12 Angry Jurors

Posted on by Thor

Having sketched a dress rehearsal for 12 Angry Jurors based on 12 Angry Men written by Reginald Rose I decided to also sketch on opening night. The jury box was reserved for audience members who wanted these front row seats. I decided I wanted to sketch the jury box and the cast, so I sat where media once sat during trials of the past. Behind the jury box, a small stage was set up for photographers and presumably court artists.

For this performance I knew when members of the jury would change seats so it gave me an advantage to catch each member of the cast in my sketch. Again the jury had to deliberate about the fate of a youth who was being tried for the murder of his father. When the jurors first entered they immediately took a vote with 11 votes of guilty and 1 vote not guilty. Elaitheia Quinn gave a strong performance as juror 8 who had doubts about the prosecutions case. She was seen as a bleeding heart liberal by Juror 3 (Rich Somsky) he got so angry at her reasoning and doubts that he could have punched her had others not stopped him.

Director Robin Olson did an amazing job casting this show. The show was set in the 1970s and the costuming reflected that time period. These were no longer just 12 angry men but an evenly split 6 men and 6 women. Each jurors age and cultural background brought a fresh perspective to the facts as presented in the trial. For instance when discussing how a switch blade is used juror 5 (Scott Browning) came from a disadvantaged neighborhood and had witnessed a knife fight in his back yard.

An added layer of drama came because I was seated next to the History Museum’s chief curator, Pam Schwartz who is in charge of preserving this courtroom which is considered an delicate artifact from Orlando’s past. The courtroom had been lovingly restored after a fire in the past. Some fire damage could still be seen on the floor. When a cup of water spilled on the table during jury deliberations she cringed. Elaitheia quickly mopped it up with tissues incorporating that into the natural flow of the show. When juror 3 punched the wall Pam cringed again. These jurors were so angry, they just might start throwing chairs, but it never went that far. After the show she inspected the table to be sure there was no damage.

Every juror was on edge. Anger bubbled over and they fought bitterly with the youths life in the balance. Racism and bigotry surfaced in Juror 10 (Rose Lamarre) and the rest of the jurors drew away from her as she spit out her monologue of hatred. Our president is embracing hatred and racism as the foundation of his campaign in 2020 making this show incredibly resonant. Thunder rumbled and ran pelted the courthouse. Outside the pavement was wet.

This is a great show in a great space with an important message. Don’t miss it.

12 Angry Jurors

The Orange County Regional History Center 65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801.

Remaining show dates:

Saturday,  August 3 – 7:30pm 

Sunday,    August 4 – 3:00pm 

Thursday, August 8 – 7:30pm 

Friday,     August 9 – 7:30pm 

Saturday, August 10 – 7:30pm 

Sunday,   August 11 – 3:00pm

Tickets are $20 General Admission and $40 for Jury Box Seats. 

Fury and Sound: The Séance at Fringe

Posted on by Thor

Scott Browning and Nathan Felix presented Fury and Sound. The premise of  the show was that a group of friends (Esteban Vilchez, McKenzie Jo Frazer, Christopher Baker, Amanda Lane Decker) wandered to the edge of the Orlando Fringe Festival to communicate with the dead. The actors and audience met near the Rocket Thrower statue which is at the entrance of Loch Haven Park off of Princeton Avenue. I decided to sketch the musicians and vocalists who were n a grassy knoll near the Orlando Science Center. The technician at a folding picnic table was responsible to broadcast the live performance to headphones worn by each member of the audience. I was also given head phones so I heard the show while Pam joined the crowd to experience the seance first hand. I know a Ouija board came into play.

Actors and the audience moved from location to location. They ended up at an area with a circle of rocks which acted as benches. I saw them performing with small lights or the flash light feature of their phone, off in the distance. I heard the voices of the deaf whispering in my ears. The spirits were restless.

I however remained focused on a live performance of the chamber orchestra (Symphonic Underground, led by Daniel Cortes) and choir performing the score live on an adjacent lawn. The cello, several violins and a flute added a classical mysteriousness to the proceedings in which a young murdered woman’s soul is brought back from the dead. This was the first performance of the piece at Fringe and they director gave his tech a high five being relieved that the technology had actually worked.

Howler’s Theater presents Wind Up 1957 at the Savoy.

Posted on by Thor

Howler’s Theatre‘s World Premiere production of an immersive play, written by Scott Browning, which invites audience members into a gay bar in the 1950’s to witness life and love at a time when the truth could get one arrested and conformity was almost mandatory. “Wind Up 1957” is a theatrical experience that dissolves the law of time to ask, has much really changed since then?”

The play was inspired by the book “Gay Bar” by Helen Branson – the first novel about gay culture that was legally printed in the U.S. Playwright Scott Browning explains, “I fell in love with Helen so much that I just wanted to bring her and her boys back to life, 60 years later, at her Hollywood bar “The Windup.”

Pam I went to a dress rehearsal in The Savoy (1913 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32804). Director Vera Varlamov was incredibly welcoming. She bubbled with delight each time an actor arrived dressed in their best 1950s suits and ties. music from the 50s filled the theater in the round. Actors checked their cellphones to pass the time until the rehearsal started. The setting for the play was perfect. The Starlight room is an intimate cabaret space inside the Savoy. The air smelled of cigarette smoke covered by strong perfumed cleaners. In this interactive space, an actor might just sit down next to you.

Vera lead the actors in a viewpoints session. The actors walked the space getting used to the new space which was larger that the spaces they had been rehearsing in but also filed with chairs. Vera referred to the chairs as the ghosts in the room, soon to be filled by an audience. The actors had to get used to walking among the seats.In the first phase they walked the space not acknowledging each other. Then they added eye contact and emotion to their steps. In the final phase, they projected outward filling the space with their presence as they moved. For me it was  a quick introduction into how each character moved.

The edgy and funny bar keep, Carol Begerow-Adubato, was my favorite character in the production. She didn’t take any crap from anyone and she instinctively knew how to protect her patrons. There was a natural playfulness to many of the scenes, like the characters were regulars who often joked together. Scott Browning was good at being intense and brooding. A slow dance with his stand in partner was incredibly sincere. One actor was in another production across town, so his lines had to be read by the tech.

Since this was the first time in a new space, the scenes had to stop once and a while to work out staging issues. But in general the production flowed nicely. The director acknowledged the audience of two and when the seats fill, there will be a new energy that will fill the space.

Other acting talents included Mitchell Dean Wells, Benjamin Dupree, Josh Breece, Barry Wright, Alina Alcantara, Rashad Alii, and Brandon Fabian Lope.

Tickets are $12.

Where: The Savoy (1913 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32804)

When: All shows are from 8 PM to10 PM.

Friday     November 3, 2017

Saturday November 4, 2017

Friday     November 10, 2017

Saturday November 11, 2017

Friday     November 17, 2017

Saturday November 18, 2017

Friday     November 24, 2017

Saturday November 25, 2017

A Mid-summer Night’s Dream at the Stonewall Bar.

Posted on by Thor

I went to sketch a dress rehearsal of the William Shakespeare classic, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” presented by Howler’s Theatre and Unseen Images T at Stonewall Bar (741 W. Church St. Orlando FL). While walking to Stonewall y was shocked to see the new MLS Stadium half build in the heart of the Parramore district. Gentrification is spreading fast, west of downtown. Stonewall is right next to the stadium with rainbow colors projected in column on the facade.

The play opens with Lysander (Nick Lubke) deeply in love with Hippolyta, (Tiana Akers). He pursues her, but he heart is not so easily won.  Each time she refuses his affections his adoration grows stronger. When this love is lost, she is confused.

HERMIA

Why are you grown so rude? What change is this,

Sweet love?

LYSANDER

Thy love! Out, tawny Tartar, out!

Out, loathèd med’cine! O hated potion, hence!

These lovers are in my sketch, as Lysander restrains Hermia who is at a loss to see why her lover has abandoned her, and accuses Helenus (Scott Browning) of stealing Lysander away from her.  This production features plenty of gender bending with men taking female roles and women taking men’s roles . This gives the plot a modern twist and ads plenty of colorful fun to the plot.

 Oberon, king of the fairies (Monica Mulder), dressed in black, calls upon Robin “Puck” Goodfellow, (Charlie Wright) her “shrewd and knavish sprite”, to help her concoct a magical juice derived from a flower called “love-in-idleness”,
which turns from white to purple when struck by Cupid’s arrow. When the
concoction is applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, that person,
upon waking, falls in love with the first living thing they perceive. This potion applied to the wrong eyes leads to lovers previous affections to melt like the snow as they pursue a new love. Both Lysander and Demetrius, (Domino Thomas), fall desperately in love with Helenus and since all three are men, the lover’s triangle becomes as physical as a football match.

Although the
performances will take place outdoors, the audience will be completely
covered from rain and all performances will go on rain or shine. Due to
the location of the show, only guests 21+ will be admitted.

The production will run for 8 performances on the following dates and times:

Friday and Saturday evenings September 2 – September 24 at 7:30 pm.
Please note that the Saturday 9/10 performance will begin at 7:00 pm
instead of 7:30.

Tickets are $22 and can be purchased at:
https://unseenimagestheatre.ticketleap.com/midsummer/