After Pulse: Roxy Santiago

Posted on by Thor

Roxy Santiago became involved after the Pulse Nightclub massacre helping the community. Th month before the tragedy she had been asked to be on the board of the Center. Her start date was to be June 28, 2016 but Pulse happened. She was also a volunteer with the Red Cross action disaster team.

Roxy woke up at about 5AM on June 12, 2016 because there were so many updates on her phone. A message said, “I hope Kay is OK.” Kay, a good friend was dating a bartender at Pulse. She scoured the internet and saw what had happened at Pulse. She couldn’t believe it at first.

She decided to text The Center. She decided that is where she needed to go to help out. She arrived about 7:30AM. She opened her laptop and started to find out what was needed, water food. She worked through Human Rights Campaign, Democratic Caucus, and her own Facebook. The phones were blowing up. Water was needed at the blood bank and then there was an immigration issue. It was four days of non- stop communication and gathering of resources.

At 9:30AM she had to go down to Pulse and do a live interview on TV representing The Center. There was so much going on that there wasn’t even a moment to shed a tear. After a hug you might well up but then you would have to get back. There was a real bond between the seven of so people who were there for the four days. A men’s clothing store donated the clothes for the funerals. So many elements came together that you normally do not thin about. Golden Chorale donated a refrigerator truck for the water. The truck couldn’t handle all the water, so The Track Shack let them use their warehouse space to store it. Whatever came in, went right out the back door to families.

Days later she went home and there was a program on TV where Lady Gaga read the names. For the first time tears flowed. She pulled herself back together and went right back to the Center. At the Dr. Phillips vigil she helped Patty Sheehan with the Spanish section of her speech. She didn’t make it to Lake Eola.

For the one year remembrance she wore the angel wings and went to Pulse at 2AM. That experience made her heart feel a little better and it kept her going. The work was ongoing.

The 15th Anniversary Sunburst Convention Of Celebrity Impersonators

Posted on by Thor

The Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators fell on the same day as one of my Orlando 10 x 10 Urban Sketch classes, so I arranged for our group of artists to go to the convention as sketch journalists. Ilene Lieber of Passion PR granted us all press passes. The event took place at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center located at The Florida Mall (1500 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, 32809). Artists met in the lobby of the hotel and then went in to sketch the celebrity showcase.

Imagine Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Neil Diamond, Elvis, Cher, Michael
Jackson, Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Joan Rivers, Robin Williams,
Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, Tiger Woods, Tim McGraw, Kenny Rogers,
Frank Sinatra, and numerous other icons of the past and present all
gathered together to perform and be seen. No, it’s not another reality
show, it is The Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators returning
to Orlando for its 15th anniversary year.

This year, the public was invited to attend special talent showcases where impersonators performed, delighted, and entertained the
masses. Plus, guests could get their picture taken with
their favorite “celebrity” during intermission and following the
showcases.

The goal of the workshop was to encourage artists to populate their sketches with multiple celebrities. I wanted them to focus on the gestures and costuming while the face was just secondary icing. Once we were inside the showcase theater, I couldn’t offer any more advice, so I let the students just focus on sketching, while I did the same. I decided to sketch Lady Gaga since I couldn’t resist the bra that looked like two hands cupping her breasts. She had red lipstick smeared beyond her lips and blue eye shadow defined her eyes. There were some impressive presidential impersonators and the acts ranged from excellent singers to muddled lip sync attempts. The guy taking notes in both of my sketches is a talent scout.

During an intermission, all the artists gathered back in the hotel lobby and we shared notes. I encouraged them to change the scene as needed to suit the sketch. For instance if someone’s head is blocking a view of the performers feet, I suggested they get rid of the offending head. I honestly don’t know what celebrity was seated next to me in the gorgeous black had and bold white dress. Anyone care to venture a guess?

The N Tunes performed at Maitland Art Center’s Culture & Cocktails Summer Concert Series.

Posted on by Thor

Art and History Museums (231 W Packwood Ave, Maitland, FL) has a Summer Concert Series as part of their monthly Culture and Cocktails event. This sketch of the N Tunes was done at the July 2014 event. When I arrived the band was still setting up the sound equipment. It was the golden hour, a time when the warm light gets more intense and orange as the sun sets. Large live oaks and palm trees kept the stage shaded, but a bright magenta stage light illuminated the stage. By the time the band started performing, the stage and background were blocked in with pencil.

As with most Culture and Cocktail events, there was also poetry being read across the street in the Mayan Courtyard. New art exhibits had also opened to the public. Although I would love to be everywhere at once, I have to limit myself to focusing one one thing a a time. Sketching takes time.

N Tunes website describes the band as “performing songs from Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Adele,
Kanye West, Black Eyed Peas, Kid Rock and everything in between that’s
currently topping the charts, this 5 piece powerhouse of a group
lays it down with style. Having the N-Tunes perform at your venue or
event is like having all of the current top 4Art the consummate party band. With a wealth of popular material to pull
from, they can tailor their performance to meet your needs.”

Finding information about the performers wass close to impossible. All I could find out online is that the lead singer is Natalie Wright.

The Sunburst Convention For Professional Celebrity Impersonators featured a Love Boat themed party.

Posted on by Thor

The Sunburst Convention For Professional Celebrity Impersonators is being held in the Florida Hotel in the Florida Mall, 1500 Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL.  The Convention’s website explained, “The Sunburst Convention is a great and
friendly environment helping promote the careers of Professional
Celebrity Impersonators and Look  A Likes. This is a rather unique
profession and we take it seriously.
You
can NOW see what it’s about on NETFLIX!  Look for the movie/documentary
“Just About Famous” and you will see what we are about!

I went to a Love Boat themed party on the second night of the convention. Greg showed up dressed up as Captain Stubing and all the attendees were encouraged to come in costume. Ginny Soskey a Hubspot section editor came to the convention from Boston. Before we were let in to the Hospitality suite she explained that there are 3 tiers in the celebrity look alike field. The first tier are the look alikes, they don’t necessarily need costumes to resemble a celebrity. then there are the Celebrity impersonators. They research their celebrity’s every mannerism and they often create their own costumes. The final tier are the tribute artists, they have the look, the costumes and they develop a complete act that they perform on stage.

One whole meeting room in the hotel had rows of tables with celebrity impersonators cards and promotional materials. Agents show up to the convention to scout for talent and Ilene Lieber who does PR for the convention told me that there were more agents than ever this year. Colonal Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame arrived and shook my hand. I thought his presence was appropriate since KFC is running ads now that have a Saturday Night Live comedian doubling as the Colonal. The actor didn’t look like the Colonal so I suddenly lost faith in the brand. It was like they stole my belief in Santa Claus. Another look alike showed up is a stunning outfit with jewels and a fur lined hood. Her lips sparkled orange. I thought she was Lady Gaga but it turned out she was Cher. Captain Jack Sparrow staggered about with some thick brown swill in a bottle. It wasn’t beer, perhaps it was a thick fermented cider.

The party was a blast. A tropical billboard was against one wall with a rail so celebrities could take a photo in an exotic island setting. As the room filled, people took selfies together.   The Blues Brothers hung out at the corner table. Dolly Parton later sat at the table to check her phone. The whole fun in attending the convention was trying to guess who was being impersonated. Yet this is a skill set I haven’t developed. The last thing I wanted to do was walk up to someone and say “So, who are you supposed to be?” I kept my guesses private

Apparently Charo had appeared quite a few times on the Love Boat, so there was a rather hilarious hoochie coochie contest. On stage, The Ladies of Soul performed along with the L.O.S. Band from Vero Beach. They definitely got the attendees out on the dance floor. This was a rare instance where I didn’t sketch the stage. Instead, I had to focus on the celebrity audience.