O-Town: Voices from Orlando

Posted on by Thor

I was still reporting about the Orlando International Fringe Festival last year when the horrific shooting at the Pulse nightclub happened on June 12, 2016. Fringe is once again going to burst onto the Lock Haven Park complex bringing drama, and comedy for a solid week on unrelenting theater and fun. Last year after the shooting I asked Orlando artists to go to the Falcon Bar to create 49 portraits of the innocent lives lost at Pulse. Those 49 portraits were then exhibited at the Orlando Science Center and on that evening I was interviewed about the project. That interview then became the source of inspiration for a monologue in O-Town.

Prints of the 49 portraits hung behind the stage giving the somber impression of prison bars. The play is based on a series of interviews conducted mostly by David Lee, of people who have been affected by the tragedy. It opens with a monologue inspired by Our Town written by Thornton Wilder. The opening described Orlando on the eve of the shooting. People and places would be very different the next day. A homeless man would be lighting candles at the Dr Phillips memorial site each night, a costume shop owner would soon be creating thousands of rainbow ribbons…

I spoke with Christopher Hanson multiple times about how he survived that night at Pulse. The actor playing Christopher told the story of survival and personal responsibility with humor and lots of heart. Then the actor playing me took to the stage. I was surprised to find myself tearing up based on things I had said a year ago. It seems like a lifetime ago. People in the audience were also getting choked up. One woman cried through the whole show. I had just one paper towel I had decided to bring in from the men’s room.

Other monologues described fighting hate with love using Angel Action Wings made of PVC and and white fabric. People who planned to protest the funerals of Pulse victims were blocked by these angels who would sing to drown out their hate. A first responders wife described how her husband was changed by his evening in the aftermath of Pulse. He would experience PTSD from that night onward and there was no disability for the mental anguish. Had be broken his leg then there would be help.

These stories are all part of the larger picture of an entire community trying to recover from a horrible act of violence. A year later and the scars are still there, but Orlando had answered with love and acceptance. Hateful people still thrive, feeling invulnerable in a country in which politics encourage hate and accusations.  They try to cause senseless harm, but love is stronger that hate. It was an emotional night. After the show. I was hugged by several people who recognized me. I shut my eyes and felt the warmth. Tears streamed down my face.

All the monologues in O-Town: Voices from Orlando will be presented together on the Eve of the one year mark of the attack on Pulse Nightclub on Sunday June 11, 2017 at 7pm at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in the Margeson Theater. Profits will benefit the onePulse Foundation.org.

I can’t recommend this show enough. The monologues focus the audiences attention on aspects of the tragedy that never made their way to mainstream media outlets. It is a human and multi layered fabric. I met the actor, Daniel Cooksley, who played my part on stage. He said he had never performed a part with the subject sitting in the audience.

Fringe Show Times:

May 17, 2017 at 6PM

May 20, 2017 at 7PM

May 22, 2017 at 7PM

May 26, 2017 at 8:15PM

May 27, 2017 at 12:15PM

May 28, 2017 at 11:15AM

Frank to be Frank at Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

World-renowned! The Rat Pack’s 17th member! America’s most entertaining entertainer invites you to partake in his interactive live life retrospective. This riveting glimpse into a very special leading man is brought to you by Australian comic Emily June Newton and director Deanna Fleysher (aka Butt Kapinski). FRANK will grab you by your shoulders and make you feel nostalgia for a star you never knew!

As we entered the round patron’s room, Frank welcomed each audience member. Some were given mini flashlights. Frank is a woman dressed as a man, pretending to be a woman dressed like a man. Gender and the theatrical five o’clock shadow were all quite confusing. I had been advised to see this show thanks to one of the critics at the press preview.  Several bolts of fabric were at the front of the sage, and Frank showed them to the audience saying in a sing son voice, “beautiful fabrics!” The audience when coached sang along. Frank regaled us with his many successes and the audience was puddy in his hands.

He held a popularity contest with one member of audience and was shocked as the tide gradually turned in favor of the audience member. The theater went black an Frank hid back stage and tried to sneak out of the theater but intrepid audience members caught him in the beams of their flash lights. Frank shouted “No! Don’t shine that light on me!” Which meant, please keep me in the limelight.

Later that evening, after the show, we stood in line for Joe’s NYC Bar and there was a beautiful actress in front of us. Perhaps because I had been sketching, I recognized her as Frank. She said that our audience had been the best audience she had experienced at fringe. The whole “Beautiful fabrics” routine had been improvised and built upon because the audience was so willing to play along. There is a certain magic that happens when a performer meets just the right audience. I was glad to be a witness to some of that magic thanks to Frank.

A Drink with Country Joe at the Fringe Beer Tent.

Posted on by Thor

Joe Rosier had hopes of get in into the 2016 Fringe Festival. Unfortunately his name wasn’t picked in the Fringe Lottery. In the past, he had performed solo shows as a country doctor telling ghost tales, and Odysseys S. Grant relating Civil war stories. With his grizzled age and shaggy white beard, Joe was perfect for such historical roles.  Shortly after the lottery, one of Joe’s eyes closed up and minor age discomforts became serious health issues.

Chemo therapy resulted in hair loss and the need for a neck brace. That didn’t slow Joe down. He was at the years fringe and I got to spend some time with him at the beer tent. Joe posed for my Mennello Museum  Mural and I’ve sketched him a number of to the in costume. Producers, actors an directors greeted Joe like the celebrity he is. the last time I saw Joe was in December and I bumped in him while walking towards the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Joe was dressed as Santa Claus of course. As we walked past the Harp and Celt, a young woman seated outside shouted to Joe to come in. There was z private party and they needed Santa Clause. I regret not follow.’ Joe inside. I heard he was the life of the party, and all I young women sat in his lap to whisper their Christmas wishes.

Robotman performed at the outdoor stage at Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

Robotman is a local jazz band that really got the outdoor tent crowd excited at this year’s Orlando International Fringe Festival. I had just heard them perform a week ago in College Park, so I was excited to hear them again. I sat in the front row to soak it all in. The band has a driving beat that caused m to rock and sway as I sketched. The music felt experiments free flowing and spontaneous. Each piece was original, written by different members o the band.

The band members are: Matt McCarthy on Trumpet and Flugelhorn, 
Jeremy Fratti on Saxophone,
Marco Bojorquez on Acoustic Bass and Electric Bass,
Jeremy Katalenic on the Drum Kit,
and John Krasula on Guitars.

It was a great afternoon of great music. Nothing feels better this letting the music inspire the lines and washes to dance.

The Space Pirate Puppy Musical, at Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

I sketched at a press preview for Space Pirate Puppy Musical in the Yellow Venue at the Fringe Festival. This show presented by Tasty Monster Productions from Welborne, UK was clearly intended for younger audiences. The premise as simple take a Star Trek crew and make them all puppies. Earth has gone to the dogs, literally. After the incident humans have
gone underground and into space leaving dogs to run the planet. The Space Pirates have decided that they need to pave over Earth to put
up a parking lot for their new nightclub on the moon. The Puppies have
to join forces with their arch enemies the Ninja Kittens and with the
assistance of the Great Oracle, must seek the power of the greatest
weapon they’ve never heard of. The action and staging was constantly on the move. The music was fun, but not very memorable.

At one point a porcupine puppet appeared on house right. That got me thinking that the whole show might have been more whimsical as a puppet show. A woman in the front row did laugh out loud once. Then she said “What? I though it was a funny name.” I kind of lost interest in the plot. It all felt a bit haphazard. At least the theater was air conditioned.

Space will have an amazing set and costumes.

Posted on by Thor

Local playwright Cory Volence wrote Space which is being presented at this years Orlando International Fringe Festival  by Hubris Theater Company from Brooklyn New York.  On the edge of the universe, in the darkest corner of our galaxy, four people will discover that the space between love and hate is as thin as a razor and twice as sharp. This dark science fiction drama follows the crew of a ship bound for a distant planet as they slowly realize that the only thing more dangerous than space is each other.

Evan Miga was working hard on a space suit for the show in the weeks before the show opens. He covered the actor in duct tape and pealed it off which gave him a mold the exact size of the actors body on which to build the suit. He fabricated it first in cardboard and then the pieces would be laser cut out of sheets of foam that were hanging on the garage wall. The show probably has the most sophisticated set at this year’s Fringe. The space ship consoles have illuminated dials and keypads. All the pieces are modular fitting together quickly with slots and groves. Everything when disassembled fits neatly in the back of Evans smart car. The set pieces were designed in the computer and then cut by a robotic arm at FACTURE  (520 Virginia Drive Orlando FL) a non-profit maker space here in Orlando.

After designing one leg of the space suit, Evan explained that he could replicate what he had done in the computer for the other leg. The suit will also incorporate glowing electronic pieces reminiscent of Tron. He then went on to design a space boot. He build the boot out of cardboard around a black leather boot. He was a bit concerned because he was using his own boot and the actors feet were bigger. He needed a size 12 which just happened to be my shoe size. I gave him one of my hiking boots to check if the sole of the space boot was big enough. It was. The tricky part of the boot design was to allow for the boot to deform when the foot rolled during a walk. Trial and error resulted in multiple attempts with the cardboard boot breaking apart rather than deforming. In the end, he found a design that worked.

Evan explained that the crew of the ship were on a 15 year mission to travel to another planed and set up a terra form device that would bring life to the new world. Being together for 15 years can challenge any relationship so the crew begin to get on each others nerves. It is a great concept and I suspect this will be one of the best shows at the Fringe this year. I can’t wait to see it. These shows will sell out These shows will sell out.

Tickets are $10. Brown venue in the Orlando Shakespeare Center 812 E. Rollins Street Orlando FL.

Remaining show dates:

May 24,  7:15pm – 8:15pm

May 26,  11:15pm – 12:15pm

May 27,  11:15pm – 12:15pm

May 28,  8:45pm – 9:45pm

May 29,  7:00 pm – 9:00pm

The Trojan Rabbit.

Posted on by Thor

Jeff Ferree created this life sized Trojan Rabbit. He works in the scene shop at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, so he’s good at building stuff. He based his design on the Trojan Bunny in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The Bunny popped up all around town, to promote the Orlando Shakespeare production of Spamalot. First Thursday

This sketch was done at Earth Day which also happened to fall on the Same day as the World Wide Sketch Crawl. I put out an invitation on Facebook to host the Orlando Crawl and about 5 or 6 artists showed up during the course of the day. As we sketched the rabbit, most of the crawlers Sat on the retaining wall to my right. I sat leaning back against a palm tree, and right next to me was a water bowl for dogs Which was used quite often by parched over heated dogs. The smoothie truck was quite popular among the humans who also wanted to cool down. I believe it was The Art Reach people who started blowing bubbles that floated in to the scene.

Jeff used the rabbit to attract peoples attention and then inform them about Spamalot. As I did this sketch,  I realized that there was nothing inside. I later contacted Jeff, and suggested that the bunny could be a good art gallery. When the bunny was moved outside the Shakespeare theater during the International Fringe Festival, Jeff allowed me to mount a show of Fringe related sketches inside. After Earth Day someone actually stole the bunnies tail. Who would steal a bunny tail? It makes for an odd useless trophy. Jeff let me use a scene shop drill which made it easy for me to mount the frames to the walls using brackets which made it near impossible to take a frame off the wall much like paintings in hotel rooms. The bunny was retired after its last appearance outside the Orlando Museum of Art for an animal themed First Thursday, which is a bit of a meat market for singles with some art. Once again I mounted prints inside. I don’t think many people ventured inside.

Bikini Ad Space turned heads at Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

Katie Thayer, an attractive local actress and comedian, came up with the idea of Bikini Ad Space at the Orlando International Fringe Festival several years ago. The idea is pure genius and simple. She wears a sexy bikini and you can body paint your message on any of her prime body parts. Her lower shins, and her upper or lower arms, front and back go for $5 each. $10 gets prime exposure on her upper calves, front and back, and her belly. You can “get cheeky” by purchasing ad space on both butt cheeks for $15. Of course the most expensive ad space is the $20 chest ad which can nestle in her cleavage.

We bumped into Katie on the first day of the Fringe Sketch Tour and arranged to sketch her the next day. She works inside the Shakespeare Theater lobby which is always crowded with people buying tickets and waiting for shows. She had her leg propped up on a table covered with show flyer’s. The layer of flyer’s was an inch thick which meant you often had to dig down to find a flyer for the show you were interested in. Usually clients had the opportunity to paint their ad on Katy’s flesh. In this rare instance Katy was painting her own ad to get people to vote for Bikini Ad Space as the best “Bring Your Own Venue” in The Daily City Audience Choice Awards. I don’t know if she won that honor.

Cootie Catcher in the red venue had purchased the prime cleavage ad space while Valence had invested in belly ad space. I saw valance, an introspective dance performance that inspected touch in human interactions, but I never saw Cootie Catcher. My sketch protege sketched me sketching Katy and I’m sure photos were shot which made it a very “Meta” performance. The day before, Katy had left her kit of brushed behind and it vanished. Luckily she found a loose brush in the bottom of her bag, but it was a rather blunt brush which meant she couldn’t add any refined touches. I offered her one of my brushes but she was too proud to take it. I hope that the ads she sold will help pay for a new set of brushes because quality brushes are expensive. Her palette was a clear plastic plate. Friends stopped to ask her advice on the best shows to see. Katy had seen tons of shows, so she was a great resource.

Tears of a Tyrant performed on the outdoor stage at Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

On the Fringe Sketch Tour we stopped to sketch Tears of a Tyrant on the outdoor stage. They had a colorful tie-die banner as a backdrop. Danielle Dart was the lead singer with a purple floral garland in her hair. She had a dreamy way of closing her eyes as she sang that was quite endearing. Jester Cordell accompanied her on acoustic guitar. There are usually two other members in the band, but I guess they couldn’t make it out to this pro bono gig. They classify their music as Groovy  Classic Rock and Southern Rock.

To me this adorable couple personified the young Central Florida hipster           . ideal with their flip flops and ultra casual attire.  This casual attire is something I love about Orlando. No matter what event you go to in O-town there will be people in tee shirts and flip flops. If you went to a similar event in NYC, everyone would be dressed in black and wearing designer names in an effort to impress. Orlando has plenty of raw care free talent.

Well perhaps not care free. It is hard to make a living as an artist in Orlando. There is a constant exodus out of this town to other cities that are more supportive of the arts. As the 2015 Tallahassee Legislative Special Session came to a close, the film, TV
and digital media industry was excluded from the budget again this
year. This marks 3 straight years this program has gone without funding.
Additionally the proposed budget includes a staff and budget reduction
to the State Office of Film and Entertainment. This is why many actors and film makers go out of state to create films.

Grim and Fisher was part mime, part puppetry and pure magic.

Posted on by Thor

Grim and Fisher produced by Wonderheads from Portland Oregon was in the Silver Venue at this years Orlando International Fringe Festival. They were the creators of last years Fringe hit Loon, so my expectations were high.

Grim and Fisher was an epic showdown between a dour faced Grim Reaper and a lively and determined granny. The set consisted of a simple rocking chair and a side table with a tiny box on top of it. Much of the first act consisted of the Granny messing with a repairman who came to her apartment to repair her TV. When he needed to use the bathroom, he was surprised because every time he touched the door, loud farts would emanate from inside. I guess this established the granny as an “old fart” but when she came out holding a whoopee cushion is also established her as having a sense of humor.

When Grim comes for the old lady, she doesn’t go willingly. When she gives him the tiny box, he is won over when he discovers it is a music box. He forgets his job and shows his more human side for a moment. It reminded me of the food critic’s scene when he tastes the rats sumptuous food for the first time. The granny puts her former husband’s coat on Grim and they dance.

When Grim realizes he has a job to do, the old lady battles for her life. In the end she does walk towards the light perhaps finally reunited with her long lost husband. The show for me wasn’t as magical as Loon. I knew from the start that death always wins. It made the battle to live a little sad.