Lake Eola: Falun Dafa

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I have started working with a new student on location and it is an opportunity to get out of the studio and explore the world with my sketchbook again. We met near the red pagoda at Lake Eola.

I decided to keep masked even though we were outside. My reasoning is that I have no idea when a person might get curious about my sketch and stand close behind me, breaking down my neck. Pam always jokes about some woman resting her huge boobs on my shoulder as she watched me sketch one time. I discovered there is an added benefit to wearing the mask in that people tend to stay clear, perhaps thinking I might be infected.

For the two hour duration of this sketch, I only saw one other person wearing a mask. Lake Eola was packed since the farmers market was in full swing. It would seem Orlando is done with COVID-19 although the virus is not done with Orlando.

There were 59,430 new coronavirus cases recorded over the last two weeks among Florida residents, bringing the cumulative total close to 6 million. With 230 more fatalities on record, 74,060 Florida residents have died so far.  Deaths have been dropping with the new BA.2 variant of COVID but there are reports that long COVID is more common with the new variant. Positivity increased over the past two weeks from 6.1% to 9%. On the risk assessment map of the United States Florida ticked up from yellow to orange today. The state reports only show Florida resident cases and exclude non-residents cases, which are no longer available. The state works hard to promote ignorance. Local NPR reporter Nichole Darden Creston tested positive for COVID-19 this week. The last time I saw her, she handed me a travel pack of free tissues to promote WMFE.

Falun Dafa is an ancient, high-level Chinese cultivation practice which uses gentle movements and meditation to cultivate the body, mind, and spirit. None of the practitioners were masked. It consists of five simple exercises that can be performed by anyone, regardless of age, physical condition, infection status or prior experience. The practice is meant to relieve stress and create harmony, as it cleanses the mind and body, and focuses on increasing wisdom, morality, and promoting spiritual growth. Falun Dafa is guided by the characteristic of the universe: Truthfulness–Benevolence–Forbearance. The practice began in China which is now allowing citizens to stave to death in it’s zero COVID policy lock downs.

As people went through the movements, a sales person handed out pamphlets and offered free COVID shaped plastic flower sculptures. I was offered a flower but don’t really need one right now.

Beth Marshall Presented Wilds as part of the New Works Series

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Beth Marshall‘s new work series presented new works by playwrights. There were over 170 submissions and just two plays winners were selected from the play writing contest. The inaugural New Works Series featured workshop play readings from Top Teen actors mixed of industry professionals. Pam Schwartz I went to Class Act Studios (11561 Lake Underhill Road, Orlando, Florida 32825) to sketch the first play by author Lisa VillaMil. Wilds is a surrealist play about intolerance, whose plot draws from
social and political events of the past year, including Brexit, the
United States’ election, Poland’s attempted total-ban on abortion, and
the Syrian refugee crisis, particularly in relation to Hungary. It is
told in a series of short interwoven scenes of various plot lines.

The show was directed by Tara Kromer. Stage manager, (Jazzlyn Whiddonn) read at playwrights notes to set up each scene. The first scene that really struck a chord was an office meeting with men surrounding a conference table and Phoebe, (Arianna Aviles) as the only female employee. The boss (Nick Serino) ran the meeting and any time Phoebe offered insight, she was cut off. One of her ideas was repeated by one of the male employees and the boss praised him for the concept. They wanted to market their product to a female audience but refused to listen to any idea Phoebe offered.  After the meeting, the boss cornered her and asked why she was being so aggressive by speaking out at the meeting. She had actually been quite meek. It was clear that a woman has to work so much harder to have her voice heard. Men can act like assholes and be rewarded for their contributions but woman must stay subservient. In another scene Phoebe sat on a park bench and a man literally walked up and sat in her lap because he hadn’t seen that she was there. She was becoming invisible.

A politician (Joshua Huff ) spoke about the need to close borders to keep the unwanted out of our country. Every misguided word seemed to have already been said by our present president. An immigrant named Dinah (Alexia Correa) managed to make her way across the border but she was stopped by border patrol. Her baby was taken from her as she faced detention. She asked everyone she talked to where her baby was and no one would answer her. Childless she was finally released and she wandered the street with a photo of her child asking anyone she met if they had seen her child. Anger and frustration turned her into a wild animal.

One scene involved a character talking about having an extra cone receptor in his eyes that lets him see far more color that the average person. I had just listened to a segment on WMFE radio about these trichromats. As an artist I hope I have this extra receptor. One person referred to my use of color as garish, and I have tended to mute the pallet since. The point didn’t really forward the plot in the play however. In another scene a man played the part of a female nurse advising Phoebe to not have an abortion. Gender was blurred for effect. The play became surreal as one woman disappeared and the other turned into a wild cat.

The play resonated with political subjects we are all experiencing now in America. Everyone in the audience but a 14 year old agreed that the play should be produced for the stage. Beth Marshall is producing plays this year that are written by women or minorities. She is well aware that her primary audience is old and usually looking for simple escapist entertainment. Despite this she wants to present them with challenging contemporary works that challenge the status quo.

On Saturday June 30, 2018, at 3 p.m. Beth Marshall presents The Top Teens Showcase, featuring the acting, singing, musical, technical, and
performance art talents of select young emerging artists that are
theatrically coached and mentored or adjudicated by Beth Marshall
throughout the season. Local veteran industry professionals adjudicate
and award scholarships as well as we will be launching the BMP and
Billy Manes Arts Activism Scholarship. Scholarships provided by: Beth
Marshall Presents, Florida Theatrical Association and The Billy Manes
Society.This will be at Class Act Studios – 11561 Lake Underhill Road, Orlando, FL 32825. Tickets are $15.

WMFE: One Year Later.

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I went to the 90.7 WMFE Studios, (11510 East Colonial Drive, Orlando),  to attend a taping of The Three Wise Guys of Friends Talking Faith Reverend Bryan Fulwider, Imam Muhammad Musri and Rabbi Steven Engel discussed how the community has changed since the Pulse nightclub shooting.  Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan was a guest on the show. She described experiences on the day of the shooting when she went down to the nightclub to witness blood in the streets. She said that as a gay leader, she had become used to experiencing hate, but what was more difficult to deal with all the love that she felt from the community after the shooting. 

When the dead had to be buried, a hate group from out of town wanted to come to Orlando to disrupt the funerals with their hate filled rhetoric. Locals came together to make walls to protect mourners from the hate. Angel action wings were created to also shield mourners.The idea of Angel wings first came about after the hate crime death of Mathew Shephard. Orlando eventually took the idea one step further creating 49 sets of angel wings, one for each victim. Patty said that Orlando has done an amazing job of helping overcome tragedy through creativity.

The conversation turned to the notion of “otherizing” people. Once a group pf people are the “others”, then it is also possible to dehumanize them. With one years
fast approaching it becomes not only important to remember, but also
important to take a stand and do something to bring about change.Florida is the 50th state in the country in terms of money spent to help fund mental health. First responders might get money if they scraped a knee on the evening of the Pulse Nightclub attack, but they get no help seeking counseling to help deal with post traumatic stress disorder. Al attempts at passing reasonable gun control policies have all failed. Patty pointed out that if the mass murder had happened at a white male country club, then the political response might have been different. She honestly feels that no comfortable politician really cares what happened in Orlando.

 

Many churches that showed support right after the mass murder, now have no plans for the one year remembrance. 90.7 WMFE reporter Crystal Chavez talked about
the shooting’s impact on the Latino community and her forthcoming
Spanish-language podcast on the subject, Orlando Un Año Después. Questions were fielded from the audience, but several just were personal sermons rather than questions for the panel. Rabbi Engel thanked the audience for attending and hoped we all found something inspiring in the discussion. Quite the opposite is true I felt discouraged but the conversation. We live in a country that promotes gun violence and shooting incidents are accelerating rather than declining. a disgruntled employee just killed five of his former co-workers. What has gone wrong in America that allows such insane violence to seem like an option for some people? We are a country divided and angry. Orlando’s flower child vision of love can only take us so far. The religious leaders offered solace but no concrete answers.

Taking your Pulse town hall meeting

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Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC), the hospital that treated most of the Pulse survivors, hosted a Pulse town hall meeting at the hospital just a few blocks north of Pulse. I had to ask the valet which building the meeting was in and he pointed me in the right direction. The entry had a metal detector so I had to empty my pockets and assure the guard that pencils are not weapons. The way to the meeting room was long and winding. I was a bit late, since I had rushed to the hospital after teaching a class. As I slipped in the Town Hall meeting was already underway.

WMFE’s Matthew Peddie spoke with survivors, first responders, city officials and LGBT/Latinx community leaders.The first panelists were Christopher Hanson who was in the club and survived, Dr. Joshua Corsa, Orlando Health, who wrote the viral post about his blood-soaked shoes, and Nurse Emily Brown, of Orlando Health.

Christopher Hanson was asked about his experience on the evening of June 12, and he briefly described his night. I have heard two interviews and was amazed at how brief he kept his account. Nurse Emily Brown, described her evening if hiding when reports surfaced that there might be a shooter in the hospital. She had been told that things were about to get crazy and then 36 patients arrived in the first 36 minuted. There was no time to think. Dr. Joshua Corsa was asked about his sneakers. He worked for 30 hours straight trying to save lives and when he finally had a moment to reflect, he realized his brand new sneakers were blood soaked. He wore that same pair of sneakers every day until the last survivor left the hospital.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orlando Police Department Chief John Mina were the next people on stage. Speaking about a future memorial, Buddy pointed out that the community process is in some ways more important than the final creation. Everyone should have input into the process.A sculptor submitted a sculpture honoring the Pulse victims but the mayor said that it wasn’t his place to decide what art is appropriate.An audience member stood and asked about what measures are being taken to keep undocumented LGBT survivors safe from being deported if they turn to authorities for help. Chief Mina pointed out that Orlando police have never been involved in deportation. It isn’t their job. Seattle began a program called the Safe Place Initiative which puts rainbow stickers on businesses that support different cultures and diversity. That program will be implemented in Orlando. A woman from the audience stood up to the mic and spoke of the fierce love that came from our city government. Our community experienced a strong commitment to love and that message remains strong today.

The final panelists were Christopher Cuevas, Executive Director of QLatinx and Terry DeCarlo, Executive Director of GLBT Community Center of Central Florida. Christopher feels that people are still struggling in isolation. “Thousands of voices need to be echoed from the mountain tops.” he said. Terry was outraged by the media’s insistence that the 911 tapes be aired on TV. He also hated the video reenactment that was created recently. He warned as many people as he could, but a mom was making dinner in the kit hen and overheard her son on a 911 tape. That level of emotional damage is irreparable. He wished that the media could instead celebrate the lives lost, and share the stories of heros. He was thankful to those who bear witness.

The evening was part of Story Corps: Taking Your Pulse project and the first of a series of Dare to Listen events held in the community on tough topics in 2017. The long sterile hospital hallways felt strangely ominous as I navigated the maze back towards my car.