CarVerations

Posted on by Thor

Mark Baratelli’s “Mobile Art Show” had a different twist this month. Usually, Mark rents a U-Haul truck and has an artist exhibit their work inside. When I arrived at the City Arts Factory this month I found Mark unloading wrappers, newspapers and assorted bottles from the backseat of his beat up 1996 Chevy Cavalier. He put a bottle of mouthwash on the dashboard and loaded everything else into the trunk. He and Brian Feldman, a local performance artist, had decided at the last minute to create an event called “CarVersations,” in which people could pay one dollar could sit in the passenger seat and have a five minute conversation with Brian.

Evan Miga showed up having heard about the event on Facebook. Mark had announced it only hours before. Evan showed me some wire that was wrapped around his backpack. At the end of the wire was a silver box with a switch. When he flipped the switch, the wire glowed a neon blue. As we spoke the neon flickered, fluctuating to the volume of our voices as we talked. He plans to use these wires to outline the corrugated robots he is creating for”Dog Powered Robot and the History of the Future” which will be in the Orlando Fringe Festival this May.He said some scenes will be in complete darkness with just the neon glow illuminating the scene. Evan wrapped the wire around the outer edge of the windshield of the car so when people spoke, the wire would glow.

Brian showed up with his portable marquee and he set it up on the roof of the car. Mark shouted to Brian through the windshield, “Three minutes to places!” For some reason, after getting in the car, Brain flipped on the windshield wipers which sent the neon wire twisting in all directions. Mark shouted, “Noooooo!” Brian couldn’t figure out how to turn off the wipers quick enough. He shouted back, “How do you turn the wipers off?” I laughed out loud. It was like watching vintage Laurel and Hardy slapstick.

Several SAK Comedy Lab volunteers came down during the event to speak to Brian in the Car. Orlando Live host Peter Murphy had an interview with Brian, which the cameraman filmed from the backseat. My wife stopped by, paid her dollar and spoke to Brian for five minutes. I am not sure I gave her a solid five minutes of my attention since I was struggling with the sketch on my digital tablet. Before I knew it, CarVersations was over. Mark drove off and I continued to throw down digital washes till I was satisfied.

A Kindness of Ravens

Posted on by Thor

There was a mad rush to get things finished opening night of Macabre Vignettes #3 Snow. There was the enraged search for an electrical chord which involved throwing things out of the way and then a mad flash of black Duck taping the wiring down. Audio equipment was being moved from downstairs to the balcony in the final moments. Seth Kubersky announced, “5 minutes to open house!” A few dancers who were still dressing and applying make up said, “Thank you 5.” That didn’t leave me with much time to finish my sketch. Below they were working on a dance routine that involved interacting with a large raven. The dancer held two lines that manipulated the birds sharp talons. As they rehearsed, Genevieve Bernard walked quickly by getting ensnared in the near invisible lines. “My bad.” she said. There was no harm done. It seemed like there were too many loose ends for the show to open on time. Leah called for a 5 minute extension. The pulse in the room quickened. Finally Seth shouted out, “House 0pen!” People started to drift in. I had a few more watercolor washes to add and I slapped them down. Showtime!

I walked down the web encrusted staircase and ordered a Blue Moon at the bar. Then I put the sketchpad away and relaxed on a green couch . The show had already started with dancers wandering among the audience marveling at the environment. Bloggers Jana Waring and Mark Baratelli wandered in. The dancers were in their own world never interacting with audience members. Once a dancer held a hand out towards a man walking by. He hadn’t noticed her and her longing gesture lingered. When the dancers moved among the ravens, one of the control wires got all tangled in a knot among the talons. The bird hung limply just a few feet in front of me. Finally I couldn’t resist, I stepped forward and untangled the poor bird and then held the control line. A dancer leaped toward me and took the line smiling. However the bird had spun so many times that he couldn’t be raised any higher. The dancer valiantly held the line but the bird would only loose altitude never going back up. It finally fell to the floor and was brushed aside by Leah. I admired the dancers for adjusting to such technical problems without missing a beat.

Over time the dancing was no longer enough to hold me. I needed some thread of story to keep me engaged. I never became involved enough to suspend my disbelief. Staging the large puppets was a problem since they were best viewed from the front. They would spend agonizing moments with their backs to the audience. I walked around the room incessantly, changing my point of view. Most of the audience however remained stationary unable to see the action or gesture of the puppets. Tamara Marke-Lars stated that the large creations were sculpture first and puppets second. She pushed the boundary between puppetry and art. Sometimes for me, art isn’t enough if it doesn’t support a solid story.

Interview with Robert Hill

Posted on by Thor

Mark Baratelli invited me to come out and sketch an interview he was having with Robert Hill, the Artistic Director of the Orlando Ballet. The interview took place at the Orlando Public Library. Mark kept the interview entertaining and funny. This is Robert Hills second year as the artistic director and he is on a mission to make ballet relevant to the world we live in by providing audiences with contemporary choreography, music and subject matter while continuing to preserve classical ballet that have stood the test of time. The Orlando Ballet’s 37th season begins with Giselle which is one of the timeless classics. For the holiday season, Nutcracker will return to the stage and in February Battle of the sexes hits the stage for a second time. The season will close with Carmen based on the opera.
Questions were fielded from the audience . A man stood and asked, “With a stage filled with dancers, how do we know where to look?” Robert said, “Actually that is a really good question, If the choreography is done right, it will lead your eye.” Mark asked a question which bought a laugh from the audience, “Do you let your dancers eat?” Robert responded by pointing out how he encourages his dancers to eat healthy foods.
Conducting the interview in a public place like the library is part of the plan to bring the ballet to a wider audience. After the interview was over, I approached Robert asking him to allow me to sketch rehearsals. He seemed enthusiastic and he said his assistant would call me. I have wanted to sketch ballet rehearsals for well over a year and it looks like I might finally realize that dream.

Fringe – Outdoor Stage

Posted on by Thor

Mark Baratelli, the editor and chief of thedailycity.com, took to the outdoor stage for two nights. Mark didn’t have a prepared script, he simply took to the stage and started talking. He started talking about waiting in line for the Cody Rivers Show. I was in line with him along with Sultana. Someone told Mark that he had parked in a construction site and he would be towed if he didn’t move his car. The line started moving and people poured into the theater. Mark didn’t have enough time to move his car and still get back for the show. He decided he had better move his car. He said this loud enough for everyone around him to hear. I didn’t think he would get towed and I told him so. Finally he decided to move his car. He was locked out of the show. He had made the right decision since a tow truck had been sent to the site.

Mark continued telling everyday anecdotal stories for more than an hour. This sort of relaxed conversational tone is very similar to blogging . He bought up a good point when he said that the outdoor stage is underutilized. There is a stigma to the outdoor stage where people assume only bad acts would perform outside. Mark thought it would be a good idea to have a panel discussion outside with all the out of town acts. This seems like a great idea. It would be a way for the Fringe audience to learn more about the performers and producers. It would be awesome if a hint of the creative process could be unearthed and mined. He particularly wants to find out more about some of the amazing one man shows like “The Bike Trip.”

WPRK 91.5FM – Out and About

Posted on by Thor

Via Facebook Mark Baratelli contacted me and asked if he could borrow my printer so he could print photos for an upcoming show. Every third Thursday of each month Mark puts on a “Mobile Art Show” in a U-Haul truck parked outside City Arts Factory. This month he plans to showcase all the photos that have been take for thedailycity.com. We bounced ideas back and forth on where we could meet and we decided to meet at WPRK a radio station located on the Rollins College campus. Mark would be there to showcase upcoming arts and culture events as listed on thedailycity.com. I arrived early so I would have a full hour to sketch. Jeremy Seghers, the Out and About host, greeted me and then got his guest situated for his on air interview. Seated in the guest chair was Jesse Nager who is now appearing in Xanadu at the Bob Carr Theater. Jesse also discussed a cabaret show he organized with friends of his. An album is being released called “The Broadway Boys” that features hits from this group of talented singers. He wanted to stress that that even people who don’t usually listen to show tunes would like these performances. He expressed how fun it was to collaborate with so many of his friends.
Jesse and Jeremy discussed the plot line of Xanadu at some length and now I am really curious to see this Broadway musical. It seems the play pokes fun at itself and it’s 1970’s culture and should be very campy and fun. The music to this show I have heard many times many times on the radio, not realizing it was from a Broadway show.
Zac Alfson was also on hand to promote the Cabaret House Party at Mad Cow Theater featuring K. T. Sullivan. I will be going to this Cabaret performance tonight and I hope to get a good sketch of K.T. Zac pointed out that there will be cabaret performances every night through May 16th. The Mad Cow offers an intimate setting in which to experience these one of a kind acts.

Florida Film Festivel Preview Party

Posted on by Thor

The Enzian Theater held a sneak preview of the films that will be featured in this year’s Florida Film Festival. When I arrived, there was quite a crowd gathered at the Eden Bar outside. As I was milling about, I bumped into Jordana Meade, the Enzian publicist, and I was pleased and delighted when she directed me to a table inside to pick up a press pass for the festival. Back outside, Lynn Warnicke was shouting at me from behind the table where they were issuing wristbands. I thought I was above needing a wristband after getting my shiny new press pass, but she insisted I needed one and closed the deal when she told me I could get a free beer. Band me up! The free beer was being offered by Peroni and I quickly picked one up from the lovely woman behind the bar. It was rather sharp-tasting and thin for my tastes, but hey, that didn’t stop me from drinking it.
In the theater, there was an area roped off for press, and it took me a while before I finally realized that meant I could sit front and center. Feeling self-conscious, I ducked under the rope. I immediately found an empty table and started sketching. Mark Baratelli and his crew from TheDailyCity.com came over to my table and joined me. They all had samples of the food being offered. I had skipped the food not wanting to wait in line. Jordana sat down with us saying, “I want to join the cool kids.” She explained that the theme of the festival has to do with savoring the flavors of the south. Deena Beena had a bright pink pickle and Jordana explained that it was a pickle soaked in Kool-aid, called a Koolickle, and it was a southern delicacy. In a gift bags given to all the press, there was also Barkolate, which is chocolate covered bacon provided by Chateau Confections of Winter Park. This year the festival has a deal with Nestle and they have an endless supply of Cranberry Raisinets!
Back on stage, Governing Board Member, Henry Maldonado,gave a brief introduction to a film which highlights what the Festival has to offer this year. The Florida Film Festival allows you to rub shoulders and even share a drink with the filmmakers themselves. I know that this year I will be offering plenty of sketches from the front lines of this amazing festival which runs from April 9th to April 18th. Mark your calenders and get ready for an exhilarating experience. Welcome home to ten days of film, food and friends.

Mobile Art Show

Posted on by Thor

TheDailyCity.com hosts the Mobile Art Show every month parked outside the City Arts Factory (29 South Orange Avenue) during “Third Thursdays.” On Third Thursdays, the downtown art galleries all open new shows allowing for a solid night of gallery hopping. In February Mark Baratelli of the Daily City decided to fill the truck with the posters of LURE Design. This was a simple show to hand since all the posters were about the same size and they could be hung with bull clips zip tied to the existing rubber bumpers inside the truck. January 21st is when this show of posters took place.
Mark drove the rental U_Haul to Frames Forever where Katie Windish had promised to help hang the show. Mark started taping huge sheets of brown paper on the side of the truck that was going to face the City Arts Factory, while Katie was hanging the posters inside the truck. As I sketched it started to rain. Katie told me I could borrow an umbrella from inside her show so I ran in and got it. So part of this sketch was done in the pouring rain while I hunkered under her umbrella. Then the wind started to pick up causing to rain horizontally and I dashed inside the truck. The windy deluge didn’t last too long and I soon went back out to finish up the sketch.
That night I went downtown to see the Mobile Art Show in action for the first time. Brian Feldman was outside the City Arts Factory doing his latest performance which involved charging peoples cell phones. Because of the pending rain, I decided against sketching that night. This sketch would have to do for the day. Mark had decorated the inside of the U-Haul with white Christmas lights and it was really festive. I am trying to convince Mark to allow me to plaster the side of the truck with ink jet prints all 365 sketches from last year and then have the 2009 sketchbooks and some matted prints inside the truck. At the FRESH performances this month I have figured out how to offer any print from the sketchbooks by using a tablet PC and an ink jet printer. As Mark said when he say this set up, “That is bad ass!” So keep your eyes open downtown on the Third Thursday of March!

Producing Large Arts Events in Orlando

Posted on by Thor

Mark Baratelli hosted a two hour event at Rollins College which gathered together the people who organize large arts events in Orlando. Mark is planning to organize an Improv Festival and as the moderator he asked each of these people advice on how he might best organize his Festival.
The Organizers in the sketch are (Left to Right):
Jamie Donmoyer of the Orlando Puppet Festival
James Schoepflain of the Orlando Hispanic Film Festival
Beth Marshall of the Orlando Fringe Festival
Carol Moreland of the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
Chris Blanc of the Florida Film Festival
John Carter of Nerdapaloosa
and Mark Baratelli
The line from Chris Blanc which best summarized how to set up a first attempt at a festival was:
“Keep it simple. small and centralized”.
I became interested in the comments of Beth Marshal when she started talking about the Lake Eola incident I had witnessed the day before. She spoke about the larger issues revolving around the incident. Beth and all the panelists had a heated discussion to hear it all head to The Daily City and listen the audio from the event.
Beth said, “There is one thing about how to get a permit with the city, that has its own set of problems, but it is really pretty much self explanatory. It is relatively inexpensive. It is not something that can be done quickly. I completely understand why this small group who was just doing this 20 minute thing, didn’t get a permit because they were just going to the park and dance, big deal.”
“The issue isn’t getting the permit as much as it is the logistical hassles. The problem is in the fine print, for example, if I have someone who decides they want to put a poster on a city light pole, that can’t happen, because there is some fine print prohibiting that. So the city will come and take a picture of the poster on the light pole and they send that to me and tell me, Beth, you have to do something about this poster on a light pole. So I walk and I take the poster down. Then I get an e-mail from the city that says, you need to do something about the tape on the light pole.”
“If the city wants us down here doing our events, if the city wants us to have a community presence that generates dollars that come out of market back into our community, then you have to make it easier for us to do it. Period end of story.”

SAK Comedy Club

Posted on by Thor

The SAK Comedy Lab held a panel discussion among eight members of the improv comedy group. For the first half of the panel, Richard Paul acted as the MC and asked questions of the troupe. When asked where did each of you come from, everyone answered at once.
When asked what their greatest horror story was on the stage, Mark related a story in which he had been given a bottle of Champagne before a performance. He had never had Champagne before but he decided to have a few drinks right before going on stage. He stumbled onto the stage and “acted” drunk holding onto the bottle. Before long he realized that he was drunk and his act was quickly sliding down hill. Unfortunately he wasn’t a funny drunk. This was his most embarrassing moment of his career.
Robyn who is the only female member of the cast related that she grew up in a family with all brothers and herself.She said that growing up in a family of all brother prepared her for the stage. She then gestured to all the med seated beside her. She then related that she would like to see more women get into comedy. She also want to see women break out of established roll, for instance the ditsy blond. She also said women can aspire to any position and any roll is possible. At this point David Russell shouted out “Except President!” This got a big laugh from the audience.
David Russell related a story in which he decided to go on stage with pants o n his arms and his legs stuffed through shirt sleeves. He wanted to enter on stage walking on his hands but dressed as if he was right side up. He forgot that the shirt had a large opening for his head and became concerned when he felt a breeze between his legs. Mike Carr chimed in “That is why they call it the SAK Theater.”
David summed up the ingredients for great comedy with three simple ingredients: Truth, Excellence, and joy. This was my first time visiting the SAK and I definitely want to experience more.

Taco Truck Taste Test

Posted on by Thor

Mark Baratelli at the Daily City.com, organized a spontaneous taco truck taste test for avid readers of his blog. This Taco Truck is located in front of Trinidad Auto Repair Center at 815 South Sermoran Blvd. Mark had wonderfully colorful bumper stickers printed up and a small color program and menu. Since the Orlando Sentinel wanted a photo of me sketching they were going to send a photographer to the TTTT to shoot me while I worked. I figured this was a great chance for the alternate media in this town to get some traditional media coverage.
Then it rained starting first thing in the morning and lasting all day long. The Sentinel decided to cancel the photo shoot but I went to the taco truck site anyway hoping that there might be a break in the rain. When I arrived there was no one in site. The rain was a fine mist and it slowly stopped. I saw Mark drive up and park behind the Auto repair shop where the taco truck was parked. Then slowly people started to arrive. Logan Donahoo was the first to place an order so I placed him front and center in the sketch. In all perhaps 10 people showed up for the taste test and they were rewarded with some very fine food. I worked frantically on the sketch trying to keep the few rain drops from destroying the lines as I put them down. Once in a while a huge drop would fall from the power pole I was leaning against and it would slap down on the sketch giving me a fright. With the truck filling my field of vision I didn’t get to sketch everyone waiting in line, but trust me there was a line that flowed off the sketch to the right.
Mark interviewed people after they finished eating to compile an in depth review of the samples offered. I was still placing watercolor washes on the sketch as people started to leave. The cook running the truck speaks no English so ordering was a challenge, I asked a few people for advice as to what was good and I settled on Arepas with Camarones or shrimp. They came in a soft corn shell cooked with salt and olive oil, packed on top was plenty of Swiss cheese. For a drink I had a Colombiana soda which had a vanilla kick and was quite good. As I was eating I spoke to a Spanish woman who had ordered the exact same menu items as me. She travels all the way from Apopka to come to this little mobile stand. She said she comes here several times a week. I decided to show the stand owner the sketch to see what he thought. He made a scribble gesture with his hand and pointed to me and I nodded yes. He smiled and handed the sketchbook back. Good food and art are universally understood.