Bullock and the Bandits

Posted on by Thor

Kangagirl Productions presented Bullock and the Bandits at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. A $10, reusable button is required to enter each performance. You may purchase online or in person at the box office. This show is at the Abbey, 100 S. Eola Drive
Orlando, FL.

Step inside the haunted saloon at the World Famous Bullock Hotel for a rhythm and blues, country, and rock fueled ghost rider romp across the Wild West! Orlando Fringe Festival Lifetime Achievement Award recipient David Lee’s new band performs with special guest stars Tymisha Harris and Eddie Cooper.

“I’ve always been fascinated with Deadwood, South Dakota, which is a world-famous destination for ghost hunters. Sheriff Bullock built a hotel there in 1894. It still stands and is known to be haunted with all types of bandits and heroes of the Wild West”, explained David Lee. The talented Bandits band: David Lee, Eddie Cooper, Tymisha Harris, Tanner Kasier, Bryce Hayes, Matt Lyinx, Tom O’Hern, and Randall Scandal.

Tickets are $15. The remaining show dates are today, Saturday 28 May 2022 at 4:15PM and Sunday 29 May 2022 at Noon.

Ray Bradbury’s H2O at Fringe

Posted on by Thor

Susan Turner and Kangagirl Productions is presenting H20, conceived and performed by David Lee. I went to a tech rehearsal to sketch. The production is centered around three Ray Bradbury short stories. The Lake had a young boy yearning for a moment alone by running along the shore. When truly alone, he began to miss Tally, perhaps his sister or a dear friend who he used to help build sand castles. At 12 years old she swam out into the lake, never to return. He built half a sand castle hoping she would return to build the rest.

In The Season of Calm Weather, George Smith and his wife were vacationing in France. He didn’t mind the art of Caravaggio or the thick wormed yellows of a Van Gogh sunflower, but he truly loved the paintings of Pablo Picasso. He hoped to one day pay Picasso $5000, telling the artist “Give us the sea, the sand, that sky, or any old thing you want, we’ll be happy.” George took a walk along the beach and in the distance saw a tan old man drawing in the sand with a popsicle stick. He was drawing incredible figures. He was completely absorbed in his work drawing one figure and then another, and another. The sand flew as he sketched wildly. What appeared was free-running bacchanal, with satyrs, fauns, wine-dipped maidens, prancing unicorns, and piping youths dancing toward distant meadows, woodlands, ruined temples, and volcanoes.

The artist stopped and discovered George standing behind him. The artist shrugged his shoulders as if saying “Look what I’ve done; see what a child? Allow an old fool this, eh?” He wanted to run back to his room for a camera to capture the scene but there wasn’t time, the sun was setting fast and the tide was coming in. He only had time to walk along the length of the creation to soak it all in before the sun slipped below the horizon.  Then, the tide came in, ironing the sand flat. I loved this story which was a reminder that nothing we create will last forever. However as artists, we can’t help ourselves.

The third story was The Million Year Picnic, about a family trip to Mars. Blue lights on the edge of the stage created subtle ripple patterns on the ceiling and walls of the theater. This visual clue tied together the three stories, which each had the common element of water. The stories were at times haunting and foreboding about how small we are in the grand scheme of the universe. David did block out each scene by moving around the stage taking on the parts of each character in turn. His goal was to focus on the rich language of Bradbury. This created a staged reading where Ray Bradbury’s mesmerizing phrasing could shine. It was raining hard while this rehearsal took place further emphasizing the theme of H2O as the storm pounded the theater roof. There was magic in every moment.

Ray Bradbury’s H2O is in the Yellow venue in the Orlando Shakes,  812 E. Rollins St Orlando, Florida 32803. Tickets are $12 plus a $10 Fringe button. The show runs 60 minutes.

The remaining show dates are:

7:30 PM

12:15 PM

8:30 PM

10:45 PM

7:15 PM

Title and Deed at Fringe

Posted on by Thor

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.