What the Constitution Means to Me

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I sketched a dress rehearsal for What the Constitution Means to Me, by Heidi Schreck is being presented by the Orlando Shakes at the Orlando Family Theater. Becky Baird dominated in the lead roll. The play rolls back the years to when Heidi was 16 years old an presented speeches about the Constitution at American Legion halls for cash prizes. She earned her college tuition this way.

There is a joyous excitement in her presentation about this document which she loves. yet during the presentation emotions start to run deep as she recalls her family history of a grandmother being sold to a outdoors man in Washington State. There is clear evidence of generational trauma throughout her family history. The constitution was written by the founders for the founders, in other words wealth white property owning men. Women never factored into the equation.

I loved what the actors broke the 4th wall towards the end of the play, breaking character and speaking to the audience as themselves. The Legionnaire who I assumed was rather conservative was actually a very liberal and open minded actor named John Voigt. A debate was held with an energetic high school debater. he debaters were played by Daisy Spann, and Tatriana Hinds. Each brought a unique energy to the roll. They  each argued their points on weather the constitution should be abolished or amended. Though the Constitution is very old and rather outdated, the youthful debate inspires hope for the future. With presidential elections only month away this play takes the audience on an inspired journey through what makes us all American and how we need to work hard to make democracy work for us all.

The play runs through October 13, 2024. If you only see one play this year, this should be it. Get your tickets now.

 

What the Constitution Means to Me: Final

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The final version of the poster for What the Constitution Means to Me has the actress much larger. There was an earlier version of this that had that looked too much like Heidi Schreck,

Altering the face and making her look much younger was actually quite fun. The paint itself was moved and morphed to fit the new drawing that I created for her face. I was surprised at how fast 20 years could be dropped.

The book cover was designed to match what an actual printed constitution looks like. Audience Members will each get a copy of the constitution to take home at each performance.

This really is a show that you should not miss. It will have you laughing out loud and also rethinking just what the founding fathers had in mind when they crafted this document. Presented by the Orlando Shakes, the show runs from October 2-13, 2024 at the Edyth Bush Theater at Orlando Family Stage, 1001 East Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803. Get your tickets now.

Poster Evolution: Christmas Carol 2

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Strange that the Photoshop crop tool stopped working this morning. I use that tool every day of the week but now it is no longer an option. Adobe products sure are glitchy.

For the second pass at the Christmas Carol poster, I decided that Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past could dance but they would be ethereal and invisible to the others dancing. Just because you cant be seen doesn’t mean you cant celebrate.

To make them stand out from the crowd I painted them blue with a glowing aura.

The only change that still needed to be added was to replace the Ghost of Christmas past with the actual actress that might play the roll. One aspect of the poster that most probably don’t realize is that the couple behind Scrooge and the ghost as the young Scrooge and his lovely girlfriend.

Christmas Carol is playing at the Shakespeare Center through December 24, 2023.

Poster Evolution: Christmas Carol 1

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Last year the Orlando Shakes reused the Christmas Carol poster I had created the year prior. That decision makes perfect sense since people are used to the image and might want to return to see the show again with the whole family. The image for that poster had Scrooge holding up Tiny Tim among a cheering crowd. The positive image resonated.

The decision was made to create a new poster image with the same positive energy. The other scene in the play that is the most vibrant is the dance scene with the Fezziwigs. As I remember the scene, Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past observe the dancing from a distance. I decided that for this poster Scrooge would need to dance. In this image he is dancing with Mrs. Fezziwig. Granted this might not happen in the play, but it was the positive vibe that we were looking for.

As often happens with the posters, the issue becomes and uncertainty of who might be playing the role. Jim Helsinger suspected however that the actress who played Christmas past would be returning to the show. We decided to put her in place of Mrs Fezziwig.

With this first pass of the poster I was the most pleased with the golden treatment I did for the title. Christmas Carol runs through December 24, 2023.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill: Poster Evolution

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This was my favorite painted version of the poster for the Orlando Shakespeare Center. Lady Day stood in a strong spotlight that broke her into an abstraction of lights and darks. Pinks and blues work together like bold puzzle pieces. The bottle on the table stands as erect and proud as the singer herself.

For the final poster however I needed to move in closer to the singer. Tymisha Harris was likely to be cast in the roll but that had not been established yet. I danced a line between making the singer look like Lady Day and Tymisha. I did like the chance to rework the microphone adding it metallic sheen.

Performances continue through March 5, 2023. I will be sketching a performance next week and I can’t wait.

Poster Evolution: Noises Off

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Noises Off by Michael Frayn will run at the Orlando Shakespeare Center from September 7-25, 2022.

One of the funniest plays ever written, this hysterical play-within-a-play is filled with screwball antics, prat-falls and sight gags. A professional theater director must prevent his half-baked actors and an overworked crew from sabotaging his production with their off-stage shenanigans – and on-stage bedlam! This side-splitting comedy proves the adage – The show must go on!

I watched a movie,  based on the play to get a feeling for the show before I started work on the poster. Every scene is incredibly fast moving with doors slamming off stage and on stage. I became intrigued by a scene in which a beautiful woman looses hr contacts and the actors all struggle to find in on stage. It is a very meta moment in which life and art combine in a hilarious moment.

My first pass at the poster was of the curtain falling on that scene as the actors struggle to find the contact lens. Granted the Shakes will likely not have a curtain in the Margeson Theater, but it offered me an opportunity to show the chaos of the scene as just a thin slice. It leaves much to the imagination. The notes were pretty straight forward and make sense, “More legs, less curtain.” That in itself could be a guiding principle of any theater production.

I always do two sketches of each poster to make sure I am exploring different options. I had heard that there might be a spinning stage that shows back stage as well an the forward facing stage set. I wanted to explore a back stage scene that faces out towards the audience. One of the actors has a drinking problem and to keep the production moving forward, the cast has to hide his bottle. There is an upper balcony on the set with multiple doors, so back stage these would have to be a staircase to get the actors up to those imagined and never seen rooms. The problem with this poster is that the show had not been cast yet.

The final poster was a simple revise of my first concept. I had to get rid of a few actors legs but the idea certainly holds up with everything bigger, larger and better. I am excited to see the show. Several of the actors I have seen in other productions and they are absolutely hilarious. Tickets range from $26.25 to $36.76

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.

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.

#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!

PlayFest at the Orlando Shakes

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I went to the opening day of rehearsals for PlayFest at the Orlando Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803). PlayFest presented by Harriett’s Charitable Trust is a two-week
annual festival that provides a place for writers, theatre
professionals, and audiences to connect and share ideas that promote
thought-provoking stories. Audiences experience staged readings of seven
new works over two weekends and participate in the development of new
plays, conversing with playwrights, directors, and actors while
absorbing groundbreaking new works. Over the years, the festival has introduced over 163 new works to regional and nationwide audiences.

The first rehearsal I sketched was 72 Miles to Go… written by Hilary Bettis and directed by Paul Castañede. Hilary and Paul sat side by side at the far end of the table. When a mother is deported to Mexico for the second time, the family
struggles to reunite with so much red tape in their way. Set against the
volatile backdrop of immigration in the United States during the Obama
administration, 72 miles to go… gives us a glimpse at one family’s journey over eight years.

There were many heart warming moments as this initial reading allowed me to meet this family for the first time. The father, who was a Unitarian Pastor, had a sharp wit and tried to lighten any family argument with a joke. His wife had been sent back to Mexico when she was stopped for having a tail light out. His phone conversation with her was heart breaking since their love and respect was crystal clear, despite being forced to live apart. The title of the play comes from the distance between Tuscon, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico—and
the distance between deported immigrant Anita (Leesa Castañeda) and her American-born
husband, Billy (Joe Llorens) and her children.

When the younger sister Eva (Ana Martinez Medina) has a minor accident, the police escort her home. Being born in America she is a citizen, but her older brother, Christian (Diego Zozaya) faces the possibility of deportation every day. His younger brother Aaron (Rico Lastrapes) helped him

hide in a panic when the red and blue lights flashed outside their home. The play follows all the kids as they grow up in America, The sister becomes a valedictorian graduate from high school and in her speech to classmates she spoke of her mom’s deportation for the first time. The youngest brother joins the military and the older brother raises his own family. Though growing up under very uncertain

conditions, each kid turned out fine and contributes to making America great.

The play is particularly relevant today as President Trump is spouting xenophobic rhetoric and hate against immigrants. He even claims he will overturn the 14th amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the
state wherein they reside.” and he wants to deport any children born in America who came from illegal immigrants. In this time of deviciveness, it was so nice to fall in love with what is truly important, which is family, and everyday dreams and aspirations.

PlayFest runs from November 2 – 4 and 10 – 11, 2018. 7 original plays are on the banquet.

If you want to catch every performance you can purchase PlayFest passes.