First Pass: What the Constitution Means to Me

Posted on by Thor

My first pass at the poster had the statue of liberty in place of the actress. I didn’t know who the actress would be yet since she had not been cast.

I liked this version and it set the color palette for the posters to follow. The problem was that Lady Liberty is too serious. I suppose I could have put a big smile on her face but that just felt wrong.

The American Legion photos in the background also were too large. There was some debate about if they were needed, but they stayed. I would reduce them in size and multiply how many there were.

This is really just a sketch so the painting is very rough.I would polish it up if the idea was approved. Since Lady Liberty was trashed, I didn’t push the painting any further.

What the Constitution Means to Me will be performed at the Edyth Bush Stage in the Orlando Family Theater, right across the lawn of fabulousness since the Orlando Shakes is undergoing some major  renovations. The show really shouldn’t be missed especially considering how divided the country is and the upcoming presidential election. It runs October 2 -13, 2024. Tickets are on sale now!

Orlando Fringe: The Magic Castle Still Stands?

Posted on by Thor

I wanted to sketch a show that several people had suggested that I should sketch, called The Magic Castle Still Stands, in the Scarlet Venue in the Orlando Family Theater. I had the ticket with QR code on my phone.

I was running late because the Visual Fringe Story event had run late. I needed to run across the lawn to the Family Theater. I couldn’t run straight across because the lawn of fabulousness was fenced off, so I snaked my way past food trucks and tents.

At Scarlet I didn’t notice any line. I was too late. The audience had already gone in. I walked up to a scarlet colored table and paused. I heard a crowd laughing to my right. I followed the laughter and walked trough two large swinging doors. There was no one to check my ticket, so I walked in.  I peaked around a corner and saw  that the place was absolutely packed. There was no way I would find a seat.

I noticed someone behind me and figured he must be a Fringe volunteer. I asked him if the show was sold out. He shrugged. Then he started talking loudly into his cupped hand followed by making a radio hiss and clicking sound. Oh…. He was not a volunteer…. He was a performer. I stopped asking him questions. he had enough on his mind. I went to the top of a house right staircase and discovered that there was a flat area away from the bleachers where a video camera was set up to tape the show. I decided to sketch while standing beside the camera. I liked that I was removed from being seated in the midst of the packed mask less crowd. There was a metal railing blocking part of my view, so I simply didn’t sketch it.

The Magic Castle Still Stands was described in the program to be a show blurring the lines between reality and imagination. It is supposed to be a show of self discovery and sacrifice. What I was seeing wasn’t that. It was a raucous two man comedy show and the crowd was hooting an hollering like a rodeo crowd. This felt like humor targeted to the QAnon crowd. Something was off. Did these comedians run a completely misleading description in the Fringe program? Maybe that was part of the joke. Well, I was committed, and kept sketching.

What followed were a series of two man comedy sketches with different themes. There were Top Gun pilots. pirates and bungling burglars. On sketch I rather liked was a re-imagining of the Abbot and Costello sketch “Who’s on First‘” The sketch was re-written so it worked with modern gender identification pronouns. I still remain confused with identifications of them and they so I got a chuckle. There really should be a pronoun for people who are COVID conscious. Male. female of non-binary they are a rare breed.

It wasn’t until the next morning that I found out that I had not sketched The Magic Castle is Still Stands but instead 10 Sketches with Rauce and Joel. I had slipped into the peach venue instead of the Scarlet venue by mistake. If something can go wrong, it always does in my world.

At the Table with Keith Brown

Posted on by Thor

The Fringe show, At the Table with Keith Brown is being performed in the huge Silver Venue in the Orlando Family Theater. This magic show features intimate slight of hand card tricks best observed close up. Four folding chairs were on stage and four audience members were invited on stage to watch the magic up close and personal.

The rest of the audience got to see the magic through multiple cameras. One camera was aimed at Keith, while another was aimed down on the table.

Since I was sketching, I am not the best person to try and catch how the tricks were done. I just trusted through audience reactions that there was some pretty stunning tricks being performed.

Keith told a story of a trip he went on with his family as a teen. He was still honing his magic skills, when someone in a bar approached with a card trick intending to get a free drink with a bet. He didn’t know he was trying to con a magician. Of course the young Keith won every time.  Soon a crowd had gathered and people hooted and hollered every time the young Keith guessed right.

Some people believe in magic and some don’t. I am in the camp that there is magic to be seen every day. You just have to be looking for it, and in my case, I need to sketch it to prove that it exists. I was amazed and awestruck many times during this show. I give the show five ace of spades.

At the Table is rated for all ages and runs 60 minutes. Tickets are $15.

Remaining show times…

  • Saturday May 18, 9:30pm
  • Sunday May 19, 6:00pm
  • Tuesday May 21, 7:55pm
  • Thursday May 23, 8pm
  • Friday May 24, 9:05pm
  • Sunday May 25, 1;05PM

 

SELF

Posted on by Thor

SELF presented by ARTiko Espacio Creativo was performed in the black box theater at the Orlando Family Stage, 1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL. Actor, producer, Stephen Lewis told me about the amazing work this dance company is doing. He put me in touch with producer Alexander Rivero and we arranged for me to get in and do a sketch.

I arrived a touch early and a line had already formed to get into the lobby of the theater. I remained unmasked but kept 22 feet of distance from the crush of the crowd. It was heart warming to watch hugs as friends and family met.

Since I was keeping a distance, I was the last to enter the lobby. My mask went on just before entering.  when the doors opened. The crowd completely filled the lobby. I was luck because a portable air conditioner had been set up to try and cool the air. It blew right on my at 62 degrees. The doors behind me opened several times as late comers pressed in. Finally a woman with huge sun glasses in a white dress and clear raincoat slapped her hands against the glass entry door. This was dancer Scarlet Sans. People turned to look and hushed one another. On man in the crowd worked his way to the door to open it for her. This was unrehearsed since the stage hand next to me started to laugh. He was just being a gentleman. I suspect she would have spent much more time struggling to get in if it weren’t for him. Ah, the joy of live theater.

Raincoat woman entered and started exploring the floor with her umbrella. She now had everyone attention. She then pushed through the crowd which parted to make way for her. I lost sight of her from that moment on. There was a large monitor in the back of the lobby and an opportunity was lost by not projecting her performance in the monitor. I tried to see what she was doing by looking at iPhones which were raised high above peoples heads to take video. I couldn’t see much on the postage stamp sized screens but she was at a canvas. The entrance to the theater was covered with thin clear plastic and I started to fear that the whole show might happen in this tight confined lobby. The CO2 levels had to be skyrocketing.

Eventually the plastic was ripped away from the entrance to the theater and people started pressing forward. Since I was press, I was told to stand behind the bleachers. I was considering the sketch opportunities of sketching the show at butt level through a gap between two people when the director Carlos Dimas found me and ushered me to a much better view on the side lines of the theater.

The show was in Spanish. I picked up just a few phrases from my study on Duolingo. So rather than trying to understand the show through words, I had to trust the movement and raw emotions expressed to flavor the lines I put on the screen.  There was much angst with dancers curled up as in pain or huddled together as if comforting each other. Mauricio Vega opened the show lying on top of a box and then rolling onto the floor and coming to life. Dancer Katherine Dalis had a long moment where she stood motionless with the tassels hanging from her costume waving is the breeze.   Alexia Palacios caught my eye because she resembled Pocahontas and moved with the same stealth pride. There was an unbridled sensuality about the show with an underlying dark foreboding tone.

In the final scene the dancers knelled before water bowls and splashed water on their faces. I took this to mean they were washing away some of the angst and looking toward the future with hope.