Candles in the Dark at Fringe

Posted on by Thor

Equal Pay from Orlando presented Candles in the Dark at Orlando Fringe. As the audience filtered into the theater the stage had empty chairs on stage. The lights dimmed and many women and one man walked on to the stage with candles and sat down in the seats which faces in all directions. A woman stood and faced the audience. She began to tell her story of sexual abuse and assault. Each character in turn took center to bravely recount the most horrific moments of their lives.

Each of these anonymous stories was written by local survivors of sexual abuse. 1 in 5 females and 1 in 33 men will be the victim of sexual abuse in their lifetime.  Proceeds from the shows were then donated to the Victim Service Center of Central Florida. The Center serves all victims of sexual assault , violent crime an traumatic circumstance through free and confidential intervention, therapy advocacy and outreach.

Tracy Jane compiled all the stories which were then performed by 9 performers on stage. I knew one actress, Marcie Schwalm who had done a solo in the past which was a very personal story from her past. I asked myself if this was the case again but I was told that the stories were written anonymously.  The emotions seemed very visceral and direct. Cindy Sherden directed the cast. Thought unnerving and heart wrenching it was an honor to hear these stories about these crimes that happen too often and often go unreported.

The House of Yes

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At Fringe, I was handed a “House of Yes” button on the green lawn at Lock Haven Park. It was red white and blue so I assumed the show might be a political comedy. The Penguin Point Productions play and its polished production values took me by surprise. It was about a brother, Marty (Justin M.G. Hughes), who returned home with his naive fiance, Lesly (Monica Joyce), from the city. I quickly became obvious that his twin sister, Jacqueline (Adele Papoosha), had suffered a nervous breakdown. She was ecstatic about his return. She fancied herself to be like Jackie Onassis. It became clear that Marty and his Mom (Marcie Schwalm), didn’t get along. Mrs. Pascal’s sarcasm,wit and cold high brow detachment added much needed humor to every scene. The whole family put on airs. I knew nothing about the play or the later film staring Parker Posey. I grew more uncomfortable as the play progressed.

When Jackie-O finds out her brother is engaged her mood sours and it is clear to all that she is off her medications. Late that night she convinces her brother to play a childhood game. They reenact the Kennedy Assassination and she nurses him and her gentle kisses turn to passionate love. Lesly discovers them and slips away disgusted by the incest. Meanwhile the younger brother, Anthony (Max Herskovitz), became obsessed with Lesly and he seduces her with a story of a brain tumor and his virginity. The mom discovers these two and in a comic moment just shakes her head and walks off stage as if nothing would surprise her.

The next morning Mom tries to convince Leslie to leave, blackmailing her with what she had seen the night before. Leslie has much more backbone than anyone in the family gave her credit for and she refuses to leave without Marty. She wants to save him from this strange incestuous family. To keep him home, Jackie-O flushes Marty’s car keys. She convinces Marty to play the KFK Assassination game one last time saying he could leave afterwords. Crying she pulls the trigger. This time the gun was real. Jacky-O held the president’s blood stained head in her lap. I left feeling unnerved and shocked.

Boogie Shoes

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Quiet Desperation Productions presents “Boogie Shoes”, written and performed by Marcie Schwailm and directed by Tara Corless in the Red Venue. The red venue this year was in a rehearsal space on the second floor of the Shakes. Based on posters I had seen around the Fringe Festival, I expected to see a goofy comedy about a dancer with little coordination. Marcie walked on stage and began talking about how she loved to dance as a small child. Her mother told her that she could be anything she wanted to be when she grew up. “I want to be Wonder Woman!” “Well Wonder Woman is a pretend character, you can be anything real.” “A shark?” “No.” The next best thing was to become a ballerina.

Her mom supported her dream and enrolled her in a ballet class. Unfortunately some snotty ballet student told Marcie she was too fat to be a ballerina. Deflated, she dropped out of the class. Bulimic girlfriends told her she should barf up any food she ate to stay thin.  She couldn’t do it. Bitchy adolescence set in and she resented her own body. She took to cutting herself. The razor’s edge was one thing she had absolute control over. Thankfully, she eventually put that behind her. In her 20’s she met the man of her dreams and she read endless brides magazines to plan the wedding. When she tried on a wedding dress and looked in a mirror, she didn’t like what she saw. Depression set in for years because she didn’t see herself as a Cinderella ideal.

Then she discovered belly dancing. The teacher had students isolate upper body movements by asking the students to imagine they were washing a window with their breasts. She had students move their chest as if then were writing a word. Marcie demonstrated for us. Amazingly someone in the audience guessed the right word. I was too modest to venture a guess although she wrote 5 letters. To isolate hip movements the teacher suggested students imagine they had a pencil in their vaginas with which they wrote on the floor. Those would be some long pencils!

After a quick costume change Marcie came out in a belly dancer’s outfit. She sparkled and a thin gossamer blue veil flowed around her as she danced. Now when she looks in a mirror she knows she is beautiful. The audience clapped and shouted their support. I was glowing, happy to have heard this story of overcoming the odds imposed by society, and rediscovering a child’s joy that can always be rekindled. Some people go through their whole life never finding that innocent passion again. This show was a life affirming miracle. Some dreams do come true as long as you keep searching and never give up. This was without a doubt the most inspiring true life story I’ve heard at this year’s Fringe.

A portion of the sales for “Boogie Shoes” will be donated to the non-profit organization, “To Write Love on Her Arms“. This organization is dedicated to presenting hope and find help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. They encourage, inform, inspire and invest in treatment and recovery.

When:

Sunday May 26 at 5:45PM

Where:

Red Venue

Tickets:

$8 plus a Fringe button.

Mysterious Skin

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Mysterious Skin is a play by Prince Gomolvilas based on a novel by Scott Heim. This Fringe production was directed by Jeremy Seghers and produced by James Brendlinger. The show’s promotional materials left plenty to the imagination showing a black and white photo of a mans naked belly. When I ran into Jeremy, I shouted “I’m ready for some Skin!” He laughed and said “Calm down.”

The show follows Brian Lackey, (played by Anthony Pyatt Jr.) as he seeks the truth behind a childhood memory that forever haunts him.  In the opening scene, he sat center stage withdrawn and introverted. His mannerisms vividly reminded me of a nephew of mine who committed suicide. I was mesmerized. Avalyn Friesen (Marcie Schwalm) sat on her bed talking to him. She was a firm believer that aliens had abducted her when she was a child. Brian began to believe this might explain the memories of his past.

Neil McCormick,  (Michael Martin) New York City found himself draw to gay men and began to “turn tricks” which it turned out is a dangerous, and ego crushing way to make money. After seeing an old little league photo, Brian realizes that Michael played a part in the fractured memory of his child hood. Brian eventually finds Michael. Brian is awakened to the truth that he wasn’t abducted by aliens when Michael shows him their baseball coaches abandoned home. The image triggered a flood of memories. In a moving scene near the end of the play Avalyn wrote Brian to describe her abduction. Her intense recreation made it seem that she and Brian had experienced a similar fate. When Brian finally faces the truth, his legs give out.

There is no clean resolution or moral to the story. The characters and their plights lingered with me. The play was haunting and hard hitting. Anthony, Marcie and Neil gave amazing performances. This play certainly got under my skin.

Show times:

Friday 5/25 at 9:15PM

Saturday 5/26 at 3:15PM

Sunday 5/27 at 7:15PM

The show is in the Orange Venue and tickets are $10.