped shut and he wore sunglasses and earphones. Jacob was shut himself off  emotionally from the world around him.
As he faced moments from his past that caused him to isolate
himself, he was awakened to deeper levels of intimacy in his current
reality. The Guide invited each audience member on a
unique, introspective journey into their own past. This illuminating process of discovery welcomed the
audience into introspective and interactive moments that were
risky, challenging, humorous and healing.

Jacob was in several scenes in which his hurtful past was dredged up. He was usually focused on some small undefined task as others argued and interacted around him. His mom berated him constantly. The small boy was meek and introspective but the elder Jacob shouted, “NO! Stop!” Everyone  in the audience had been given point lights. They were asked to illuminate the light if someone had said hurtful things that forever stayed with them. The room was aglow with point lights. Terry shifted and my ear bud fell out. As I fumbled it back in my ear, the guide said, “See you are not alone, we all face the same fears and challenges.” Dancers walked on diagonals occasionally freezing in their hectic life as Jacob studied them. Audience members were invited to pose on pedestals along with Jacob. Long colorful paper ribbons were handed out to the audience and they were unfurled from person to person. A black light illuminated the ribbons and they glowed brightly in the dark room as dancers pulled them back in. Like Jacob, I was focused on a task. Sketching in the darkened theater was a challenge. With my earpiece constantly popping out, I gave up on it and sketched furiously. Without the guide, I was observing but very much isolated from the emotional involvement of the show. The performance rushed by and I struggled in the dark to catch a moment.