15 years ago, I sketched performance artist Brian Feldman at the Beacham Theater. He set himself up inside an Orlando Weekly Newspaper box and distributed papers to people going into the Best of Orlando Party. It was a tough sketching situation and ultimately, I was asked to move along by police. I had already finished the sketch line work thankfully and when the officer left I finished the sketch while standing up. He didn’t return to once again cut off the creative process.
Brian let me know that he was having a return performance at this year’s Best of Party being held in the Plaza Live Theater. The fact that I could sketch indoors with air conditioning was already a plus. I arrived early and Brian had left my name at the door so I could get into the venue. I was given an arm band and let right in.
Brian was set up in the lobby right next to the table that the Orlando Weekly was using to welcome people to the event. I sat in my artist’s stool right across from Brian which offered a good vantage point. This time Brian became a perfect photo opportunity to folks heading into the theater. Before getting into the Orlando Weekly box, Brian met with Production Manager Lee Soule.
Brian hired actress Suzanne Faison who I had just seen at the Orlando Story Club as she told her story for the first time. I had also sketched her at Fringe this year because she performed with the Orlando Gay Chorus, and she had a solo and dance near the end of the show. I sketched her as she got prepared a little off stage. She brought plenty of energy to the performance by offering to take a photo of anyone who grabbed a paper from the boxer. She danced when the music started inside the venue and she crouched like Spider-man always finding a way to grab the attention of folks passing by.
I always like to watch Brian’s facial expressions as people pose. More important are the unexpected moments like a woman struggling to adjust her dress next to the newspaper box before she went inside. Brian’s look of surprise and dismay made me laugh out loud. I kind of wish I had left more room to the right of the box to add some of these moments but my art is a slow burn. Once I commit to a composition, I push through and hope that everything works out.
When my sketch was done, I asked Brian’s Suzanne if she needed anything. I know that Brian never takes a food or bathroom break during a performance. She asked if I could get a couple of slices of pizza from outside. After I grabbed a bit for myself from the table that Maxine’s on Shine had set up inside the theater, I went outside and found the pizza offerings. It was late in the event so there was no line. I grabbed two slices and made my way back inside. I had to go through security, which I didn’t have to do when I arrived much earlier. My art bag had to be searched, and every brush and pencil was a potential weapon. The pizza ultimately did find its way into the Plaza Live, and Brian’s energetic assistant Suzanne was so grateful. I think she had just been running in caffeine up to that point.
The Plaza Theater was the site of the murder of singer Christina Grimmie by a rabid fan the night before the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Grimmie was participating in a meet-and-greet event after her performance, signing auto graphs and selling merchandise, when she was shot multiple times by the suspect, a 27-year-old male. I could not be upset by the heightened security. Orlando lost its innocence in June of 2016.