Rocky Horror Rehearsal

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Jeremy Seghers who plays Riff Raff invited me to a dress rehearsal for “The Rocky Horror Show at Theater Downtown (2113 North Orange Avenue). The show runs till November 13th. Steve MacKinnon, the director, introduced himself and he offered suggestions on the best vantage point to sketch from. The show opens with the cast sitting in front of a movie screen with the lips projected. I started blocking in the sketch and tried to resist putting in the red curtains since I knew they would be coming down. I couldn’t resist drawing the lips and dripping lettering. In the first act Jeremy sang “Over at the Frankenstein Place.”. He looked like Frankenstein with his high platform shoes dressed in formal black. All of the singing leads were given headset mics and the sound levels were crisp and clear. More important was the fact that the songs were belted out with sincerity and bravado. This is a talented cast that really throws their hearts into every song.

The set was pretty minimal with golden columns and picture frames hung at odd angles. This cast shines brighter than gold. Atmospheric fog added to some really nice lighting effects. The whole show was sensuous and fun. Culminating in an orgy group dance number that makes the movie seem tame. The Time Warp dance is so energetic that I can not imagine an audience that wouldn’t want to join in. Jeremy confided that he split his pants the first time he did the dance at a dress rehearsal. The final song sung by Adam McCabe as Frank-n-Furter, “Don’t dream it, Be it” is uplifting and inspiring. This show is campy, and over the top fun. It is time well spent to ring in the Halloween season!

Spring Awakening

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Jerehmy Seghers directed Spring Awakening, a Children’s Tragedy at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. I sketched a reading of Spring Awakening many months ago in the Broadway Across America offices. Much of the cast had changed since those initial readings. Sarah Villegas who had read the roll of Wendla Bergman, now had a roll in “9 Parts of Desire.” I am sure this conflict was the reason she no longer played this lead roll in Spring Awakening. At this rehearsal she sat right under the large oval shaped theater light. She laughed and applauded the work of her fellow actors.
There is now a musical version of this play but Jeremy went back to the original German translated script for this show. All of the sexual repression and the difficult transition from child to adult have strong relevance today. The play was written back in 1891 but remains very much relevant today. A scene where Melchior rapes Wendla in a hay loft is brutal and unexpected. In another scene Wendla asks a friend to hit her with a stick since her parents never beat her. I am reminded of a Eurythmics song that shots out “Some of them want to use you, some of them want to get used by you.”
Unrequited love and uncertainty about sexual identity causes major tragic events to unfold with authority figures flapping their lips about moral order. Children are expected to discover their sexuality while blind folded.

WPRK 91.5FM – Out and About

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Via Facebook Mark Baratelli contacted me and asked if he could borrow my printer so he could print photos for an upcoming show. Every third Thursday of each month Mark puts on a “Mobile Art Show” in a U-Haul truck parked outside City Arts Factory. This month he plans to showcase all the photos that have been take for thedailycity.com. We bounced ideas back and forth on where we could meet and we decided to meet at WPRK a radio station located on the Rollins College campus. Mark would be there to showcase upcoming arts and culture events as listed on thedailycity.com. I arrived early so I would have a full hour to sketch. Jeremy Seghers, the Out and About host, greeted me and then got his guest situated for his on air interview. Seated in the guest chair was Jesse Nager who is now appearing in Xanadu at the Bob Carr Theater. Jesse also discussed a cabaret show he organized with friends of his. An album is being released called “The Broadway Boys” that features hits from this group of talented singers. He wanted to stress that that even people who don’t usually listen to show tunes would like these performances. He expressed how fun it was to collaborate with so many of his friends.
Jesse and Jeremy discussed the plot line of Xanadu at some length and now I am really curious to see this Broadway musical. It seems the play pokes fun at itself and it’s 1970’s culture and should be very campy and fun. The music to this show I have heard many times many times on the radio, not realizing it was from a Broadway show.
Zac Alfson was also on hand to promote the Cabaret House Party at Mad Cow Theater featuring K. T. Sullivan. I will be going to this Cabaret performance tonight and I hope to get a good sketch of K.T. Zac pointed out that there will be cabaret performances every night through May 16th. The Mad Cow offers an intimate setting in which to experience these one of a kind acts.

WPRK 91.5 Front Porch Radio

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I had met Jeremy Seghers at several events around town. I finally asked him if it would be alright to come in sometime and sketch the radio station he works at. WPRK is located in the basement of a Rollins College building. When I walked in there was no secretary, I just walked towards the conversation I heard in the next room. Jeremy was behind the mic. He and Julie Norris were talking to John Rife about Community and the Media. The topic of discussion is one that is fresh on my mind after covering IZEA Fest a few weeks ago. I started talking about how I, as a blogger, have a responsibility to support the artist community and through discussion, influence and improve the public’s view of the arts. I stressed that a blogger’s responsibility is to bring others into the spotlight. The discussion, which I am passionate about, was so natural that I didn’t even realize I was on the radio.
Also in the room were a photographer and writer from Winter Park Magazine who were doing a piece about the show. The photographer was everywhere getting shots of everyone from every angle. I sat back and relaxed into my sketch. I had to work fast since I had arrived late and was worried I might not finish. As it turns out I ended up having plenty of time to sketch since the next show’s host didn’t show. Jeremy had to head off to another job and Julie suggested that I sit in the hot seat and we started to talk. She was so gracious that I immediately felt at ease. She held her new born the whole time we talked which also had a soothing affect, like I was in her home. If you listen to the audio podcast I come in around 43 minutes and 40 seconds into the show. At first I was nowhere near a mic and later on Julie sat me down in front of the guests mic. I had no idea Analog Artist Digital World would become the topic of discussion but regardless I had a fun. I discovered it is possible to sketch and be interviewed at the same time. Oh and it looks like Jeremy and Julie cornered me into doing a show at Dandelion Communitea Cafe. I will certainly let you know when that happens.