Shakespeare Gala

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Terry and I were invited to the Shakespeare Gala by our lawyer, Keith Hesse. I quickly set up at one of the tables and started sketching this couple enjoying champagne and food from local restaurants. The circular Patrons Room had all of the silent auction items. At the end of the evening I noticed that none of the art work had sold. Jeff Ferree who works in the Shakes scenic shop stopped by my table to say hello. It turns out he was the model who posed in the red t-shirt and ruffled collar for the Shakespeare poster in my sketch. I asked him to stick his tongue out to verify his identity. Betsy Dye who does the graphics for the Shakes said hello as well. She acted as a spotter during the live auction.

There was a live auction later in the evening and all told, over one hundred thousand dollars was raised to help support the theater. I showed a sketchbook to Harriet Lake and I was pleased that she took delight in flipping through the pages. I let her know that I had sketched her reading Catcher in the Rye and she responded, “So you are that guy?!”  Actors quickly acted out a scene from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged. Delivered like a fast paced sports commentary the scenes were witty but I’m not fluent in all the plays, so some references slipped past me. The Shakes staff are fun and vibrant.

Closet Zombies!

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The smallest theater of the Orlando Fringe is in a closet at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. The closet was turned into a puppet theater by Jeff Ferree. The title of the play is “AAAAAAGGGHHH Zombies!!! … Because Zombies Sell.” Jeff won a small grant to help with the expenses of building the set and puppets. Performances are free with a small cardboard box outside the theater for donations. A small poster of a rabbit creating a shadow puppet of a human hand declared the closet to be the Jamie Mykins theater.

On the opening night of the Fringe, I found myself trapped inside the shakes because it began to rain really hard outside. As I relaxed in the lounge area, I overheard that the first performance in the closet would happen at 9pm. That gave me an hour to piece together a sketch. I opened the closet door and got to work. I was seated in a narrow hallway and volunteers had to squeeze around me. Ed Anthony, one of DEM Guys was first in line for the show. He stepped inside and looked around.

The walls were covered in canvas with violet and green brickwork. A make shift wall stood in the corner of the closet and a green zombie puppet hung limp out of the stage opening. Glow in the dark zombie faces hung from the ceiling along with what looked like lime green sea weed. There was a bag of those foam floaty rods in front of the stage. The line for the theater grew longer. Purple “Brain” cupcakes were served to audience members waiting in line. Jeff squeezed into the tight space behind the curtain and Jamie  declared the theater open. Jamie helped Jeff with the audience interactions. Together they broke the 4th wall. At least ten people must have crowded into that tight space, looking like an insanely crowded subway car or elevator. The theater door was closed. An important rule to remember at Fringe, is that if you leave a theater during a performance, there is no re-entry. If you are claustrophobic or zombiephobic then this might not be the show for you.

I stayed in the hallway, continuing to add color washes to my sketch. I heart laughter and shouting from inside the closet and kind of wished I had pressed inside. After the show, Jeff complained that a few cues were missed and he got nervous when he saw that theater critic Seth Kubersky was in the audience. All I heard however was laughter at the dead pan jokes. Gina Yolango was in the hallway and she was moved to tears when she began talking to Jamie about a Fringe show she had just seen called “Medicine” by T.J. Dawe . The Fringe has it all, from light hearted puppetry in a closet to theater moments that can affect your deepest emotions.

Showtimes:

Thursday May 24th at 9:00PM

Friday May 25th at 9:00PM

Saturday May 26th at 9:00PM

Performances are Free in a closet near the Fringe Volunteer’s office at the Shakes.

HoliFest

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Holi is a religious springtime Festival celebrated by Hindus. It is also known as the Festival of Colors. Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month. The main thing I know about the festival is that it is a whole lot of fun watching people throwing brightly colored pigments at each other and using super soakers and water pistols to squirt bright tinted water as well. In Orlando, a large soccer field next to the Citrus Bowl becomes home for this colorful carnage each year.

I parked on a side street on the opposite side of the stadium and walked toward the festival. The field is surrounded by a chain link fence with green mesh which blocked my view as I approached. The news had predicted a 50% chance of rain. The overcast sky meant I would be able to sit out in the open as I sketched. Last year there had been loud Indian music but this year the field was eerily silent. There was a tractor trailer bed parked at one end of the field and I assumed it would be used as a stage. I spoke to the event organizer and he said there had been a number of last minute setbacks. The DJ was running late and the truck bed was a last minute substitution for the main stage.

Only a few merchandise tents were set up. I decided the tent closest to the stage was my best bet to start sketching. Children were already soaking each other with pigments. I was wearing an old white T-shirt and old white pants that were paint rags. A teenage girl approached and hit me full force with her super soaker. I was surprised by the force of the stream. When I sat down and started blocking in the sketch, her little eight year old brother started squirting me with his small water pistol. I was able to block his shots with my hand. Once people saw what I was working on, I became Switzerland and there was a cease fire.

From the tent, they sold sodas, coconuts, colored pigments and colored water for pistols. I was surprised when the whole Psycho City Derby Girls roller derby team greeted me. Jeff Ferreeand Bucky Garrabrant were there with a group of friends. Jeff pointed towards his friends in the middle of the field. “Yeay, we are the ones who look out of place.” he said. But brightly splashed with pigments, they blended right in. I felt bad that they couldn’t experience the full brunt of the festival. Only 20 to 30 people were throwing pigments at any given moment. That didn’t stop people from having fun soaking each other in small groups. Children of the tent merchants crowded around me to see what I was drawing. Their mom stopped over and asked me the name of the blog. Rather than try to remember it all, she assigned each child a word to remember. She pointed to the oldest girl, her word was “Analog”, the next girl recited “Artist”, and the next girl recited “Digital”. A young boy walked up and said, “What?” “Not what!” They shouted back, “World”. The mom pointed to each child in quick succession and they had it down pat.

The organizer told me that they had expanded the festival to run over both days on the weekend. With this sketch done, a family got on stage and began singing a Hindu chant with drums as accompaniment. It started to rain and I decided to come back the next day. The next day it rained however and the festival was canceled.

Red!

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“Red” is a Tony Award winning play written by John Logan the screenwriter for “Hugo” and “Sweeney Todd.” It is supposed to be “an electrifying drama that spans the spectrum of human emotion, centering around the life of abstract expressionist Mark Rothko.” Rothko was a Russian-American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an “abstract painter”. Jeff Ferree told me about the production and he let me know which day that the completed set would be getting a spattering of paint. Set designer is Bob Phillips was there dressed in an old Hawaiian shirt. He supervised as Robbin Watts, the head scenic arts and scenic apprentice is Ashley Gilbert flung paint all over the walls and stage. Everyone padded around the stage in their socks. He couldn’t resist flinging paint himself. “It’s cathartic.” he said.

The first three rows in the theater were covered with drop cloths and I sat in an aisle seat just behind the “spatter zone.” I started the sketch by catching Ashley as she spattered the walls from high up on the ladder. This seems to be a recurring theme for me, sketching creative women on ladders. Everyone’s shoes were gathered up and placed at the back stage door. All three artists started spattering the floor, trying to avoid painting themselves into a corner. Spattering is a fast paced dance with wide sweeping strokes of the arms and constant pivoting. This was a delicate dance that was well worth the price of admission.

Red is running now through April 22 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Get your tickets now!

Marionette Making Workshop Stringing

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People worked at various paces trying to keep up with Hannah Miller who was teaching them how to make simple marionettes from fabric, string and beads. The hardest part was the stringing, and Hannah had to explain that in a puppet making workshop there was usually one person who was the master of stringing. Jeff Ferree restrung his puppet several times until he felt it was right. Hannah walked the people who were ready out of the conference room into the main floor of Urban ReThink. Mirrors were set up so people could see their puppets perform. People giggled as they saw their areations come to life. A couple faced each other and the puppets bowed and curtsied to each other. Jeff let me try his puppet which seemed bigger than most. The strings to control the hands were threaded through a hole at the front of the cross bars. I tugged the string and both arms rose. Walking the puppet took some skill but having the head look around brought an instant spark of life.

Marionette Making Workshop

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As part of ArtsFest, Hannah Miller offered a free Marionette making workshop at Urban ReThink. I heard that this workshop was sold out quickly and tickets were limited. Thankfully, Hannah, AKA Thunder Hag, understands my sketching obsession and she was open to having me observe. On the white board, Hannah had written the names of two puppet masters who’s work influenced the workshop. Albrecht Roser is a German puppeteer who believes that the puppet drives the motion, not the puppeteer. Robin Walsh had an affinity to using fabric, especially silk in the construction of her puppets. She explained that the puppets we would make today would be ugly but functional. Hannah pointed out that the puppets movements were based on a pendulum swing and each puppet would have its own way of moving depending on what it was made of.

Each participant had a bag of supplies. Inside was fabric, beads, string, and a control bar. The fabric was used as the body of the puppet. Beads were threaded onto the corners and became hands and feet. The head required special attention since three screws were positioned for mobility and control once the puppet was strung. April Tennyson was assisting Hannah. Both puppeteers once worked at Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater in the Altimonte Mall. April asked me, “Where should I stand to get in the sketch?” “Well,” I said, “The best place would be to stand behind Hannah.” She stood behind Hannah and smiled broadly as she took a heroic pose, holding up some fabric. I laughed out loud and tried to ignore her until she “acted natural.” I hope Hannah didn’t think I was laughing at her lesson.

Jeff Ferree who is a puppeteer who had a show at Fringe last year in the smallest venue, a closet, sat next to Hannah and struggled with the head of his puppet. To me, he is a puppet master but even masters want to expand their horizons. The couple seated closest to me seemed like a married couple. They giggled like kids as their creations came to life. The woman was always two steps ahead of her partner, and she would step in and help out on occasion. Some folks arrived late and April tried to get them up to speed.

Painting the Set

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I stopped into the Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s scenic shop to see the progress on the set for “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Things move fast in the scenic shop the entire set facade was build and ready to be painted in three pieces. Jeff Ferree and Adam were painting when I arrived. Robbin Watts was in the theater itself painting the floors. She created an impressive speckled marble effect with the paint. Another woman slapped the floor with a long rag. This was a painting technique that was new to me.

I got to see the completed set a few nights later at the Shakespeare Fundraising Gala. The impressive Victorian architecture helped set the mood for the scene that was previewed. Gwendolyn and Cecily met in an outdoor garden. They were instant, affable, eternal friends. As Gwendolyn said, “Something tells me that we are going to be great friends. I like you already more than I can say. My first impressions of people are never wrong.” Cecily responded, “How nice of you to like me so much after we have known each other such a comparatively short time.” I see this sort of flippant instant friendships all the time in this age of social networks. What makes the scene so endearing and funny is how these two women politely turn against each other when they discover they might be engaged to the same man. Gwendolyn had a turn of heart, “From the moment I saw you I distrusted you. I felt that you were false and deceitful. I am never deceived in such matters. My first impressions of people are invariably right.” I rely on my first impressions, usually gained over the course of a sketch to guide me on my daily travels.

I had painted the Mennello Museum mural all day. Libby Rosenthal let me know there was a shower in the museums basement so I spruced up only moments before the gala and then drove right across the street. The shower was divine after working in the hot parking lot all day. Then, I couldn’t turn off the hot water in the shower. The knob was stuck. I dressed quickly and ran to my truck for a screwdriver. My glasses fogged up as I struggled with the knob and my dress shirt got soaked. Thankfully, I finally managed to fix the knob. Even taking a simple refreshing shower is a drama in my struggle of a life.

At the Gala, I got to rub shoulders with Orlando’s rarefied socialites. Terry declared the evening an official date night, and I wasn’t on assignment, so for the sake of marital bliss, I kept my sketchbook tucked away. My fingers itched but I resisted temptation. My bag of art supplies rested heavily on my shoulder just in case. Though physically exhausted, I followed as Terry flitted about the room, a social butterfly. Art isn’t easy.

The Importance of Being Earnest runs through October 9th.

Orlando Shakes Scenic Shop

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Jeff Ferree suggested I stop by the Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s scenic shop. I wasn’t sure exactly where it was so I asked a woman at the ticket booth where it might be. She seemed unsure but suggested it might be behind the Goldman Theater. I wandered around a bit until I saw a woman whose clothing was spattered with paint. I asked her and she walked me back. Jeff was working on some wooden columns. Jeff introduced me to the other folks in the shop.

Work was being done to assemble the set for “The Importance of Being Earnest“. Jeff showed me the blue prints. The set resembled a British country estate with a quaint outdoor garden patio. I believe the set would allow for interior and exterior scenes. The play, written by Oscar Wild will run from September 14th through October 9th. The Red Chair Affair had a scene from the play where Ernest is asking a matronly British woman if he can marry her daughter. The matron was played by a man in an ostentatious red gown. He, she held a notebook checking items off her list as she interrogated the suitor about his credentials. Things seemed to go well until he reveled that he had been found in a basket at a railway station. Shocked, she advised him to find a family immediately. The scene was hilarious, pointing out the silly notion that your family name is the only thing of importance when establishing ones station in life.

Ron was at a large work table and he mounted a router blade to the machine. Large boards needed a slot routered down the center. Jeff showed me where to get ear plugs since the shop was going to get loud. The ear plugs had flames printed on them. When the router fired up I stuffed the plugs in my ears and started sketching.

Big Man Little Bike Fringe Fundraiser

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Jeff Ferree is no stranger to the challenge of working small but thinking big. He is known for producing a Fringe show in the smallest venue imaginable, a closet in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, which housed his puppet theater and an audience of up to 14 people. On Saturday September 24th at 8am, he has vowed to ride this tiny red bike ten miles on the Cady Way Trail to raise funds for the Orlando International Fringe Festival. 100% of the money raised will support the Fringe. His journey will begin at the entrance to the trail at the Fashion Square Mall and will end at the Cady Way Trail bridge which crosses over 436. I asked Jeff if I could sketch him at the bridge.

The tiny red bike is incredibly difficult to ride. I tried riding it on the sidewalk and my hiking boots kept getting in the way. I took my boots off and managed to bike a short distance in my bare feet, but the tiny handlebars wobbled the whole way. My knees stuck out making me look like Ichabod Crane. Jeff will have to do some serious training if he is to go the distance.


If you would like to pledge to the Bikeathon here is the contact info.
Orlando Fringe

398 W. Amelia Street

Orlando, FL 32801

Attn: Bikeathon

Fringe Festival ribbon cutting.

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The Orlando International Fringe Festival began May 18th. I got to Loch Haven Park around 5:30pm and the Green Lawn of Fabulousness was already crowded. Classic rock musician, John Lowbridge, was playing guitar on the outdoor stage. The large tented area was packed with people sampling food and drink. I rushed past the beer tent, but stopping to shake Mike Maples hand. He was offering red and white wine to help promote the show he is in called “Big Swinging Dick’s Topless Bar and Drag Queen Farting.” The title says it all.

Inside the Shakespeare Theater I bumped into Jeff Ferree who has the smallest venue at the festival, a walk-in closet where he is staging a puppet show. He says 13 people can squeeze in but it looks tight. I arranged to try and sketch his theater between performances. I doubt I could sketch with a standing room only crowd, I get claustrophobic. Then I ran into Pepe who was leaving a trail of white feathers from his flamboyant boa as he paraded back to the outdoor stage. There he took to the stage to announce to all the “mommys and poppys” that the ribbon cutting ceremony was about to begin. The Fringe cheerleaders held the ends of the purple ribbon. Beth Marshall, Matt McGrath and an assortment of board members were on hand. Patty Shehan made a proclamation announcing the beginning of the 20th annual Fringe Festival and with a quick snip the two halves of the ribbon fluttered to the ground.

After the ceremony most people went inside the Shakespeare Theater for the Fringe Gala Show in the Margeson Theater. John the guitarist started packing up his amplifier and the endless miles of electrical cords as he got ready to leave. We talked for a bit about music and art and then I packed my things to see if I could get another sketch inside the Shakes of the Gala show.