#txtshow returns to Orlando after 10 years.

Posted on by Thor

I began this daily sketch blog back in 2009. It was on March 3rd of 2009 that I posted a sketch of Brian Feldman‘s performance of #txtshow at the Jack Kerouac House. The room was crowded back then and I squeezed into a corner of the room to catch the crowd as they looked at their smart phone screens in the dark room. Back then not many people used Twitter or txt, so they had to be taught how to get started.

#txtshow is one of Brian Feldman’s most famous performances and the longest running independent production in D.C. theater history – returns to the venue it originated, the Kerouac House (1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, Florida 32804) exactly 10 years to the day.

For this completely interactive performance, all audience members keep their phones “on” – as a mysterious character named txt (pronounced ‘text’) recites anonymous, real-time tweets written by YOU, live and in-person.

Audience members are instructed to bring their smart phones, ideally fully-charged, and actively use them during the show’s 45 minute duration. It is not necessary to have a Twitter account in order to participate, as everyone in attendance is randomly assigned a protected and anonymous account for their use.

Unfortunately for the first  performance in Orlando there wasn’t much of a crowd. Just four of us sat in the seats set up in the Kerouac House living room. It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside, so perhaps most people were out at the beaches or enjoying outdoor activities with their families.

Tisse Malon was there with her sister offering samples of Frutisse – a new, fruit tea infusion beverage made in Orlando with love and without preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, or coloring. Pam Schwartz had joined me to the show so that meant there were just three people sending txts on their phones since my hands were busy sketching. Even with so few authors, the show as hilarious. A joke about pirates needed to be read twice for the proper delivery. Someone kept sharing animal insights that were also quite humorous. With so few authors, I kind of knew when Pam had written a txt. She was laughing so loud she couldn’t catch her breath and she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. It was a fun afternoon. Brian didn’t hold the even in the evening since the Oscars were going on that night.

There are three more performances of #txtshow remaining.

#txtshow costs  $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

• Monday, February 25 at 7:00 PM

• Tuesday, February 26 at 7:00 PM (10th Anniversary date)

• Wednesday, February 27 at 7:00 PM

• Thursday, February 28 at 7:00 PM

#txtshow is just one of 5 performances in various venues that Brain is bringing back to Orlando to celebrate 15 years of his performance art.

Wawa® Shabbawa will be on Friday, March 1, 2019 at 7:00 PM at:

Wawa Store #5145

11750 University Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32817Cost: Free Admission

All guests must RSVP on OneTable:

https://dinners.onetable.org/events/78972835-ebe8-4027-8baf-c03179dc190e

“Wawa® Shabbawa” – Brian Feldman’s newest hit dinner project – returns to Central Florida, right down the road from the second largest Jewish collegiate population outside of the State of Israel!

Knives Out will be on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 2:00 PM SHARP at:

The Glass Knife

276 Orlando Ave.

Winter Park, FL 32789

Cost: Free to attend

The public is invited to join Brian and the critics at their table, or at an adjoining patio table, and order anything off the menu of The Glass Knife (food or drink), at their expense.

Knives Out features five current and former critics from Central Florida, each taking a stab at reading 3 reviews they’ve previously written about past Brian Feldman Projects; 15 reviews for the 15th anniversary of Brian Feldman’s performance art career.

Fiddler on the Phone will have 2 performances.

• Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at Sunset (6:28 PM EST)

• Thursday, March 7, 2019 at Sunset (6:29 PM EST)

Depending on your musical number order, Brian Feldman will call you between 6:28 PM – approximately 9:30 PM EST.

The performance will come direct to your Phone (Brian Feldman will call you from a pay phone).

Free (only 16 calls available)

Register for your phone call at brianfeldman.com.

Note: All calls to area codes outside of the U.S. will be made collect.

Taking place entirely over a pay phone, this performance features Brian Feldman singing Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein’s classic Tony Award®-winning 1964 musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” a capella, one song at a time, one phone call at a time.

Specific songs from the show may be requested, and will be fulfilled in the order received. Otherwise, all songs will be allocated randomly. Phone calls will range from approximately 1 to 8 minutes.  

The Feldman Dynamic on March 8, 2019 at 7:30 PM at:

Stardust Video & Coffee

1842 E. Winter Park Rd.

Orlando, FL 32803

Cost: $15 advance, $20 at the door

Free if your last name is “Feldman” (at the door, with valid photo ID). Offer not valid if tickets are sold out prior to the performance.

The original Brian Feldman Project returns to Central Florida for the first time in over five years, and to Orlando for the first time in over 10 years.

An unprecedented reality theater event featuring a family – Brian Feldman’s actual family (Mom, Dad, and sister) – having dinner together live on stage. There’s no script, no rehearsal, and every performance is completely different. It’s not improv. It’s the reality show that will never be on TV.

The Feldman Dynamic is Brian Feldman, Edward Alan Feldman, Adrienne McIntosh, and Marilyn Wattman-Feldman.  

TXT performance in Winter Park raised funds for Hannah Miller.

Posted on by Thor

Performance artist Brian Feldman resides in Washington, D.C. He grew up in Orlando, however, and the first time he performed TXT was at the Kerouac House six years ago. In D.C, he performs TXT weekly. In February of 2010 to protest the ban on gay marriage, Brian let everyone on social media know that he would marry anybody who showed up at the Orange County Courthouse on the set date. Three women showed up on that fateful day and Hannah Miller was one of them. He chose his wife with the spin of a bottle of water he got from a courthouse vending machine; the bottle pointed to Hannah. After the wedding Brian and Hannah went their separate ways, but she made the perfect wife since she firmly believed in the cause of equal rights in marriage. Her interviews were emotional and heartfelt. In January of 2011, Brian and Hannah’s marriage was annulled on the grounds that it was never consummated and they were never in love.

The TXT performance on May 5th at the Winter Park Public Library was a fundraiser for Brian’s ex-wife, Hannah. She has become incapacitated by a neuromuscular disease called Myasthenia Gravis
and a chest tumor that her doctors believe is associated with it. She is a
Multiple Autoimmune Syndrome Type 3 patient, also diagnosed with Grave’s
Disease and Refractory Celiac Disease. Hannah is a fun and creative puppeteer, but like most art forms it can’t pay the insurmountable medical bills. This performance was a fundraiser, with 100% of the proceed going to Hannah.  I emptied my wallet, but I know it is just a small drop in the bucket. Hannah and her boyfriend Jack Fields came to the performance and they sat in the front row. This was the first time I saw how Hannah’s mobility was being limited. Despite the medical setbacks she still manages to joke about her situation.

At a TXT performance the entire audience is asked to take out their cell phones and log into anonymous twitter accounts. They all tweet, and Brian reads every tweet out loud while adding some creative flourishes. I remember that one person thought I was taking notes to report on individual’s deprived rants. People were confused and reluctant at first, but once they understood the premise they embraced the creative flow. 

#txtsmall challenged the audience to think and create as one.

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Fringe tech rehearsals were in full swing when performance artist Brian Feldman returned to Orlando from Washington, D.C. to do a performance of “#txtsmall” a new variation of his “txt” show. The performance took place in the home of Carl F. Gauze. Carl has written and produced many Fringe productions, so he understands the need for a good set and production values. He set an antique desk on top of a wooden stage he made for the performance. Tiki gods and lava lamps set the scene while a disco ball was the cherry on the ice cream sundae.

“txt” was first performed in 2009 at the Kerouac House. The premise is simple: Everyone in the audience logs in to an anonymous account on Twitter. invited to an account on twitter. The audience tweets and Brian reads them all aloud. This has become Brian’s signature performance and shows continue in DC. At one show in DC, every Sunday night. At one show the audience began to work together -unprompted-constructing a storyline. It was a magical, unexpected collaborative effort and Brian hoped that the Orlando show might duplicate that magic.

“#txtsmall” had an audience of six gathered in Carl’s living room. There were isolated instances when a storyline began to form involving monkeys, but like most “txt” performances, chaos and mad improvised thoughts took over. Genevieve Bernard tweeted stage directions asking Brian to dance like a lava lamp. He got up, stood at the front of the stage and moved with a liquid oozing flow.

After the show, Brian told us about a new performance he will premiere at Capital Fringe in Washington, D.C. called Dishwasher. At a mutually agreed upon time, he will go to the ticket buyer’s home, wash the dirty dishes in their sink and,
once completed, cold read any monologue he is assigned. As the show description states, “Is he a better
actor or dishwasher? You decide.” Brian’s first job was as a child actor in a production with Orlando Shakespeare Theater, his second job was as a dishwasher. This production should decide once and for all which career path he is destined to follow. If you happen to be in D.C. right now, I would have suggested you get a ticket. However the 18 show run is completely sold out.

txt at Urban ReThink

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Conceptual artist Brian Feldman has one more performance of txt tonight, July 25th at 7pm at Urban ReThink (625 East Central Blvd.). I sat in on the first of three performances to sketch. I have seen txt performed several times before and was entertained every time. For the first time, I signed into the proper Twitter account and was prepared to send Brian a txt during the performance to be read aloud. Brian walked out and sat at the spindly desk waiting for his cell phone to vibrate. He read, “Let’s get started with a couple of ground rules.” Terry was busy munching on a bag of potato chips. I wrote my first txt, he read, “Rule number 1. No eating!” He shouted it out, pointing at Terry. I placed my phone on the floor and forgot about it as I lost myself in the sketch.

“Thor is wearing a shirt he bought in North Carolina.” Terry must have written that, I thought. I looked at my shirt. Funny, I don’t remember buying it in North Carolina. Tod Caviness walked in late. “This guy is late,” Brian announced. I raised my hopes thinking Tod would offer some literary subtlety to the strange meaningless flow of ideas. As always, the unfiltered thoughts turned to sex. “Raise your hand if you want to have a 3 or 4 way later.” “Oh, there are swingers in the room?!” “Rule number 16, if no one laughs I’m going to stand on Thor’s shoulders and fart in your face.” Who on earth wrote that? I thought. Do I know that person. Do I want to know that person? “Rule number 237. No sex in the champagne room with Thor.” What?! I blushed. Alright, who wrote that? More important was it a man or woman? I looked around for a guilty face. Where on earth is the champagne room? I need to go sketch it now.”Sex in the champagne room at Hue. See you at 8.” Well that answers that question anyway, Hue is a night club. “I would totally rock Thor’s hammer.” “OK, who mentioned sex with Thor? It wasn’t his wife and if she finds you she will scratch your eyes out.” “Why is everyone talking about Thor, lets chat about Green Lantern! He is great too!” Thank Odin, the conversation wasn’t about me at all. I’m so vain.

Across from me Peter Murphy was sitting next to Colleen Burns. She wore a blue dress. “Hey girl in the blue dress, don’t wear a bra next time.” I looked up at Colleen her mouth was open, aghast. “Awkward.” Brian announced. “Later on I’m going to get down with that lady in the… (my eyes are bad)… The Blue dress!” “My boyfriend is obsessed with the girl in the blue dress.” “The girl in the blue dress is taken.” Well that settles that, I thought. “Imagine me planking on the lady in the blue dress later. Ha!” Colleen seemed to take all the attention with humor. “I am NEVER wearing a blue dress ever again!”

With no filters, no social niceties, people don’t have a need for polite meaningful conversation. The Internet has unleashed an age of unrestricted self-expression and the results are often brash and ugly. Tapping out every thought that pops into our heads isn’t art. Having contributed to this performance by tapping out my one tweet, I felt a little dirty. I was complicit in the crime of random expression. This show shocked and amazed me every time I saw it. It is a guilty pleasure. Several evenings later I saw Colleen at another event. She was wearing a blue dress.

txt at the Telephone Museum

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As part of ArtsFest, Brian Feldman held a performance of “txt” at the Telephone Museum in Maitland (221 West Packwood Avenue). The very first time I sketched Feldman, he was performing “txt” at the Kerouac House. Brian specifically grew his beard back for this one performance. I found my vantage point in the front row before anyone else arrived. I also set up my video camera which recorded the performance from the back of the room next to a telephone booth. Ancient phones loomed above Feldman’s head and photos of switchboard operators were on the walls. There were perhaps thirty or so folding chairs set up in front of the large oak desk where he sat.

The idea of “txt” is that the audience supplies every line of dialogue that is spoken. Fifty protected Twitter accounts are set up so that each audience member can send a tweet directly to Brian’s show account, all of which are redirected to his phone thus keeping every entry completely private. Before the performance space was opened, Feldman crawled under the desk to wait for his entrance. When the fifteen or so people were seated, he crawled back out and sat in the leather chair causing laughter.

The young couple across from me immediately started tapping on their phones. The girl resembled actress Julianne Moore. She kept glancing at her boyfriend’s phone, not sure what she should type. She kept laughing at his entries. Brian’s phone vibrated and he picked it up. He read, “Football may be America’s pastime, but basketball players sweat much more.” I glanced around thinking I knew where the text came from. For this performance, Feldman acted out and dramatized his readings. One text read, “The man in the front row blushes whenever he laughs.” I was one of three men in a front row seat. I was certainly laughing. Was I blushing? Could people see emotion and expression just from the involuntary rush of blood through my veins?

I focused more intently on the drawing. Remarks were made about the corporate looking portrait above Feldman’s head, and about a creepy mannequin dressed as a telephone repairman. An early text warned against using profane language since women and children were in the audience. Surprisingly everyone complied. I consider “txt“ to be Feldman’s signature performance piece and it would be great to see it performed in a larger venue. There is something interesting in clandestine, anonymous communication that indicates where we are moving as an interconnected society.

Digital Seance

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I returned to the Kerouac house to see a second performance of txt. I realized after my first sketch that the performance wasn’t so much about the man reading the text messages, Brian Feldman, but it was about the uninhibited comments that came from the audience who remained anonymous writing the script on there iPhones and PDAs. This time I sat in the far back corner of the living room so I could sketch as much of the audience as I could. The performance was again peppered with sexual innuendo and some paranoia. This time Brian was asked to do more physical actions such as jumping jacks. One unexpected incident occurred when he said, “Get me a cup of water, I am parched, this isn’t in the script I really need a cup of water”. Kim darted into the kitchen to get a cup of water. After the performance Brian indicated that the call for water was just another text message. I found myself laughing louder than ever at this performance. The uninhibited mind is a strange and quirky beast. I was fascinated by the glow of the PDAs through red thumbs and fingers. The small room crowded with people again made the reading feel like a digital seance.

txt

Posted on by Thor


txt was a performance by Brian Feldman at the Jack Kerouac house in College Park. The premise of the performance piece was that the audience would text the script to Brian as he performed by reading his iPhone. A small stage was set up in front of the fireplace in the living room and 2 lamps were placed on either side of the stage as foot lights.
The performance felt more like a digital seance rather than a simple reading. All thumbs and index fingers were busy typing as Brian started to read a strange disjointed mix of ideas. His reading was peppered with sexually explicit language that even comedian George Carlin might be embarrassed by. I began to think I was in the room with a mix of lunatics rather than a quaintly bohemian audience. That guy in the back row looked like he was having way to much fun as he typed his entries. He must have been the one who typed over and over that fingers are people.
At one point Brian glanced at a message and turned to look at a picture of Jack Kerouac on the wall behind him. He then recited, “That Jack Kerouac is a hunk, I’d do him”. Had a woman in the audience really typed that? Could the guy giggling to himself in the back row have typed that? I found myself laughing uncontrollably at the absurdity of many of the texts being transmitted.
The young couple in the sketch had to share an iPhone. First she would text and then she would hand it off so he could text. My wife, Terry, said than none of her texts had been recited. That caused me to think afterward that perhaps like a seance not everything was as it seemed. Regardless I was certainly entertained.
Post Script: A number of participants informed me that without a doubt all texts were strictly written by audience. Texting seems to unlock inhibitions, it offers a chance to write things that would never be said under normal circumstances. txt was a Mad Lib with an emphasis on Mad.