Fabby Awards at Fringe

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On the final evening at Orlando Fringe the outdoor stage is set up for the Fabby awards which honor the best shows of the year. A live band opened the festivities but the volume was so loud that no one sat inside the tent. Most people kept their distance scattered across the fringe lawn. The top selling show at the fringe was Animatronicans: Under New Management. I had an opportunity to sketch that show but was pulled away on another assignment. I bumped into one member of the cast, Janine Klein, that I had sketched before and she said that any Disney themed show always tends to sell hard. Every show in  the run was sold out.

The critics choice awards are highly anticipated. With 75 awards being presented it seemed like there was an award for just about any show. Actually I take that back, there are over 200 shows which makes it impossible for any one critic to see every show over the 14 days of Fringe. Word of mouth and the Fringe Buzz however clearly swing towards favorites. The award for the best show went to Dandy Darkly’s All Aboard! He was beside himself going up to accept the award and some Fringe artists on the lawn like Paul Strickland were just as excited for him. It is that kind of enthusiasm of artists supporting each other that I find heart warming.

Super Variety Match Bonus Round at Fringe

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Jousha Productions presented Super Variety Match Bonus Round at Orlando Fringe.Written by Deb Hiett and directed by Tara Kromer, the show featured Mags (Elizabeth Murff) and Erns Eagleton (Rod Cathey) who were lower middle class people living out their retirement in a small Texas Town. They were set in their ways being rather xenophobic, and homophobic. Their daily routine was only occasionally interrupted by the UPD delivery lady named Delores (Maria Flores).

As the play opened Mags was asleep in front of the TV. Erns entered with soup and the loving way her served her was heart warming. Mags was supposed to have narcolepsy which means she could nod off at any moment. They reminded me of members of my own family living only through the TV news that supports their views.

However there was a hint of loss in the set. An American flag was folded into a triangle and framed in a wooden display case. This unfortunately was from the loss of their son who had served in the military. Part of what held them in place was their grief and guilt over his death. Without informing Mags, Erns had decided to rent out their sons room as an Air B and B. A large concert was rolling into their small town and it would be easy to rent out the space which would help with their mounting expenses. Mags was upset about the idea of allowing a stranger in to their home but she relented since it was already a done deal.

Enter Chrz (Douglas Warren Jensen) who wore a bright pink feminine blouse showing his tummy, a furry white anime cap with long ears a white skirt and knee high red striped socks. The cap had led lights that made it glow. it was magical. His high spirits and enthusiasm were in stark contrast the couples insular conservative life. Clearly they had never met someone as joyously gay as Chrz. He was honest sincere and compassionate so these polar opposites began to share and relate to each other.

He decided the couple needed to loosen up if they were to find their way through grief and when he left for the concert he left behind a small bit of LSD which was hidden in Erns and Mag dinner as they settled in to watch TV. The second act was a high stakes LSD fueled game show in which the couple had the chance to win the life of their son back or a chance to move on with their lives. A small seed had been planted for them to once again embrace their life instead of regretting their loss.

Death Face at Fringe

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Wicked Tongue Arts of Orlando presented Death Face at Orlando Fringe. Adam McCabe wrote the show was about a killer new app of a company called BuHu that enables people to have their bad news delivered door to door. In the opening scene a courier named Kelly Kelly (Jerry Jobe Jr.) delivered bad news to a woman who was bound with a sack over her face. As he tried to confirm her identity to deliver the news, a man with a fury mask entered and shot her in the head. Having someone die while delivering news wasn’t a part of the job he was prepared for.

He spirals into depression while a new hire, Peggy (Leigh Green) tied to cheer him up. The rest of the staff envy his experience and seem intent on triggering him to keep reliving the experience. A sensual co-worker (Cassandra Heinrich) embraced the company culture and the boss (Brett McMahon) was only concerned that the couriers keep up with the growing demand for depressing bad news. One comic moment featured and old woman who didn’t give a damn about any bad news since she had already lived through a shit storm of a life.

I didn’t quite know which way the story was going. Cynical humor was mixed with a few rare moments of sincerity. However interpersonal relations seemed strained in this dark and menacing future of social media. I left the theater feeling confused and conflicted, but maybe that was the intent.

Candles in the Dark at Fringe

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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.

Shakespeare’s Terminator the Second at Fringe

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Shakespeare’s Terminator the Second got my vote as the most clever show at this years Fringe. The show presented by Hardly Working Productions, was a 17th century version of the film Terminator 2 Judgement Day constructed solely of lines form the plays of Shakespeare. The film is a classic and it was surprisingly easy to accept Shakespeare’s dialogue used throughout with just proper names changes to to match the screen version. The casting of muscular Matt Doman in the roll of Schwarzenegger was spot on. He would sometimes just stand still on stage looking ripped and stoic and the joke became clear that thus was all that Schwarzenegger had ti do in the original film.

Jolie Hart was wonderful as the adolescent John Connor. Pam Stone as Sarah Connor truly carried the show performing amazing monologues of her prescient visions of doomsday. John Reid Adams is as the shape shifting T-1000 parried with the terminator with some thrilling and inspired swordplay choreographed by Bill Warriner. The production was often comic in it tributes and nods towards the original film. My favorite was the liquid metal ending which they stages with a simple flaming sheet behind which many of the cast were crouched. When the T100 terminator fell into the liquid metal various cat members who had been killed by the T100 them flailed up from behind the sheet in quick succession as the unit melted into oblivion.

Director Simon Needham had the scene changes coming in quick succession with the monologues being fires off just as fast. This presented a challenge for this artist working with a traditional 17th century sketching method but I loved every entertaining moment. The only line not written by Shakespeare was, “Ill be back.”

Lots o’ Shakespeare at Fringe

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Timothy Mooney Repertory Theater from Buffalo Grove Illinois presented Lots o’ Shakespeare at Orlando Fringe.Timothy began the evening by handing out green circular Lots 0′ Shakespeare stickers. I stuck mine on the cover of my sketchbook. Timothy introduced the show by explaining that he had been going to many auditions and came to realize that he really wasn’t what most Shakespearean directors were looking for as a romantic lead. To remedy the situation he set about memorizing all of Shakespeare’s plays.

A small movie screen was set up with a projector. He used this to place lines that he wanted the audience to call out in response to some of his monologues. A bingo cage was also on stage which he used to select bingo balls which was how each monologue was picked. The added bonus was that everyone in the audience had bingo cards and they could win Shakespearean swag by circling the numbers on their cards. Ball 2B was used to begin his recitation of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be.”

The show turned out to be a real tour de force. I gained renewed respect for this actors tenacity and verve as he recited each monologue with absolute conviction in character. The show remained exciting since he threw himself into every role acting out the scene rather that just reciting the lines. Along with the long series of monologues he also added some sonnets as well. This tuned out to be an amazing hour of theater with amazing monologues tied together with tongue in cheek humor. Pam Schwartz filled in both of our bingo cards as the show progressed since I was occupied sketching. I ended up winning with a diagonal line up on the card. I didn’t collect the Shakespeare script book or coffee mug, preferring to leave it for a future show.

Shadow Tales for a Darkened Theater at Fringe

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Written and Directed by Gabriel Garcia, Shadow Tales for a Darkened Theater was presented by Blank Slate Productions. The show was a ghost story anthology told in six parts using shadow puppetry, pantomime, dance movement and ensemble story telling. The shadow puppetry occurred in three frames at house right which were back lit. The dark silhouettes of birds, branches and a chandelier didn’t really help progress the plot of the stories told but the added to the mysterious mood. My job of completing a sketch of course was exacerbated by the fact that the theater was indeed black for the full duration of the show. I used the faint glow of my iPhone to illuminate the page.

In one tale a woman sold her soul to the devil so that she could become the worlds best Flamenco dancer. She danced with absolute passion and abandon until she feet bleed. She only discovered too late that she already had this talent and if she believed in herself she would not have needed to sell her soul. A young couple deeply in love were torn apart when the wife died, leaving her partner destitute. In one story a mysterious man had his face obscured by a hood.

One man who was hyper sensitive became overwhelmed by everyday life. People he passes in the street he believed were talking about him. He was convinced everyone was conspiring against him. It seemed his greatest fears were true because he so firmly believed in them. The Man in Gray (Kyle Meehan) acted as the host and narrator who dared the audience to look into the recesses of their own life to see if they could find any hope in these tales of loss and madness. Try not to hold on to your fantasies especially when they prove to be harmful.

Fringe Beer Tent

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The Fringe Beer Tent was bigger that ever this year. Three different tents were sectioned together to form a large large central watering hole for patrons. As I sketched I noticed that the tents were now dedicated to Matt McGrath who was a huge supporter of the Fringe and theater in general when he was alive. I sketched several rehearsals in his back yard bar and porch area. I was shocked when he passes away at such a young age. It would make him happy to know people are still knocking back beers in his memory.

Pam Schwartz and I relaxed her between shows and as I sketched the sun set and the tent took on a warm glow from the way it was illuminated. I still had a few books left to sell and any time I saw a famous Fringe artist I would rush up to them to get their signature in the Fringe Book I kept for myself. The plastic lawn chairs set at some of the tables were flimsy by design. The guy in the foreground of my sketch leaned back and the chair sagged into an unnatural shape, unable to support the weight. The orange metal bar stools were a far better bet if you dint want to topple over after having a few beers.

Art Tour at Fringe

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Cindy Murry Productions from Orlando Florida presented Art Tour at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. Art Tour was a part of the Visual Fringe. Patrons could purchase ticket to the show hosted by a comedic actor who would give them a tour of the art on display in the Orlando Shakespeare theater. IT offered an entertaining walk about of the work on display. The show was directed by Eric Pinder who is known for directing Opera. What could be more operatic than an uncurated showcase of the Orlando visual arts scene.

I caught this group being given a tour between press previews in the Shakes. I don’t know why it was necessary for art patrons to wear dunce caps. I am sure that by the end of the tour they had gained many insights about the local arts scene. I was working the Fringe lines selling my Fringe Sketchbook this year. One copy of the book I saved to get signatures of Fringe Artists. I approached Eric Pindar twice by mistake to get his signature in the book.

Show of Force at Fringe

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Skinned Knee Productions from New York, NY presented Show of Force. I found out about the show from Nicki Equality Drumb who I believe was printing show flyers the same day I was picking up flyers for my Fringe Book. Young women recently deployed recount their experiences as soldiers. The performance had live percussion.

Several of the woman talked about having to always watch their backs. One woman had to deal with a supervising officer who was constantly making unwanted advances. On the day she was going home having served, he called her into his office. While she heard her helicopter preparing to take off he forced himself on her. She described the rape in all its horrific detail. It was a bone chilling memory.

Another woman back from service tried to help her parents understand what she did in the service. She explained that it was her job to push the button that would kill indiscriminately. She wasn’t the same person she was when she left.

While in the service they could rely on each other for support. But once they came back to civilian life they scattered to the four corners of the country. It was hard to adjust to life as a civilian after living through war.