Garden Theater

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The second to last stop on the Orlando World Wide SketchCrawl was the Winter Garden Theater where ME Dance Inc. was performing Deja Vu. I got a ticket for Terry and I did this quick sketch of the theater while I waited for her. I wish I had known about the Citizen Kane screening. I would have liked to see that on the large screen.Dana Boyd was at the first stop on the crawl and he stopped by the theater for the final legs.

Built in 1935 the movie theater was the first in Central Florida to show “talkies”. It was a gathering place for locals to see newsreels and films of the day. The theater underwent several renovations until it closed in 1963. lt then became a farm supply and tractor warehouse for Pounds Motor Company. The City of Winter Garden and the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation restored the theater and reopened it in 2008. Now the theater showcases dance, theater productions and concerts along with classic films.

Terry was running late, so I worked on this sketch right up until show time. A family with two young and curious boys stopped to watch me work. When I started packing up, one of the boys asked to look through the sketchbook, I said, “Sure” and handed it over. He flipped through the pages with his parents looking over his shoulder. He came to a sketch of a burlesque dancer wearing close to nothing. Doh! I had forgotten about that sketch. Luckily his parents weren’t phased.  The dad has worked for Disney Theme Park Entertainment Division perhaps the kids were used to women in tights. The theater was packed but Dana and I found seats in the second row house right. At 8pm the house lights began to fade…

Children of a Lesser God

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The Garden Theatre announces Beth Marshall Presents’ production of the powerful drama, Children of a Lesser God by Mark Medoff sponsored by Progress Energy, March 15-30, 2013, at the Garden Theatre (160 West Plant Street, Winter Garden). On Friday, March 22nd at 8pm, there will be a fully interpreted American Sign Language performance in partnership with the Center for Independent Living.

Winner of the Tony Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award, Children of a Lesser God is the powerful drama by Mark Medoff.  The show is being directed by Brenna Nicely and Beth Marshall, sign language direction was by Joe Kramlinger. This is the first time Beth has directed a show at the Garden Theatre although this is the eighth show produced by her here.

I went to the Garden Theatre to sketch the dress rehearsal. The front door to the theatre was locked so I walked around the building clockwise to try and find an open door. I climbed two flights of a stairwell before realizing it wouldn’t lead to the theater. The stage door was in the back and thankfully it was open. I stepped right into the actors green room. There was one door leading to the stage. The black curtains disoriented me. I stepped out and saw Will Hagaman who plays James Leeds, as he instructed Mike Deaven as Orin Dennis on how to speak. I realized that I was on stage and quickly stepped back behind the black curtain. I scooted along the wing to the front of the stage but I couldn’t go down the steps into the theater without stepping on stage again. I waited till the scene being rehearsed was finished. Beth shouted out, “Come out of there Thomas.”

As I found a seat, I saw the James Leeds on stage embracing Sarah Norman played by Eliza Steves. They signed to each other intimately. Beth warned me that a sign language interpreter would be standing right in front of where I sat. In the show, James is an instructor at an institute for the deaf. Sarah has never spoken. She refuses to try and do something if she can’t do it well. She signs faster than an interpreter can speak. James falls in love with her and they get married.

 Sarah Norman is performed by Eliza Steven

Every married couple has their differences, communication is the anchor to any relationship but a common ground is hard to find between silence and sound. I found myself rooting for the couple hoping they could mend their differences. Their love story revolves around the politics within the deaf community
about bridging the gap between the hearing and deaf worlds. The show packs an emotional one two punch that overwhelms to the point of tears. It glows with radiance of hope and abandon and then the depths of despair. As Sarah stood and signed without an interpreter, I felt the undeniable urge to understand. The set was minimal with no props. All the attention is spent on the spark between James and Sarah.

Besides myself there was only a row of acting students from a States Acting Competition. We all stood and applauded. This show leaves you thinking long after you leave the theatre. Will Hagaman did an amazing job as James. He not  only had to learn his lines, he had to learn sign language. Eliza Stevens did an astonishing job expressing her emotions without a word. More importantly the couple had a spark that ignited the emotional engine of the show.

Show times are Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2PM and 8PM,  Sundays at 2PM and Thursday March 28th at 8PM. Tickets are $25 for adults and $21 for seniors and students. The show runs through March 30th.Saturdays
at 2pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm, plus Thursday, March 28 at 8pm.
Tickets are $25 for adults, $21 for seniors/students. For tickets, visit gardentheatre.org or call the Garden Theatre Box Office at 407-877-GRDN (4736).

Biloxi Blues

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Walking down Plant Street in Winter Garden, I was surprised to find a Dixieland Band playing in the central gazebo. A few older couples sat in folding chairs watching. I didn’t have enough time to do a sketch, so I kept going. At the Garden Theatre, I asked Sherri Cox, the front house manager, a huge favor because I wanted to sketch the stage from the second floor lighting booth. She was wonderful and made the arrangements. I just had to wait till it was closer to curtain time before she guided me up. I watched everyone enter the theater. It was an older crowd. Some of the men might have served in WWII themselves. Upstairs, I was seated on a tall stool next to a huge black metal spot light and some device that looked like it catches sound waves. This was the first time I saw Biloxi Blues and it was a treat.

Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Biloxi Blues is the semi-autobiographical comedy-drama by Neil Simon and the second in the trilogy which includes Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound. Biloxi Blues follows
the story of Eugene Jerome as a young army recruit going through basic
training during World War II and the harsh lessons he must face while
stationed at a boot camp in Biloxi, Mississippi. Antisemitism among the recruits was a recurring theme throughout the play which is ironic since America was at war with the Germans who were exterminating Jews.

The play is directed by award winning-playwright and acclaimed director Rob
Anderson. This is Anderson’s directorial debut with both the Garden
Theatre and Beth Marshall Presents. The role of Epstein will be played
by C.K. Anderson, the son of Rob Anderson. C.K. starred in the lead role
of the Beth Marshall Presents production of The Diviners last season at just 14 years of age. I must say that the young actor did an amazing job playing Epstein, who questioned the reasoning behind every training method used by the Drill Sargent Toomey, played by Tyler Cravens.

Towards the end of the second act, I heard torrential rain pounding on theatre’s roof. Maybe I noticed it more than the audience below since my ears were so close to the ceiling. It distracted me from the romance blossoming between Eugene, Carl Krickmire, and Daisy, Julie Snyder, on stage and I wondered how I would get back to my car without the sketch getting soaked. The rain stopped long enough for me to get to my car and then it poured on the drive home.

 Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon has one last performance today, Sunday February 24th, at 2PM in the Winter Garden Theater (160 West Plant Street).

Star Lite Film Festival

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The Star Lite Film Festival, now at the Winter Garden Theatre (160 West Plant Street • Winter Garden, FL), features independent films produced for less than $200,000. Film maker and Festival organizer, Michael Poley invited me to the opening night kick off reception on Thursday January 31st. I got there a bit early, so after I picked up my lanyard, I went next door where Kelly DeWayne Richards was playing piano. The place was called Pillars and it was the opening night. Blue neon laced its way along the curvaceous bar and large stage lights were set up behind the piano. I really wanted to draw but there wasn’t enough time.

A red carpet lead into the reception room. A photographer took shots of people as they arrived in front of the Star Lite poster.  The round tables has tiny golden Oscars, pop corn and incredibly small cards with the schedule printed on them.  The type was an infinitesimal two points in size which made it near impossible to read with the naked eye. Small magnifying glasses were there but the plastic lens distorted the view more than it magnified. Film makers and patrons arrived and soon the room was buzzing with conversation.

At 8pm, Robin Cowie, the producer of the “Blair Witch Project“, will introduce the festival as well as a micro budget film that his company, Haxan, produced called “Midnight Son“, a successful Micro budget Film that received distribution. “Midnight Son” cost $50,000 to shoot and when everything was wrapped, it cost $149,000 in total. Ed Sanchez another Blair Witch contributor was the writer. The film featured a ravenous artist who couldn’t satisfy his hunger. Skin on his arm was horribly burnt from being exposed to sunlight. His night security guard job kept him from ever seeing sun light. He finally realizes that the only thing that could satisfy his hunger was blood. He meets a girl who is addicted to coke but his addiction to blood is kept secret. Every time they get close to intimacy, his blood lust gets in the way. You are left wondering the whole time whether he is a vampire or just anemic. He never gains any supernatural strength or powers, he is just an addict who needs his next blood fix. It sucks to be a vampire.

After the film, Robin took questions from the audience. When asked what he looks for in micro budget films, he responded that he looks for scripts with audacity, he likes writers that take risks, doing something unexpected. More than anything he likes to be surprised. He feels that the new global digital world makes it easier for a film maker to find his audience.

Today, February 2nd, is the third and final day of the festival. There is a full day of films being screened and panel discussions. Go check out some films. Individual tickets are $5-$7.

11:30am  The Racket Boys

1:30pm    Social Media Panel

2:30pm   The Spacewalk

4:30pm   2xUno

6:15pm   Equipment Panel

7:30pm   Waterhole Cove

9:30pm   Less Loss

11:15pm  Awards Ceremony

Marshall Ellis Dance Company

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ME Dance, Inc. is the Newest Professional Dance Organization located in the heart of
Central Florida. On September 8th and 9th, they will be presenting Première. This
performance will mark the company’s first performance showcasing a diverse
repertoire from Guest and Resident Choreographers, live music by Central Florida
Composer’s Forum, and innovative collaborations with other local artists. I contacted William Marshall Ellis the dance company founder and president. Thankfully he knew of my work and he invited me to sketch a rehearsal.

The rehearsal space was in a large warehouse that was gated.  I punched in the gate code several times and the gate rolled open. I couldn’t spot building numbers so I decided to park in the lot with the most cars figuring they might be dancers cars. The front door to the building was locked. As I pulled out my cell phone, a young woman who had to be a dancer walked up and offered to shew me how to find the stage door out back. I explained that I was a sketch artist and she said, “Oh yes, Marshal told us you were coming.” She explained that they had been rehearsing for four months now. The rehearsal space was cavernous. I noticed Universal Studios costumes hung out back. I noticed a lion’s head from Madagascar. The space is also used by Aerial Adrenaline and long fabrics hung from the ceiling.

Marshall sat at a table controlling the lights and projections. Childhood photos of the dancers were projected on the screens as they danced. There were a wide variety of dance routine from red, primal dance to light, flowing, and carefree. At one point the dancer who lead me in from the parking lot, had a solo dance. She was dressed in a light flowing dress that had some form of open loop in the skirt. As she danced, her leg got caught in the loop causing her to trip up. When it happened a second time everyone realized the costume would have to be changed. One dancer did an energetic dance number and then immediately sat down next to a guitarist to sing. She was huffing at first and then sang beautifully. Marshall assured her that she would have more time to get ready at the Première performance. I am excited to see the final results from all this dedicated hard work.

You will be sure to enjoy Première. To
reserve your tickets please visit ME Dance, Inc.

Show Times:

September 8, 2012 at 8pm

September 9, 2012 at 7:30pm

Ticket Prices:
$20 General Admission

Venue:
Winter Garden Theatre 160 West Plant Street Winter Garden, Florida 34787

Denna and Travis Update their Relationship Status

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Denna Beena and Travis Fillmen were married Saturday August 4th in the Winter Garden Theatre. It was pouring rain as I drove straight from work. Terry let me know that she saved me a seat. The Winter Garden Theater has been the home to some amazing theatrical productions such as “The Diviners“, and “Driving Miss Daisy“. This wedding had a flair of the theatrical and plenty of Pink. Denna’s hair has always had a shock of pink, orange and purple. Her brides maids each had a pink dress of their choosing and long streaks of pink in their hair. Groomsmen and the ring bearer, manikin Hans Hausboi, all had pink bow ties and flowers. Groomsman, Mark Baratelli had a crazy, day filled with drama leading up to the ceremony. But that is a story for another day. Bridesmaid, Amanda Chadwick, with a bright pink coil of hair on her forehead, had flown from Seattle to be in the ceremony.

Before the actual ceremony, the theater curtains opened and friendly trivia was projected on the movie screen. Denna and Travis’s first date lasted ten hours. They met thanks to OKCupid.com. Denna kept getting Travis’s bio and she ignored it five times. She finally decided that the guys she usually dated were all wrong for her, so she took a chance. They might be bipolar opposites politically but deep down the found happiness and creative unconditional love. There was a small canvas center stage and as part of the ceremony, the couple painted a heart together. Young Chloe and Naomi Borchers recited the lyrics to “Personal Penguin.” Mike Carr explained, “Why Love is Like Owning a Dog.”

It was a ceremony in which laughter was a fine compliment love. The officiant, Mike Carr, earned his ability to unite this couple from the internet. When the knot was tied, Denna and Travis took out their cell phones on stage and updated their Facebook status to “Married“. The audience cheered. As everyone filed upstairs for the reception, I rushed to throw color on the sketch. A black and White film flickered onto the movie screen as the projectionist got ready for that evenings showing. As the colors dried on the page, I went upstairs for plenty of awkward yet enthusiastic dancing.

The Diviners

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Beth Marshall Presents brought this Depression Era story set in the dust bowl to the Garden Theatre (160 West Plant Street, Winter Garden). Directed by Aradhana Tiwari, opening scene set the stage full of movement as townspeople went about their daily routines. A windmill stood in stark silhouette and Buddy Layman played by CK Anderson gasped awake. Walking down a dirt road was C.C. Showers played by Michael Marinaccio. C.C was a former priest running from his fathers calling. He found work with the Layman family.

Buddy Layman was a high spirited, somewhat retarded boy who referred to himself in the third person. He had a gift for divining where there was water. He used a tree branch to search as farmers followed with eager anticipation. He had a natural gift. He could feel a storms approach on a clear day. It became clear in time that the boy feared water because he once almost drowned. His mother died in that incident and Buddy was unable to accept that she would never return. Buddy and C.C. developed a bond, a brotherly friendship. Buddy’s fear of water was so severe that he would bolt at the sight of a bucket. He feared he could not breath when it rained. He never washed, and that became a problem cause he constantly had itchy feet.

The cast did an amazing job with thick accents and rural mannerisms. I was particularly taken with Marinaccio’s performance. When he demonstrated his father’s preaching, he became bigger than life, bombastic and powerful. What he yearned for however was a simpler life away from the priesthood. But once townsfolk discovered his past calling, they wouldn’t let him be. He was asked to say grace before meals and anytime he was seen with Buddy, they thought he was saving the boys spirit and that he could cure Buddy’s fear of water. This conflict between too much and too little faith is what caused a tragic oversight.

The final scene of the play was beautiful and tragic. The stage was illuminated from below with a green flickering light. C.C. had lost Buddy in the river. They moved under the water and the theatre filled with the muffled sounds of bubbles and rushing water. When they burst up for air, the light burst warmly on and the watery audio stopped. When then slipped back under, the world flickered green and muffled again. They struggled against the current. Townspeople moved in horrified slow motion.

The play ended as it began, a full circle, with townspeople going about their business and then Basil, the town farmer, and Dewey, a farm hand, gave a eulogy. The weight of their words had new meaning. Amazing Grace filled the dark theater. The Diviners will run December 15 -18th. Performances are on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm , and Sundays at 2pm.

TEDx – From Passion to Fashion

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Ben Hoyer got on stage at the TEDx event held at the Winter Garden Theatre. He is the founder and director of Downtown Credo, a non-profit focused on improving the quality of lives in our nations cities. He works with people to cultivate networks of meaning, impact and community. Ben’s credo is that individuals who want to improve their city can make a difference. He began, “Life is worth living. I refuse to merely exist. I pursue a life of meaning and purpose, fulfillment and joy. The world is not yet as it ought to be. Neither is my city. Neither am I. Yet, I reject apathy and despair. I engage the world, my city, and myself to make an impact for good. I am not alone. I press through narcissism, isolation and self-sufficiency striving to live in authentic community.” He spoke of one act of community activism that challenged him. He was picking up trash in an empty lot with some people. One person said, “This lot will be full of trash again tonight, why bother?” Ben stressed that at least they did what they could. At one trash site the refuge was wet sticky and gross. In the back of his mind he thought, “Maybe I’ll let this one slip by.” The volunteer with him noticed the mess and then Ben worked up the courage to tackle the messy task. Alone he might have lacked the will, but together they accomplished what needed to be done.

The Power Point on the screen is actually from a presentation by Jessi Arrington. Jessi is a co-founder of Workshop, a Brooklyn based studio that merges design and social responsibility. In a fun presentation she outlined how she keeps her creative spark alive. She LOVES color! Her favorite color is rainbow. She stressed that it is physiologically impossible to be in a bad mood wearing bright red pants. To hammer her point home, Jessi placed bags full of colorful clothing on the stage. People from the audience were invited up to take part in a rainbow celebration. Some people already wore a bright color so they were sent to the bag containing more items in that color. Soon the stage was a riot of color. Feather boas, hats, shawls, skirts were all in solid colors of the rainbow. If your color was green, you were ALL green. The parade of people marched off the stage and into the audience to a lively march. If your going to live a creative life, live loud! I realized I was dressed in drab neutral earth tones. Perhaps I could use more color in my life, but that would involve an awful lot of shopping. I also refuse to loose my brown hiking boots. Function over fashion is my credo. What an amazing day spent with people who are each making the world a better, more colorful place, each in their own way.

TEDx – Cesar Harada

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Cesar Harada gave an inspiring talk about how he and his team are helping use technology to help clean oil spills. He coordinates Open_Sailing which is a group developing open-source International Ocean Station. They have developed a remote controlled sail boat which will help clean oil spills in the oceans more efficiently. The remote controlled sailing robot is called Protei. The boats entire hull flexes making it resemble a fish as it maneuvers. This sinuous motion makes the robot more efficient as it tacks, or changes course, going up wind. All of the technology being developed is open sourced making it easy for anyone to modify or improve designs from anywhere in the world.

Team members wanted to document the existing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico but authorities didn’t grant them open access to view or chart the spill. In order to get detailed maps of the spill, they decided to simply float a digital camera high into the sky using a weather balloon. Thousands of digital pictures were then composited to create a detailed view of the area.

In his closing statements, Cesar pointed out that technology needs to be used to protect the earth from civilizations often destructive search for fuel. Everyone in the Winter Garden Theater stood and applauded his efforts with thunderous applause.

One of the next speakers was neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki. She has been researching how aerobic exercise improves learning, memory and cognition. She took an aerobics class and found she was fired up and felt sharp and inspired as she learned new things. She was offered to teach a class called “Can Exercise Change your Brain?”, at NYU and she used the students in her research. The class exercised while shouting out positive affirming statements. There was some nervousness and giggling at first but then the students embraced the motivational exercise program. She found that a semester of increased aerobic exercise improved performance on a recognition memory task compared to a control class that did not participate in the same exercise regime during the semester. In another study, she found that an hour of aerobic exercise improved cognitive performance in college students on a number of tasks dependent on the frontal lobe. She decided to get the audience involved. She had us all pump our hands in the air to some fast energetic music while we shouted strong affirmations. Actually, I was a slug, my hands stayed on task, finishing a sketch. Even so, I was fired up and ready to learn more. Sweat then study! Keep creating, make mistakes, learn from them and grow.

TEDx The Creative Spark

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I was invited to the TEDx event held at the Winter Garden Theatre by Jenny Zoe Casey. I had seen several TED videos on YouTube so I had some idea of what to expect. I sat in the back row of the theater because I love to watch camera men at work. Tiny lights sparkled like stars on the ceiling as the house lights dimmed. I found out during the introduction that TED stood for Technology, Entertainment and Design. The Theater was jam packed with creative people from all over Central Florida. Upstairs between sessions everyone was encouraged to socialize and discuss the talks. Mark Baratelli of thedailycity.com was there along with Scottie Campbell from the Orlando Opera. Anna McCambridge and her husband Marabou Thomas said hello as we shuffled off to the next session. As I was considering a sketch, a young female artist introduced herself. She used to work at Universal as a caricature artist. We talked about art and how caricatures are often watered down in the parks so people can accept it as a likeness. She loved being able to truly exaggerate features but if a costumer said, “My nose isn’t that large!” She would be in trouble. She had to walk a fine line to “nail” each sketch. It was thrilling to discuss my own sketches to an artist that shared the same challenges.

After the introductions a video was shown which I had seen before. The video featured Eric Whitachre who orchestrated a virtual choir, 2000 voices strong. What was astounding was that voices from around the globe were brought together. People have an innate need to reach out to each other. People from truly isolated places found connection to the project as well as urban dwellers. The internet is truly a new creative frontier. I was equally inspired by the way creatives from all over Central Florida gathered to share stories of their creative spark. People were connecting, sharing and inspiring each other. Creativity isn’t something only found in the isolation of an artists studio. It is found in conversation and the simple human desire to share. One persons creative spark can inspire others.