Jett Backpack Rehearsal

Posted on by Thor

On April 29th, I went to Dancer’s Edge Studio (7351 Aloma Ave, Winter Park, FL) to sketch a rehearsal for Jett Backpack and the Battle at the End of the Universe, which will appear at the upcoming Fringe Theater Festival in May. It was raining like a banshee  on the drive to the theater, but the cast trickled into the dance studio lobby one at a time at first and then in a deluge. The dance studio had mirrors on three walls and the actors performed towards the fourth wall.

Much of the action took place on an intergalactic space craft with John Bateman playing a cocky and somewhat incompetent captain with Jennifer Guhl playing his salty number 1.  The play was written by Josh Geohagen and he sat on the floor pouring over the script. At this rehearsal just two scenes were blocked with Kevin G. Becker directing. Before getting to work, the cast assembled in a circle and switched places with a point and command. Another exercise involved everyone walking the room and reciting the alphabet. If two actors said the same letter at the same time, they had to begin again at A. I’m always amazed at how a cast can pull together and become keenly aware of each other working almost like a flock.

Often the crew of the star ship would be looking at an imaginary view screen which they decided was the blue cork paneling on the wall. They all would crane their heads to look up at it. Several clones perished in gruesome ways and where whisked off to air locks. Dorothy Massey played a sultry Princess Positronic who was attracted to the captain. Trenell Mooring is sort of the face of Fringe this year since she is pictured on the Fringe poster along with her son. Her eyes are set apart wide on her face giving her an exotic chiseled look. She plays the part of an alien helmsman on the ship speaking an alien dialect. This tongue in cheek comedy was consistently hilarious. I can’t wait to see the cast in costume. Since only two scenes were rehearsed, I’m left wondering how the adventure will play out.

Where: The show will be in the yellow venue which is the Mandell Theater in the Lowndes Shakespeare Center.

How much: You need a Fringe button plus tickets are $10.

Show times:

Thu 5/16 7:30PM

Sat 5/18 9:45PM

Sun 5/19 11:15PM

Tue 5/21 7:15PM

Thurs 5/23 5:45PM

Fri 5/24 6:30PM

Sat 5/25 1:00PM

Frost Nixon

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In the Mandell Theater in the Lowdes Shakespeare Center,”Frost Nixon” written by Peter Morgan is being performed through April 28th. Stephan Jones does an astonishing performance as Nixon. His performance isn’t a satirical caricature but an honest look at a man with insecurities and pride. As a elementary school student I used to enjoy doing political cartoons of Nixon so from an early age I understood his charisma. Timothy Williams performs as David Frost, a talk show host looking to score the biggest interview of his career. John Bateman as James Reston acts as the narrator who has had a long time desire to see Nixon admit and repent for his wrong doing. In a humorous moment he meets his long time nemesis and he goes mute and shakes Nixon’s hand. Nixon turned smugly away with his best attempt at a grin.

The interview itself was like a prize boxing match with Nixon evading question with his long winded rope-a-dope memories and effusive tales. In the first round Frost sits back overwhelmed and exhausted by the ex-presidents long winded and empty answers. The actual interview went on for hours but it is thankfully edited down for the stage production. The interview is cut into four bouts and by the end it seemed like Nixon was a bull that wanted to feel the pain of the matador’s sword.

After the show, the cast assembled on stage for a question and answer session with the audience. Director John DiDonna asked theater reviewer Steve Schneider to join them on stage. Steve wrote a glowing review of the performance but hated the historical inaccuracies of the play. He stated that Nixon never admitted to the Watergate cover up and any younger audience members might accept the play at truth. Artists have a responsibility to present the truth. He equated it to journalistic integrity. Going to the theater to learn history is like going to “The Daily Show” to get the news. John asked a class full of college students, “Who is Nixon?” Only three students raised their hands. The play offered Nixon a redemption that he never had in real life. How much artistic license should be allowed before historical accuracy is ignored or turned on it’s head? To illustrate his point, Steve suggested, we imagine that a Japanese playwright decided to write a play about World War II in which there was no Pearl Harbor. Instead Japan is forced into the war when America stages a sneak attack on the Japanese Navy Fleet. Could that be an entertaining play? Certainly, but it would be divisive and inaccurate.

You have just 3 chances left to see this amazing production.

Friday April 26th  at 8PM

Saturday April 27th at 8PM

Sunday April 28th at 2PM.

Fringemas

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Fringe is pulled out all the stops for the December First Monday Happy Hour. In the round Patron’s Room in the Lowndes Shakespeare Center there were tables set up with silent bidding items. George Fringe Wallace directed me to the Margeson Theatre, (orange venue) where the various performers were working on last minute tech issues. Laney Jones and Matt Tonner set to play guitar and ukulele. I had seen Laney perform twice before, both times in parking lots, so it was nice to see her on the stage. She has a sweet voice and her original folk tunes are humerus and heart warming. She sang a song about how she loves her therapist since he always listens and he has been her longest relationship. It was hilarious.

The announcers, Santa and Mrs. Claus (Michael Wanzie and Mitzi Morris) introduced each act. Joan Crawford offered a raspy and funny rendition of the 12 days of Christmas. The PB&J Theater Factory performed a crazy skit in which Brandon Roberts came out as a Gumbyesque foam Christmas Tree. The first time he appeared, he looked like a sad phallic shaped tree. Everyone laughed as he did an unenthusiastic dance. The tree costumes eventually got fuller and his enthusiasm, livelier.

A Varietease dancer performed a subdued strip tease, but a wardrobe malfunction had everyone in tears laughing. Pepe acted as a guest announcer and he kept the irreverent proceedings quite lively. The set was for “The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of ‘A Christmas Carol”. Try and say that five times fast! The audience was full of performers who will have shows in this year’s Fringe. Joe Rosier sat in the front row making a rather believable Santa with his real beard.

Phantasmagoria

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I went to a dress rehearsal for Empty Space Theater Company’s, Phantasmagoria III in the Patron’s Room at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center. The circular room was magically transformed into a circus ring. Suspended below the circular dome was a circular screen which was used for projections. The rehearsal began with a 7PM fight choreography session. Even rehearsed at 1/4 speed, the sword fight was strangely menacing in the small space.

John DiDona, the director, then circled up all the actors to hold hands before a complete run through of the show. He told the cast, “Every story is important. We are dangerous, we have seen to much.” Someone shouted, “Merde!”, or was it “Murder? The room went dark as actors took their places. Two clowns in simple black suits began wrestling with boxes in the ring to comic effect. John let me know that this was the 13 minute pre-show that went on as the audience filtered in.

The Phantasmagoria cast tells some of the classic horror stories incorporating music, dance, puppetry and drama to sinister effect. The Tell Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe made great use of projections on the overhead screen with chipped wall paint patterns and then  giant eye as the narrator discussed the cold blooded, highly thought out plot to kill his neighbor, an old man. The whole cast recreated the sound of the heart with guttural verbalization. It was creepy. The Cold Embrace told the tale off an artist who fell in and out of love with a cousin. Heart broken, the cousin died and then returned to haunt the fickle artist, embracing him with her invisible cold fingers.

The dark show was filled with dancing skeletons, a giant bloodthirsty wolf and beings in the darkness that were hard to identify. The ringmaster was barefooted, because corpses are barefooted in the morgue, Brittany Wine explained. Characters at times stood behind me as they whispered their lines sending a chill down my spine. The circular room is intimate, small, with no room to escape. These were classic tales told with drama and effect. Now in it’s third year, the show keeps growing and evolving along with it’s characters, each of whom had a dark painful back-story.

When: October 12-31st,  8:30 p.m.

Venue: Lowndes Shakespeare Center, Patron’s Room

Address: 812 E. Rollins St.

Phone: (407) 328-9005

Web Site: http://www.redchairproject.com

Price: $20