Sunburst Convention Kick Off Party

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Pam Schwartz, who looks a bit like Julia Roberts, and I went to Lafayette’s at Point Orlando (9101 International Dr Suite 2220 Orlando, Florida) for the 16th Annual Sunburst Celebrity Impersonator Convention kick off party. The room was filled with impersonators! The host and convention producer, Greg Thompson, was introducing each celebrity impersonator in turn and then giving them just a few lines to lay out their shtick. There were two Marilyn Monroes, yet surprisingly one Donald Trump whose introduction I decided to sketch in the minute or so available. Trump kept his bottom lip protruded and spoke with his didactic simplicity.

Dr. Evil took the stage after Trump. His views seemed tame considering today’s political climate. But he loves to dance as does Austin Powers. The troika of Evil, Trump and Powers were dancing throughout the night occasionally joined by pop stars and pirates. Paula Deen offered up meals drenched in butter and the Queen of England offered the crowd a feeble wave.

Huey Lewis with his pencil thin black tie, took to the stage and started a set. All of the celebrities dances in the aisles. Some folks in the venue had probably just wanted to go to Lafayette’s for some fried Chicken Tenders, beef sliders or Voodoo Chicken Wings, but they got so much more than expected.It was great to see the celebrity impersonators relax dance and just enjoy each others company.

The public is welcome to attend the remaining Celebrity Impersonator Showcase tonight Saturday September 1, 2018 at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center (located in the Florida Mall 1500 Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL 32809). The Showcase is from 1pm-4:30pm where
impersonators will perform, delight and entertain the masses, including a
special Sunburst edition of “The Tonight Show”.  Plus, guests can get
their picture taken with their favorite “celebrity” during intermission
and following the showcases.  Showcase tickets are $25 per person at the
door and $20 online. 

Each
year, over 100 of the world’s best professional celebrity
impersonators, lookalikes and tribute artists fly, drive and cruise into
Orlando for Sunburst to gather, mingle, network, educate themselves and
have an unforgettable time.  They are joined by numerous talent buyers,
talent agents, producers and meeting planners from all over the country
who are invited to watch the imitators perform live and make a lasting
impression.  Sunburst features performance showcases, themed parties, an
awards banquet, promotional room and tons of photo opportunities.  The
general public is invited to attend the talent showcases and rub elbows
with the “Just About Famous” stars, and with this special public access
again this year, now even more spectators can enjoy the unique, fun and
one-of-a-kind entertainment Sunburst has to offer.

The 7 Year Itch.

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The 7 Year Itch written by George Axelrod is being directed by Eric Pinder at Valencia Theater‘s black box theater on the Valencia East Campus (701 North Econlockhatchee Trail Orlando FL 32825). This production celebrates Valencia’s 50th anniversary. The same play was staged at Valencia’s 25th anniversary. The play is a 1950’s era rom-com in which a husband over active imagination gets the better of him. His wife and young so n go off to Maine to escape the New York Ci heat leaving him home alone to work his publishing job. He listened innocently enough to a ball game on his apartment patio, when a large potted tomato plant crashed to the ground behind him. H missed him by inches. Shock, surprise and then anger flashed through him.

A new young and beautiful neighbor had moved into the building. He shouted up to her in anger which quickly faded when he saw how beautiful and apologetic she was. The 1955 Billy Wilder film version of this play, featured the iconic Marilyn Monroe standing above a subway grate. The actress playing the neighbor clearly was inspired by Marilyn’s affectations and breathy voice. The husband invited down his new neighbor and then second guessed his decision once she accepted. In a dream sequence she arrived in o gorgeous black gown and he regaled her with confidence playing an incredible (be can concerto which left her breathless. In real life she asked him to play piano and he banged out chop sticks. She knew how to play as well so she sat beside him and joined in. 

The actor playing the husband did an amazing job. He had a wiry way of moving and he was in constant whirling action as he chased his own guilty thoughts. He stepped all over himself hoping to impress his beautiful neighbor and she made matters worse by sharing her nude photo shoot that We has done on a deserted beach. He stood open mouthed and shocked when she showed the photo in one of his magazines. The audience could only imagine. She felt safe with him since he was married which meant he couldn’t in good conscious fall in love with her. I respected her new found independence. She was living on her own for the first time in years having escaped from a controlling and stifling relationship. 

The play really was laugh out loud funny. It was a nonstop comedy that doesn’t skip a beat. 

The Remaining Show Times are: 

February 20, 24, and 25th, 2017 at 7:30pm

February 19 and 26th, 2017 at 2:00pm. 

Pricing : 

$12 General Admission. 

$10 Valencia Students, employees, alumni and seniors. 

You pick packages, $36 for four, or $60 for eight.

Marilyn Monroe zombie leaves a sweet musty smell in City Arts Factory.

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I had to drop off some cards for Barbara Hartley at City Arts Factory (29 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL). The place according to the website is usually closed on Monday but on this Indigenous People’s Day it was open because artists were dropping off their work for the Day of the Dead show happening in October.

While I was chatting with Tr3 Mark Harris at the front desk, Paul Joachim walked in. Paul sculpts life sized chocolate sculptures.  Paul had dropped off a life sized Marilyn Monroe zombie sculpture and he wanted to touch up he paint job. The sign next to her read, “Do not touch. Do not eat.” Which is very ironic since there were plenty of open bite wounds causing her to bleed red syrup. An exposed bone was visible on her left shin. Denna Beena told Paul that every guy who viewed the sculpture thought she might be having her period. Paul had considered making a small card to put under her dress that said,Hard Rock “You should be ashamed of yourself.” He thought better of it.

Paul had done a clean sculpt of Marilyn and then he added the gouges, blood and pasty purple skin tone. When he was working on her face he had to walk a fine line, making her look like Marilyn but dead. A huge bite out of her right cheek exposed her jaw bone and she was missing some teeth. There was an amazing synergy between Marilyn’s mouth and Andrew Spear‘s mural behind her. Both pieces of art treated the female sumptuous lips and teeth with loving detail.

Paul told me that the drive to City Arts Factory with the sculpture in the back of the truck was harrowing. Orlando’s cobble stone streets sent her dancing and shimmying in the back of the truck, Thankfully she didn’t topple over. After this show , Paul hopes that Hard Rock Cafe might inherit Marilyn for next year’s Halloween season. Halloween Horror Nights might be another home for her. I was surprised to find out that chocolate keeps rather well. It gets harder with age.

Mark Your Calendar! CityArts Dia de los Muertos and Monster Factory Exhibit is opening tonight, October 16th 6-11pm.  Phantasmagoria will be there to entertain and amaze and there will be a Day of the Dead Parade with larger than life sized skeletons. The show will remain up through November 14th.

Anyone Can Learn to Airbrush at Blast Studios

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On June 6th, I went to a Danny Rock, Stencils workshop at Blast Studios, ( 922 state rd 436, Casselberry, Florida). Blast Studios boasts, “Color and Creativity Collide with Canvas and Wine”. Danny has used stencils to decorate several Utility Boxes around Orlando. He have a brief history of the use of stencils in graffiti and art. When the British graffiti artist Banksy spray painted his work around NYC, industrious inner city youths covered the art and would only let people see if they payed a viewing price. People always find a way to profit from someone else s creation.

Scott Pantke and his wife Nicole owns Blast Studios and they kept me company at the wine bar as Danny taught the class. Scott was commissioned to do a mural in a hair salon, and rather than do all the painting himself, he taught others how to use the airbrush. He enjoyed teaching others and seeing how excited they became. That is how Blast Studios began. One entire wall of the studio is covered with a partly abstract and partly figurative mural. People are invited to make their own contributions, and then Scott goes over certain areas picking out the shapes of characters inside the chaos. It is much like seeing sheep in the clouds.

Three students showed up for the Stencil Workshop. Danny demonstrated the filters to use in Photoshop or any cheap image editing program to create the bold black and white image needed to create the stencil. A very sharp exacto blade was then used to cut away the negative shapes that would eventually be spray painted. Each student created their own stencil and got to transfer it to canvas. In honor of Andy Warhol they all worked on Marilyn Monroe. Each person painted a bold pattern on their canvas before applying the stencil. This is where each artist’s individuality shown through. Spraying the stencil itself was a rather quick and painless process. The trick is to keep the stencil pressed tight up against the canvas if you want a hard edge. If the stencil is loose, the edges would be soft, which also could be a good effect.

Danny Rock is teaching classes at Blast about every other week. Check the Blast calendar to see if there is a class for you or a friend. This place is also great for a date night.

Dizzi Bone

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Dizzi Bone is an energetic boxer that is owned by Kristen Wheeler and her husband Shane. Kristen is the photographer for many of the arts groups in town, and Dizzi accompanies her on many of those shoots. I first met this pup at a photo shoot for a Boudoir Bombshells calender. As models pursed their lips into sexy vowels, Dizzi did what she does best, she spun in circles. She became petrified when red, white and blue balloons began to fill the studio for the July 4th shot. A cleft palette gives her a face only a mother could love, yet she is the unofficial mascot for many Central Florida arts groups.

I went to the Wheeler’s yellow Victorian house with a white picket fence in Eustice to sketch Dizzi. She was very excited when I arrived, spinning around the house, but she finally settled on the couch as Kristen made some gumbo in the kitchen. The lamp was given to Kristen by Beth Marshall. The shade is rumored to once have been used in a bordello. There was a large tumor is on Dizzi’s front leg and a smaller cancerous growth was on her butt. She doesn’t always get to sleep on the couch so being sketched meant she got a models privilege. Movie posters and cinema paraphernalia decorated the home. The downstairs bathroom was dedicated to Marilyn Monroe. A cat made herself comfortable on my artist stool and then batted a cat nip toy around the room as Dizzi snoozed. She would often keep one eye open just in case.

Dizzi needs surgery. The large tumor on her elbow, a small one on
her hind quarters, and several other growths on her body need to be
removed. The estimate Kristen was given includes pre and post care,
surgery itself, medications, blood work, EKG etc. But Kristen and Shane were not
approved for CareCredit so we will have to pay for everything up front. They will also have to order a custom DogLegg  for post surgery to aid in the physical therapy. With
everything it comes to around $1000.00. The couple of course will be
contributing what little they can, but with your help they can get
her through this immediately with less stress. The amazing boxer girl is loved by so
many people and Kristen can not imagine a moment without her. Help the couple heal her so she can live
out the rest of her years in peace and pain free. A gofundme page was established to help raise funds. To date $775 was raised of the $900 goal.