After Pulse: Lindsay Kincaide

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Lindsay Kincaide is an Orlando Florida mental health clinician and an HIV, LGBT advocate. She volunteered at the Center on Tuesday nights and the volunteers  became known as Team Tuesday. After work they would go to Karaoke night at Pulse.

She loved Pulse. A friend dealt poker at Pulse. Barbara Poma had named the club after her brother who passed away from aids, and she was always open to local agencies coming into the club to do fundraisers.

She started with front desk work at the Center but wanted to get involved as an HIV tester. She did the work to become a certified HIV tester in the state of Florida. She as also a case manager for low income people living with HIV, Aids. She was promoted to become the Center’s HIV program director. She built the program up adding Hep-C and STI testing and she expanded mental health services.

She vividly recalls June 11, the day before the Pulse tragedy. She was running a support group for partners of individuals how have come out as trans-gender. She was running that support group on Saturday mornings. It was a beautiful day. She felt great and went shopping at Publix for the weekend. The plan was to have mimosas on Sunday. She and her partner went to bed early that night, about 10pm. She considered the idea of going out, maybe to Southern Nights, but she was tired.

She woke up the next morning to the text messages, “Are you OK?” “Did you go to Pulse?” A text message at 2Am read, “Are you at Pulse?” from a friend. She assumed her friend wanted her to meet at Pulse. Then she got a text from a best friend in Atlanta. Then she sought out the news at about 8AM on social media. What the hell is going on? She jumped out of bed and woke her partner up, “There has been a shooting at Pulse.” She realized she had to go to the Center. That was her first instinct. Her partner was nervous, “What if they decide to go to the center and begin shooting?” At that point Lindsay didn’t care. She needed to be there. They both went.

They got coffee and immediately drove to the Center and they were some of the first to arrive. No one was prepared for this. The Center started putting information online via Facebook. People started to arrive. Water, Klenex, toilet paper, paper towels, coffee and food poured into the Center. They moved the TV to the front room so that the news could come in.

About mid-morning about 12 councilors went into the back and stated to figure out how to mobilize. They needed to be in the community. A clipboard was passed around but that wasn’t going to work. Someone suggested Google Docs to get organized. A spreadsheet was created. Lindsay began to sign people up, getting their contact information. The Zebra Coalition right across the street donated their crisis hotline. People were sent to the hotel across the street from ORMC where the families were hoping to hear news about their loved ones. They also needed an off site location. The Center was getting insanely crowded. That off site location became Christ’s Church on Robinson.

The Google Doc which she ran had contact information and then tabs for the different sites and different shifts. For the first day, Sunday, She tried to schedule people. It was too much for her to handle alone. She was there until 11Pm on Sunday. She decided to just put the spreadsheet out into the world, and let people sign up virtually. She added new tabs as needed. The document was editable. It went out on all the Facebook pages that counselors are a part of. Her phone blew up with call from all over the country. She was texting, e-mailing and calling out information to everyone to sign in on the Google Doc. She was up until 2AM. Over 700 people signed up. There were about 1000 interactions between June 12 and July 4th.

By Monday they were going to the LGBT clubs, Parliament House, Southern Nights, Savoy, Stonewall, because that is where the community gathers when they need support. That is our safe space. Councilors were at the clubs until midnight. The mental health community wrapped their arm around the LGBT community and said, we are here. They provided support and connected people to counseling. Two Spirit began offering services for free and the Center got their counseling mobilized. Another Google Doc was created where she asked all who had signed up, what they were willing to offer the community. That document went to what became the United Orlando Assistance Center and to the Center as a counseling resource guide.

 

Daddy Issues at the Parliament House.Footlight Theater in

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Coming direct from its Off Broadway premiere, Daddy Issues written and directed by David Goldyn is coming to the Footlight Theater in the Parliament House (410 North Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando FL). Pam Schwartz and I went to a dress rehearsal. Walking in, we passed a drag queen bingo session going on at the bar. The cast sat in the audience for the first hour or so since Blue Estrella was working power nailing baseboards to the walls, framed show posters were hung on the wall with care. We all waited with anticipation for a white door to arrive which went stage left. I had to resist drawing any furniture since it had been pushed around the stage to make room for set construction. An air compressor that looked like a cross between a Roomba and R2D2 was eventually removed.

Donald Moscowitz (Wes Miles) has overbearing parents. Don’t we all? He is trying to live his life as a gay man in 1980s New York as a
struggling actor no less. Of course his parents are in denial about his
lifestyle, disapprove of his career choice, and question his flair for
decoration. To get his family to stop kvetching, Donald needs a son. With the help of his ballsy best friend Henrietta (Darby Ballard) and rising drag
queen Levi (Tim Garnham), Donald hires the ten-year-old kid (Rhysee Silvestro) from downstairs to play
his son. What could go wrong?

This fast-paced new comedy, takes
audiences on a fun ride to remind us just how far we’ll go
for family.  Both Henrietta and Levi want to play the part of Donald’s long lost girlfriend that he dated in college, before he realized he was gay. When his grandmother (Jack LeDoux) brings home the real college girlfriend, Mary Ellen (Melanie Leon) who happens to be the mom of the 10-year-old son Donald has hired. Melanie was always thick into the drink, having named her son Johnnie Walker. Her off kilter performance certainly added humor to the third act.

Donald’s father Sid (Joe Zimmer) and grandmother approach the boy to find out if he has been circumcised, only to be pulled away by Donald. The show was a fun romp. It was just as fun to watch the actors who performed with selfless abandon since there was no audience. For instance, rehearsing the bows for the first time brought out some over the top styles.

Daddy Issues opens Friday August 4th at Footlight Theater.

Tickets are $20  7:30PM to 10:30PM

Show Dates are

Friday August 4

Saturday August 5

Friday August 11

Saturday August 12

Friday August 18

Saturday August 19

Monday August 21 (Industry Night)

Saturday August 26

Dog Sees God is at the Parliament House.

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The Peanuts comic strip meets Reality in “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” at the Footlight Theatre

Orlando, Fl. The show is, an “unauthorized parody” written by Bert V. Royal and directed by David Lee, opening at the Footlight Theatre, (410 North Orange Blossom Trail Orlando, Florida). It imagines the characters from Charles M. Schulz’s beloved Peanuts’ characters 10 years later as angst fueled teenagers. But this is no comic strip!

Their names have been altered a bit but all of the characters and back story are easy to identify.

“CB”, aka Charlie Brown, (Christopher Walen) as lost his beloved dog and is struggling with existential questions of life and death and sexual identity. Piano-playing “Schroeder” is now the bullied and ostracized “Beethoven.” (Chris Metz) Matt, the “Pigpen” character, (Campbell Gilliland) is now a homophobic germophobe, “Sally” (Madeleine Elise) has gone goth and “Linus” is a Buddhist stoner (Zachary Lane). Lucy, (Rachel Comeau) once the nickel psychologist, is a feisty pyromaniac who’s been sent off to an institution.

The gang grapples with teenage realities of drug use, suicide, eating disorders, bullying, rebellion, and sexual identity, wrapped in skewered, funny, and poignant twists.

To find the rehearsal at the Parliament house, David Lee told me to walk past the back bar. I spotted an actress taking the same route and I followed her to the stage door. This was going to be a tech rehearsal with a complete run through of the show. It wasn’t a dress rehearsal, but Margaret and David showed me a publicity shot which hinted at the final costumes.  I did make a few clothing changes in the sketch. A scene where Sally performed a one woman show was funny and powerful at the same time. She was a caterpillar who dreamed not of becoming, not a butterfly, but a platypus. Her high energy was infectious. Her brother “CB” was the one high school student who didn’t fit in with any clicks yet didn’t mind being different. He questioned the meaning of life after loosing his beloved Snoopy whose red dog house sat center stage during the pre-show. The inside of the dog house glowed red as did the Plexiglas cubes which functioned as tables, chairs and platforms as needed.

I always thought that Peppermint Patty, Aka Trish (Julianne Snyder) might be a lesbian. Her valley girl mannerisms and sexy boisterousness performance left open the possibility that she and Marcy (Veronika Kelly) might hook up. They were open to sharing a guy in a threesome and it would just make sense to leave the guy out of the equation eventually. Every scene stays true to the original characters while addressing the insane and difficult world of the high school social structure. It is was like “The Breakfast Club” with Charles Schultz’s pubescent characters. When Sally gives her brother a letter from a pen pal “CS” the cast turned towards a screen with a photo of Charles Schultz. The letter reminded CB to stay true to himself despite all odds. I found myself getting choked up at this imagined gesture from a cartoonist whose time here on earth had passed. The show presented characters that I fell in love with all over again. There was loss, sorrow as well as rebellious joy. It packed an emotional punch. Good grief, so don’t miss it.

WHAT:
“Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” is directed by David Lee, assistant directed by Gabriella Juliet Beals and produced by Kangagirl Productions-Margaret Nolan. Graphics and photography by Jocelynn White, sound design by Rachel Comeau, set design by David Lee, and costume assistance by Kyla Swanberg.

WHEN:
Saturdays- August 1, 8, 15 and 22 @7:30PM | Industry Night- Monday, August 24 @7:30PM

WHERE:
The Footlight Theatre, Parliament House 410 N. Orange Blossom Trail | Orlando, FL 32805

TICKETS:
$10 Advance | $15 at the door | Admission to the Parliament House.

Sunday Piano Bar

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Amanda Chadwick invited Terry and myself to the Sunday afternoon Piano Bar at the Parliament House (41o North Orange Blossom Trail). Kelly DeWayne Richards plays every Sunday from 1:30pm until about 4:30pm. He has a huge selection of sheet music and invites audience members to come up and sing. There is an undeniable regular crowd. Most of the singers are exceptionally talented. We muscled up to the bar as our eyes adjusted to the dark room. Amanda ordered a chocolate martini and it looked so good I wanted one. From the bar stool I started sketching. Mark Baratelli enterd and everyone shouted “Mark” Cheers style. Kelly insisted Mark step up to the mic. As he got ready to sing, an audience member got up to go to the men’s room. Mark glowered at him like a diva and we all laughed. He began singing an over the top emotional rendition of “I’m Not Going” from Dream Girls. His emotional heaving breaths and despondent screams made his rendition hilarious. The crowd in the tiny room roared.

Even though I was still sketching, Kelly insisted I step up to the mic to sing “Hold 0n“. Kelly told the story of how I sang this at the surprise 20th anniversary party I threw for Terry. I pulled the lyrics up on my cell phone as the audience waited. With a weak internet connection, it seemed an eternity. I whispered into the mic, testing it, “This one goes out to Terry.” I missed a lyric or two but by the end I was feeling good, even the high notes were effortless. I looked at Terry then I saw people in the audience swaying and singing along. By the last refrain, the room was filled with harmony. When I finished, I assume there was polite applause. When I walked back to the bar, Terry threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. Mark shouted out, “Hey! Look everybody, straight people!” I laughed. One song isn’t a free pass. It is the first step on a long road.

While I was singing, some guy had taken my bar stool. I just stood next to him throwing down quick watercolor washes. He eventually left and I regained my seat. Terry got up and sang “Being Alive” from the Sondheim musical, Company. I was surprised how soft and vulnerable her voice was. We are both frightened moving forward challenging support and independence but very much alive. Amanda and I sang “Somewhere Out There.” We have had to sing it every time we are at the Sunday Piano Bar. Now that Matt Simantov, Amanda’s boyfriend, is living way out in Seattle, the song has taken on a special meaning for her.

Piano Bar Cabaret

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Amanda Chadwick gathered some friends together for brunch at Dexter’s (808 East Washington Street.) Tables were pushed together to accommodate everyone. Everyone ordered Mimosa’s or juice. My omelet was reasonably good but lacking in spices. After we ate some of us went to Parliament House (410 North Orange Blossom Trail) for the Sunday Piano Bar Cabaret that occurs every week from 1pm to 4pm.

When Terry and I arrived, Kelly Richards was still setting up. He draped a black cloth over two small tables and used that to support his electronic piano. A tall tips chalice was rimmed with Mardi Gras beads. Amanda, Denna Beena and Travis Fillmen were already there. Mark Baratelli arrived soon after us. Mark performed early in the line up. He sang a Jason Robert Brown song but he improvised all the lyrics. It was pure genius and hilarious. I was surprised when Terry got up to sing. She sang “Send in the Clowns” tentatively at first then with feeling. It felt as if she was singing to me. I kept tearing around while she couldn’t move. As life throws it’s challenges at us, we are finding ways to laugh and tear up this town together.

Once again I was coaxed up to sing “Somewhere Out There” with Amanda. I’m always surprised when the whole audience joins along with the chorus. Amanda did a little soft shoe shuffle between verses. The most heart warming moment of the day came when Kelly asked all the singers to stand together on the small stage. We all sang “Seasons of Love“. All our voices blended and harmonized beautifully. Terry lowered her head to my shoulder as we sang. It was a simple glorious moment but soon forgotten in the crush and demands of everyday life.

Flash! At Parliament House

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On the day of the FLASH MOB at the Mall at Millenia, dancers were invited to give an encore performance of their dance moves at the Parliament House. Admission is usual $10 but Flash Mob participants could get in free for the night. Terry had danced in the Flash Mob and she was excited to have this second “gig”. It was 80’s night. The place was filled with images from 1980’s early video games. The bartender I decided to draw was wearing a Super Mario Brothers style hot as he checked out Facebook on his iPhone. This back room bar was probably the quietest spot in the club. The throbbing 80’s beat still set me cokes surface to vibrate. Lightning kept changing from green to red and back making color choices in the painting a challenge.

Terry had remained behind near the dance floor waiting for her moment to once again strut her stuff. with all that was going on, no one noticed me sketching. Two other bartenders were dressed as big blue Smurfs. Pac Man images were everywhere.This was my first time at the Parliament House in the evening and it was a wild eye opening experience. There was such a cross section of humanity, from cross dressers, gays, lesbians, straight, young and old you name it. It was a sketch artists paradise.

The Flash Mob was reenacted right on cue. Everyone went wild and joined in the on the dance floor. It was like an electroshock jolt that set the dance floor ablaze. The disco ball spun and neon rippled out from the ceilings center. Smoke filled the space making shafts of light visible as they cut through the air. When the dance was complete, I was just finishing up my sketch. Terry and I both decided to head home. There was a huge line of people waiting to get in as we left. The evening was just getting started and I suspect things were about to get unhinged. I have heard that the Parliament House is having financial troubles and might close soon. That is hard to believe since there was such an amazing crowd. It would be a real shame if the place closed since it is the closest thing to the Moulin Rouge that Orlando has.

Sunday Karaoke at the Parliament House

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There are many people who have known me for years who will never believe what I am about to tell you. But these events did unfold, on a quiet Superbowl Sunday, just as written . Amanda Chadwick put out an invitation to go to the Parliament House for Sunday morning Karaoke at the piano bar. Only the night before, actress, Lindsay Cohen had told me that she had once worked as a waitress at the Parliament House. I have never been, so I was curious. This sounded like a perfect sketching opportunity.
When I arrived maybe an hour late, I could hear the loud singing from the street. When I walked in it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the dark interior. The room was filled with men all sitting at the bar and in folding chairs facing the piano player. At the front table sat the only three women in the room and Amanda was one of them. She saw me and came over to say hello. The proprietor of the bar offered me a folding chair so I could sit with the 3 ladies, but I rather liked the view from my bar stool. I got out my sketchbook and started to sketch. The first person to take the stage after I started working was Dina Peterson who was one of Amanda’s friends. She sang Elton John’s “Your Song” and she bought down the house. All the men joined her singing the chorus and they all swayed to the music. I found myself singing along myself as I sketched, the lines flowing along with the words. To myself I sang , “I know its not much, but it’s the best I can do… My gift is my sketch, and this ones for you….”
There was long break after Dina sang because the foot pedal to the piano was stuck causing too much reverberation. Leslie Lormann, another friend of Amanda’s got on her hands and knees and worked on the pedal by wedging a book under it or something. One of the guys at the bar shouted out “Nice Ass, and that is some compliment coming from a gay guy!” She took it in stride and laughed it off. However it was done, the piano came back to life.
Mark Baratelli entered the bar and was greeted much like Norm from Cheers. He then got on the stage and sang “Somewhere over the Rainbow” everyone went wild. Mark added humor to the song by pushing the notes in new and unexpected ways. This was pure comic genius. By this time I had one white wine and when Mark gave the word, we all joined in the chorus. This was a side of Mark I had never seen before, and it was pure comic fun.
When his performance was over Amanda came over to see how my sketch was going. I was just about done. She asked, “Are you going to sing?” I said, “I haven’t seen YOU sing yet.” She said “No one wants to see me sing, trust me.” Offhandedly, figuring I was safe, I said “OK if you sing, I will join you.” She said, “OK, lets sing a duet.” In my mind I was thinking, “What have I done?” She bought over the play list and we started pouring over all the choices. She suggested a song from “Beauty and the Beast but I said, “No Disney, I will not sing a Disney song, that might cause flashbacks.” She finally chose the song, “Somewhere out There” from “An American Tail.” She hesitated a second saying, “Isn’t that a Disney movie?” I had to confirm that it wasn’t, so I agreed.
When we got on stage, my heart was in my throat. Luckily the duet starts with the female lead singing alone. Amanda missed the first cue but then she began, her voice quavering just a bit. The good thing about this song is that it is sung by mice in the movie. Thus any tightness in the throat or nervousness might sound like we were trying to sing the song in a mouse like manner. When I started singing, I was surprised by the sound of my voice on the speakers, I moved the microphone towards and away from my mouth trying to find the sweet spot where I sounded human again. I thought we did a fine job leaning towards each other and glancing up when the moment seemed right. When we sang together we actually harmonized, in our own way. To my untrained ears, Amanda sounded great. When the chorus came around again everyone in the bar was singing along drowning out our humble efforts. It is impossible not to have your heart warmed by a room full of people singing this song. It was a glorious moment which apparently Mark Baratelli decided to record on his little video camera. Luckily his camera has the worst microphone ever made, so you will not be subjected to my singing efforts. What ever it sounded like, it felt great! Thank you Amanda for the experience!
This Sunday Karaoke Singing Session happens every Sunday from 1PM to 4PM at the Parliament House (410 North Orange Blossom Trail). This is a unique Orlando experience! Happy Valentines Day!