Ironhead

I went to several rehearsals for Ironhead. Ironhead is a fun quirky play about a group of friends who get sucked into a vortex after rippinq an original Ironhead instruction manual. The protagonist, who later plays Ironhead, Josh Geoghagan, just had a child with his wife and he felt playing video games was a waste of time. The friends find themselves inside the video game battling for their lives. Their objective is to find the Evil Lord of Evil Darkness and kill him.
The group of friends battles foe after foe. A particularly memorable scene happened on the Island of Cat People. Here everyone was offered cat nip as a diplomatic sign of friendship. Soon everyone is writhing on the floor together in a state of ecstasy. After rehearsing this scene, Sarah Lockhard said, “I couldn’t find an opening.” The unintended double meaning had everyone in the room laughing to the point of tears. This scene alone is worth the price of admission.
This action packed play was written by Marcie Schwalm and directed by Christian Kelly. The rehersals were held at Sleuths Mystery Dinner Theater on International Drive. When I arrived, the actors were standing in a circle. An actor would shout out another actors name and then the two actors would change places by crossing inside the circle. The pace picked up until the director asked them to just use eye contact to initiate the exchange. In another exercise the actors walked freely on the stage using peripheral vision to avoid running into one another. At one rehearsal Sarah Lockhard and Josh Geohagen arrived late because her car overheated. After an acting warm up the director asked an actor what he was thinking of. The actor said, “I was wondering when my turn would come. ” The director turned to Sarah, in tears she said, “I was thinking about my car.” That girl couldn’t lie if she tried.
Bottom line, this Fringe play was a fun filled romp.

Poetry Vending Machine

Analog Artist Digital World

Sometimes a sketch

is all you get

a flashbulb freeze-frame image

at the stop light dams

in the river of rush hour,

the elevator climb,

the go-getters

raising their cell phones in an endless salute.

and meanwhile

down in the grass

with the grace of the snakes,

there are dancers

making angels with no need for snow

singers

following the wispy string of their voice

as the sun pulls it free

there are people

stopping in the street

against all odds

waiting on a cloud

to match that shape of their dreams.

Let the management speak

of community,

hammer those ends with gavels

mark off the moments,

The deadline of the eye is stricter still.

Sometimes a sketch

is all you get

and if you look in the right place,

all you need.

-Tod Caviness

Green Lawn of Fabulousness

Between shows I relaxed on the “Green Lawn of Fabulousness” and did a sketch of the beer tent and crowd. Someone had a mini TV tuned in to the Magic playoff game which was going on that night at the Amway Arena. She usually attends the playoff games, and she sacrificed going to the game in order to see what Brian Feldman might do for the “Creative Mind Experiment.” Jessica Mariko is the mastermind behind the “The Creative Mind Experiment.” She invited over twenty different artists to all listen to the same clip of music and then build a performance based on what they heard and felt. The music clip is three minutes and thirty-three seconds. I took part in the project during its first performance, playing a video which had several hundred of my drawings edited together to build a sort of storyboard about life in Orlando.

I used an LED book lamp in order to see what I was doing while drawing this sketch. Several people stopped by to see what I was up to. And I am always surprised and delighted when strangers walk up to me and compliment me for the blog. The green lawn is the perfect rest stop between shows. This night there was a nice cool breeze and the sky lit up with stars was crystal clear. Every now and then as I drew, Sultana would shake her fist in the air and shout, “Defense, Defense!” In the end, the Orlando Magic crushed the Celtics.

I did not try and sketch Brian’s performance. I knew I only had three minutes, so I just sat back and enjoyed. Brian walked out on the empty stage and pulled a vegan candy bar out of his pocket. He gently unwrapped it and took a bite. He then took a second bigger bite. Soon the whole bar was in his mouth and he struggled to swallow. Before he had it all down he opened a second candy bar and shoved more in his mouth. The audience could not stop laughing. He then devoured a third candy bar and started to gag. He turned his back to the audience and hunched over. He took a few steps towards the back of the stage and went down on his knees. On his hands and knees he finally swallowed the three bars. He got up, took a bow and walked off stage. The audience was hysterical. When the show was over the audience voted for three acts in three categories. The coveted prize was a candy bar!

T-O-T-A-L-L-Y

T-O-T-A-L-L-Y a one woman show Directed by Paula Killen and performed by Kimleigh Smith packed an inspirational one two punch. The show begins with Kimleigh reliving her young days as an energetic and virginal college cheerleader.He valley girl interactions with her girlfriends is high energy and reminiscent of the cheerleader skits on Saturday Night Live. The tenor of the high energy humerus piece changes as she relived an evening where she decides to go out with one of the football players. What was remembered as a pleasant evening is suddenly recounted at a horrible gang rape party. She looses touch with feelings in the lower half of her body and eventually has to to to a therapist. She points out that if you analyze and break apart the word it is “The Rapist”.

Slowly she regains control of her life and her sexuality. As she recounts how she started finding a Lover on Craig’s List she had the audience laughing out loud the whole time. This show is life affirming demonstrating how to take control of your life no matter what hardships or obstacles need to be overcome. She exercised and lost weight then dressed in a sultry bathrobe. Her spirit takes flight like a super hero when she discovered and rejoiced in her inner strength. The bathrobe acted like a hero’s cape. By the end of the performance I was left wanting to cheer myself. I showed Kimliegh Smith the sketch I did of her after the show and asked her to sign it for me. She was just as enthusiastic and inspiring off stage as on. She wrote on my sketch, “Be the Superman you are!”

Friday May 28, 11:45PM

Sunday May 30, 11:00PM

Cyclosa Confusa

Cyclosa Confusa starting Andrew Conner was certainly the strangest and most entertaining show I have seen at the Fringe so far. The show started with the theater in total darkness. A creature enters the theater which has mini LED flashlights on it’s head and hands. It is very tall judging from the lights it projects around the audience. Rushing around, I could hear its joints squeaking. It wondered up and down the isles searching. Mark Baratelli had just entered the theater and ended up sitting alone at a theater left seat.

The tall green creature was on stage and disappeared behind a small white curtain. He pulled out some binoculars and started scanning the audience. He looked right at Mark and lingered. He rushed back out into the audience where Mark was seated and began massaging Marks head. He sprinkled salt on Marks scalp and then put a hard hat on with a rubber hose sticking out of the top. He pulled out a mini hand held drill and pretended to drill into Marks head. The rubber hose acted as a straw with which he sucked marks brains with delight. Even in his embarrassment Mark had the forethought to hand off his camera so Sultana Ali could take some pictures.

Mark was pulled on stage and seated in a metal folding chair with his back to the audience. The Cyclosa, now in a lab coat started running a series of obtuse and humerus tests. If Mark answered correctly he got a happy face mark, if he answered incorrectly the sad face would be checked. Many of the questions were obvious like, 2 + 2 = _____. Then came a difficult question, 3 triangles a circle and another triangle = _____. Mark thought for a moment and said, “4 kisses and a cookie.” That deserved a huge smile face check and the audience roared.

The creature looked through the bag of a woman in the front row and he pulled out an address book. On stage he offered it to Mark as a reward. Mark looked over his shoulder and held up the book smiling with a page open full of contact information. Tisse Mallon took his photo. Mark kept getting a barge of gifts and romantic advances from the Cyclosa.

Mark and a girl picked from the audience then had to perform an operation on a human heart which the Cyclosa had extricated from his tail or butt. As they worked on the heart with their utensils the Cyclosa used a spray bottle to moisten the heart and plate. He was spritzing so much that the two were lost in a cloud of wet mist.

With a series of play cards the Cyclose quickly outlined his back story. His civilization in the center of the Earth had been lost because of a rouge lave flow. He had been spared since he was surfing the lava at the time. He wanted to take Mark to his home. The Cyclosa was in love and I think so was Mark.

In the end the Cyclose offered its heart by unzipping it’s fly and attaching what looked like a clothes line to Marks helmet. The heart was strung on the line with a carabiner and then the line was pulled sending the heart over to Marks face. When the Cyclose wrote on a large card, “Will you come with me?” The audience was shouting at Mark to accept the creatures loving advances. Smitten, Mark accepted.

So much fun! Don’t miss it!

Thursday, May 27th 7:10 PM

Friday, May 28th 11:05 PM

Julie Bunny Must Die!

This Fringe show in the Pink venue was a fun comical musical. A graphic artist and comic named Adam Chase, played by Bert Rodriguez, grapples with the superficial and insignificant nature of living as a freelance artist. His one true love is a comic character he created as a child named Julie Bunny. The bunny is an international spy whose arch nemesis is an evil Chef, played by Michael Colavolpe. As an artist I am enthralled by the idea of this musical. Some of the lyrics fell a little short but on a whole the songs were fun and creative. While trying to please a corporate ad executive Adam finds himself overworked with insane tight deadlines. With so much work on his plate he can not find the time to write his beloved comic. The comic characters unite and try to write their own back story on their own. Penny a blond bombshell, is consistently ignored every time she opens her mouth. Her song, where she laments people never taking her seriously is a highlight of the show. It turns out she had all the answers all along.

Adams girlfriend, played by Stefanie Clouse, doesn’t understand his obsession with the comic character while a fan who dresses in furry costumes to go to comic conventions understands perhaps too well. The girlfriend tries to convince Adam to take the safe graphic arts jobs which pay far better than an underground comic. Julie bunny, played by Laura Hodos is on stage as the girlfriend is looking at the comic. When the girlfriend utters, “Its not exactly your best work.” The bunny raises her toy gun and shouts “I will cut you bitch!” I laughed out loud and my watercolor wash splashed across the page in the wrong direction.

This was a really fun show don’t miss it!

Tuesday, May 25th 10:25 PM

Friday, May 28th 9:50 PM

Saturday, May 29th 4:45 PM

Sunday, May 30th 4:40 PM

Fringe of Nature

I had camped out with Sultana Fatima Ali at the Orlando Fringe box office in order to get a ticket to go on Brian Feldman’s overnight primitive camping trip, “Fringe of Nature.” Sultana got the first ticket and I managed to get the second ticket. I was going to join Brian and Sultana on the first night, but Terry decided she would like to come along for the camping trip so we changed the date to my birthday, May 22. Only two people are suppose to go out on the hike each night, and only 10 tickets are available to this unique Fringe performance. On the trip to the Shakespeare Theater Terry stopped at a Publix and got a coconut frosted birthday cake. I thought this was a strange item to try and bring on a 3.5 mile hike into the woods. We sat down in the patrons room and waited for Brian to arrive. Terry cut up the cake and set all the pieces out on paper plates. Sultana stopped by with her mom, Mary Beth, who is an artist herself. We kept offering cake to people who walked past our table and soon Dewey Chaffee, Douglas McGeoch, and Anna McCambridge, Sultana, Mary Beth and Terry were all singing “Happy Birthday.” Their voices resonated and echoed in the patrons room and this workaday song suddenly sounded angelic. When I hear this song in a public restaurant I always let out a groan. But when the song has my name in it, the song is suddenly beautiful. At home, the amazing number of Facebook birthday greetings left me humbled wanting to cry.

Outside, Brian drove up in a brand new 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman which had been supplied by Orlando MINI for the project. Matt Simantov joined our group and we soon had everything packed and set off into the wild unknown. I knew the drive was only maybe 45 minutes so I rushed to get the sketch of Brian driving. His hat hid his eyes and he said, “This is the first time I get to look like Beetle Bailey.” I really like the circular flowing lines of the MINI Cooper. Since my Xterra is starting to age less than gracefully, I need to start thinking of a more fuel efficient alternative.

When we all arrived at Wekiwa Springs State Park, we parked the MINI Cooper and Matt’s car in the parking lot. There was a restroom but it was way in the distance, about a quarter mile away. We arrived at about six or so and it was still very hot. A small dirt service road soon branched off into a narrow path through palmettos and shrub. Matt and Terry joked about walking through the deserts of Tatooine from Star Wars. Terry started singing, “I’m happy when I’m hiking, pack upon my back…” This was an old Girl Scouts song and none of the three guys knew it. At one point, a large animal made plenty of noise as it rushed into the palmettos. We shouted and tried to look big, which is advice given if you should startle a bear.

The sun was starting to turn orange and was very low on the horizon when we reached “Camp Cozy.” Brian and I set up the six person tent and Matt and Terry started gathering wood for a campfire. I managed to light the fire using maybe six matches. A large log which had been eaten by termites offered a nice starter. Matt and Brian put headlamps on and I had a cheap one which stopped working after half an hour. We didn’t cook anything but just ate sandwiches we had bought at Publix. Then we roasted square vegan marshmallows.

Matt kept using a huge bowie knife he had strapped to his leg to cut up a log which helped keep the fire burning. I sliced open my left thumb by tugging at a dry palmetto frond. The palmetto stem had jagged edges; thank god I had my Jesus bandages, which had been a gift from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. I also bought along a very flat LED light which Brian placed inside the portable marquee which allowed it to illuminate at night since we couldn’t find a darn plug. Brian had a package of square vegan marshmallows and I tried one. It didn’t burn like a regular marshmallow and I took my time waving it in the open flames until it was a perfect golden brown. It actually tasted really good. It was as good as the real thing without the animal by-products.

As I sketched, I heard the high pitched whine of millions of mosquitoes all circling around me and waiting to find an opening in the insect repellent that covered every inch of my body. I was the first to get in the tent for the night. At three in the morning, I ventured out and marveled at the bright half moon with pitch black pine trees sweeping up to meet it. In the distance, a mist made the far trees a subtle blue gray and the stars were bright and clear. I understood why Van Gogh painted Starry Night.

 At sunrise, I convinced Brian to join me for an eight minute run along the trail. The sun was just piercing the verticals of the trees and the path weaved left and right. Huge dew covered spider webs would cross the path forcing us to duck in order to avoid them. Running along a tight path with trees flying by makes it feel like you are running a lot faster than you are. We all agreed to go to the springs when the camp was broken down. On the hike back, Brian lost patience with the slow pace of the person at the end of the hiking column. He named this hiker iPod, since the hiker never went a moment without listening to and sometimes singing along to the songs on their iPod playlist. Brian marched out at a quick pace. I stayed with the slower hiker and suddenly the three of us were faced with a fork in the trail. There were no trail blazes on either trail. I called Brian using my cell and got his answering message. I said simply, “Left or Right?” A few minutes later Brian called back and said, “Left.” The parking lost was less than a quarter mile down that path. A parking lot never looked so enticing. The air conditioning in the MINI was delicious.

On the drive to the springs, a beautiful deer silently strutted across the road in front of the MINI Cooper. Brian stopped to watch her and she tilted her head to the side to look over her shoulder at us. The silent staring contest lasted just a moment before she quietly walked into the woods. At the springs, the water was a refreshing 72 degrees and I was in within minutes. I swam across the springs once and then got out to do a quick sketch. Brian and Matt floated around in the middle of the springs for a long time talking. There are two more chances to experience this unique Fringe show for yourself. Get a ticket before they are all gone.

Thursday May 27, 5:30 PM

Friday May 28, 5:30 PM

Visual Fringe

This is the second year I have exhibited work in Visual Fringe. There was a $20 entry fee that I had forgotten about, but I gladly paid to be part of this amazing event. Anna McCambridge and Jeremy Seghers were behind the table to take my work and welcome me to Fringe. A year ago I started sketching at the Fringe and I felt like a bit of an outsider. This year, attending Fringe feels like going home and every day brings fun reunions with people I have sketched and admired over the year. Just as I did last year. I settled back and did a sketch of the Visual Fringe reception table as art work filtered in. I picked up my Fringe button and Fringe lanyard and was told by Anna to return for the Fringe Gala in a few days. This year since I am a performer in the “Creative Mind Experiment“, I find I can go into any show at any time so long as it isn’t sold out. It looks like I will be doing twice as many sketches of actual shows this year. Fringe this year should be a wild non-stop sketch marathon, so strap in and enjoy the ride!

The first show I had to get a ticket for was Brian Feldman’s “Fringe of Nature.” Sultana Fatima Ali had set up a camping chair in the box office and planned to sit from 4PM when the box office opened till 11PM when Brian planned to sell the first of the $10 tickets. I decided to sit with Sultana with my camping chair and we joked around and watched as the Fringe Festival swirled and accelerated to a fevered pitch. Large lines of people would gather at the theaters and then go in leaving the space quiet again. I wandered off and did a sketch and saw my first show which was “Goblin Party Interactive” put on by Heather Henson and her crew at IBEX Puppetry. “Goblin Party Interactive” was a really fun interactive show and I plan to return to sketch. When I joined Sultana again at about quarter to eleven, she was still the only person in line for “Fringe of Nature.” I joked that she might be in the wrong line and that Brian probably wouldn’t have people stand in a traditional line. There was a large group of people standing in a circle and I rationalized that Brian might expect people to stand in a circular line. Any time I spotted a person with hiking boots or any item of clothing that gave a hint of the great outdoors, I let Sultana know that they might be trying to cut in line. Brian finally did show up and sell the tickets, which were gorgeous, encased in lucite ticket holders, and nice enough to hang on a wall. I will be camping with Brian on my birthday, May 22nd; my wife Terry will be joining me.

Cat Women of the Moon

Hannah Miller, is performing in the Fringe show, Cat Women of the Moon. I gave her a call the week before Fringe to see if I could get a sketch of the first dress rehearsal. The rehearsal took place at the director, Les Caufield’s, home. The primitive stage was set up outside in his screened in porch area right in front of the pool. There was a flurry of activity as everyone got into costumes and props were set in place. All the astronauts sit on garbage cans. The interior of the space ship is represented by three panels with crudely painted buttons and dials.

Hannah plays Helen Slater and she is having a romance with all three of the male crew members. She leads the crew off course and right into the clutches of the Cat Women of the Moon. The Cat Women control Helen with a glowing hand held device. The evil plot of the Cat Women is to take over the Earth and keep only a few men as sex slaves and pets. I wasn’t a fan of the play, but perhaps women will get a secret pleasure watching men walked on stage with a leash and told to kneel.

The acting in the play is in no way subtle. This is intended as a fun, campy, musical riot but more often than not the humor and songs fall flat. When Helen is attacked by a giant moon spider, the audience is invited to pull a string in the program which will heighten the virtual experience. The program also had 3D glasses for the more in depth and dramatic scenes.

Most of the cast are high school students this being there first major theatrical experience. That excitement is contagious, but in the end the production is never elevated above a high school production. If you want to experience some strange overacted, campy fun, check out this show in the Green Venue (Rep Theater) at the Fringe.

Sunday May 23, 1:10 PM

Tuesday May 25, 10:30 PM

Thursday May 27, 5:15 PM

Friday May 28 11:40 PM

Saturday May 29 7:55 PM

Sultana Stares

While I was at work at Full Sail, I got a text message from Hannah Miller saying she planned to stare at Brian Feldman that afternoon while wearing her wedding dress. Brian and Hannah got married several months ago when Brian put a invite on Facebook saying he would marry any woman that showed up at the Orange County Courthouse. I got off work early and rushed over to Frames Forever & Art Gallery to start the sketch. When I arrived Brian was relaxing with his head bowed after having just stared down Mike McDonnel. I had texted several times prior to my arrival just to let Katie Windish and Brian know that something special might happen involving Hannah. I started a sketch blocking in the big shapes and leaving the participant seat empty.

I began getting text messages from Hannah outlining a series of unfortunate incidents. Her hair had been died the wrong color, she got a ticket for turning left at a spot where left turns are not allowed, then she was helplessly stuck in traffic. She finally gave up and went home for a bit to eat before heading off to work at Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater. My plans to see husband and wife staring off went up in smoke. When it became clear that Hannah wouldn’t make it, I told everyone about the sketch that could have been.

A small crowd had gathered for the final hours of the staring competition. Emma Hughes took the contestant seat and lasted long enough for me to get a decent sketch. Then I begged Sultana to take the seat. She hesitated, but finally relented. I suspected with her triathlon training and a strong will, she would last longer than anyone suspected. I rushed the first sketch thinking she might give up at any time but she held strong. I then started a second sketch and I felt giddy. This was the perfect event for a sketch artist to record. There was a constant penetrating stillness. There was much to read in what went unsaid. Sultanas expression would light up with laughter sometimes as people joked around her but she never lost her gaze. Later her expression turned serious and then sad. I wanted to dash off a series of sketches trying to catch each subtle change but I remained committed to the two sketches I had started. There was something sublime about the time these two locked eyes. The air was electric and I soaked up some of that energy and directed it into the sketch. This was an important moment. Time stood still.

The record for staying seated opposite Brian had been set by Mike Maples two days prior, but Sultana easily cruised by that record by staring at Brian for 1 Hour 59 minutes and 50 seconds. She said that when she broke free of his gaze it was like she was coming up from under a blanket, or surfacing after being underwater for some time. She felt a total sense of seclusion as if in a cocoon. She came to realize that no one had ever looked at her for that length of time before. For a moment after an hour of starting she felt like he was looking straight into her soul. I was ecstatic and felt all the drama in the moment.

For being the person who could stare at Brian the longest, she won a free 4 by 7 inch frame. When she got up she stretched a bit and rubbed her neck. She had to leave right after she was done to get home and work on some homework.