Words As Silent Tattoos

Posted on by Thor

On December 12, I went to a rehearsal of “The Words We Wear” at the Goldman Theater in the Orlando Shakespeare Center. The theater space was pitch black when I entered. I stood behind the back row waiting for my eyes to adjust. The directors Aradhana Tiwari and Kevin Becker greeted me warmly. The Goldman is a small intimate space so I decided to sit house left near the back.

Actress Mikki Scanlon Kriekard was getting into military fatigues to perform a monologue Aradhana had written. The director asked all the other actors to clear the space. This was the first time Mikki was performing the monologue and the director didn’t want any distractions. I kept sketching and thankfully Mikki and Aradhana didn’t consider me a distraction.

It had been 192 days since the soldier had spoken. She had been stationed in Afghanistan and things had happened over their that would get under anyone’s skin. When she returned, people seemed like a sea of pages walking the streets. She felt she had been stained by silent tattoos. She came close to relating the horrors that she had seen, but she stopped short. Then she met a young girl that could read her like an open book, seeing the scars and invisible tattoos. The girl gave Mikki a slip of paper laced with hope and redemption. The room was silent and full of emotion. I didn’t know why but my face flushed and in the darkness hot tears roll down my cheeks. No one could see. Mikki, as a brave soldier managed to keep her emotions in check but when
she related how thankful she was, her throat constricted and she had to
slow down to keep from crying, for the first time she felt hope.

After the performance, there were notes from the director. I wiped my eyes and kept sketching. I began to wonder why I had been emotionally bowled over by the performance. A friend had a way of reading people and was able to heal others with a touch. She had a deep, heart felt faith. Yet she wasn’t able to heal her own invisible scars left by life.  Her boyfriend, an artist, that she had just broken up with, drove to the Grand Tetons, did a few paintings and then shot himself. I only saw her once after her boyfriends funeral. She asked me to pray for her. I didn’t pray. Several weeks later, she took her own life.  I realized that I hadn’t cried at her funeral or since. What kind of person doesn’t cry at a funeral? Instead of feeling anything, I sketched like a machine. At the time I was annoyed that the focus at the memorial service was on resurrection rather than on the suicide. The word wasn’t uttered once. She wasn’t rising from the grave. Due to red tape her body had yet to be cremated. I hadn’t seen it coming. The one word on my mind remains WHY? How could someone with so much faith take their own life? Did she find the enveloping love of God that she hoped for? I wish I could believe that. Her suicide note absolved everyone from guilt, but guilt remains. I could have been a better friend. This performance finally made all the suppressed emotions bubble up to the surface.  There is so much to live for. The sun burns bright. What choice remains, but to hope?

The second part of the rehearsal involved the whole cast removing white fabric with negative words and then picking up fabrics from the clothes line with positive words. Some actresses removed scarves, shackles, belts and blindfolds. One fiery redhead looked like Jackie Onassis with big sunglasses and the head shawl that she threw away. In one run through, Becky Lane removed her negative garment and when she picked her life affirming clothes line fabric, she smiled and daintily nestled it in her cleavage with a silent film Chaplinesque flair as she walked off stage. I was thankful for the laugh.

“The Words We Wear” will be playing tonight at the Goldman Theatre in the Orlando Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL).

Saturday, December 14th at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM

Sunday, December 15th at 8:00 PM. (The Sunday performance is sold out.)

You can purchase tickets on the EpicVita website.

Snap!

Posted on by Thor

Snap!  2013 “Motion to Light” is a 4-day photography celebration showcasing the work of renowned international and national photographers, as well as emerging talent. It explores movement, lighting, hope and features works of photographers from France, Thailand, Czech Republic, Japan, Poland, Canada, Germany plus New York, Los Angeles, Portland, etc…

Snap! Orlando is a large scale international photography event with exhibits, projections and installations, salon talks, guest speakers lectures, workshops, competitions and community engagement. Hosted in an empty warehouse in the Ivanhoe District of Orlando (1427-A Alden Rd, Orlando Fl 32803), Snap! included large scale exhibits and projections; receptions and special events; guest speakers lectures; student and community competitions, youth programs, and much more.

On May 3rd, Terry and I went to the opening night in the 13,000 square foot warehouse. This was Snaps 4th annual exhibition in Orlando. I quickly decided to sketch from a second floor walkway while Terry explored the exhibit. Before I finished the sketch, she decided she had seen enough and she went home.

As I sketched, I noticed actress and photographer, Mikki Scanlon Kriekard, shooting video. She joined me on the walkway and started shooting video of me as I sketched. The funny thing is, as soon as she aimed the camera at me, another photographer moved in and started taking shots just to be sure he wasn’t missing anything. Others took in the scene with their cell phones. Mikki followed me around like a paparazzi as I walked around to check out the show when my sketch was done. I got to meet her husband Bryan Kriekard and I asked him if she always had her camera on. We laughed when he insisted there were times when he insisted it be turned off. I’m used to being the one scrutinizing people. It was interesting having the tables turned. I liked the attention but didn’t know how to act “natural”. Regardless, Mikki caught an interesting slice of life with her video.

My favorite photos were by Nicolas Senegas. The large scale photo showed a nude woman partly submerged in water. It reminded me of Victorian images of the redheaded Ophelia floating in a river. Another cool series of photos showed sand being thrown onto muscular nude bodies. The photographer was Oliver Valsecchi. All I could think was that he should meet Jessica Mariko of Drip!

Pink Ribbon Project Rehearsal

Posted on by Thor

I went to the Orlando Shakes Black Box Theater expecting to find the Pink Ribbon project rehearsal. A group of teenage girls were tap dancing in a circle. Three of them had pink shirts on but the mood felt wrong. I checked my calender again, I was supposed to be at the Black Box Theater at the Rep. I slipped out and dashed across Lock Haven Park to the Rep. When I arrived, Matt McGrath was getting several brooms and a bicycle pump out of his car. I wondered how these props would tie in to the show.

In the first scene I sketched, Marty Stonerock and Mikki Scanlon sat on stage each bathed in a pool of light. They both spoke on cell phones. At first it seemed like they were speaking to each other but then it became clear they were speaking to their respective spouses. Mikki shifted her position in her chair, leaning forward and twisting, “Can you hear me now? I’m at the hospital. No I wasn’t in an accident! I’m fine, really I’m fine. Well, no, I’m not fine. I have breast cancer.” Marty was having a similar gut wrenching conversation trying to comprehend the impossible. “I have it, I have breast cancer… Are you there? Hello?”

Large pink ribbons were hung from the rafters. They will be used in a dance number early in the show. Aradhana Tiwari was directing and the show carries her signature. Multiple stories overlap and bloom during the course of the production. There is brutal honesty as women confront their own mortality. The show’s mission is, “To raise awareness, educating people about the physical, mental, and emotional realities that dealing with breast cancer entails. The aim to offer a therapeutic and cathartic experience for women and their families who are in the midst of the fight, touching them in the unique way that only the arts can. Lastly, our vision is to bring hope, champion faith, and ignite inspiration that will empower women as they walk forward and continue to battle on.”

I was unexpectedly moved when a young boy excitedly tried to keep his mother engaged and entertained although she had breast cancer. He was a live wire running circles around her. He showed her card tricks, dance moves and offered her brownies. She was unable to eat after chemo. Dejected he looked at the pan of brownies in his hands and muttered to himself, “Your so stupid, you know she gets sick after chemo. I have to keep her going, I just have to keep her going.” I welled up, thinking of my own mom’s battle with breast cancer. At ten years old, I was to young to even know how sick she was. But something was wrong and I just wanted to see her laugh again. I couldn’t visit her in the hospital. I suppose they wanted to keep me safe from the reality of seeing her slip away.

Though I only saw the show in fits and starts at the rehearsal, I can tell it will be a multi layered and emotionally inspiring production. The Pink Ribbon Project will be run September 16-18th at the Orlando Repertory Theater, 1001 E. Princeton St., Orlando. Admission is $20 for general seating and $150 for a “giving seating” ticket. Purchasing a “giving seat” ticket will fund one mammogram for an uninsured woman. To purchase tickets, go to www.playthemoment.com or call 321-662-0611. Proceeds will benefit the Breast Cancer Fund at Florida Hospital Cancer Institute, which provides diagnostic testing and treatment for uninsured and under served women in Central Florida.