Fringe: Josephine

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Dynamic Lunchbox Entertainment from Orlando Florida presented Josephine at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. Powerhouse, Tymisha Harris starred as Josephine. This show is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

As a child, Josphine Baker discovered her love of dance when she entered a talent show. Performing in America however had its drawbacks since racism kept her from even entering some venues. These deep rooted American racist setbacks vanished when a talent scout invited Josephine to perform in Paris France. In France she was deeply beloved and became an international star.

Josephine is most famous for her dancing while wearing a banana skirt. Tamisha performed this sensual dance with abandon. She was tough to catch on the sketch page since she was in constant motion, and when she wasn’t she was hidden behind a stage screen doing a costume change.

Josephine lived with passion. Besides her skyrocketing career, she also told us about the many men in her life. Having a live band on stage helped the show feel like it was from the luscious vaudeville era. There was a moment where Josephine posed for artist Frida Kahlo. From the intimacy of the moment I wondered if Frida and Josephine might have been lovers.  Both women were celebrated, openly bisexual icons who fiercely defied the rigid cultural, racial, and sexual boundaries of the early 20th century.

I cursed myself for not choosing that moment to sketch Josephine, There was enough time in that still moment where I could have slowed down enough to produce a well observed sketch. Oh well, life moves on. Keep making bold choices and live without regrets. I am sure that is what Josephine would have told me if we were to meet in Paris before or during WWII.

Fringe: Sororicide

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Lavender Moon Productions from Orlando Florida presented Sororicide at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. This campy murder mystery was written by Rheanne Walton and Savana Petranoff who first met as stage managers at Florida State University in Talahassee.

While waiting to get into the theater, I met the mom of one of the performers and she had a beautiful black and white Husky with sky blue eyes by the name of Quinn the Pomsky. A Pomsky is part Pomeranian and part Husky. Quinn is mostly Husky in appearance with a Pom dash of fluffy cuteness. This adorable pup is a bit of a star who has performed in commercials and other important roles in film. Quinn has run on the star-studded Hollywood walk of fame and proudly posed on the red carpet before screening premieres.

Sorocicide is built around the premise that the Delta Nu Sorority is raising funds for a pup rescue campaign. Quinn had a walk on role in the show but there are permits that have to be obtained along with other red tape that held up the pup performance. Quinn had to watch the show from the audience. Christina Breza who plays Hanna in the show is Quinn’s god mother. She came out just before the doors opened and gave Quinn a reassuring hug.

The show was chaotic to start. Sorority sisters walked all around the room meeting one another and chatting with members of the audience. Gradually they gathered around three long tables for their meeting. However the meeting could not start because the Sorority sister president was missing. She was the one who usually presided over these meetings. One sorority sister had been seated right beside me, but she wasn’t Chelsea.

The show is a who done it. A few phone calls reaching out to friends soon revealed that Chelsea, the Sorority sister President had been murdered. The fundraiser meeting then turned into arguments among the members about who might have killed Chelsea and why. One of the sisters was studying criminology, so she tarted interviewing people to try and get to the bottom of the mystery. The audience was also invited into the investigation.

College student stereotypes played a roll in the performances. One girl kept posing and shooting selfies while puckering her lips and tossing her hair. There were several Christian zealots who opposed any form of drink or partying, yet they too could be suspects. There were a couple of random party jocks at the end of the table who made light of the situation and bragged about their exploits.

Though in a position of authority in running the charity, Chelsea wasn’t liked by many. Everyone seemed to have had a confrontation with her at some point. The goal was to figure out who had the motive and opportunity to like totally kill Chelsea.

All I know is that Quinn the Pomsky did not kill Chelsea and might have sniffed out the suspect in record time if allowed on the stage.

Rejuvenation Orchestra: Sam Rivers Legacy Rehearsal

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This Sam Rivers Legacy Rehearsal was held at the Timucua Arts Foundation.  Sam Rivers is one of the greatest jazz legends of our time, having performed for over 70 years. In the 1970’s he was one of the first artists to open a jazz cultural center in Greenwich New York, which was used as a venue to help artists develop their talents and gain a reputation. Sam Rivers died the day after Christmas in 2011 at the age of 88 in Orlando Florida.

I was lucky enough to hear Sam Rivers perform live within a few months of having started this blog back in 2009. He performed live at the Maitland Art Center at the closing party for the Florida Film Festival. As a visual artist ,it felt liberating to sketch while listening to Sam Rivers perfuming jazz music. Lines and washes danced on the page with a wild abandon while swaying to the beat.

Sketching the Rejuvenation Orchestra Rehearsal was very much a similar experience. Lines would be thrown down on the page while being inspired by the ebb and flow of the music. All the musicians were arranged in a circle and a single microphone sat at the center of the circle created. I imagined the musicians being very much relaxed in the rehearsal since the stakes were not as high as during a live performance with an audience. There was laughter and camaraderie between sets.

This is the type of setting that I am most inspired by. Any mistakes were forgivable and the performers organically started to pull together as a whole. Finding variety in volume was an issue discussed. Playing sifter to start allowed for a greater crescendo as the music progressed.

I needed to stand to get the sketch, since a balcony railing would have blocked my view if I was seated. That meant that I could sway my hips and dance as needed as I sketched to the beat.

Fringe: Vagina Monologues

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CnC Productions of Orlando Florida presented the Vagina Monologues at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. The intimate stage at Ten10 Brewing was filled with a phalanx 0f female performers. Each woman in turn got up to relate their bold and unapologetic story about their vaginas. Eve Ensler’s script took various interviews into monologues that are read aloud by the large, cast of women.

One woman related a story of how her man insisted that she shave downstairs and how itchy and uncomfortable that was. Each testimony was honest an sincere. Women are often taught to hide their monthly cycle. If men experienced the same thing each month you can bet that they would be very vocal about the experience. But the patriarchy insists that women pretend that nothing is happening.

On woman was a sexual coach and she recreated the sounds that woman make as they near orgasm. She was hilarious. If you take Meg Ryan’s diner scene from When Harry Met Sally and multiply that scene times 10 you, might get a sense of how funny and endearing the performance was. She recreated the faint breaths and squeaks to the guttural moans that verge on shouting.

The production felt like it was empowering for the performers and woman in general. Sexuality should be celebrated rather than hidden away. Though not technically a comedy, this show had me laughing the loudest of any production I saw at the Fringe. Though the monologues might have been from interviews with different woman, the rapport among the cast and the way each reader embraced their lines made it clear the feeling expressed were universal. When given the freedom to do so, every woman loves to talk about their vaginas. It is just that no one ever asked before.

I saw a black tee shirt with white lettering all over the fringe with descriptors of, Kitty Meow Meow, Lady Garden, Pink Taco, Cootchie, Va Jay Jay, and more. The Splash Awards allow the local LGBTQ+ community to vote for their favorite shows, directors, and performers. The Splash awards gave an award for Best Supporting Actor, Xoey Dillman-Giewont, Best Director, Lady James Dillman, and the Best Show, The Vagina Monologues.

The staged reading benefited One Heart Women and Children.

I give the show 10 out of 10 vaginas.

Fringe: Then, Eve

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The World of Billy Jane from Orlando Florida presented Then, Eve at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. God created Adam and then Eve was left to create herself. In one awkward moment the lights in the theater went black and Eve had to figure out how to procreate with Adam. From the grunts and painful silences, it seemed that the encounter was a failure. Eve never needed to see Adam again.

Eve was eternally curious and went about spending her time naming the species of animals, including thousands of beetles. She learned all she needed to know from her animal companions. She was dressed a bit like an explorer in a loose white garb like Laurence of Arabia with a hip satchel.

Eve’s monologues were centered around how humans can best spend their time on earth. Her curiosity kept her from ever experiencing a dull moment. With so many facets to creation she wanted to see and learn all she could.

She discovered a caterpillar which then spun a cocoon and later emerged as a butterfly. Eve imagined that she too would experience a metamorphosis. Though she could not spin a cocoon, she did morph in how she saw herself in the world. The play is largely about personal growth and learning each and every day to alter a naive a limited world view. The show was often laugh out loud funny while being tender and insightful.

Coming at the Biblical story of creation from my Sunday school upbringing, I assumed Eve was the world’s first woman. It wasn’t until very late in the show that I realized that Eve was Transgender. My affection for the character didn’t change but my mind exploded.

The show was named one of the “Best Shows of the Fringe Festival” by the Orlando Sentinel and received glowing praise from the Orlando Weekly for its fluidity and gut-punch emotional depth.

Fringe: The Suitcase

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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

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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

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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

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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!

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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