Tower of Babel

Posted on by Thor

On the evening of December 10, 2021, a huge series tornados ravaged central and southern states. The death toll has risen over 80. A stretch of more than 250 miles from Arkansas to Kentucky might have been hit by one violent, long-track twister, CNN meteorologists said.

In Kentucky alone more than 70 have been reported dead. The tornado hit the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory which had 110 people working inside when the roof caved in. Workers were working through the night to meet Christmas demand. Workers who heard warning sirens wanted to get home to shelter in place, but they were told they would likely be fired if they left. Some left despite the threat of loosing their jobs. Dozens are feared dead.

In Edwardsville Illinois, an Amazon warehouse was blown open killing 6. Walls on both sides of the warehouse collapsed inward, while the roof collapsed downward. Workers in the warehouse were banned from having cell phones which could be a life saving device if a worker were conscious and trapped under rubble. In such an emergency it wold be good to be able to get in touch with loved ones to see if they are safe. “After these deaths, there is no way in hell I am relying on Amazon to keep me safe,” an Amazon worker from a nearby facility in Illinois told Bloomberg. “If they institute the no cell phone policy, I am resigning.”

On December 10, 2021 the same day as the tornado, 2,064 people died from COVID-19 in America. That is like having 25 of these tornados killing people across the country every day.

The Origins of my Magic at Fringe

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Cody Clark who is from Louisville Kentucky had his second appearance at the Orlando International Fringe Festival this year. In this show he answered the question  of where his magic comes from. It consisted of traditional slight of hand tricks like knotting a rope and having the knot slip off of the rope.

Cody’s show isn’t all about the tricks. he is on the Autism spectrum and he described how his love on magic helps him in his very social choice of a career as a magician. This was a unique biographical magic show that showed how he saw things as a person with autism. Autism affects fine motor skills, so card tricks and
other sleight of hand can be hard for Clark. But having autism benefits his craft as well. He said his tendency to fixate on things,
whether it’s rehearsing or marketing, makes him very disciplined. He was loud and direct in his delivery and under that lies an undeniable enthusiasm and charm. Part of his earnings from the Fringe would go to an autism awareness organization. The rest he joked would go to his beer tent fund.

On his first trip to  the Orlando Fringe he stayed with Gail and Al Pergande‘s home. On that occasion the transmission on his car died out which could be an emergency for any performer on the road. It set him back $3500. He set up a Go Fund Me and bravely set that problem to the back  of his mind as he drew in crowds to his show. Gail and Al were in this audience and happy to be hosting him again.

One of his tricks consisted of making lemonade from a single lemon, a cup and a lemonade canister. I included those props in my sketch. Just like his lemon of a transmission, Cody accepted that when you get a lemon you make lemon aid. One lucky audience volunteer got to taste the results. We were all lucky to get to watch Cody’s enthusiasm. He knows how to find mentors and continues to grow as a magician and performer. He recently got to perform with one of his idols in Las Vegas. Sometimes dreams do come true if you acknowledge the difficulties but keep performing with plenty of faith.

Tails to Tall for Trailers presented small town humor at the Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

ManDamsel and FellaLady from Covington, Kentucky presented Tales Too Tall for Trailers. Comedian and Storyteller Paul Strickland and Erika Kate MacDonald joined forces in this off-kilter musical family
comedy! Funny songs, strange southern stories, shadow puppetry, a pet
named “Peeve” and more! Pee-Wee Herman meets Mark Twain in this final
installment of Strickland’s “Trailer Park Trilogy.”

The show began with Paul on guitar and Erika joined in with hysterical lyrics. My favorite part of the show however was when they set up a simple shadow puppet stage with a bed sheet and clothes line. Erica sat down behind the sheet with a bright light just behind her shoulder. Paul acted as the narrator in front of the screen. The tale was set in a tiny town with a tiny post office. To create the post office Erika took an envelope and opened it up to create the roof. She cut a rectangle out of the bottom and that became the doorway. To create a home, the rectangle wan moved up to the roof where it became a chimney.

I now wish I had sketched this magical shadow puppetry segment of the show. What I enjoyed the most was watching Erika’s reactions to the audience. She had a sort of childish joy that most adults loose over time.  I took the most delight in watching her face light up. She used the screen with cinematic grace. Often she would zoom in on a character by moving it closer to the light, the result being scenes that constantly moved and breathed with life. The show was a fun hour filled with music and laughs.