Striking the Set

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After Man of La Mancha closed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, I went in to sketch as the set was struck to make way for the next show. La Mancha was a theater in the round so bleachers had been set up where the back of the stage usually would have been. Subtlety isn’t needed when striking a set, things get hammered banged and kicked in any way to break things down. As I sketched, the set disappeared. The set had a circular central platform that turned and a trap door.

A drill would remove screws and a hammer might bang out nails, but safety was always the first concern. Stage hands looked out for each other assisting each other as needed. I enjoyed sketching the progress. According to Ivan Klima, “To destroy is easier than to create.” Yet these folks seemed to be working mighty hard while I was sitting and just scratching the page with a pen.

Now through April 28, Richard the II by William Shakespeare is at the Shakes. Tickets are $25 to $32. Convinced of his divine right to rule, King Richard II never expected
to be undone by his own maladroit mortal wrongs. By brashly putting his
own vanity before the needs of his kingdom, he creates the perfect
opening for Henry Bolingbroke to seize the throne. Shakespeare’s deeply
moving and insightful retelling reveals how one man’s bumbling mistakes
can shape a nation’s political landscape and change the course of
history.

A Doll’s House Part 2 at Shakes

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Doll House Part 2 by Lucas Hnath is being performed at the Orlando Shakes (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803) through February 23, 2019. In
the final scene of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 groundbreaking masterwork, Nora Helmer
makes the shocking decision to leave her husband and children, and begin
a life on her own. This climactic event—when Nora slams the door on
everything in her life—instantly propelled world drama into the modern
age. In A Doll’s House, Part 2, many years have passed since
Nora’s exit. Now, there’s a knock on that same door. Nora has returned.
But why? And what will it mean for those she left behind?

The simple set designed by Stephen Jones consisted of a curved wall with one huge Victorian door.  The paint was chipped with time. The play did indeed begin with a knock at the door. When Anne Marie (Anne Hering) answered the door all the lights on stage illuminated to their top setting creating a blinding sunburst effect as Nora (Suzanne O’Donnell) entered. For some perspective, Pam and I watched the original Ibsen play as a live 1959 telebroadcast. Nora in that production was a flippant housewife demurring to her husband’s wishes. She forged a signature on a loan in order to whisk her husband to Italy for the sake of his health. That act indentured her to try and pay the loan off by begging her husband for small sums of money. Instead of a Christmas present she begged him for a small sum of cash.

When Nora returned, she was a self-made woman of means. She had become an author and was very successful at it. She was a feminist firmly believing that women do not need men for their happiness. The Part 2 production is set 15 years after Nora left her family which would be around 1894. Women would not gain the right to vote for another 26 years, but Nora was well ahead of her time believing she could make a difference through her writing which had to be authored with a pseudonym. She wrote about her marriage to Torvald (Steven Lane) and the book encouraged women to take charge of their own lives. A judge was upset by her message, so he found out who she really was and discovered that she was still married. Torvald had never filed for divorce. It was more convenient for him to think she had died than to face the shame of filing for divorce. She needed that divorce to truly be free. This play focused on that quest. Despite her success, she was still beholden to unfair laws that made her the property of a man she had not seen for 15 years. She needed to sit down with her husband to again demand her freedom. I identified with her desire for artistic freedom.

The language is decidedly modern with some cursing that seemed out of place compared to the original Ibsen play. These outbursts do offer some comedic relief. People in the audience who had suffered through divorce were nodding their heads in solidarity as Nora pontificated about the need for freedom. Love and affection were cherished, but after marriage she felt people changed. They no longer wooed their partners and took them for granted. This is what caused affection to turn to resentment. This was a decidedly modern message.

Tickets are $32 to $44.

Phantasmagoria’s Christmas Carol

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 Phantasmagoria is proud to present One of the greatest and most enduring Ghost Stories ever told! Victorian Troupe Phantasmagoria returns to
the stage with its own unique adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic
holiday tale “A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas”.

This
critically acclaimed Victorian Performance Troupe will bring its
signature tapestry of movement, dance, puppetry, projections, music and
storytelling to the stage as one of the most famous Ghost Stories of all
times comes alive! A true tale of the Past, Present and Future – with
the glory of redemption!

Dickens’ wonderful tableau will come to
life with Phantasmagoria’s own unique aesthetic and performance style in
a brand new adaptation of the classic work. Last year’s performances
SOLD OUT fast so get your tickets now! A show good for ALL ages!

The dress rehearsal I sketched had all the bravado I have come to expect from a Phantasmagoria performance. Jacob Marley was presented as a skeleton puppet wrapped in chains. A unique head harness linked the skeleton’s head movements to the movements of the handler’s head. The ghost of Christmas past was a floating blue head with a streamer. The ghost of Christmas yet to come was the largest and most menacing enshrouded in a dark hood. with bony fingers. John DiDonna as Ebeneezer Scrooge brought plenty of energy to the part which he has performed for years. He steps into the crotchety old mans skin with ease.

Only one show date remains, Dec 15, 2018 at 8pm
John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center, (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803). Ticket prices are…

Student/Senior/Military: $15.00 regular / $40.00 VIP

Adult: $25.00 regular / $30.00 VIP

(VIP
includes early entry to pick seating, Christmas beverage (no alcohol),
Take home souvenir, and POST show performance including Poetry, Dance,
song, Magic and more!

A Christmas Carol at Orlando Shakes

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1 of 5 Prints SOLD

I have seen A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens many times so I am a bit jaded, however this production far exceeded my expectations. The set felt like an attic and there was a staircase at the front of the stage that heightened that effect. The play began with the sounds of an excited party below the stage, and then the actors walked up from that excitement onto the stage.

Steven Paterson did an amazing job as the crotchety Scrooge. Paul Bernando got to perform some very angst filled scenes as the chain covered Bob Marley’s Ghost. Amazingly he also performed as the kindly ghost of Christmas Present. Many actors got to play up to seven different characters and I didn’t even notice. Tiny Tim, played by Sebastian Cranford had the thinnest legs, making him a perfect fit for the part.

The Shakes really seems to be stepping up their game when it comes to effects in their staged productions. A ghostly door knocker was represented by a framed photo in a spotlight held by an actor from behind. When the ghostly knocker came to life the actor pressed his face into the mesh of the canvas creating a ghostly three dimensional apparition. The ghost of Christmas future was a huge hooded puppet that moved around the stage freely. A four poster bed rose from a trap door and the curtains floated down from above.

More important than the flash however was the emotional heart of the production. This is a great show to warm even the coldest heart this holiday season. It is nice to see innocence and kindness win over a hard heart.

Performances of A Christmas Carol continue through December 30, 2018 at the Orlando Shakes (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803) in the Margeson Theater.

Tickets are $30 to $53.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for December 1 and 2, 2018

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Saturday December 1, 2018

10am to Noon Free. Orlando Shakes Volunteer Orientation. Orlando Shakes 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, Florida 32803. Please join us for Orlando Shakes’ Volunteer Orientation – a perfect way
to learn more about volunteering. Returning volunteers will brush-up on
the basics and changing policies; new volunteers will learn what they
need to know to join the team.

During this free orientation, all
our volunteers will learn how to get involved, take a brief tour of the
Theater, receive an overview of benefits and policies, and enjoy some
light breakfast food and drinks!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Breakfast & Check-In: 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Orientation: 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Questions: 11:00 AM – 11:15 AM

8pm to 10pm Free. Shuffleboard at Orlando’s Beardall Courts.  Orlando’s Beardall Courts 800 Delaney Ave Orlando FL. 1st Saturday of every month.

10:30pm to 12:30am Free but get food and or drink. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL.



Sunday December 2 2018

10am to Noon. Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources.

Noon to 3pm Donation based. Music at the Casa. George Weremchuk and the Hippocrene Saxophone Quartet. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Members of the public are invited to visit the historic home museum, listen to live music and take a tour
of our historic home museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by
trained docents.

2pm to 4pm. Museum admission applies. Adults $10,  Seniors (60+) $8, College Students with ID $8, Students (K-12) $3, Members and children 4 and under are free. Meet and Greet Jan Kaláb. Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens, 633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Contemporary Prague artist Jan Kaláb is known internationally for his
innovative 3-D graffiti. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1978 at a time when
graffiti was a form of protest in Eastern Europe, he made a name for
himself in the 1990s as the country was opening itself up to Western
influences. Kaláb later became known across Europe as “Cakes” and took
his art to New York in 2000, making an impression while painting train
cars alongside other well-known graffiti artists. Since 2007 Kaláb has
experimented with abstractions on canvas, earning him solo exhibitions
in Argentina, Germany, Paris, London, New York, and Miami. The Polasek
Museum exhibit will include sculptures, 3-D canvases, select new works,
and an original installation.

PlayFest: The Great Beyond

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I sketched a rehearsal for The Great Beyond by Stephen Dietz, leading up to their performance on Saturday, November 10, 2018 at the Orlando Shakes (812 East Rollins Street Orlando FL). This is a four character play that focuses on a family in a time of grief. Despite their differences, sisters, Monica (Courtney Bahr) and Emily, (Melanie Whipple) reunited
to tie up loose ends after their father’s death.

The two sisters are always at each other’s throats. Emily is the younger and perhaps favored daughter but she lived a life of addiction and with her recovery, she set a task of apologizing to everyone she had slighted.  This became her new addiction. Rene, another character, referred to the people Emily found as her “marks”. Some of these apologies resulted in rifts that pulled other people’s lives apart. The road to ruin is paved with good intentions.


The true seed of discontent between the sisters, however, is the death of a brother, Joseph, when they were young. Blame, whether founded or not, always surfaced in every conversation. Another point of contention was the estate left behind by the father. Emotions run raw when you want some physical object to remember someone by. Who gets what can become a battle that can divide any family. A coat or table might suddenly become the most important artifact to remind you of love.

Monica’s Ex, Rex, (Cameron Francis) is there with his girlfriend, Rene, (Chelsey Panisch) who happens to be a medium. With her help, the
siblings attempt to summon their father’s spirit to gain forgiveness and
discover the truth. The second act revolved around this seance. Monica dismissed the seance as a hoax from the start but even she was swept up in the raw emotions in the darkened room.


I fell in love with this family as they stumbled to find their way after their father’s death. For years an unspoken agreement had held the family together but after the father’s death a greater truth was needed. What was so exciting about watching the rehearsal was that the script was in a constant state of flux. Having the author in the rehearsal resulted in his trimming and fine tuning the script as they rehearsed. Actors highlighted their linesas they were changed. Monologues could be made into more concise and polished gems. It was a fascinating process to watch. When you experience PlayFest you are actively participating in the development of new plays.

 

Director: Cynthia White

Stage Manager: Alli Gersbach

Stage Directions Reader: Krystal Rajkowski

Other Cast: Mark
Ferrara as Coach Mayes. 

Tickets for The Great Beyond  by Stephen Deitz are $10. The performance is at 8pm tonight, November 10, 2018 in the Shakespeare Center Margeson Theater.

#God Hates You

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#GodHatesYou by Emily Dendinger is part of the PlayFest line up at the Orlando Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL).

“God punishes the wicked and rewards the good. #repentorperish” Having attended her first picket at five years old, Laurel (Amanda Anne Dayton) is proud of the good work she has done in the name of the Lord. While being groomed to be the next leader of her radical church (a fictional church similar to Westboro Baptist), she takes to Twitter to spread the Word. When her tweets are responded to by an agnostic college student, a rabbi, and a few Twitter trolls, Laurel struggles to determine the true meaning of her faith and define her relationship with God.

Laurel is a smart woman who believes in the sincerity of the message of hellfire and brimstone that she helps to spread. Via Twitter she converses with a rabbi who she considers to be damned. He ironically likes his exchanges with her and his theological arguments make her start to think. The play will incorporate projections so the audience can see the text exchanges as they happen. It was fascinating to follow her journey, because she was a good person, just raised in a hate filled congregation.

Probably the funniest moment came when the church members were shouting their hate in a demonstration. They knew exactly how long their permit allowed for the demonstration and when the time came, someone’s phone alarm went off with the silliest of elevator music ring tones. The signs went down and the demonstration was over. I only saw the first act in the rehearsal I sketched, but I am rooting for Laura to find her own voice and moral bearings.

What was truly fascinating about the rehearsal was that Emily, the author was refining and updating

the scrips as the actors did the read through. The creative process continues right until the moment the play opens to an audience.

Director: Kristin Clippard,
Stage Manager: Lisa Hardt,
Stage Directions Reader: Summer Pliskow,

CAST: Mandi Lee as Colleen, Christine Gervais as Grace, Andy Gion as Donny, Carlos Pereyo as Joshua, James Putnam as Noah, and Mark Davids as Rabbi Cohen.

PlayFest runs November 2 – 4 and 10 – 11, 2018

A two weekend festival of new plays features seven readings of raw,
as of yet unproduced works! PlayFest gives audiences the opportunity to be
involved with the creative process by giving feedback in real time and
mingling with the playwrights, actors, and directors.

Tickets to individual PlayFest readings ($10) on sale now!