COVID Dystopia screened at Cleveland International Film Festival

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The Cleveland International Film Festival was impressive. Granted COVID Dystopia didn’t win any awards, but it was an honor just to get to show it there.

There were some amazing shorts in the After Hours Short Film block that COVID Dystopia was shown in. Bounce House by Callie Bloem and Christopher J. Ewing won the award for the best After Hours Short. It featured a post apocalyptic world with giant sloths and of course a bounce house.

I think my favorite was The Looming by Marsha Ko. It features a stellar actor who is truly haggard in his look. He lives alone and occasionally talks to his Alexa device. Alexa failed several times in different horror films, usually turning off the lights when the character desperately needs the light on. I can identify since I now live alone and occasionally open the front door just to listen to the security system say, “Front door open.” She isn’t a great conversationalist but its what I got.

There was a talk back after the screening and I was surprised that there were a bunch of questions about COVID Dystopia. I of course talked about the beginning of the project in March of 2020 when I started doing a painting a day about the pandemic.

One woman wanted to know if there would be a longer form of the project. My answer to her was that the long form project would be a book which I felt no one actually would want to see but I feel it needs to to be made for people 100 years from now. She raised her hand and said she would certainly get a copy. Now that I have a potential sale, it is time to create the book.

Someone else asked about the music and I got to promote Andy Matchett and the Post Apocalyptic Rock musical, Key of E. I couldn’t believe that the mic kept being handed off to me. I got flummoxed by a multi point question but think I answered it in the end. While COVID Dystopia was being shown a large group of people in the row in front of me started waving in friends. By the time they were all settled the film was over. Perhaps COVID Dystopia presents too much too fast. Next time around I need to make something with a straight forward narrative structure.

While doing the sketch above of the Allen Lobby, I had to swing my filmmaker lanyard behind my back since it got in the way of my sketching. As I was finishing up, an usher walked up behind me and asked if I wanted my lanyard scanned. It turned out a long line had formed all around me, and the audience were about to go into a screening. I asked what film was being shown and one of the ushers laughed. The film was, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person. The title probably sounds better in French. It sounded good to me, so I went in. I sat way in the back of the theater, away from the crush of the crowd. As the lights went out, my glasses fell to the floor. I got on my hands and knees to find them using the faint light from my iPhone but with no luck. I sat through the whole film wondering where the glasses could be. Reading the captions was a challenge but the message of the film was not lost on me. I loved it. At the end of the film, when the lights came back up, I found my glasses which had bounced one seat over. I later saw the vampire actress walking in the lobby. I couldn’t help but stare, her porcelain face was as white and frail as in the movie. If only I knew French.

At the Shorts Jury Awards and the Shorts Audience Choice Awards, I got to see all the winning films. The winner for best animation was Anita Lost in the News, a film about a failed emigration of a family out of Iraq. It seemed to be stop motion animation with the family being created out of newspaper clippings. I don’t think there were many animated films. All the films I saw in the tow days I was at the Film Festival were live action documentaries or narrative films.

Fringe: The City Beautiful

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On the evening of my Fringe film premiere, dancers from The City Beautiful dropped off cards and talked about the show as we drank beer at the beer tent. Now Pam is the director of the Orange County Regional History Center so of course she would be curious about the history being presented.

The show was presented in the green venue which was packed to the overflowing. Pam and I were the only ones masked up. The show was more of a musical than a burlesque show, though pasties did appear a few times. One singer, Marissa was a lead in the Key of E which was very familiar with since a singe from that show was the backbone of the soundtrack for the short film I just finished. As always she belted out the songs with professional aplomb.

The history seemed to jump around quite a bit. Some momentum was lost as dancers were asked to simply read from the history book. The show does have a lot of potential however and I am glad I had a chance to see it. I have lost practice in sketching inside a dark theater but I just had to accept what I could do.

COVID: Premiere

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The film, COVID had it’s premiere at Fringe this year in the visual artists area. I had screened a film several years ago and that screening happened in the outdoor tent behind the Shakes. In my Facebook invite that is where I directed people. I got to the outdoor tent about half an hour before the screening began. It was surprisingly light outside but I started blocking in my sketch, thinking I would sketch the audience as they arrived.

I was still blocking in my sketch in pencil when I began to realize that the movie screen had not been set up yet. Pam and several friends arrived. And Pam decided to go in the shakes and figure out where the screening was happening. Andy Matchett, who wrote the amazing single that is the basis of the short, showed up and we went inside together to see if the screening was indeed inside.

The screening was actually in the round planetarium room which was being used for visual Fringe. There was a full crowd. I realized that I didn’t have the time to complete a sketch, so I sat and relaxed for the show. The pencil sketch I had started is under the sketch I have posted here. I didn’t have an erased so it can be seen faintly underneath this quickly executed sketch.

Most of the seats were taken so we sat at the kids table to watch which was separated from the main audience. Since chairs had run out a comfy recliner was pulled away from the wall and I offered it to Andy. He deserved it since his music is amazing and the show Key of E had premiered at Fringe 10 years prior. The singe I built the short around is “I just Can’t Wait (for the game to end)” and every word feels like it is about the COVID pandemic and a desire to return to normal. The song was written in 2013 but it feels like it was written in 2020 or today. I consider Andy a profit, though he hates for me to say that.

My film COVID was the only one that required a warning in case people wanted to shield themselves from the reality I was showcasing. After the screening we went to the outdoor beer tent. I was masked all night except for the moments I was downing a Hefferweisen beer. Being unmasked I was calculating wind directions and my distances from others. I usually insist on 22 feet of distance but that distance broke long enough for me to drink the beer and try the schnitzel. Pam went to order some schnitzel and in the time she was getting that I finished this sketch. I realized that I had left my pen at home, so this sketch was done with a colored pencil.

Before I finished the sketch, a singer in a captains cap and a uniform came over and asked if I was Thor. He thanked me for the work I had done for the opera in the past and he was glad I was out sketching theater on location again. It was nice to sketch live theater again but it is exhausting navigating in a world where people think the pandemic is over and I know the pandemic is far from over. A black N-95 is now a part of my everyday sketch uniform.

 

Pandemic Film: New Year

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This is the most fun shot I worked on yesterday. At first I created a depth map that included the skeleton, but when I started animating the confetti, I quickly discovered that it overlapped him in awkward ways. I decided the skeleton had to have his own layer and he was only overlapped by the upper most confetti animation that I added at the end.

The camera pans down and with the parallax, Times Square seems cavernous. Each confetti layer was moved at different rates. The top layer moved the most and less movement occurred moving back in space.  The shot took several hours to composite but it lasts on the screen for less than a second. It was worth it.

In some ways the film is organized chronologically, in that each year with a new refrain a painting is highlighted for that years Time Square celebration. In other ways the film is arranged thematically based on the lyrics of Andy Matchett‘s song, Just Can’t Wait. The song was written in 2017 for the Fringe show Key of E, which was an apocalyptic rock musical. In so many ways the lyrics are prophetic about the way the COVID pandemic unfolded and continues to unfold.

On May 11, 2023 the United States will end its COVID public health emergency. May 11, 2023 will be this film’s birthday. 1,128,404 Americans have died of COVID-19, with about 200 more still dying every week. 250,000 American children have lost a parent. Millions of Americans are suffering from long COVID. Loneliness may not be the worst thing to come from the pandemic.

COVID is airborne, the pandemic is far from over.

Realms of the Untold brings humor and horror to the stage.

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Realms of the Untold is a brand new anthology of short plays, written by local playwright Corey Volence, the scriptwriter of the award winning 2013 Orlando Fringe musical Key of E. These six short plays are written in a style meant to evoke classic horror and science fiction shows such as The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Tales From The Crypt. These short stories are filled with the strange and the unknown, this production is sure to make you squirm, laugh, yelp in fright, and might just even give you some nightmares.

I went to a rehearsal in a suburban bungalow in Ivanhoe Village. Everything had been cleared from the living room except some set pieces and props. The opening play set the stage in a famous actors dressing room (Ken Luzadder). A star struck understudy (John Reid Adams) was greeted rudely. The boy had seen every performance. When he asked how to get ahead in the acting business, he was told that you need to sell your soul to the devil. A dark twist then redefined their roles.

Actress (Jan Taylor Hendricks) then took the center stage seated in a chair. She told a long story from her childhood. Her grandmother was from the old country and schoolkids spread rumors that the old woman was a witch. Another rumor circulated that a local lake was inhabited by a mysterious creature that ate children. When she told her grandmother the rumor, she got very serious and was warned to never go in the water. She promised, but like most childhood promises she eventually broke it. Classmates dared her to enter the lake. To save face she waded out in to the water. Jan’s performance with a sweet southern accent was incredible. I stopped sketching and sat on the edge of my seat to find out what would happen to the little girl. I have no doubt there will be standing orations for this performance.

Each play has its own emotional tone. From one horrific moment, we cut to a light comedy about a couple who are debating about a lifetime commitment. The guy (Charles Krivan) is hesitant and lacks confidence. The girl (Monica Titus) has the absolute conviction that comes from a long life of experience. The conversation between these love birds was at times hilarious. I stopped sketching and simple enjoyed their banter. The commitment turns out to be far more eternal than what can be bought with a wedding ring. A commitment of 50 years or so seems trivial in the larger scheme of things.

Monica Titus also played the part of a social worker in an insane asylum. She interviewed Ken Luzadder  who was in a straight jacket. She set him free of his constraints and then he related the tale of the fateful day that put him behind bars. He described the day with absolute lucidity. Perhaps he was sane and falsely institutionalized. The memories he related however contradicted the facts as related by the social worker. The tension between the two of them escalated until he became violent. The rehearsal had to cut at that moment since props were missing that were needed for what would follow. I honestly don’t know how this play ends, but I was left concerned for the social workers well being. Why on earth did she take off his straight jacket. He could very well be a Hannibal Lecter.

I can say without hesitation that this show is going to be one hell of a roller coaster ride. This will be a great way to kick off the Halloween season.

Show Dates: 

October 1 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

October 2 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

October 4 – Doors at 2 Show at 2:30

October 8 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

October 9 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

October 10 – Doors at 7 Show at 7:30

There will be discounted tickets for Military, Student, and Theme Park Employees with ID.

Ticket Link

Key of E Load In

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 On August 20th, I went to The Venue to see the Key of E load in for their one week run. I got there about the same time as Helen, the tech for the show. As I sketched the empty stage, Andy Matchett pulled up to the theater with a truck full of set pieces, wood, monster parts and fabric. The garage door was opened on house right and several guys in the truck helped unload. One of them was wearing a boy scout uniform and I wondered if he would earn an apocalyptic merit badge. Soon the stage was cluttered.

Since there needed to be room for the band, a platform was constructed house right that essentially extended the stage. The first order of business was to hang huge black curtains on both sides of the stage to create very small wings where actors could not be seen when off stage. The tiny wall at the back of the stage was at a quirky angle because it sloped along with a wheel chair ramp that had to be installed to comply with city codes.

A large back lit screen had to be put on top off the wall, so a plank and two by fours were needed to level off the TV platform. Chaz Krivan and Evan Miga tackled the task. Chaz actually had an iPhone app that acted as a level. All the actors gradually trickled in and Brittany Wine, the stage manager, got them busy running lines and going over dance moves. Her task was to keep everyone on task so they could do a run through of the show at 8:30pm. Corey Volence was worried that some scenes would need to be re-blocked since there was no actual backstage where actors could go when not on the stage. There are close to a dozen actors if you count the band and special effects crew. Andy decided to run one exit scene where all the actors needed to get off stage. There was a major bottle neck as actors tried to get down the wheel chair ramp. They realized that at times some actors would literally need to exit the theater. It will all work out in the end. Christie Miga asked Andy how he would rate his anxiety level. He said it had leveled off at a solid 7.

Brittany Wine was pleased that she finally appeared in one of my sketches. She asked why I put her in a garbage can. The garbage can must be a stage prop and it was just chance that she stood behind it. As I finished my sketch, the cast was ready to do a run through of the show. As I left, I heard Andy begin to sing “I Just Can’t Wait for the Game to End!” The Key of E Kickstarter fundraising drive was a success so the full cast soundtrack is available!

Get your tickets for the return of the show at The Venue (511 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL). Mark Your Calendar! You don’t want to miss the end of the world. Show times are…

Friday: 8/23 8 PM

Saturday: 8/24 8 PM

Monday: 8/26 8 PM

Thursday: 8/29 8 PM

Friday: 8/30 8 PM

Tickets are $10 pre-sale, and $15 at the door.

Key of E Rehearsal

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The cast of Key of E was still hard at work recording the sound track in the secret lab. With just two mics, they often had to share a mic and then step aside so another actor could step close. Amanda Warren offered to take off her high heels so she and Marisa Ashley could be about the same height. Corey Volence and Joel Warren shared the other mic with Andy Matchett and Chaz Krivan stepping in as needed. Toward the end of the recording session, the band, comprised of Minks members Abraham Couch, Brandon Kalber and Randy Coole, began to load in all their equipment. A symbol clashed to the floor. Andy turned and said, “Real nice guys”.

Once recording was done for the night, the cast got ready for a full run through of the show. Amanda and Chaz went through some dance moves together. She improvised a new move and they agreed that it worked great. Corey’s character, Ethan dreams of the end of the world so he can start his life over as a macho Mad Max road warrior or gun slinging survivalist. His girlfriend played by Marisa has to drag his sorry ass home from the bar. On the drive home, the world meets it’s watery demise.

The show is funny, heart felt and full of surprises. It was awesome to see it being rehearsed again. The harmonies are richer than ever polishing the gem. The rock music is solid and original. Andy who wrote all the music starts the show off, singing, “I just can’t wait for the world to end!” The mic is then handed off to Corey who takes over the lead roll. Andy only steps in once and a while after that as the all knowing narrator and a scientist.

After the run through, the cast got ready to make a a video promotional for the Key of E Soundtrack Kickstarter campaign. Corey acted as the narrator and the cast quickly threw together fun scenes that jokingly stressed the dire seriousness of the fundraising effort. As of this writing, $946 was raised of the $3000 goal. You could be the person to push campaign past the $1000 mark. Order the Key of E Soundtrack today! The album is done, waiting to be cut onto vinyl and magically digitized onto CD.

As I was sketching, I suddenly found myself smack dab in the middle of the promotional shoot with a camera pointed at me. I went for a subtle under played performance, channeling Al Pacino in that Italian restaurant scene in “The Godfather.” NOT! No, I went for flummoxed because I was flummoxed. I will certainly not be getting an Oscar for that cameo. It was fun to play along with such an amazing cast for a moment.

After you order the soundtrack off Kickstarter, then get your tickets for the return of the show at The Venue (511 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL). So, Mark Your Calendar! You don’t want to miss the end of the world. Show times are…

Friday: 8/23 8 PM
Saturday: 8/24 8 PM
Monday: 8/26 8 PM
Thursday: 8/29 8 PM
Friday: 8/30 8 PM

Tickets are $10 pre-sale, and $15 at the door.

Key of E Recording Session

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On August 6th he cast of the Key of E was gathered together at their secret lab to record a vocals session for the new soundtrack that will be available on CD and Vinyl. There is a Kickstarter campaign going to raise the $3,000 needed to cover costs. Andy had to pay $3 for a sound clip of someone pissing outside a bar, so you can imagine the escalating costs. As of this writing, they have raised $931 towards the goal. Be the person to push them over the $1000 mark and get a copy of the soundtrack.

Justin Beckler set up the sound equipment and directed each recording segment. Audio was mixed on the spot using his laptop.Corey Volence  and Marisa Ashley are the romantic leads in this post apocalyptic rock musical with music written by Andy Matchett. The recording session was for the dramatic interactions between the characters. Although it involved plenty of hard work, it also was hysterically fun to watch. As actors searched for the right inflections and drama, they at times would break into uncontrollable laughter. Marisa had to do one scene in which she reacts when she sees a huge Tsunami wave. She must have done the line 20 times or more with endless variations of shock, awe, horror and amazement. Her performance as the sincere loving girlfriend is heart wrenching.

Corey who wrote the show read his lines off of his iPhone.  It seemed quite appropriate that he had a “Day of the Dead” T-shirt on. Andy, as a world renowned scientist, recorded an address to colleagues in which he predicted the end of the world.  He said it was pointless to warn the citizens since it would only cause mass hysteria. On the fly, Corey suggested that Andy say that, “We are safe in our colossal invisible helicarrier“. It was a tongue twister that caught Andy by surprise but when delivered right, it was hilarious. Joel Warren was blunt, gruff and funny as a cocky jock who appoints himself boss and bully in the post apocalyptic island camp. He would shout, “Sco!” meaning “lets go”, when he wanted his female minion to follow. I laughed every time he delivered that line. Amanda Warren, who is new to the cast, did an amazing job as the female branch of Corey’s conscience. Her singing was pitch perfect, so much so that I had to stop sketching and watch. Like a fine wine, this show improves with age.

This show was the runaway hit from this years Fringe Festival. It won 11 Audience Choice Awards. It is returning for a brief run at The Venue (511 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL). So, Mark Your Calendar! You don’t want to miss the end of the world. Show times are…

Friday: 8/23 8 PM
Saturday: 8/24 8 PM
Monday: 8/26 8 PM
Thursday: 8/29 8 PM
Friday: 8/30 8 PM

Tickets are $10 pre-sale, and $15 at the door.

The Key of E Rehearsal

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The Dark Side of Saturn presents Key of E. Andy Matchett of Andy Matchett and the Minks wrote all the music for this original apocalyptic rock musical. I went to a rehearsal in a small art classroom on Colonial Drive near a sushi place. Andy welcomed me and apologized that some of the bigger effects might not happen at this rehearsal. I was happy just to listen to his amazing music. Andy began singing with Minks band members  Abraham Couch, Brandon Kalber and Randy Coole. I quickly sketched Andy and was surprised when actor Cory Violence replaced him at the mic singing “Just Can’t Wait for the Game to End“.

Cory takes on the lead roll of Ethan, a disillusioned hipster who dreams of how he might become a John Connor or Road Warrior hero if the world were to suddenly end.  As he sang of this apocalyptic bliss, his girlfriend played by Marissa Ashley interrupted to try and get him home.  She had to play the roll of annoying reason as he drank himself to oblivion. His dream  of the world’s end is suddenly realized when he is engulfed in a huge tsunami wave that leaves him stranded on a desert island.  The wave was executed with an ingenious effect with a parachute of plastic littered with garbage taking on the roll of the oceans surface. Andy stepped in as the narrator letting us know that the other characters on the survivor’s island were figments of Ethan’s imagination. 

The island had a typical bossy leader who felt he knew all about survival, sending the women to scavenge for food and clean camp. Ethan didn’t notice how this annoying character resembled himself. All the people on the island were there to help him survive and avoid his usual path of self destruction. Like the island on Lost, this place is a bit surreal. When Ethan discovers a bottle of whiskey he comes face to face with a dark red eyed demon.  His life could return to normal if only he could only put the cap back on the bottle.

Evan Miga, one of the mad scientists from Dog Powered Robot Labs devised the creature design. Right now, this show is my pick to be a sure runaway hit at Fringe. The music is hard hitting eclectic and ingenious. Cory really shines singing his way through the lead roll.  The entire cast of about 10 actors has pulled off an epic production on a shoe string budget. The Key of E is going to hit this year’s Fringe like a nuclear blast.

What:  

Key of E an Apocalyptic Rock Musical

When: 

Thursday, May 16 at 7:45PM

Saturday May 18 at 3:00PM

Sunday May 19 at 7:45PM 

Wednesday May 22 at 8:00PM

Saturday May 25th at 11:45PM

Where: 

Green Venue in the Rep

Tickets: 

$11 + a Fringe button

P.S. At 8:45PM tonight (May 16th) a certain Urban Sketcher will make a cameo appearance at Emotions Dances’ dis/CONNECTED in the Silver Venue which is in the Rep Theater. I really can not divulge details, if I told you, I’d have to kill you.