Reverend Kathy Schmitz: After Pulse

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Advisory: Please note that this post is about the Pulse Nightclub Massacre on June 12, 2016. It may contain sensitive and difficult to read content. Post written with narrator’s consent.  

Reverend Kathy Schmitz is from the First Unitarian Church. The church provided grief counseling for many first responders after the Pulse Nightclub Massacre.

On June 11, 2016 an intern at the church as doing the last service. When Kathy got out of bed she felt relaxed and she checked the headlines. She saw that there had been a shooting on Orange Avenue. She did not know Pulse at the time. She thought, maybe this was a drug deal gone wrong. She didn’t know the scale of what had happened.

At 7:45, the intern called and mentioned the headlines. They decided that the intern would start the service and then have the children’s story early which wold open up the service to just the adults. Details were still scarce. The first details about the scale of the event didn’t come out until 10AM and the service was at 11AM. People stated showing up for service early. She monitored things from the back row while the intern gave her sermon.

Logan Donahue is a member of the church and he arranged to connect Kathy with the Center’s director Terry DeCarlo. The blood mobile just happened to be at the church that morning. She called the hospital to see if they needed chaplains but they were covered. Just after 11AM Dr. David Hargove asked if the church could provide space for counseling for a couple of days. The church has six classrooms which could be used. Counseling began at 1PM that day. Dr. Hargrove had 600 licensed therapist volunteers on his list. The rooms were constantly staffed. In some ways it was just as important for the counselors to be there. They helped each other in coming to terms with what they would have to deal with inn the coming weeks.

Donations began to pile up at the church. Food was donated to the coalition of the homeless. The Tom Brady campaign was looking for space, Equality Florida ended up using the library as a community organizing space. The church staff stepped up to the plate to make it all work. On the first night they were warned against having vigils because there were safety issue. In the library people were gathered trying to arrange a vigil for Monday June 13, 2016. The city was saying, ‘Don’t do it.’ Someone dialed the Mayor Buddy Dyer at 11PM. They left a message saying ‘There is going to be a vigil, we need to find a way to make it work.’ The next morning the mayors office called with multiple people on the line and they said, ‘OK we here that there has to be a vigil but give us an hour to find a location.’ The location was changed from the Lake Eola Bandshell to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Then the media began it’s barrage of interview requests. About 20 church staff and volunteers went to the Dr. Phillips Center to help set up  for the vigil. She was involved with the vigil. She spoke prior to the tolling of the bells. The bells were on a timer. The program was running behind. There was a rush to get her on stage but then they found out the bells had been reprogrammed. It was hot. She wasn’t certain exactly when the bells would ring so she had to time what she said. Improv classes she had takes at SAK helped keep her on track. She asked all gathered to take a moment to reflect prior to the ringing. She felt responsible for holding the space for 7000 people. The ringing of those bells for about 8 minutes was the most intense moment of her life.

Orlando Strong: A SAK Benefit Show.

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SAK Comedy Lab (29 S Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida) offered a free comedy benefit in the wake of recent events in Orlando. The core values at SAK have always been “Truth, Excellence and Joy”, so wanted to use their strengths as a comedy venue to share those values in support of the community (especially the LGBT and Latino communities) who could really use some joy. This show will featured SAK performers in a variety of fun acts. Admission was free, but donations were encouraged at the door. 100% of proceeds from the door will go to the “OneOrlando” campaign helping the victims and families of victims of the Pulse attack.

The Fringe superstar and fashion diva Pepe acted at the MC to open the show. He wore a gorgeous rainbow feathered boa that looked like, could inspire love, the most hate for person. As he said it was a sexy sold out house. All the mammies and poppies held each other dose as Pepe announced the first acts. Every seat in the venue had a sheet of colored paper. Bob Kodzis invited every member of the audience to write down a message for families of the decided survivors and first responders. There was an artist sketch! in the row in front of me. He held two fingers to his neck like he was checking his pulse. I believe he was sketching one of the 49 who were killed using a photo on his phone as reference.

A video set to the song, “Carry on” opened the evening. It showcased what people used to imagine about Orlando, with photos of Disney theme parks,and I-4 traffic. Then shots taken outside Pulse of the evening of the attack were replaced with photos of crowds coming together in grief an love culminating in the huge 50,000 strong Lake Eola vigil. The point of course is that we must carry on and let the work see that we are more than a tourists cliche. It was an inspiring vision of we could be without ever forgetting.

We were all ready for some laughs and the huge crew of comedians delivered. What the show real I delivered besides laughs, was joy. The comedy lab only held two other benefits in it’s 25 year history. The first was after 9/11 and the second after hurricane Charlie and his two other companions. The founder of SAK told us about his visit to the memorial outside the Dr, Phillips Center for performing arts. He was seated at one of the tables and there was another woman seated at the same table. He didn’t know her. She reached out her hand, and he took it.  They sat holding hands for 5 minutes an then she left. They never spoke a word. What if this was our everyday Standard behavior? What if we all loved more then we have ever loved before? The world would certainly be a better place.

During the auction, Pepe and another performer said they would match whatever was bid on a dinner for two. The item went for $100 after heated bidding. The event raised $4384.00, SAK matched that amount bringing the total to $8,768.00. After the show, all the performers got on stage for a spontaneous dance party. “I wanna dance with somebody“of course we all got up and joined in. Laughter and Joy bring healing.

Side Show Bar and Restaurant in Downtown Orlando.

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Side Show Bar and Restaurant (15 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL) is a bright splash of color that moved into downtown after The Loaded Hog and One Eyed Jacks vacated. The last time I was here, I was sketching the fun chaos as the Packer Backers cheered on their favorite football team. The space has been opened up and filled with every imaginable form of Side Show kitch. Above the bar looms a huge poster of Alexander the fortune teller. Elaborately framed paintings showcase everything from the Fat Lady to the Swamp Gypsy. Exotic Turkish lamps illuminate the bar.

I stopped in shortly after 5pm and a table was filled with co-workers having an after hours drink. During The course of the sketch, one loner came in, placed his baseball cap on the bar and ordered a beer. e ordered a burger and a beer both of which were decent. A large lever on the back wall spins a gaming wheel above the from door which picks exotic drinks like the Bearded Lady.

On another occasion, Terry and I were meeting friends, Amanda and Matt Simantov from out of town along with Matt Rankin. They were in a bar across from SAK Comedy Club, but the place was packed and way too noisy for any form of shouted conversation. A Magic game had just let out of the Amway Arena which explained the crowd. I suggested we go up to Side Show but instead ever one agreed to go all the way to Thornton Park for a quieter spot. The women went off to get their car and the guys walked up Orange Avenue. We passed Side Show which was surprisingly empty. Just a block away the bars were crowded to overflowing and yet Side Show was vacant. Perhaps the large open space isn’t conducive to draw in the crowds. It would have been a perfect place to stop, but we were already commit to the long hike to Thornton Park, where we ended up going to Graffiti Junction.

Robyn Da Hood was hilarious at Fringe.

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SAK Theater Company of Orlando presented Robyn Da Hood – A Rap Musical at this years Orlando International Fringe Festival. I made the mistake of sitting in one of the balcony boxes. It turned out that the box would be used by several of the actors during the show. My student and I had to scramble to find new seats. The show is a mash up of the classic story told through hip hop beats. Set pieces were elegantly created out of corrugated cardboard.

The show swaps gender roles with Robyn Hood being played by Chelsea Hilend. Her merry band are also all women. Sheriff of Nottingham (Mike Carr) is a villainous sexist pig who thinks he can defeat Robyn by seducing her and keeping her bare foot in his kitchen. Lil’ John (DeMarlon Vega) is the only person in the show who is dressed as a Rap singer. His only line in the show is “YAY-ah!” “Oh-KAY!” This caused a loud laugh from the audience every time but I’m just not hip enough to get the reference. Every song had witty, hilarious lyrics and the show galloped forward at a break neck pace.

One member of the audience got to play the part of the King. He was given a paper crown and a corrugated cardboard frame that came complete with a mustache and beard. One of the Merry Maids took a seat right in front of me for the archery tournament. Prince John, (Chris Dinger) was hilarious as an inept childish prince.

The show managed to entertain on every level. The cheap set pieces actually helped sell the campy and fun flavor of the show. For instance as Robyn escapes from the castle, a photo of her is clothes pinned to a line between cardboard buttresses and she cranked across to safety, all while the sheriff gloats in his success. I have always associated Sak with improv comedy but now I see it as a place where great theater is incubated and born. Robyn Da Hood won the Critics Choice Award for Best Book Musical at the Fringe and it is well deserved.

Hip Hop Night at Austin’s Rocks the House

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Mondays are usually pretty slow event wise in Orlando. On June 2nd I discovered Hip Hop Night at Austin’s Coffee (929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL). The event runs every Monday and starts at 10pm. I got there early and ordered diner and a Yak iced coffee. The staging area was still set up for hipsters consuming food and information off the Internet. Eventually the stage was cleared so the DJ could set up his beats and a lone microphone was set up for performers.

This is an open mic night meaning anyone could perform. I met a comedian from SAK Comedy Lab who brings aspiring comics to the open mic to test their improv chops. A young woman stepped up to the mic and her first line of rap confessed that this was her first time. As the lines and rhymes fell into place the crowd cheered. With no script, this really was a tight rope walk with no net. Some performers were incredibly polished but the sound system and the rapid fire stream of lyrics made it difficult to keep up with the performances.

Mark Your Calendars! Hip Hop Night is every Monday night from 10pm to 2am at Austin’s Coffee. Be a voyeur like me or step up to the mic and see what happens. Regardless it is a fast paced inspired night.

City Arts Factory

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As part of ArtsFest, City Arts Factory opened its doors for free. Actually, I’m pretty sure you can walk into City Arts Factory anytime for free anyway, but they were also offering a chance to register for a chance to win gift pack including tickets for two to SAK Comedy Lab and Jazz Brunch at the Grand Bohemian Hotel. Since I had time in the afternoon before going to Full Sail, I decided to go to City Arts to sketch. Of course the place was empty.

The hallways were lined with “Youthful Expressions” from children from the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida. It was fun to see some of the pieces awarded red, blue and yellow ribbons, just like in a Country Fair. The work was from children in the surrounding four counties. The winners of this exhibit would move on to exhibit in the Regional South Eastern competition. Winners from that would move on to a National exhibit. I still remember the thrill I had as a child when I won a blue ribbon in a county fair in New Jersey. Any one of these kids could one day become great artists if their work is valued. Perhaps one day, I can help inspire these kids.

I decided to sit in the hallway and sketch “Orlando Guitartown” created by Munte Olinger. The large Guitar was inspired by Counting Crows and contributed to the space by Ford Keane and Jennifer Quigley. I remembered that Ford Keane is the owner of the building that houses Avalon Gallery and he is the President and CEO of City Beverages. Jennifer Quigley is Principal of WBQ Engineering. Children’s art consisted of, a bowl of spaghetti, a sea monster, and a series of colorful circles.

I was most intrigued by hand prints in cement in an indentation in the tile floor. These were hand prints of Mayor Buddy Dyer, Ford Keane and Jennifer Quigley. This must have come about when Orlando had lofty ambitions of becoming Hollywood East. A pair of pliers and some nails were placed on the cement and then the hole was filled with a piss yellow resin. The only people that entered the hall were searching for the restrooms in the back. A husband fingered his cell phone as his wife was in the bathroom.

Improv at Full Sail

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As part of my continuing education at Full Sail I took a two hour workshop that taught the basic principles behind improvisational performance, and how to use the hidden communication framework within improv to connect with students.Ten to fifteen Full Sail instructors and staff gradually filtered into the classroom. Adam Bellis and Simon MacDonald, both SAK comedians were at the front of the classroom. They asked people to sign in as they arrived. They had a few power point slides but from the start it was obvious that participation would be needed from everyone. Everyone was asked to stand in a circle to participate in an acting warm up exercise.

The game was called GO! The premise was simple, you must point to someone in the circle. They would say “Go” and then you would walk to take their place. They would then point, seeking permission from someone else. It was surprising how tricky this was. You really had to listen. There was a sense that decisions and permissions were rushed. In another pass the verbal, “Go” was replaced with a simple nod. Being a visual person I found this easier yet following the flow sometimes left me glancing around aimlessly. Was I making a fool of myself? Was everyone thinking the same thing?

The next exercise was called, “The Name Game” or Johnathan’s alliteration. You had to state your name and then add a descriptive action while acting it out. Everyone in the group had to repeat the name and action. I think I said something like, “Thor is thirsty” as I acted like I was sipping tea. What was I thinking? Everyone repeated the action raising their pinkies delicately. By the end, I felt I knew the people around me. This was a perfect ice breaker.

Adam and Simon then conducted an improv where they were puppets being manipulated by audience members. I volunteered and controlled Adam. It was fun raising his arms to gesture as he spoke. They worked together building a sacred bridge of trust. They validated each other and forwarded the story by creating new options. It is easier to tear down a bridge than to build it. Everyone in the room was free to openly express themselves which was a good environment to communicate and learn in.

It turned out that Simon is producing a Fringe show this year which is a Star Wars musical. I love the premise and I hope to sketch rehearsals as it develops.

CarVerations

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Mark Baratelli’s “Mobile Art Show” had a different twist this month. Usually, Mark rents a U-Haul truck and has an artist exhibit their work inside. When I arrived at the City Arts Factory this month I found Mark unloading wrappers, newspapers and assorted bottles from the backseat of his beat up 1996 Chevy Cavalier. He put a bottle of mouthwash on the dashboard and loaded everything else into the trunk. He and Brian Feldman, a local performance artist, had decided at the last minute to create an event called “CarVersations,” in which people could pay one dollar could sit in the passenger seat and have a five minute conversation with Brian.

Evan Miga showed up having heard about the event on Facebook. Mark had announced it only hours before. Evan showed me some wire that was wrapped around his backpack. At the end of the wire was a silver box with a switch. When he flipped the switch, the wire glowed a neon blue. As we spoke the neon flickered, fluctuating to the volume of our voices as we talked. He plans to use these wires to outline the corrugated robots he is creating for”Dog Powered Robot and the History of the Future” which will be in the Orlando Fringe Festival this May.He said some scenes will be in complete darkness with just the neon glow illuminating the scene. Evan wrapped the wire around the outer edge of the windshield of the car so when people spoke, the wire would glow.

Brian showed up with his portable marquee and he set it up on the roof of the car. Mark shouted to Brian through the windshield, “Three minutes to places!” For some reason, after getting in the car, Brain flipped on the windshield wipers which sent the neon wire twisting in all directions. Mark shouted, “Noooooo!” Brian couldn’t figure out how to turn off the wipers quick enough. He shouted back, “How do you turn the wipers off?” I laughed out loud. It was like watching vintage Laurel and Hardy slapstick.

Several SAK Comedy Lab volunteers came down during the event to speak to Brian in the Car. Orlando Live host Peter Murphy had an interview with Brian, which the cameraman filmed from the backseat. My wife stopped by, paid her dollar and spoke to Brian for five minutes. I am not sure I gave her a solid five minutes of my attention since I was struggling with the sketch on my digital tablet. Before I knew it, CarVersations was over. Mark drove off and I continued to throw down digital washes till I was satisfied.

SAK Comedy Club

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The SAK Comedy Lab held a panel discussion among eight members of the improv comedy group. For the first half of the panel, Richard Paul acted as the MC and asked questions of the troupe. When asked where did each of you come from, everyone answered at once.
When asked what their greatest horror story was on the stage, Mark related a story in which he had been given a bottle of Champagne before a performance. He had never had Champagne before but he decided to have a few drinks right before going on stage. He stumbled onto the stage and “acted” drunk holding onto the bottle. Before long he realized that he was drunk and his act was quickly sliding down hill. Unfortunately he wasn’t a funny drunk. This was his most embarrassing moment of his career.
Robyn who is the only female member of the cast related that she grew up in a family with all brothers and herself.She said that growing up in a family of all brother prepared her for the stage. She then gestured to all the med seated beside her. She then related that she would like to see more women get into comedy. She also want to see women break out of established roll, for instance the ditsy blond. She also said women can aspire to any position and any roll is possible. At this point David Russell shouted out “Except President!” This got a big laugh from the audience.
David Russell related a story in which he decided to go on stage with pants o n his arms and his legs stuffed through shirt sleeves. He wanted to enter on stage walking on his hands but dressed as if he was right side up. He forgot that the shirt had a large opening for his head and became concerned when he felt a breeze between his legs. Mike Carr chimed in “That is why they call it the SAK Theater.”
David summed up the ingredients for great comedy with three simple ingredients: Truth, Excellence, and joy. This was my first time visiting the SAK and I definitely want to experience more.