A World Without Art

Posted on by Thor

I went to the Valentina College East Campus to see Student directed one act plays. John DiDonna introduced the very full theater audience to the evening. I was intrigued because all the plays related to one another with the theme of art. Local writers were invited to write the plays. I knew that Tracy Jane had written one of the plays and I am always amazed by her writing. The evening featured a series of five‑minute original one‑act plays exploring the role of art in life, with some works set in worlds where art is absent. the event aimed to show that “taking the art out of humanity may be harder than it sounds” and to highlight art’s role in human connection and identity.

The show I sketched was Art and a World Without Art. a female artist was working away in her studio. All of the plays were related to the theme of a world without art. I was seated in the back row sketching. A little girl was seated next to me and she was so curious about what I was making. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her struggling to see around my big hand as I moved it across the sketch in the darkness.

The shows were sweet. Some were romantic and many idealized views of what it means to be an artist. Some questioned the role of AI in the future of art. Not many considered the idea of artists being viewed as enemies of the state. As the dramas played themselves out on stage. Another drama ignited back stage in the school halls. A Valentia security guard physically assaulted one of the  organizers of the evening. I do not know what sparked the attack, but some of the injuries were permanent. Despite the physical injuries sustained, the show went on. The show must always go on.

 

COVID Trailer

Posted on by Thor

I made a quick 26 second trailer for the COVID short. I was inspired to create this version after watching the trailer for Dr. Strangelove. I am now starting to submit the short to film festivals. I decided to take the short off of youTube since I was told it reduces the chances of having the film accepted in festivals. I think the short can be seen on FilmFreeway which is the site used to submit to festivals. If the Film Freeway link doesn’t lead to the film, I am hoping someone will let me know. I can see it since it is my home page but I never tried to get to the page from another computer.

Anyway, all this festival business is new to me so I am learning as I go. Film maker and storyteller, Jon Busdecker has offered to do a more advanced trailer and we are just getting started on that version which might be 30 to 60 seconds long. Jon asked me to research trailers I liked, and that research lead me to creating this short trailer as a place holder with my film festival submissions.

Voice over might be added.  Phantasmagoria founder and actor and director John DiDonna has offered to do the voice over work. He commands the stage with his Phantasmagoria troupe, and I sketched several performances where he performed as the quintessential Scrooge. I have no doubt his voice would be perfect for the COVID trailer.  Voice over might be used on the full trailer.

My 4 minute COVID film itself is almost shorter than most feature film trailers. It is hard to decide how short a short should be for a short.

Phantasmagoria presents: A Christmas Carol & The Canterville Ghost

Posted on by Thor

If you are looking to kick off the Holiday season with a taste for the macabre, then join Phantasmagoria as they present  “Ghost Stories” this Christmas season. They will bring to life and the bitter sweet taste of death to not one but TWO whimsical classics. The well-loved A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens, followed by Oscar Wilde’s rollicking The Canterville Ghost.

I sat in on a dress rehearsal for the show at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The set felt like an abandoned attic with carousel horses flanking the stage. Projections on a large screen behind the set changed the settings with ease. I fell in love with the faint flickering candle light that illuminated the various corners of the stage.  That meant I needed to keep the scene dark so the candles could shine.

A Christmas Carol is a well loved and very familiar classic. Phantasmagoria added its dark and vaudevillian steampunk styled flair to the story. John DiDonna as Scrooge lived in the old man’s skin. I have seen him perform this roll many times over the years. Daniel Cooksley as Marley, draped in chains did an amazing job filling the stage with his his twisted and agonized self. Of the three ghosts, the ghost of Christmas future was magnificently designed. Much larger that life, the dark draped figure gestured with gnarly black branches for hands.

The Canterville Ghost offered a much lighter tale full of light hearted dance. It was the yin to Dickens dark and foreboding Yang. There are two more performances December 3–4, 2022 at the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater, in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 8 p.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets are about $35.

Phantasmagoria Stumble Through

Posted on by Thor

This Phantasmagoria rehearsal was held at a dance studio in Winter Park. Walking in the back door, Phantasmagoria founder John DiDonna instantly made me feel right at home. In the front dance studio, actresses from the Tampa acting company were getting fitted for costumes. The rehearsal proper however was in the back dance studio. John had generously set up a chair in the corner of the dance studio for me.

Phantasmagoria is a Victorian Steampunk Horror storytelling group stationed right here in Central Florida. What I appreciated from the start was the love and respect every member in this company showed for each other, because everyone wore masks for the duration of the rehearsal. Things started off with dance rehearsals.At times members of the cast were almost in my lap since the room must have been a bit smaller that the stage they were preparing to perform on. Though this rehearsal was the first time all the numbers were being performed in order, the dances in particular seemed to flow effortlessly. At the end of the evening I learned that there had been nine rehearsal prior to this one. Then fight sequences were rehearsed to be sure everyone stayed safe for the darker and more violent scenes in the show.

What followed next was a full run through of the show. Actors were still, “on script” meaning they could hold the script to be sure they could see, and if needed read, their lines. John had described this rehearsal as the “Stumble through” but it went amazingly smoothly. The only time things stopped was when the many actors had to re-position themselves on the stage.

After the rehearsal, everyone sat on the stage floor for notes and a discussion. The show rehearsal had run amazingly close to the desired run time. Every actor and actress could bring up concerns to be addressed in future rehearsals. This was a true democracy with every member having a say about how things could run more smoothly.

Victorian Horror Troupe PHANTASMAGORIA brings to life 8 haunting works of terror from Edgar Allan Poe in Phantasmagoria XIII – “POE, Through the Tales Darkly”. The perfect “whimsically macabre” way to usher in the Halloween Season! ORLANDO PREMIERE at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts – October 6th, 7th & 8th.

Phantasmagoria Photo Shoot

Posted on by Thor

I went to the magnificent Sanford home of Phantasmagoria founder and director John DiDonna to sketch photo and video sessions to promote the upcoming season. A black drop screen was set up behind a single stool with multiple lights to get a warm ambient lighting effect.

By the time I arrived all the actors were in costume and in make up. They were gathered in the kitchen and dining room waiting for their turn to perform solo for quick character videos. John DiDonna stood behind the iPhone camera and he would count slowly to 15 for each video performance. Each character would slowly notice the camera and then gesture towards it in a menacing or seductive way.

John is always so proud of his performers. He told me about how he met one actress when he was performing in Shakespeare‘s King Lear. There were only 3 rolls for women, so this actress performed as a male page and did so magnificently. Another newer member of the cast had just graduated from Julliard.

I was a bit nerve wracked since I knew I only had 15 seconds to complete any given performer. I asked Dion Leonhard DiDonna how many more performers needed videos shot. Time was flying by. The thought was that my question might mean I was growing bored, but quite the opposite was the case, I was desperate for enough time to finish the sketch.

A commotion broke out in the kitchen among the cast. A mouse had been spotted and there were excited squeals as they tried to corner it and capture it. One actor explained to another about how a mouse can squeeze through the tiniest of crevices. The Phantasmagoria cast tell the most horrific of Victorian horror stories. On this day the tiniest of demons squeezed in and caused chaos.

PhantaZoom

Posted on by Thor

I will be doing a series of sketches during rehearsals for the upcoming season of Phantasmagoria which is a critically acclaimed Victorian horror troupe, celebrating 11 years of performance. Since about 2009 I have been documenting their performances, but this year as I emerge from COVID isolation, I will document with sketches, every stage of their creative process.

John DiDonna invited me to join in their Zoom meeting where he discussed with the cast the upcoming season. So much respect was shown for the cast as plans were made for the slated rehearsals. In past seasons, the stories were written individually of given members of the case and then those stories were laced together to build a whole. This year a script is being written overall that focuses more on the characters themselves and their relationship to their macabre fate of reliving these stories. I am only guessing what this might mean, but it sounds exciting.

Many of the cast I have sketches before, so it is always a joy to see them again. Being an outsider looking in, it is hard for me to distinguish them from the characters they play. This zoom meeting gave me a glimpse of them as everyday actors relaxing at home. I enjoy sketching the odd angles that computers get of people as the laptop cameras look up at the giants seated in front of them. So many ceilings and oblique views up walls.

I knew time would be limited so I had to catch the 12 screens with as few lines as possible and quick splashes of color. There was no time for second guessing. This should be an adventure. I haven’t documented every stage of a production companies process since 2009 when I sketched every rehearsal of War of the Worlds.

Phantasmagoria

Posted on by Thor

This was to be Phantasmagoria‘s first live performance in about 2 years. John DiDonna the company’s founder took every imaginable precaution to keep his cast safe during rehearsals. A custom build HEPA filter with a large fan recirculated air in the rehearsal space and all the cast was vaccinated.

Performances were scheduled on a train and they were told that everyone would be masked on board. When the cast arrived they found that few were masked among the train crew and audience, so the performers had to walk.

John let me know that the theater they were performing at in Orlando required vaccination cards and photo IDs. Therefor I felt relatively safe to venture out and experience live theater again.

I knew the Shakespeare Theater required vaccination cards since I had just sketched Every Brilliant Thing. For some reason I figured Phantasmagoria was at the Shakes. When I got there the folks in the ticket booth were confused. Phantasmagoria was not at the Shakes, it was downtown at the Dr Phillips Performing Arts Center. We still had about half an hour before curtain time so Pam drove like a New York taxi driver to try and get us there on time. Downtown traffic near the Arts Center slowed to a crawl. Pam realized that it was Pride weekend and some event must be slowing things down. A car broke down in front of us and I decided to hop out into traffic and run to the theater to pick up the tickets. She managed to valet park and we met in the lobby.

I have had my vaccination card in my wallet for the past 6 months assuming someone would ask for it eventually. I gave it and my drivers license to the security in the lobby. The government in their wisdom used cheap disappearing ink on the vaccination card. It was more that a challenge to read the faint ghostly lettering. My intrepid guards checked it under a flash light and managed to pick out my name and some dates. One joked that she got to put o her Nancy Drew hat. Panting, we got to the theater entrance with moments to spare.

An usher pointed out our seats which were in the center of a row with everyone pressed shoulder to shoulder. A guy had his mask off in his lap and when asked by the usher to put it on he pointed at his drink. I suddenly realized that I wasn’t comfortable shoving my way into those seats, even if these folks were vaccinated. We stood in the aisle and debated. There was an empty row behind the one the usher wanted us to press into, so we decided to wait until the lights went down and then we sat behind the masses. We were still only a few feet from the couples in front of us but at least we were breathing down their necks rather than the other way around. Behind us was an open row. We caught our breaths behind our KN95 masks. The house was dark, so I could not see the marks I put on the page.

The performance was awesome. I was impressed by the projections that played with each macabre story. The idea behind Phantasmagoria is simple. They are a troupe of Victorian storytellers whose stories become all too real, and once a story is begun, it must be finished, regardless of the consequences. I think my favorite story was Edgar Allen Poe‘s the Fall of the House of Usher. Between stories there was dance and fire choreography. John performed as a fabulous demon barber with his outlandish outbursts of laughter. Puppetry played a part as the cast battled a huge 10 foot high Golem.

It was inspiring to see live theater again. It was so nice to get lost in the Victorian horrors to forget for a moment the everyday horrors of this pandemic.

White Rabbit, Red Rabbit

Posted on by Thor

The Ensemble Company in residence at Penguin Point Productions (1700 Oviedo Mall Boulevard, Oviedo, FL, 32765) presented White Rabbit, Red Rabbit written by Nassim Soleimanpour.The set was just a small card table with two glasses of water, some chairs, and a step stool. The empty bookcase had a tiny penguin on the top shelf. The internationally acclaimed play is an audacious experience and a potent reminder of the transitive and transformative power of theater. Beyond that, I can not say any more.

The premise is simple…

No set.

No director.

A sealed script on stage.

A different performer each night.

The Orlando performers were, David Lee, John DiDonna, Beth Marshall, and Roberta Emerson. I experienced the incomparable performance by Beth Marshall. As a reviewer, I have been sworn to secrecy. The plush white rabbit on the show poster might be deceiving. This was definitely a play themed for adults.

I can say that there were 50 people in the audience and I was audience member number 20. Beth pulled a POTUS saying she wanted to count for herself, since she needed to know that she had more audience members that the two previous shows by David and John. I wrote that number on the sketch in case it was important. After the show, I was told by people who had seen multiple interpretations, that Beth managed to linger and stretch the play a half hour longer than the two previous performances. She had a knack for letting the words sink in.

I can say that after the play I had an amazing in-depth conversation with Ed Anthony. Both of us recounted memories of people in our lives whom we wish we had helped more. This heated personal exchange was clearly fueled by the thoughts triggered by the theatrical experience we had just been through. We were left with a desire to step up and help others in this trying experience called life.

Orlando Director’s Forum

Posted on by Thor

I went to the Orlando Director’s Forum at Valencia College East Campus (701 N Econlockhatchee Trail, Orlando, Florida 32825). The forum featured a group of Orlando’s most stylistically diverse stage. This was a great opportunity to hear unique perspectives on inspiration, casting, rehearsal process, trouble-shooting, and overall creative process of directing. Seth Kubersky hosted a moderated discussion followed by a questions and answers with attendees.

The event featured (in alphabetical order)…

Rob Winn Anderson: Consulting Artistic Director – Garden Theatre

Mike Carr: Artistic Director – SAK Comedy Lab

John DiDonna: Program Chair of Theater – Valencia College, Director/Creator – Phantasmagoria

Pam Harbaugh: Director – Theater on the Edge

Beth Marshall: Producing Artistic Director/Theatre Artist – Beth Marshall Presents

Eric Pinder: Director in Residence – Opera Orlando

Donald Rupe: Director of Theatre – Central Florida Community Arts

Jeremy Seghers: Independent Producer and Director

I love these kinds of events because listening to these directors talk about the creative process reminds me that all the arts share the same creative challenges. It offered inspiration to keep sketching and painting despite any setbacks. I have seen and admired the work of each of these directors in turn as I sketch the arts scene around Orlando. Orlando has such a vibrant theater community since so man actors come to Orlando to work for the theme parks. Those rolls offer limited artistic challenges, so they are always looking for more edgy options to test their chops.

It’s Improvised at the 129: The Musical Edition!

Posted on by Thor

Pam Schwartz and I went to Dragonfly Studio and Productions (Dragonfly Studio 129, 129 W McKey St, Ocoee, FL 34761).  To see It’s Improvised at the 129 hosted by Richard Paul, Chris Barry (Four First Names) and Elaine Pechacek behind the piano. Dragonfly Studio 129 is a charming,
intimate performance venue that is fully convertible to fit the needs of
any given production or event. The venue’s will feature a full season of events,
including additional residencies, concerts, cabarets, theatrical
productions, readings, workshops, and more.

Four First Names’ Richard Paul and Chris Barry will put Sheryl Remekie
Carbonell, John DiDonna, Tracy Frenkel, Beth Marshall, and Rob Ward
through their improv paces. Each of the acclaimed Orlando directors will
be tasked with directing an impromptu scene made up entirely on the
spot with Dragonfly Studio and Production’s owner and executive producer
Elaine Pechacek on the piano providing an original, improvised
soundtrack.

The hosts Richard Paul and Chris Barry kicked the night off by taking suggestions from the audience. What resulted was a Rocky Horror Picture Show wedding. Elaine behind the piano provided just the right musical accompaniment for they as they turned the moment into an inspiring musical number.

All the actors and directors that were invited to this improv got on stage and each in turn described their experiences. John DiDonna’s story stood out because he used improv as a training tool for law enforcement. He described a scenario in which an armed gunman was on lock down with hostages. The goal was for police to get the gunman out without harming hostages.

Beth Marshall is a renowned local producer and she uses  improv to get a new cast familiar with one another. Simple exercised like tossing an object between actors can build trust and camaraderie. Rob Ward used improv among actors at the theme parks. These actors are usually hired because they look like a character rather than based on there acting prowess. Improv allows the actors to get off script for a bit and have fun with their lines. Actors in a theme park just as in animation, must play to the rafters. Whatever they are trying to convey must read as if seen from the bloody nose section of a football stadium. When actors played a scene over the top in the small Dragonfly studio they became very funny. Tracy Frankel had the actors create a scene at a barbecue. They were auditioning for a commercial and Tracy acted as the director trying to get them to play to the camera.  The goal was to be having so much fun, that people would want to buy the condiment.

The next It’s Improvised at the 129 is Friday, September 14 at 8 PM at Dragonfly Studio and Productions 133 W Mckey St., Ocoee, Florida 34761. The show will celebrate musical improv
with an amazing slate of guests including Robyn Pedretti Kelly
(Universal Studios), Summer Aiello (Universal Studios), Emily Fontano
(SAK Comedy Lab) and T. Robert Pigott (Walt Disney World).

Join Musical
Director Elaine Pechacek, Chris Barry, Richard Paul at Dragonfly Studios
for Its next Improvised at the 129: The Musical Edition! This place is a rare gem located out in Ocoee.

$10 Online $12 At Door

Beer and Wine – Free Snacks!