Fringe: Get a Clue, A Murder Mystery Who Dunnit Stage Combat Extravaganza

Posted on by Thor

At the Orlando International Fringe Festival some venues are not inside a theater. This show put on by Live Action Novelty Combat Entertainment (LANCE) takes place between the Orlando Science Center and Princeton Street.

Most of the audience was seated to my left. One man shouted out to me, “Are you doing a courtroom sketch of the performance?” I shouted back, “Yes, You all are the jury.”

In the show, a corrupt businessman is murdered along with two others. The narrator set the scene for the audience. As she spoke, 3 members of the cast dropped to the ground. Then she said, would you kindly move to where you actually died? All three got up and moved to a new spot.

The premise of the show is that the murders are recreated using objects that are set about the stage. There is plenty of staged fighting and murder. Once the scene was complete and the three actors lay in their spots, one would lean up and point out that the murder as described was completely wrong.

The whole scene would be reset and the scene would be replayed with a new villainous soul committing the murders. At times the stage fighting was quite unnerving with loud hits and narrow misses. The emotional impacts were helped by cast gasping and reacting in horror.

But the end of the show it had started to drizzle. I put away my unfinished sketch and popped my umbrella. If afternoon rains persist, the number of shows might be impacted.

Show times are:

Saturday May 17, 6pm, May 17, 8:30pm, Sunday May 18, 6pm, May 18, 8:30pm, Saturday May 24, 6pm, May 24, 8:30pm, Sunday May 25, 8:30pm.

The show is 45 minutes and tickets are $8 along with a FRINGE button. You need to be prepared to witness plenty of violence.

Pre-Pandemic: Auditions for Chess Match at Orlando Renaissance Festival

Posted on by Thor

I went to Cypress Grove Park, 290 Holden Ave., Orlando Florida to sketch the auditions for Chess Match at Orlando Renaissance Festival. The show, produced by Lance was a stage combat production which was the headline show in the Orlando Renaissance Festival, and was comprised of over 20 roles (both combat and non-combat oriented) that will brought the epic lore of the Grimm Brother’s Fairy-tales to life in a Living Chess Match. No experience was required. 

The rehearsal took place on a scenic lake side spot at the edge of a forest. Groups of actors were selected to go through scenes together. I got to watch various actors go through the same scenes and I fell in love with certain performances. It was a fun and inspiring morning.

Pam came with me with her two pups and walked them around the park while I worked. One actor had his pup with him as they watched the rehearsal. By the time Pam returned I was finishing up the sketch. My challenge was to catch the ever changing crowd of actors as the moved around the open field performing.

The Orlando Renaissance Festival announced that the 2020 Orlando Renaissance Festival has been cancelled. This decision was not been made lightly, and was made with the safety of guests, participants, and workers in mind. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, they closely monitored the situation, and they do not believe that we would be able to operate safely this year and in full compliance with local ordinances.

They will be returning in December of 2021! They were prepared to open a second week of operation in honor of the 5th anniversary, and they do plan to move forward with that in 2021. Our dates for 2021 are December 4-5, 10-12, 2021.

This year, (2020) they plan to premiere a virtual event on Zoom and Facebook Live on  December 5-6, 2020.  The event is free of charge to participants and patrons, and is their way of offering an opportunity for  all to come together and experience the magic of the festival.