The Nutcracker at Lake Eola

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12-20-09Nutcracker

The Russian Ballet of Orlando presented a free performance of The Nutcracker at The Lake Eola Band-shell.It was a freezing cold night, well down in the 40’s anyway, so I dressed in 3 layers a sweatshirt, fleece jacket and a windbreaker. Even with all that I was rather cold. instead of sitting in the theater benches I picked a nice tree to lean up against. This gave me a good overall view of the band-shell and audience. This sketch was done on the digital tablet. The tablet is good for getting bright colors and it has the added advantage of getting nice and hot when the processor is being put through a workout. It worked as a nice hand warmer. I am making a commitment to use the tablet more often when sketching at night and indoors.

During a fifteen minute intermission a group of children ran screaming after a swan causing it to swim as fast as possible away from them. The father rather lamely asked them to leave the poor bird alone but they continued the pursuit. At one point during the Swan Lake number the swans started to honk loudly lifting their tall necks. Then they went right back to searching for food under the water.

I can’t offer much of a review of the Ballet. There was always someone standing between me and the stage but I did catch quick glimpses. I can tell you that the dancers who were standing off stage were freezing. I could see them huddled together and jumping up and down to try and stay warm. The cold weather made this feel like a true Christmas performance.

Seven Deadly Sins – Sloth

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The Cameo Theater on Colonial near Mills was the venue for an Emotions Dance Company event called Seven Deadly Sins. When I arrived, the first thing I saw in the theater’s plate glass windows was Brian Feldman who sat on a worn and tattered recliner staring at a TV which was showing nothing but static. Brian had a remote control, but for this 30 hour performance he was personifying Sloth so he never had the ambition to change the channel. There was also a fake aquarium with animated fish swimming about. I immediately sat on my portable stool and started to sketch. Several times people passed by that I knew so I paused for a moment to say hello. A drummer set up camp right next to me, leaned over and asked “Hey, I love your stool. Any chance I could borrow it?” I was working so I had to say “No”. He began putting out plastic buckets of varying sizes and before I knew it he was banging out a very loud beat. He must have banged on those cans for close to an hour and I found it hard to concentrate. I probably rushed this sketch a bit since I wanted to get inside away from the noise. If Brian noticed the drumming, he never showed any interest, he just stared listlessly at the static screen and ate Cheerios.
Tisse Mallon, who organized the event, came outside and said to me, “Brian is very proud of the Game of Life that is in the foreground. He replaced LIFE with SLOTH“. Feeling a bit slothful myself, I hadn’t even noticed, so I went back and added that detail to the sketch. Inside the theater, there were semi-nude dancers painted to represent the 7 deadly sins. I spent some time trying to figure out which sin each represented. They moved in slow motion constantly gesturing in an abstract sinuous ongoing performance. There were also staged acts throughout the night. This was a fun event and sketch outing.

The 3 Puppeteers

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It turns out that Jack, one of the 3 puppeteers from Pinocchio’s Puppet Theater in the Altamonte Mall, had written a comment on my blog that he had been at a number of events that I had sketched, but he was always on the opposite side of the room and so he wasn’t in any of those sketches. In the first sketch of the puppeteers I didn’t sketch Jack because he was the furthers away and he might have been out of view because he was working the curtains or getting a puppet. April told me about how disappointed Jack would be so I had to do another sketch to be sure I caught Jack. He is usually on the platform at stage left so I walked backstage to draw on that side.
Jack is the puppeteer who worked Frosty. Frosty has the amazing ability to separate all his body parts during his dance number. In the sketch Frosty is off in the wings at stage left watching the dancing reindeer’s who do a lively can can number.
The final show is a bit over an hour long but with fits and starts the rehearsal was well over 4 hours. Much of this is because the lighting had to be figured out for each number. Endurance, patience and a playful spirit seem to be the attributes needed to be a good puppeteer. The cast affectionately referred to April as stumpy which implies that long arms are also a plus. She got to perform as the acrobatic monkey which is one of the more challenging and fun puppets to work. She can swing through the air with the greatest of ease and she is able to flip up and sit on the cross bar.
Space backstage is very cramped. Sometimes the puppeteers have to crawl under the platforms in order to untangle puppets or work the back stage curtains. It is easy for a puppeteer to bump their head on all the exposed beams. April who works the MC of the show had him stand and look up at the huge puppeteers looming above him. he made a comment as if this were the first time he had realized that they were there. It was quite funny.
The true magic comes from hearing the reactions from the children. The puppeteers can hear the audience response and they feed off of that energy. April was saying that the last audience was screaming for more of the dancing panda. She also wrote me that in a recent performance of Holly’s Follies the arms fell off of several characters. The children screams not in horror but delight.
One of the final acts was set to the music of “Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. I had heard this music over and over again at the Trees rehearsals. It seems the most wonderful time of the year is fast approaching. Brace yourself. Santa’s Holly Follies runs through November 29th check the website for show times.

Orlando City Council Meeting

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Entering City Hall as a citizen is much like entering an airport. I dressed in my Sunday best to blend in. I had to put all my metal items in a dish and send my bag through a metal detector. I stepped through a metal detector arch and was cleared. I was issued a yellow badge and sent up to the second floor. The council chamber was half full. Mayor Buddy Dyer wandered in and when he was seated, a TV producer gave him a cue to begin by raising 5 fingers then 4, 3, 2, 1 with the final point the mayor began to address the TV camera.
Chaplin Regan Vandegriff from First Baptist church offered a lengthy invocation. This was followed by a pledge of Allegiance to the flag and then everyone sat down to get to business. One of the first items on the agenda was a proclamation by the Mayor that October 31st to November 7th would be the “Week of the Family”. Yawn.
A representative from the Phantom of the Opera approached the podium and he outlined a “Phantom Fixes the Fountain” campaign. As he said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” Five dollars from each ticket sale will go towards fixing the Lake Eola Fountain. The fountain was disabled several months ago when a bolt of lightning hit it.The city with all its financial woes hasn’t the money to fix it. Suddenly Wes Miller dressed as the Phantom entered the chamber and began singing a song in his rich baritone voice about how the phantom would fix the fountain. The chamber erupted in applause. The Phantom challenged other arts groups to match his generosity. Should you want to see the Phantom of the Opera, running from January 20th to February 14th, call 1 800 982-2787 to get tickets!
Later a concert organizer approached the podium with a plan to host a rock concert in the Lake Eola Band shell on October 31s. All the money raised would go to fix the fountain. All his plans were in place and all he needed now was a permit. The council was in agreement that his generous offer was appreciated. Patty Sheehan however wanted to talk him out of serving any food or drinks at the event. She implied that he would have a better chance of getting a permit if he didn’t serve food or drinks. In order to expedite the permit process he grudgingly agreed. Tony Ortiz then chimed in and said the Council should do everything in its power to help this fund raising cause including allowing food and drink. I hope this organizer has jumped through all the necessary hoops as he tries to help the City Beautiful.

Crimes of the Heart Opening Night

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Crimes of the Heart written by Beth Henley won the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. I sketched the auditions for the show back in September and now I can see that the casting decisions made were spot on. At the audition I caught quick glimpses of isolated scenes as actresses tried out for the various parts. I was fascinated with how a talented actress could breath new life into each part.
Watching the show at the Winter Garden Theater from start to finish turned out to be an emotional roller coaster. I suddenly cared deeply for this family of 3 sisters reunited by tragedy. The show handled difficult themes of loneliness, grief and family dysfunction. The sisters laughed uncontrollably at one point when faced with the worst of family news. I found myself laughing just as hard to the point of tears. Sometimes laughter is the only way to handle grief.
Between acts music filled the theater. Aradhana Tiwari the director told me “I have waited 5 years to use that song in a show.” The song was “Wayfaring Stranger“. Its sad mellow tones suited the show perfectly. I had the rare pleasure of sitting with the director and found she was laughing just as loud as anyone in the audience.
Lenny played by Meggin Weaver was high strung, bubbly and painfully apologetic. She seemed to have to apologize for her very existence. She was the sister left behind to care for their ailing Grandfather. Her own life has been put on hold as she struggles to clean up after every family members sloppy lives. She livened up every scene she is in with her comic timing.
Babe played by Britni Leslie gives a new meaning to “I’m having a bad day, a really bad day”. Her quirky mannerisms like sprinkling sugar over a heaping spoon full of peanut butter or trying without much success to play saxophone are delightful to watch. Her thick southern accent and lighthearted charms were so authentically endearing.
Meg played by Jennifer Bonner is the black sheep of the three sisters. Her confident swaggering was a perfect compliment to Lenny’s shy skittishness. A romantic scene with a now married ex boyfriend named Doc was Hot. She and Doc both knew they shouldn’t be attracted but they could not help themselves. Going for a ride to look at the moon in a pickup truck suddenly seemed dangerous and exciting.
Chick Played by Beth Marshal has one of the funniest scenes in the play where she struggles into a tight pair of pantyhose while talking at the kitchen table. This scene got funnier as it went on and I applaud Beth for how far she pushed this character. Now I can not imagine anyone else in that role.
Toward the end of act three as Babe lights the candles on a birthday cake, she says “I’m not so all alone.” The warmth of this scene with the three sisters playfully interacting as they laugh off the hardships of life once again left me struggling to see. Crimes is running through November 29th. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM. and Sundays at 2PM. Tickets are $22. This is a show you do not want to miss.

Santa’s Holly Follies

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Hanna Miller through facebook had informed me that the Holly’s Follies were about to start rehearsing in Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater in the Altimonte Mall. I was told to stand in a back hallway of the mall and then call on my cell. Sean Keohane opened the door I was standing near which had no doorknob. I was shocked that all the walls inside were red. We entered the theater and the stage is intricately decorated with red and gold paint. There were tiny chandeliers and small benches for the children. Sean took me back to stage left where there are steps for the puppeteers to climb up 15 feet to a boardwalk. He then took me over to stage right where there was a glass window and all the unused puppets were gathered together waiting to go onstage. We had to move some boxes and Tupperware storage containers so I could sit close and start my sketch.
The sketch shows April and Hanna on the boardwalk manipulating puppets which are on stage behind all the waiting puppets. Jack the third puppeteer is probably on another boardwalk working the curtains. The rehearsal went on for about four hours. Lighting was being worked out by Richard who was sitting out in the theater with a light board on a bench in front of him. The show involves many changes of sets with curtain drops and a huge cast of puppets. Hanna informed me that they don’t even have all the puppets yet and there are only a few more days of rehearsals before they start performances.
Several times the performance had to be stopped when puppets got tangled together. One of the kings got his strings tangled in his own crown. When things like this happen the puppet will be forced to move in a strange stilted way but the show must go on. While one puppeteer is working a puppet another might be called on to flick on a black light or drop a new curtain behind the set. It is a complicated process in a tight space and I don’t know how they keep it all straight. For hours they bent forward at the waist manipulating the strings. I have no doubt muscles were sore by the end of the night.

Costuming

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Costume fittings were held during a shared rehearsal. The director broke the actors up into groups and one at a time those groups would go to try on costumes. At the same time Amy the choreographer was conducting a dance rehearsal in the same Hall and for this reason the director stressed that everyone had to remain quiet.
The first group to try on outfits was Egypt, then came the Germanic tribe, Britannia, Africa, the Shepherds and finally India. There was alot of mixing and matching that had to be done, and the director was actively involved in the process.
In another rehearsal the entrances of this whole entourage had to be timed and blocked out. The director had Egypt, Africa and India enter the theater from the back of the hall. The Germanic Tribe and Britannia entered from the halls directly next to the stage called “The Bombs”. She had different tribes start down the isles at different times trying to get a feeling for when each tribe should arrive at the main stage. Time and again the tribes had to restore and walk their entrances at different paces until their movements felt perfectly choreographed to the music which was “O Holy Night“. After many takes, the director said to herself, “I’m starting to feel something, it’s starting to get there, slowly.” Once again she shouted out “Restore!” The actors of the tribes shouted back “Thank you Restore!” as they rushed back to the back of the hall and the bombs. Then she said “Thank you, thank you.” I had to leave before the timing was finalized but with the music it was starting to feel reverent.

Interactive Performance Jam

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The Interactive Performance Jam coordinated by Jeff Wirth and directed by Curt del Principe was a fun acting workshop held at the UCF Center for the Emerging Media across from the Bob Carr. I asked the guard in the lobby where I could find the Jam and he sent me up to the third floor. When I exited the elevator I heard Dean Martin singing in a room down the hall and I headed towards the music.
When I entered the room I noticed it was divided into 4 areas with different tasks for each area. I sat down and immediately started sketching Jeff who was in the tech talk area demonstrating the Union Wrap. The Union Wrap is a way to coil electrical cords which keeps the cords from kinking. If the cord is coiled the way I usually do it by wrapping in around in one direction, it develops a memory and this is what causes the kinks. The Union Wrap reverses the direction every other wrap. When Jeff finished his demonstration he threw the cord allowing it to fully unwind and then had a fellow actor give it a shot.
Other stations included, a character interview where one actor would interview another developing an improvised scene. There was a coaching station where actors would coach each other. Then there was the fundamentals station where actors would build and maintain the basics of an improvised scene. There were card stacks which provided actors with a scenario, character or location as a starting point for a scene.
I watched Jeff and Curt work together in the fundamentals booth. Jeff walked into the scene just as Curt was about to hang himself. The distraught character was angry and acted much like the Rain Man. Later in the ongoing scenario, Jeff tried to convince the man to give him an imaginary knife he was holding. Jeff ended up being stabbed in the chest and yet he continued to try and sooth the angry man. This scene seems to hint at the kind of man Jeff is and why he is inspiring to be around.
Half way through the jam I was asked to talk a little about my work and I was honored to do so. Jeff interviewed me so I didn’t just have to start pontificating, and he asked the most probing questions which forced me to truly get at the heart of why I do what I do each day. His first question though innocent enough caused me to look hard at what caused me to start making art to begin with. Memories flashed of me as a child driving with my dad to visit my mother in Sloan Kettering Cancer research hospital in NYC. I was a suburban kid shocked by the grit of the city, a rush of activity on the streets seen out a car window, kids riding on the back bumper of a bus. I wasn’t allowed up to the hospital room to visit, instead I drew pictures which were never seen. Enough of my scenario, back to the Jam.
When the Jam had ended, all the actors gathered and sat on the floor in a circle. This was an open discussion on how to make future Jams even better. Some actors tended to want to focus on dramatic scenes while others preferred light comedy. One actor felt this dichotomy resulted in a gradual lack of focus among the group. Dana Mott liked being pushed to be physically connected with her acting partners, which forced her outside her comfort zone. All ideas were encouraged. The Jam will continue to explore new ideas and theories, uncertain how they will work until they are tried out next time around. It is this playful spirit of experimentation that keeps the Jams exciting and vibrant places to learn and grow. Getting close to the unfolding dramas also makes it an exciting place to sketch!

Trees Rehearsal – Ring Those Bells!

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Here Suzanne the choreographer leads the core drama and dance group in a high tempo sort of jazzy rendition of “Ring Those Bells“. This is an over the top Broadway dance number with lots of jazz hands and fancy footwork. There was plenty of excited energy as everyone learned the steps. Suzanne said that everyone should try and keep moving through the routine even if they miss some of the steps. There would be plenty of rehearsals to come where the details could be refined and worked out but for now she wanted to block in all the moves and keep moving forward. The group started as a large triangle and then split into two halves before rejoining and ending with everyone striking a dramatic pose then stretching that pose further reaching for the sky.
Suzanne had to work with the core dancers in another studio and at that point Aradhana had Rebeca come to the front and take over the rehearsal. Rebeca did a great job of getting the group to really stretch and expand their capacities in one that one part of the routine. Later when Suzanne returned and asked everyone to go through the number one more time she was shocked and grateful for the improvement. When the rehearsal ended everyone joined hands and Suzanne prayed for relief for any aching muscles resulting from all the stretching and dancing that day. She asked that everything learned would stay fresh in everyone’s memory and that they all gain confidence as they continue to practice at home. She then asked that everyone be guided home safely. She stressed that her heart was overwhelmed with gratitude for all the hard work and joy expressed in the days work.