Fringe: The Suitcase

Posted on by Thor

Ayni Performing Arts of Orlando Florida presented The Suitcase – La Maleta at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. This solo show starred Peruvian artist Gio Quezada who also wrote the show directed by Jorge Bazalar. The Suitcase was inspired by Quezada’s own journey immigrating to the America from Peru and explored themes of resilience, identity, and the immigrant experience.

With the current administration, immigrants all across America are being terrorized by ICE Agents who violently pull them from their jobs, courtroom and the streets and detain them in concentration camps. Living in constant fear makes the American dream a distant memory for all.

Gio gave a voice to all these people who are struggling to survive today. The character she portrayed was named Lucia, a graceful ballet dancer. The arts in America are also under attack so her idyllic profession makes surviving in America even harder. Before arriving at the festival, The Suitcase production was backed by a United Arts Individual Artist Grant, which makes me particularly happy.

Besides her own story, she related stories of Latin Americans from other countries who had uprooted their lives to come to America. The journeys are often insanely dangerous, but they all hope the American dream might still be alive.  This show was so important to see given the temperature of hatred and intolerance being spread in America today.

The stories told were true hero’s journeys. The souls brave enough to make the dangerous journey are also the souls who are brave enough to build a life here. Yet today there are so many stories of children being separated from parents and other atrocities that make it clear that we are living in inhumane times. The inhumanity helps distract from the presidential criminal actions that define the news every day.

After the performance I walked on stage to look at the suitcase which was open. It was filled with so many family photos from a family struggling to make a life here in America.

On the Statue of Liberty…

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!”

Does this mean anything anymore when ICE agents are detaining people who are immigrants or citizens?

The “golden door” seems now to be a crude detention cage. I feel that The Suitcase was the most timely, important and brave play I saw at this year’s Fringe. Through personal stories it illuminated the dark heart of America today and the loneliness of trying to survive in a capitalist society. Even as a privileged white American, I identify with her story.

Fringe: Bullock and the Bandits IV: Devil in Deadwood

Posted on by Thor

I have sketched the Bandits before so I knew I could expect an amazing rock concert experience. Presented by Orlando, Florida Kangagirl Productions, Bullock and the Bandits lit the stage on fire with their music while honoring the western souls that passed away. The Renaissance theater hosted the Bandits. There was a disco mirrored horse in the entry hall. The Renaissance Theater has a new video monitor wall and the Bandits made full use of the screen for amazing visuals throughout the show.

David Lee as Sheriff Bullock was the lead singer and host for the band. Tamisha Harris as Stagecoach Mary, performed a stunning dance routine while stripping away layers of her black mourning dress. Her prowess as a singer and dancer lit up the stage. The show has a unique cowboy goth aesthetic that I love.

A visual that appeared often was the Bullock hotel which is in Deadwood South Dakota. This haunted western hotel must be the home for so many lost souls. The souls performing on stage might be ghosts but they certainly caused the audience of the living to go wild.

Tymisha Harris won the Outstanding Individual Performance (Musical) Critics’ Choice award at the Orlando International Fringe Festival for her trifecta of roles across three shows, which included her performance as Stagecoach Mary in Bullock & the Bandits alongside her roles in Josephine and Masquerade of the Red Death.

Fringe, Sting of Revenge: A Prequel of Sorts

Posted on by admin

Squishing the Patriarchy of Orlando Florida presented The Sting of Revenge: A Prequel of Sorts at this year’s Orlando International Fringe Festival. I had sketched the Bugged Lady at a previous Fringe where she told a tale of revenge against a professor who abused her trust. That show was in a teaching lab at Leu Gardens which was perfect to present her creepy crawly arachnids.

Sandi Lynn wrote and starred in the play which was directed by her son Clark Levi. She played the part of the Bugged Lady and Robin Olson played the peppy high-school acquaintance.

The Bugged Lady ran into her old high school acquaintance, and they sat down for a coffee and a chance to catch up. The friend loved her high school days as a cheer leader, but the bugged lady only found her passion when she started studying bugs as an undergraduate. She excelled at understanding the power of venom.

Conversation turned to a boy in high school who got a girl pregnant and she had to drop out of school to have the child alone. The cheer leader wasn’t aware of this story and it turns out she ended up marrying the boy, who over time grew resentful and abusive. When the bugged lady learned of the abuse she began to convince her high school acquaintance that she had a deadly solution.

The bugged lady had a clear box in her bag that had a scorpion. She took the box out and gently shook the container which resulted in the scorpion raising its poisonous tail. AS she discussed her proposition, she walked the scorpion around the room so the people in the front row seats could get a very clear look and feel rather uneasy.

I was disappointed to learn that this would be the final showing of the bugged lady. There is a visceral pleasure in having a middle-aged woman get away with murder, but it would be nice if an intelligent female detective could get close to discovering the venomous secret.

Robin Olson won a Critics’ Choice Award for Individual Performance in Drama for her portrayal of the emotionally distraught woman in the play. From where I was seated, I mostly saw the back of her head, but her performance as she weighed right and wrong was very convincing.

As I worked on this sketch, I ran out of water for my watercolors. I had to spit on my palette to add the final washes. This resulted in some rather sickly and rough washes. Maybe this messiness was meant to be for this show about planning a perfect murder.

Fringe: The Black Jack Show

Posted on by Thor

The Scarlet venue at the Orlando International Fringe Festival seemed too large for The Black Jack Show. I suspect the puppeteer is used to performing for one or two people at a time. Jack and Black are two hand puppets that host a variety show that included torch songs, shadow puppets, a dog, a vampire comedian, a lion dance and two white gloves that performed between acts.

The white gloves were in my mind that stars of the show. They were entertaining and played off one another magnificently. After a puppy marionette pranced around the audience one of the white gloves popped up with puppy ears on. There was something magical about the simplicity of those two gloves. They had a humerus shtick that played off of every other act.

A COVID-19 puppet came out 3 separate times to sing cabaret numbers. Since I animated a film about COVID-19, I know that audiences are not that receptive to being reminded about how humanity, and America in particular, is ill equipped to handle an outbreak. As the COVID puppet performed her songs, I could see people in the front row begin to shut down. One person was literally nodding off. Since people during the height of the pandemic refused to accept reality by saying the virus was a hoax and vaccines carry microchips, they certainly don’t want to be reminded that COVID is now endemic and will always pose a threat to our immune systems. I was rooting for the singing COVID puppet, but her performance was accepted like a lead balloon. She left the stage saying, “I’ll be back.”

The little puppy marionette was cute, but it really didn’t have any performance potential other than sitting on its hind legs and panting. The puppeteer, who looked suspiciously like Rasputin paraded the puppy up and down the aisles of the audience. Very few people could see the puppet, so they sat wondering what was going on. It would have been nice if there was a much higher, eye level stage the puppy could have performed on.

There was a shadow box with white frosted Plexiglas on the front of it. A flashlight and shadow puppets were moved around behind the Plexiglas. The light from the shadow box illuminated about 5 people in the audience. From where I was sitting, I could not see what was being shown. From my vantage point, I was watching the puppeteer struggling to find the silhouette figures and juggling the flashlight. The flashlight kept falling as he searched for the next shadow puppet.

The lion dance puppet was much like the little puppy. Few people could see it since it was on the floor rather than up on a stage. The lion dance marionette just jumped up and down. I was just left wondering why?

Overall, this puppet variety show left me confused rather than entertained. A few drinks consumed at the beer tent before the performance could make the puppetry more palatable.

Remaining show times for The Black Jack Show by the St. Vetus Theater Company Orlando Florida. The show can be found in the Scarlet Theater in the Orlando Family Stage (1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803.) It is rated for 13 and up since there were some mature themes but no puppet sex. The show ran for an agonizing 60 minutes. Tickets are $12 and be sure you have a Fringe button.

Friday May 22, 7:15pm

Saturday May 23, 1:15pm

Fringe: Queer!

Posted on by Thor

Queer! Celebrates Latinx Queer resilience at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. The cast, each in turn, tells stories if growing up and feeling different that those around them. One female even conformed and lived the life of a mom. Deep down she knew she was stifling who she really was. Some stories were told through music, movement and projections. Some were spoken word which often resonates with me.

The stories were all tied together with a common thread of courage in being able to remain unique in a world that often the violently demands conformity. With some story tellers I would stop sketching, transfixed and wanting to quietly take in all I was being told. Some stories demand moments of quiet reflection.

Two big screens acted as bookends on either side of the stage. When the cast was speaking Spanish, the screens would project English translations. When the cast spoke English the screens projected Spanish. I loved that touch of inclusion.

America has turned dark by making war on our Latin neighbors with ICE raids. Florida leads the nation for ICE detentions and is home to Alligator Alcatraz, a concentration camp set up in the swamps southern Florida. This show is a reminder that Orlando remains a bubble of acceptance in a country that has gone mad.

The stories in the show, however, were not about politics or mistreating neighbors. The stories resonate with strength, determination and love. That is a message we need to hear in these times. No matter what your ethnicity or sexuality is, you will love this cast.

Remaining show times for Queer! Presented by Descolonizarte Tearo, Inc. Orlando Florida. Silver Venue. Rated for 13 and up. 70 Minutes. Tickets are $15.

Wednesday May 20,9:50pm

Thursday May 21, 6:30pm

Friday May 22, 6:30pm

Sunday May 24, 5:35pm

Fringe: How to Play the Guitar (Poorly)

Posted on by Thor

The very first Orlando International Fringe Show I saw this year was with local Orlando legend Chase Padgett at the Renaissance Theater. The Renaissance has had a crazy year with the City of Orlando insisting it close while renovations were done to bring all aspects of the venue up to code. Over the course of renovations, the venue stayed afloat only through donations and a few shows staged at other venues. This was my first time returning to the venue and in my humble opinion the sound system is spectacular. The Phoenix has risen from the ashes of bureaucracy.

Chase was on stage as the audience filtered into the theater. He offered his own pre-show music as people settled in. The title of the play implies this might be an instructional show and it was, but it was not instructions on how to play Guitar, but rather on how to live while embracing your passions. In high school Chase had to choose between writing computer code or playing in the school band. The choice was obvious.

One Christmas Chases father, who loved Eric Clapton, bought Chase a guitar for Christmas. That guitar went abandoned and ignored while Chase played trumpet in the school band. Trumpet was his passion and he rose to first chair. It was only later in life that the guitar case was dusted off and the strings tuned. When Chase played, he could see how his father’s face would light up.

Chase took a course on how to build guitars, and he built the guitar he was using on stage by hand. He cut and sanded the wood, polished it and pieced it all together to be sure the acoustics were perfect. When his father learned this, he was in awe.

Separation, divorce, and substance abuse could have distanced Chase from his father, but he still sought to find ways to stay close. The approval of someone you love as an artist is something that some only dream about.

When Chase’s dad passed away there were tearful remembrances at the funeral and Chase decided to get up and play an Eric Clapton song on his guitar. As he played Tears in Heaven, my eyes welled up making it hard to sketch, so I stopped. The actress next to me was crying and I smiled as I fought back tears.

I am not sure why this show hit me so hard. Chase stressed that life as an artist was hard, but so rewarding. Had he decided to write computer code for a living he would have made so much more money. But life isn’t only about how much you earn. It is also about how much you can share.

After seeing several dozen Fringe shows so far, I can say without any hesitation that this show hit closest to home for me. You need to make your way several blocks over to the Renaissance and see this show.

Remaining Show times…

Chase Padgett: How to Play Guitar (Poorly), Peacock Farm Productions Orlando Florida United States. At the Renaissance Theater Company, 13 and up, 60 minutes. $15  and a Fringe button. Adult language.

Sunday May 17, 4:30pm

Tuesday May 19, 8:00pm

Thursday May 21, 7:00pm

Saturday May 23, 3:00PM

Sunday May 24, 6:00pm

The Inspection

Posted on by Thor

A home for sale in Azalea Park caught my eye and I was considering buying it. I liked that the front and back yard were full of native plants rather than grass. The front yard had a huge Live Oak which was hundreds of years old. The home was almost invisible from the street due to all the dense growth. I liked that. The home was built in 1947 and I have been researching events of 1945 at the end of WWII extensively.

When I first saw the place with my broker Rebekah Carr we did a quick walk through, and I noticed cosmetic issues but figured I could fix the place up in time. I was enamored with the yard which felt like an oasis. There were bamboo, firecracker bush, orchids and ferns amongst plenty of native Florida plants. Even more than the house, I was excited to maintain and expand on this plush landscape.

The air conditioner filter had not been changed for years, that is one thing I noticed and there were structural cracks in the walks and ceilings. I figured those could just be patched.  The shower didn’t work and a makeshift shower had been set up outside. That was odd, but I figured I could fix that in time. I noticed a hole in an overhead beam in the carport. I poked my finger inside and found the wood hollow. A chunk of the wood fell off when I pulled my finger out. Embarrassed, I delicately wedged it back into place hoping no one noticed.

I went to see the place for a second time with my sister and her husband. He has been a contractor his whole life so I wanted to get his thoughts on how much it might cost to fix the place up. He found a number of issues and in the end gave me an estimate of about 70,000 dollars for the repairs. He was talking about removing some walls and putting up new sheet rock and the carport had major issues. I wanted to use that estimate to bring into the negotiations. He said that if there were termites, he would be able to see little piles of sawdust and he didn’t notice any. I thought I saw termite damage in the carport but he said it was mostly water damage.

I went ahead and made an offer which was reduced by 25 thousand dollars. Before the sale could be finalized I had to have an official inspection. I went out to the home the day the inspector went there. He took drone footage of the roof and inspected every detail inside. I followed him around for a bit. While he was working the owner came home. The owner was slurring his words. That is when I decided to go outside to sketch and let the inspector do his work.

After the sketch was done, the inspector came outside and was packing his supplies in his SUV. He said to me, “I have some very bad news, there are rat droppings in the attic and more important termite damage in the roof rafters.” The home sale documents I had read showed that the owner did not believe there was any termite damage. I now knew that there was extensive termite damage. The roof would have to come off and be rebuilt from scratch. I considered getting a camper and parking it in the driveway while the work was done but the carport wasn’t tall enough for most campers. The place was far from move in ready. I don’t mind the idea of making repairs, but this was going to be a major rebuild. If termites were in the roof rafters, they very well could have also found their way into the wall joists. The place was going to be a money pit.

I had drawn up a floor plan from measurements I took on my first tour through the house. My studio fit, but with little room to spare. Now thinking back there really wasn’t enough light in the place. I dropped out of the sale and got my escrow back. The owner wanted to get rid of the property “as is.” He purchased the place years ago for 40 thousand dollars and ultimately sold the place to someone for a little over 300 thousand dollars.

I am glad I got out of the deal but I am still looking for a place that can work as a good studio. I want to be close to a downtown area where I can sketch arts and culture. I’ve been staying in Airbnb’s in Orlando and I like just walking to theaters and restaurants. Downtown places often feel cramped like the money pit I just avoided. After the sale collapsed, I lost interest in finding a home in Orlando.  New York State has been on my mind and my decision to stay or drive north is being reserved until the end of May when I finish my series of sketches documenting the Orlando International Fringe Festival.  Last night I started thinking about getting a rental place with a friend that could work as a studio for both of us. That prospect is exciting. I’m torn between New York and Florida but in general living in America has become less enticing.

David Plotkin Memorial

Posted on by Thor

I have been staying in an AirBnB in Thornton Park Orlando Florida for the past week. It has been wonderful to be able to walk to venues each day to sketch. One of the first places I wanted to sketch was at Stardust Video and Coffee. At this coffee house, Doug Rhodehamel has been assembling a magnificent display of brightly colored cardboard fish in honor of a dear friend David Plotkin.

David who was a close friend of Doug’s was a former Orlando Weekly staffer, WPRK DJ, a political activist and a cultural mover. Doug was asked by the Casselberry Arts & Sculpture House to do a solo show and he enlisted the help of David to come up with a concept for the show. Unexpectedly David died on April 1, 2025 from heart failure before the brainstorming session. Doug considered canceling the show, but decided instead to make the show a tribute to David.

Doug wondered what Dave would want to see if he were to go to the show. David was on a pickle kick. He had old drawings that Doug called war pickles. Doug decided he would build the show around pickles but also allow them to become something else. He ultimately decided to create a huge school of pickle fish swimming through the void. The fish are light and vibrant reminding anyone seeing them that there is light and wonder in the world which is often all too dark and drab. Besides the large school of pickle fish, Doug created a green pickle moon and blue corrugated cardboard columns that resembled coral. The opening reception for Flight of the Pickle Fish was on July 18, 2025.

It took Doug close to a year to cut out all the fish out of corrugated cardboard. I am familiar with Doug’s fish because he mails out a fish each year as a Christmas ornament to friends and supporters of his work. I look forward to seeing each unique fish each year. Some time in the future I hope to have a Christmas tree to display all the ornaments.

The David Plotkin Memorial Aquarium was unveiled on March 22, 2026 at Stardust Video and Coffee. Doug plans to keep making changes to the installation over time. The Stardust installation recruits many of the fish that were on display in the Casselberry Pickle Fish show along with new exotic species.

I went to Stardust Video and Coffee first thing in the morning to sketch. The online Stardust website showed photos of delicious looking waffles. At the front counter I asked for a coffee and the waffles. The woman behind the counter apologized. They no longer have waffles although they are listed in chalk on the blackboard above the counter. There was also an item on the blackboard called the Rhodehamel. I asked what the Rhodehamel was. I imagined it must be some kind of delicious sandwich. Maybe it was a pickle fish sandwich? She had no idea. The kitchen also does not open until 11AM. At least I got my coffee and set about doing the sketch. I was fascinated by a woman at the bar who was on a Zoom meeting about wine sales. Her earth toned dress had fish shapes all over it. When the sketch was complete, I went back to downtown Orlando to grab the waffles I craved.

Venetian Gardens, Leesburg Florida

Posted on by Thor

I went to Venetian Gardens in Leesburg Florida with a friend to paint. We made the mistake of getting to the gardens right before sunset. The golden hour light illuminated the far shore of the lake a golden orange. Two fishermen were out in small boats pulling in the last of their catch. It was a beautiful scene but we had to work supe fast to try and catch it.

The second it got dark, the mosquitos came out with a vengeance. We both scrambled to pack up our art supplies while getting bitten from all angles from clouds of mosquitos. I don’t even mind getting bitten, I just hate when the mosquitos buzz into my ears. I swear that every mosquito takes a kamikaze run at my ears. Hitting myself on the side of the head to try and kill the culprit is useless and deafening.

We both managed to get something 0n the page in the limited time we had. I of course would have liked more time to mix richer colors. I am considering making changes to my daily sketch kit to include gouache colors which can be applied opaque. With watercolors I can cover the page quickly with thin washes but there are times when I want to paint lights back into the sketch or mix rich pure colors. My watercolor palette is always rather dirty so finding pure color is a challenge.

In this same park there was a magnificent Christmas light display. Lights would flicker on and off in tempo with the music, and a series of reindeer would turn on in sequence making it seem like they were galloping across a bridge. I wanted to return to do a digital sketch of that display but I never got around to it. There were a few magical places to sketch in Lake County, but I have returned to downtown Orlando to search for the types of events that I have loved to sketch for years. I am on a sketching staycation in Thornton Park right now. I am staying at AirBnBs each week and walking downtown  to explore and sketch. My goal is to stay in Orlando long enough to sketch the Orlando International Fringe Festival in May.

Howie in the Hills Christmas Festival

Posted on by Thor

I went to Howie in the Hills to sketch a small town Christmas Festival. I fell on love with a home in Howie in the Hills which looked like a 1920s Hollywood hacienda. The home was on the main road where traffic is supposed to travel at 35 miles per hour, but the huge 18 wheelers seem to roar by at 55 miles per hour. The studio would have faced out on that main road.  I returned to the home a second time to see if the noise was an issue. The first time the real estate brokers had been talking constantly. This time I wanted a moment of peace to stop and reflect. There was a tall grouping of bamboo between what would have been the studio windows and the road. I considered planting more bamboo to further muffle the roar of traffic.

On the second floor the real estate broker confided for the first time that there was termite damage to a door frame. The termites had infested the home starting in the kitchen and then migrated through the walls upstairs. The door frame was so hollow that the door higes had nothing to hold onto. The door was resting 0n the floor. I hadn’t tried closing the door on my first walk through of the home. I abandoned the idea of buying that home. It was also too far from the events that I love to sketch each day. I like being able to walk to coffee shops and arts venues to sketch at a moments notice. Howie in the Hills is about an hour and a half drive from any Orlando events.

I am 0n a staycation at an AirBnB in Thornon Park, Orlando Florida. Since staying here, I have been doing several sketches every day. After I teach a virtual class tonight, I will be walking down the street to City Arts Factory to sketch Story Club. If I was still out in the country the hour and a half drive would have made the sketch opportunity a no go. The AirBnB is in a great location, but it has no WiFi, so I have to move again in a couple of days.

I parked across the street from the Howie in the Hills home I had decided was all wrong for me and I walked to the Christmas Festival. There was a stage for performers and I leaned against it to sketch the inflatable bounce houses. One of the staff who were supervising the bounce houses and slides set up beside me to eat lunch. He explained that he had to ask one kid to leave because the kid was bullying other children. By refusing the bully admission, the other kids could play without the harassment. If only politics were so easy.

I enoyed watching the kids trying to scale the rock climbing tower. One boy kept trying and failing at reaching the top. I admired that he never gave up. An older girl managed to get to the top on her second try. She raised her hands in victory and was lowered to the ground swaying on her safety rope. The little boy looked on in wonder and then attempted his climb with renewed determination. He failed again. He was dropped to the ground swinging on his safety rope with his arms dangling. I don’t know if the little boy ever made it to the top of the tower. As I packed up my sketchbook he was in the midst of another attempt.

I walked down the street filled with tents where vendors offered their Christmas knick knacks. I wasn’t tempted to purchases anything. To be honest I kind of skipped Christmas this year. My Christmas highlight this year was a Christmas market in Plettenberg Germany and sipping mulled wine while overlooking Wiesbaden Germany from a mountain top. This small Howie in the Hills estival felt overly commercial and shallow in comparison. There wasn’t much history behind the festivities. Being single and completely unattached, the holidays have less meaning. I might just treat myself to a new sketchbook or some new tubes of paint. I can’t order them online, since I don’t know where my next address will be.