Tom Leahy – Analog Artist Digital World

When Abraham Lincoln delivered the now famous speech at Gettysburg, there was a photographer on hand who was scrambling to get his camera and flash set up. When he finally took the photo, the president was already in the process of sitting down. The image of the president was a blur. It is a shame there wasn’t an artist on hand.

Historical performer, Tom Leahy stood in as the former president and I had plenty of time to sketch him as he read from the script.

Besides reading the Gettysburg Address, he talked about his relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln and the death of his son which devastated them both.

Abraham discussed his launch into politics and read his acceptance speech. With the Civil War being such a gut wrenching dramatic time, I wish more of that drama had made its way onto the production.

Next door a huge audience was going wild for one of the opening shows of the Fringe. The muffled cheers made their way through the thin walls, marking a start contrast between the boisterous flavor of the Fringe and the stark historical monologue being read aloud.

A woman who had seen me start the sketch wanted to see the finished result. As she was looking at it, Lincoln wandered over to look. “Why did you lean me forward?” he asked. If I sketched him standing upright, he would not have fit on the page.

Control of the Dirt by Louise Schwarz will run from March 29 – April 7 2024 at The Marchall Ellis Performing Arts Center (1300 LaQuinta Drive Orlando Fl.) It is presented by Playwrights Round Table.

I went to sketch a dress rehearsal of the show. As I walked to the theater entrance, Jac LeDoux, the director, was laughing and delighted. They had found a living room lounge chair on the drive to the theater. That chair was now part of the set. It didn’t smell. I had passed a chair on the drive to the theater as well but had decided to let it sit. I would be moving in a couple of days and didn’t need another item to haul.

The set was simple with three flats which could be rotated if needed. There were quite a few set changes as scenes jumped form one setting to another. The stage would go dark with faint blue light as stage hands moved furniture into place.

The first few moments of the show had me laughing out loud as Susan Woodbury as Selina, performed an awkward and hilarious interpretive dance for her iPhone. She was a social media influencer in theory. he claimed to have many hot pokers in fires but they seemed to be false leads. She was staying with her sister in law but had overstayed her welcome.

In another story line a very intelligent high school student played by Hafsa Zuberi shared her concerns about her father with her counselor Vanessa, played by Taylor Byerly. It turns out her middle aged father had fallen for the Selina. The father performed by Tom Leahy, was much older than the Selina but she needed a place to land since she was being evicted. The concern was that she only was interested in him for his money. Selina had a tendency to exaggerate truth to make herself look good. Though her confident airs were fun to watch it became clear she manipulates people and she lies.

The characters must live in a small town, because all of the separate story lines suddenly converge towards the end of the play. Tensions flared. At one point there was an argument about funeral ashes possibly being laundry detergent. The ashes were thrown and the fine dust lingered in the air for a good 10 or 15 minutes drifting through the theater space. It wasn’t clear if it was detergent or ashes. It would be in character for Selina to get confused. The lingering dust in the air was a fine visual demonstration of aerosolized spread and I was glad I had my N95 on. I didn’t notice any HEPA air filters in the theater.

This dark comedy is a world premiere about grief, empathy, breaking points, and suspended libidos. I love dark comedies and I enjoyed this show. Tickets are $20.