Brian Feldman’s William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

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It is a tale

Told by an idiot,

full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

I went to sketch a one man performance of Macbeth at the Walt Disney Amphitheatre at Lake Eola Park (99 N Rosalind Ave, Orlando, Florida 32801). Several smart phones were set up on tripods to live stream the performance. The program came complete with a set of ear plugs which was a mystery at first. Brian Feldman took to the band shell stage covered in protective gear, another mystery. He held a script and was about to perform the play solo acting out every part. Brian made his acting debut in 1991 in Macbeth on the Lake Eola stage as a child actor.

Actors consider it bad luck to say Macbeth in a theater. Neil Barnes from Essex explained it this way, “Theatrical folklore has it
that, as revenge for Shakespeare’s inclusion of a number of accurate
spells within the play, a coven of witches cursed it for all eternity.
Whether or not you believe this rationale is irrelevant, though, because
the ill-fortune associated with the play is backed up by numerous
examples over its four hundred year history
Initially, King James banned the play for five years because he had such
a dislike for it, but there are also more bloody examples: there was an
unpleasant and lethal riot after one showing in nineteenth century New
York and one Lady Macbeth fell off the front of the stage while
sleepwalking, dropping nearly twenty feet. Even Olivier wasn’t free from
the curse, as one of his performances was enlivened by a falling stage
weight which landed only inches from him mid-performance.
Given the weight of evidence, it’s not surprising that actors are given
to indulge in a little superstition.” Others explained that if tickets for a particular play were not selling well, the theater owners would end the run and replace it with the ever popular Macbeth. Either way, you will never hear an actor utter “Macbeth” inside a theater.

Granted the Lake Eola Band Shell is outside, but years ago this is where Shakespeare plays were performed before the Shakes moved into the theater in Lock Haven Park. I saw a production here when I first moved to Orlando back in 1994.

Brian began his performance. The first word he uttered was, “Macbeth” followed by “Macbeth” and then “Macbeth”. He held the full script in his hands and read the entire play replacing each word with “Macbeth” and trying to maintain the emotion and relevance of each line. He was tempting fate with each word he uttered. At times Macbeths got tangled together as he trued to say them in quick succession. Now the ear plugs made sense. Hearing this endless litany of Macbeths could drive a person mad. I might have missed a few of the plot twists as I focused on my sketch.

The play in all runs about 69 minutes and I was chucking to myself the entire time despite the tragedy being acted out on stage. Irene Pynn produced and directed the production. As she said in the program, “The process was more conceptual than straightforward. Less ‘Give me a stronger emphasis on the third line’ and more, ‘How many people will curse us for doing this?'”

What’s Up Downtown for the Holidays.

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The Downtown Development Board invited people to attend the annual What’s Up Downtown  free holiday event held at the Walt Disney Amphitheater at Lake Eola.   Held at lunch time, downtown workers were encouraged to pack up a lunch and experience song and dance performances by the Russian Ballet, Mad Cow Theatre,
Docs and Dellas, Dr. Phillips Center Premier Performance Ensemble,
Howard Middle School Jazz Band and Howard Middle School Show Choir. I decided to sketch the choir whose choreography involved lots of exuberant hand motions. 

Artist German Lemus had an easel set up and was doing a painting of the event. It is encouraging that I wasn’t the only artist documenting the occasion.  His painting involved bold acrylic brush strokes.  An office worker in front of me was having a cup of soup.  Some of the young singers were flat and a few wrong notes were blatted out, but seeing so many kids exited to be on stage was heart warming enough.  It was overcast and downright cold, but my tablet manages to help warm my hands.  

Violectric at Lake Eola.

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The popular electric string quintet with keyboards and drums known as “Violectric” rang in the holiday season with their exciting annual “Violectric Holiday Show” presented by the City of Orlando Families, Park and Recreation at the Walt Disney Amphitheatre at Lake Eola Park, (99 N Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801). Free and open to the public, the concert featured traditional holiday songs like “Jingle Bells,” “O Christmas Tree” and “Hanukkah, O Hanukkah” mashed up with classic rock tunes like “Kashmir,” “Born to Run” and “Sweet Dreams”, plus modern hits, delivering a fun-filled, energetic, and highly-unique holiday show unlike anything seen and heard before.

Violectric teamed up with Old Forrester who hosted a VIP “Backstage Speakeasy” Pre-Party including a special behind-the-scenes with a band and a “End of Prohibition” After-Party open to all with a cash bar and 1920’s costume contest. Guests were also encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to the concert, which would be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

Formed in 2008, the accomplished members of the “Classic Musicians Who Rock!” Violectric have been performing in various groups, orchestras and together for over 20 years across the globe.  Led by Grammy Recording Artist “Vinylinist” Michelle Jones, Violectric is a unique fusion of the passion and beauty of classical string instruments with the excitement of cutting-edge modern technology and effects.  Violectric’s custom arrangements of classic and modern rock tunes like “Billie Jean,” “Go Your Own Way,” “Moves Like Jagger” and “Chandelier” cannot be heard anywhere else.

Violectric has a signature look in that the violins are illuminated by neon. Of course Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance towards the end of the concert. That couple certainly gets around. They have been at just about every holiday event I have sketched.

The Russian Ballet presents Nutcracker.

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On Saturday December 17th from 7pm to 9pm, the Russian Ballet School is presenting a free performance of The Nutcracker at the Walt Disney Amphitheater (99 N/ Rosalind Avenue Orlando Fl 328801). This will be the 17th Annual presentation. There will be food trucks parks on Rosalind, if you would like to grab a bit before the dancing begins. This sketch done in 2015 was never published, but the scene is very much the same. Holiday traditions and decorations get reused year to year. I made no effort to get close to the stage for the sketch. Instead my focus was on the picnickers who set up their spreads in the grass. With so many people in attendance, I never actually saw even a hint of a dancer. The music is memorable however.

In 2015 it was actually quite chilly requiring jackets and hats. I’m thinking this year will be quite a bit warmer. It must have been in the s as I walked around downtown today.

A blimp circled overhead and the larger metal hooped Christmas tree was all ablaze. I’ve seem Nutcracker so often that I knew what must be happening on stage although I couldn’t see over the crowd. Occasionally cell phone would illuminate faces in the crowd. This is a wonderful annual Christmas tradition and it can be appreciated from a distance or right up close. It is a great way to get in the holiday spirit. It can be a magical night.

Violectric Holiday Concert

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On December 20th there was a free concert by Violectric at the Walt Disney Amphitheatre at Lake Eola Park Orlando, Fl. The concert was presented by the City of Orlando Department of Families, Parks and Recreation. I arrived early to block the stage in my sketch before the performance began. As I was sketching, a guy walked up to me to see what I was up to. He leaned in close and got his nose right up to the sketch page. He remarked that my sketch reminded him of Max Ernst, who was a German surrealist painter. The obscure artistic reference made me think he must be an academic. As he waited for the concert to start, he bounced a tennis ball impatiently. When he bounced the ball onto the stage off the drum set, I began to think something was a bit off about him.

Patty Sheehan introduced the group. She asked the audience if they liked the new art in the park and reminded everyone that the park wasn’t always this nice. Violectric played Christmas tunes that they intermingled with rock and roll covers.  Their white dresses sparkled as they walked out. Even their eye shadow had sequins. At one point they gave two children tambourines so they could back up a performance of Jingle bells. Violetric is strictly an instrumental group so they encouraged the audience to sing along. The guy with the tennis ball belted out the lyrics a bit off key and danced in the isle.

Behind me a guy began cursing loudly, saying he hated this town and everyone in it. He eventually sat right behind me. His hair was wild and unkempt as was his beard. He looked a bit like a psychotic Santa. His cigarette made me cough a few times but I kept sketching. I felt him looking over my shoulder and luckily he refrained from cursing at what I was doing. For one song, the performers advised the audience that was singing along, that there were children in the audience, so they should watch what they sang for the next piece which was that song “Forget you“, the original lyrics were “F*ck you!” The guy seated close to me shouted out, “You talkin’ to me?” “You’re so beautiful, I want to marry you.” One of the performers shot back, “Get in line!” Despite the heckling, the performers always kept smiling. They were pros.