Skill Focus Show to Feature Horror and Humor

Posted on by Thor

On Friday September 12, Skill Focus Burlesque will feature “Horror” at The Venue (511 Virginia Drive Orlando FL).
Halloween will kick off early this year with your favorite nerdy burlesque troupe! This Burlesque show will be a sexy celebration of all things horror! They plan to  summon classic characters from all over the horror genre. Your worst nightmares have never been so scintillating!

I went to a rehearsal on the East side of town. When I drove into the housing development, I realized I had been here for quite a few parties at a home just a block away from the rehearsal space. This town keeps shrinking. Inside, I heard loud laughter, so I knew the rehearsal had started. I walked past the seamstress who was working on refining costumes in the living room. On stage, the performer was covered in blood with a nasty open mouth where her stomach was. At the moment of the big unveiling,  comical googly eyes dangled from springs where her nipples would have been. It was a hilarious routine and I wish I had gotten there early enough to sketch it. Rosita Sparkles didn’t recognize me to I had to introduce myself.

From her, I discovered that the rehearsal was half over. Oh, Damn! I had to sketch a double speed just to get something on the page before the rehearsal was over. I quickly sketched Rosita’s witch routine when she first started dancing fully cloaked. The music was from Beetle Juice and she had on long black and white stockings that were removed with ample flourish to the beat of the music. I was in panic mode the whole time. The rehearsal flowed by a a breakneck pace.

The sound technician who was supposed to get the music mix ready had dropped the ball. Ruby Darling quickly ran through the music that would accompany the group dance numbers. These group dance numbers were quickly blocked out on the fly. One of the last numbers involved the whole cast downing jello shots and then the Horror vibe switched to a sultry 60s dance party. I was surprised that the sketch was done before the rehearsal wrapped up. Ruby Darling started addressing the Troupe about issues that came up at the last performances at Nerd Fest. This was all inside drama that doesn’t need to be aired in public. I politely excused myself and slipped away. Lightning flashed on the horizon as I drove home.

When:
Friday, September 12th
Doors open at 10 pm
Show starts at 11 pm.

Where:
The Venue Orlando
511 Virginia Drive
Orlando, FL 32803

Tickets:$10 General Admission
$15 VIP Seating
Tickets available at the door or in advance.

18+ only

One Chic Fete Livened up Firestone Live with Art, Fashion and Burlesque

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Ashlie Rolfe invited me to sketch “One Chic Fete” on May 30, 2014 from 8:30pm -1:30am at Firestone Live, (578 N. Orange Ave
Orlando, FL). The event was an incredible fusion of all things creative, including fashion, music, burlesque, visual art, photography and more! It was a night of creativity, cocktails, and a collaboration of over 40+ designers, artists, musicians, etc.

When I arrived, I quickly decided to sketch from the second floor overlooking all the festivities. A retro motorcycle and the band on stage became my centers of interest. Chain link fences were set up around the whole venue as a place to hang art. The last time I exhibited work on a chain link fence was at Grant Elementary school in Dumont New Jersey. At the time I was quite obsessed with the space program and I hung a sketch I did of the Mercury space capsule. I was sure that one day I would be an astronaut. The trouble is that I couldn’t stop sketching.

Upstairs at Firestone I bumped into Ruby Darling who founded Skill Focus Burlesque. They performed that evening in costumes based on video game characters. As Ruby explained, “We dress up as all the things, or characters you are hoping to see! And then we strip down to pasties.” There was also a costume contest and my favorite was The Alien and it walked down the runway with a puppy on a leash. It was the perfect blend of Harrow and cuteness. I started to sketch the Alien, but it went offstage long before I could catch its proportions, so I had to erase it. As always, I was surprised with how many people were looking at their cell phones the whole time. When I was done sketching, I did a walk about to see which artists were showcasing their work.

Skill Focus Burlesque Presents: Computer Crash Course

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I went to a rehearsal for Skill Focus‘ Computer Crash Course. his nerdy burlesque show will be about memes, cats,  internet celebrities and everything else you need to know about computers. I was surprised that the rehearsal space was a suburban home only 5 minute drive from my home. Skill Focus: Burlesque, voted the Best Theater Company in the Orlando Weekly 2013 Best of pole,  is Orlando’s one and only Nerdy Burlesque troupe.
These ladies and gents combine their love of all things geeky with the
sass and comedy of old-school burlesque, all while aiming to put on the
most epic show you’ve ever seen.

The second I arrived, the full run through got started. An announcer began to describe exactly how burlesque should be done. Lita LaRoux acted out the poses described to comic effect. She interacted with her feather boa like she was wrestling a snake. She went through the entire routine like it was her first time which was charming and funny at the same time. She finally did disrobe to display a bright pink corset. That as well came off with a luxurious flourish.

Dahlia Ivory Paige performed as Carmin Sandieo in a long red trench coat and wide brim hat that made her look like a femme fatale from a Film nuor. She was the one performer who sang while she did her burlesque act. She actually had a really good singing voice which in itself is worth the price of admission. Her act was a bit darker and more mysterious that the others which are usually comical. A male performer, Fifi Latio, performed as a pirate. A bright red wig and eye patch completed his look. Come show day he will be covered in glitter. I discovered a new word at the rehearsal. “Derp” seems to refer to an
awkward charm that comes when things don’t work out as expected.


Rosita Sparkles nailed the funniest burlesque of the evening. She performed as a crazed cyber girlfriend who will stalk her man and never let him go. She had a maniacal wide eyed gaze that made her every move hilarious. She had an audience member help her remove a glove and then she clutched the glove refusing to let it go. She didn’t just disrobe, she literally ripped off her clothes in a crazed passion. Ruby Darling, Skill Focus’ fearless leader had bright blue hair. She took notes about every performance so that they could be tweaked and improved before the show. Every performer develops their own routine and the results are often inspired. Ruby’s routine was set in the wild west and she had a flourish of skirts worthy of the Moulin Rouge or a raw unbridled western stage show.

Post rehearsal notes included how to step out of a skirt which involves lowering the skirt all the way to the floor while showcasing plenty of leg and keeping the butt elevated. There was one technical difficulty when Rosita couldn’t undo her corset. Ruby demonstrated how these clasps can become tangled and locked. Any guy might identify with the dilemma of trying to unclasp a bra and discovering that is refuses to give way. There is a technique of pushing away in a scooping motion that will free the clasp every time. There were many more acts that I described, so expect to be surprised.

Mark your calenders! Skill Focus Presents: Computer Crash Course will be performed on July 19th at The Venue, 511 Virginia Drive, Orlando FL at 10pm. 18+ ONLY! The Venue has a full bar for those 21and older.

Tickets:
$15 VIP front row seating
$10 General admission
Tickets available in advance at sfbcomputercrashcourse.eventbrite.com. It is going to be a wild and hilarious ride!

4 x 4 Fringe Pub Crawl

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The 4 x 4 Fringe Pub Crawl on May 13th was in the Mills 50 District and in Ivanhoe Village. There were drink specials at Wally’s, Will’s Pub, BART and The Peacock Room in Mills 50 and The Matador, Hideaway, Hammered Lamb and Savoy in Ivanhoe Village. O-Cartz (included with the $10 wristband) transported patrons between bars.  There was a rumor that Andy Matchett would pay $20 to anyone who literally crawled from BART to the Peacock Room a block or two further up Mills Avenue.

I decided to go to BART, an arcade and bar on Mills Avenue that I have never been to before. Chan Sterling was checking his portable microphone and speaker. It was tinny but would have to do. Lead by Ruby Darling, Skill Focus Burlesque Dancers arrived and sat in the cushy lounge seating.  The entire cast of Jet Backpack and the Battle at the End of the Universe arrived all at once. They were all in their intergalactic costumes. There were photo opportunities of Jett and his crew playing video games.

Earth Girls are Easy was on the wide screen TV but music drowned the sound track. Paintings by Parker Sketch had just been hung earlier in the day. Parker arrived with a few friends and he let me know that several of the smaller pieces had already sold. A woman asked me if I was the Painter, Sketcher who was on the poster. I didn’t know what she meant at first, but finally realized she was referring to Parker Sketch.

Suddenly a gaggle of screaming women entered the bar. Two of them climbed onto the bar, dancing and making out. One girl had a long pink penis shaped water pistol filled with vodka and she was offering shots to all the men. I couldn’t bring myself to purse my lips in front of the phallic dispenser. One woman had penis shaped antenna and she was the one to go up to the mic to promote the Bachelorette show. I was given a business card with a tiny plastic bag of white powder stapled to the back, I did a detective wet finger taste test. It wasn’t cocaine but powdered sugar, then again, I have no idea what cocaine tastes like. The Bachelorettes vanished as suddenly as the arrived, probably off to the next bar. Suddenly the bar was relatively quiet again.

John Bateman took to the microphone and sang David Bowie‘s “Space Oddity” with lyrics that had been altered to the Jett Backpack theme. Kevin Sigman as the sinister Doctor Saurian also stepped up to the mic.  Matt McGrath shouldered up to the bar with model Sierra Missed. She had an angular futuristic hair style that made her appear like an exotic futuristic replicant from Blade Runner. I had sketched her just last month at the RAW event at the Abbey. I didn’t recognize her at first since she was all green when I sketched her, but she recognized me. Matt pointed out that I’m probably the only person in town who can get away with scrutinizing someone for several hours without appearing creepy. With my sketch done, I contemplated wandering off to another bar on the crawl, but decided one sketch was enough for the night.

I’m curious about that Bachelorette show now.

Remaining Show Times are:

5/18 at 7PM

5/19 at 4:20PM

5/22 at 9:30PM

5/24 at 11:15PM

5/25 at 9:15PM

Where: Gold Venue at Theater Downtown, Princeton and Orange

Tickets: $10 plus a Fringe Button

Skill Focus Strikes Back

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On May 6th, Skill Focus Burlesque held a dress rehearsal, or rather an undress rehearsal for their upcoming Fringe show, “Skill Focus Strikes Back“. The rehearsal was at Dancer’s Edge Studio (7351 Aloma Ave, Winter Park, FL). A large white curtain hung in front of the stage becoming the modesty curtain for performers as they got into costume. There were still under aged dancers in the back studio so someone stood at the door blocking the view of anyone trying to glance in. Last year, Skill Focus was a last minute substitution at the Fringe and Ruby felt it was a hot mess, but this year she wanted her troupes ready for a blitzkrieg.

Skill Focus will be performing three unique shows at the Fringe this year in the green venue. Sci-Fi-A-Go-Go has characters from Star Trek, Star Wars and other intergalactic adventures. Classic Consoles features video game themed characters and Arkham Asylum has Batman characters baring it all. Ruby Darling asked all the dancers to join her in warm up exercises. Everyone stretched and practiced some kicks. Then every performer in turn got into costume to perform their routine.

The guys were up first. My favorite routine had Nekkid RoboJoe wearing so many sweaters, that he resembled that kid in his winter clothes in “A Christmas Story” who couldn’t put his arms down. He needed help getting the last sweaters on. When he began his routine, he flexed his muscles and the sweaters made him resemble a very warm Hulk. His thin black pant legs looked like burnt match sticks supporting a huge marshmallow. As he struggled to remove the sweaters one at a time, Ruby shouted out, “No triangle face!” Although it might be a struggle, she wanted it to look sensual. I was laughing till my sides hurt. It didn’t matter what was at the center of the Tootsie Pop.

Stage Kitten Miss Terri Guest helped in a Classic Consoles number holding the Pong Ball in a heated Pong match. She strutted back and forth with Vanna flair.  Suddenly she bent over in pain. At first I thought it was part of the routine but she sat beside me with tears in her eyes and Ruby asked if she could help. A stray ligament caused the pain and another stage kitten had to take her place. The show must go on. After Miss Terri recovered, she had a pointer for all the performers. She said is is much sexier to unbutton blouses and shirts from the bottom up. I’ll have to remember that the next time I unbutton a dress shirt. I tend to forget to unbutton the sleeves and end up straight jacketed until I can yank my hands loose. Definitely not sexy.

Who: Skill Focus Strikes Back

Where: Fringe, Green Venue in the Rep


When: Sci-Fi-A-Go-Go

May 16 at 11:15PM

May 21 at 8:45PM

Classic Consoles

May 18 at Midnight

May 24 at 7:15PM

Arkham Asylum

May 19 at 9:30PM

May 25 at 10:15PM

Fan Service Finale:

May 26 at 7:45PM

Tickets:  $10 + Fringe Button. 18 or older only.

The Brain That Wouldn’t Die

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On January 19th, I went to the second installment of Trash Cinema 101 at The Venue (511 Virginia Drive, Orlando, Florida). Trash Cinema 101 is a live, interactive experience, with bad films, good friends and ZERO class! Each month, Logan Donahoo guides you through his own cinematic wasteland, and brings you out the other side with drinking games and trivia – all wrapped in a campy, lewd, irreverent shell! The January film was “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die!” In the lobby of the Venue, one woman came in with a basting pan around her neck.

The film was laugh out loud funny. That wasn’t the directors intent but with Logan pointing out all the intricate flaws, the evening became hilarious. A Doctor and his wife go for a car ride. There is a crash and the one thing the doctor recovers from the wreck is his wife’s head.  In his basement lab, he keeps his wife’s head alive in a basting pan with tubes of goo snaking all over the place. He spends the rest of his time searching for the perfect new body for his wife. Where does he go? To a burlesque show of course. There is a classic cat fight between two dancers where the camera literally zooms in on a picture of a cat and a cats meows on the sound track. The fact that there were Skill focus Burlesque dancers in the audience made the scene even more hilarious. At one point when a doctor gave up on a patient on the operating table, Ruby Darling shouted out, “That’s not how it works on House!”

The wife’s head in the basting pan kept muttering “Let me die.” Everyone had to sip their drink every time she muttered that phrase. Trust me, everyone had a good buzz thanks to that undead brain. Besides keeping his wife’s head alive, the good doctor also had a deformed Frankenstein monster in the closet. The monster was never seen, but the wife’s head insisted that together they had to stop the doctor from killing in the name of science and sex. You will have to see for yourself how it ends, but even without a body, the wife was a cunning schemer. Most women would die to get a better physique.

February’s screening was “Plan 9 From Outer Space“, the next screening is March 16th at the Venue. Tickets are $10 and there is plenty of free parking and an open bar.

Skill Focus Burlesque Presents: Classis Horror

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I went to a Skill Focus: Burlesque rehearsal of Classic Horror at the Peacock Room. Skill Focus is Orlando’s premiere nerdy burlesque troupe. The Peacock Room has been lavishly decorated for Halloween with life sized ghouls, demons and plenty of spider webs. The rehearsal was just getting started and Ruby Darling, the troupes director, had the performers run through their numbers in the order they arrived to the rehearsal.  On stage Andy Matchett was setting up for the live performance by The Continentals. Andy Matchett, Matthew Mendel, and Shawn Bryant – are Orlando’s
hippest trio of musicians, who bring you all your favorite hits from the
past with tons of style and a whole lot of rock and roll. The other members of the band hadn’t arrived yet so Andy was flying solo. At one point Andy asked if anyone knew how to play guitar. One of the girls knew a few chords, so he handed her his guitar and showed her the chords he needed her to play. Then he asked for anyone who could drum. Count Dracula got on stage and pounded out a beat on the snare drum. Andy had an instant band.The other performers did arrive after a break and the Continentals gave a hip edge to each Burlesque act.

This nerdy burlesque tribute will pay homage to everyone’s favorite classic movie monsters of the past, with live music by The Continentals! Come watch Dracula, the Bride of Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and more of your favorite creepy creatures take it off to the hottest songs of yesteryear. Skill Focus is made up of hot nerdy ladies (and guys!) who love geeking
out and sequins, performing saucy, sassy, sultry striptease while
portraying their favorite characters from comic books, video games,
sci-fi, anime, horror, fantasy, you name it.

Hosted by the illustrious Chan Sterling – human encyclopedia and master
of dick jokes – Skill Focus is proud to present a lineup of seriously
talented, seriously nerdy burlesque performers from Orlando:

Ruby Darling,
Cherry Bob-omb,
Rickabilly Bond,
Syber Digit,
Shy Labuff,
Fifi Latio,
Nekkid RoboJoe,
and
Rosita “Queen of Offensive Burlesque” Sparkles.

The rehearsal was insanely fun with satin capes, baubles, glitter and plenty of flirtatious bump and grind. An eight foot stage runway will be added to the room allowing the ladies and guys to walk out into the audience. Guaranteed, this will be a standing room only show. Don’t miss the HORROR!

The show is TONIGHT, Tuesday, October 16th at
10pm. The doors and bar open at 9pm. 18+ only, please!  The Peacock Room
1321 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, with plenty of parking in back and on the side streets.

Tickets are $12 at the door. $2 off for Halloween Horror Nights team members! – If you are an Halloween Horror Night team member, please bring your work ID to the show to avoid extra charges at the door.

The Geek Easy

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Some of the Skill Focus Burlesque girls will be going to Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia to spread the gospel of Nerdy Burlesque. Dragon Con is the largest multimedia, popular culture
convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics,
literature, art, music, and film in the universe! This year, Dragon Con will be held Labor Day weekend (August 31 – September 3, 2012) in Atlanta, GA. Gas money is expensive though, so Ruby Darling threw a Free Dragon Con themed burlesque party at the Geek Easy to get folks drunk and sell them cupcakes! The Geek Easy is located in the back room of A Comic Shop
(114 South Semoran Blvd. Winter Park).

Cherry Bob-omb and Ruby Darling were behind the bar. Cherry had a luscious display of cupcakes in front of her. I decided to get a spoors cupcake which was awesome.Cherry’s other half, Mr. Bob-omb was next to the keg of free beer which was kept cool in an R2D2 ice bucket. There was a cardboard box for donations. The foamy Yuengling beer was quite good, and I stuffed some bills in the box. It is hard to write anything without sounding suggestive. Bob had to keep pumping the keg and done just right with plenty of wrist action and rhythm, it is hilariously suggestive.

At 11PM the Skill focus girls gave burlesque performances on two model stands that were arranged runway style. Shy LaBuff came to the event dressed as a Lord of the rings Dwarf. The fiery red bear matched her hair.  Her performance however was as Mario from the Mario Brothers Donkey Kong game. As always she was hilarious. Syber Digit added some sophistication to her routine and Ruby Darling really knew how to linger before each and every sensual reveal.

This brings me to another important reveal, The Star Wars Celebration VI is coming up August 23rd through August 26th at the Orlando Convention Center. The Skill Focus: Burlesque girls are going to celebrate Star Wars in their favorite way: Striptease!  They’ve got your light side and your dark side right here. The show titled Chan Shot First: An Intergalactic Burlesque Tribute, will be at Sleuth’s Diner Theater (8267 International Drive Orlando). Enjoy a fancy adult beverage from our Star
Wars menu of drink specials and be amazed as Skill Focus performs burlesque numbers as some of your favorite
scoundrels, princesses, and various life forms. The show is Saturday August 25th starting at 8PM.Parking is ample and free. Look for Ripley’s and the Crab House!

Tickets are $10 general public, $8 for members of the 501st

Doors and the bar open at 7:15pm

18+ only – nudity and nerdity!

Call 407-363-1985 to reserve your tickets now…seating is limited – don’t miss out!

Star Wars themed drink specials will be available all night long, plus a full bar and appetizer menu.

For reservations, call 407-363-1985. Seating is limited!

Pepe

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Pepe made an appearance on the outdoor stage at Fringe. Pepe is flamboyant and colorful. His spiky red Mohawk could be spotted from across the lawn. He spoke with a thick rich Spanish accent calling everyone, mommies and poppies. Logan Donahoo joined Pepe to talk about the Fringe show he was directing called, Cannibal! The Musical. Pepe is always funny. He made fun of the fact that he had been reduced to performing on the outdoor stage.

Ruby Darling, dressed in a Star Trek uniform got on stage to promote Skill Focus Burlesque. She performed a sultry dance number and the uniform went flying. She then told Pepe she had a superpower. A male performer got on stage with her and she said in a commanding voice, “Take off your clothes.” He complied. Pepe perked up and shouted his glee. Women in the audience screamed and laughed. Skill Focus burlesque had been called to perform at the Fringe at the last minute when another show canceled. For this reason, they weren’t even in the printed program. They had to rely on word of mouth and a little skin to promote their show.

I went to a performance of Hysteria Repeats Itself! Mike Maples was in the cast and the executive producer, Kelly Rands introduced himself when Terry and I entered the Blue venue. I knew that Hysteria would be a series of fast paced skits, so for once, I left the sketchbook closed. This was the first night’s performance and unfortunately there were fewer than ten people in the audience. Much of the show was political satire. The performance was funny and intelligently written. Several Sondheim show tunes were given new lyrics that were fun and fast paced. Terry was laughing loudly. Later Mike commented that her loud laughter made up for the size of the audience. The next performance was sold out which made perfect sense.

Avengers ASSemble

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I went to a rehearsal for “Avengers ASSemble.” This will be a burlesque show put on by Skill Focus: Burlesque, themed after the recent blockbuster hit.” The cast, featuring, Ruby Darling , Rosita Sparkles, Cherry Bob-omb,, Syber Digit, Shy LaBuff , Nekkid RoboJoe and Stephen Focking were going to assemble at Theater Downtown (2113 North Orange Avenue.) When I arrived at 9pm, Ashley Small, the Skill Focus stage manager, was the only person in the theater’s lounge. She looked like she was in charge, so I asked her if I was in the right place. The room was a furnace, partly because I had just walked several blocks from Ethos Kitchen.  She informed me that the cast had a multilevel stage to work with and that tonight would be an undress rehearsal of sorts.

Cherry Bob-omb went into the theater, and I decided to follow and check out the stage. The theater itself was thankfully cool. I immediately found a seat and started sketching the complex set with it’s multitude of levels. The cast assembled all at once and they quickly got into costumes. Syber Digit was the first out of the dressing room and she had on an awesome Thor outfit, complete with a large hammer. She relaxed on the set and I was exited to sketch my namesake. Ruby came out in her black wig and a stunning red and gold, Iron Man themed outfit. She asked the cast at hand to pose with her and I sketched frantically. I was self conscious about how much time I was taking, so my hands flew.

Stephen Focking had a vintage WWII helmet painted blue with the letter A inscribed on it. He found a  large Tupperware lid in the dressing room and he used it as his Captain America shield. Each performer in turn went through their strip tease. Each item of clothing was telegraphed and the gyrations accentuated. This troupe has a wonderful way of taking an age old tradition and making it fun and playful. You will scream, holler and cheer as they shake it down Marvel style! The performance will be at Theater Downtown on Saturday May 12th. Doors open at 10pm and the show starts at 11pm. Tickets are $10 at the door or in advance.  There will be an after party in the lobby with the cast.