Drip Gay Days

Through June 1st, Gay Days is being celebrated at Drip on International Drive (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs, Orlando, Florida). Tonight, May 31st, there is an all male cast performing at 8:30PM and 11:30PM. On Saturday June 1st at 8:30 and 11:30 there will be performances by an all female cast. I had seen the all female performance before, so I wanted to see how the tragic love story played out for the men.

The band got on stage and soon the room was ripped open with the ear splitting riffs of David Traver who also is the music director for Blue Man Group. Quickly the room was filled with men. The male dancers performed inside a makeshift inner structure where paint and sand flew. Jeans were suspended from the ceiling and when tugged they became erotic showers of sand. People were screaming and shouting.

Overall the show’s story remained the same, Blue and Yellow spark a romantic dance and as they smear their colors together they turn green. There is infidelity and a very sexy scene performed under pulsing strobe lights. With the men there was a bit more masculine shoving and athletics. Yellow was left to wash away the past to find some sense of self.

I found out that Jessie Sander who usually dances the part of yellow in the production was seeing the show for the first time as an audience member. I saw her watching the male Yellow’s every move and she shouted encouragement at the top of her lungs. The male cast had three weeks to rehearse and fine tune the show. Jessica Mariko, Drip’s founder stood on the side lines watching the show unfold. At one point she whispered to a male dancer in the dark offering advice.

There is no passive seating for the show. The audience stands on either side of the huge performance space. Everywhere inside Drip is a splash zone, everyone gets wet. I knew when to close my sketchbook this time to preserve the sketch. When water balloons were handed out to audience members, a big bear of a guy hid behind me to try and avoid getting pelted by his boy friend. I ducked left and right and he followed my every move. Ultimately he was pelted.

Weekend Top 6 Picks. 

Saturday June 1, 2013 

6PM-9PM  Superman Art Show, Acme Superstore 905 E. State Road 434 Longwood.

8:30PM-10:30PM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

11:30PM-1:30AM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

Sunday June 2, 2013

 8:00AM-10AM Free Total Body Transformation Workout. Gaston Edwards Park – Lake Ivanhoe Boat dock / next to Gargis 1414 North Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL

7PM-Midnight Free Jesse and Amy get hitched and reception/open jam all nite! On the Rocks, Lake Eola Park 195 N Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801.  Everybody is welcome! Only request is that everyone wear some sort of white shirt (for photographic reasons). We’re def not expecting wedding gifts (gravy boats, microwaves,etc…) but if you’re so inclined, we are trying to get a house, so any cash donation would be welcome (again, not in anyway necessary). We just wanna have the coolest wedding/jam fest EVER!! Bands are welcome to do 2-3 song sets, but must use stage equipment (except for guitars, if u want your own) and notify Jeremy Hagen so he can organize the chaos. We’re hoping the jams just materialize outta the insane assemblage of all the musicians in the house.

10PM-Midnight Free Sick Of It Presents: Rancid Karaoke Cover Set. Will’s Pub 1042 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32803. You come up out of the crowd and sing your favorite Rancid songs with a live band…YOU’RE the singer!

Ses-qui-cen-ten-nial

Joe Rosier with his grey beard and weather worn leathery complexion is a dead ringer for confederate general Robert E. Lee. It was raining like a banshee when I parked my car near the Orlando Fringe Festival. I waited in my car until the rain slowed a bit. When I did step out, I was amazed to see the tires half engulfed in a raging muddy gutter flow. It looked like the car could be swept away.

The premise of the presentation was that General Lee was addressing students at Washington College in Lexington Virginia, recounting his time in the Civil War and his relationship with General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union troops.  The Purple Patron’s Room Venue was empty when I found a seat. Only two other theater goers came in. Joe later confided that the woman in the third row was a theater reviewer from the Orlando Weekly. The General let us know he was pleased that we had all braved the elements to hear his story.

I think you need to be a real history buff to fully appreciate the show. At one point the general had some trouble remembering the battle of Appomattox. He apologized for his brief memory slip as he is getting on in years. I couldn’t decide if it was the actor searching for a line or the General’s lapse in memory. I paid close attention as he recalled his surrender to a very disheveled Grant. Grant let the rebel officers keep their side arms after the surrender. The General was spry for his age, moving constantly on the stage. I caught him in a rare moment when he chose to sit.

Tonight 

10PM – 2AM

Girls at Gay Days Kick-Off Party “One Hot Mess

Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida 32819

I will be doing a live large scale painting of two Drip dancers embracing.  I should be able to sketch several other willing couples as well. If you are an exhibitionist, come on by and get sketched. This is likely to be a hell of a party. It is preceded by a Drip show with an all female cast which is very hot. The show is $35 but the “One Hot Mess” after party is free.

  • DJ Lez Spins
  • Appearance by Jude the Lesbian
  • Budlight colored beer taste testing
  • Barefoot Wine Bar with special grape stomping performance by DRIP.
  • DRIP performance art in white powder
  • DRIP dancers performing in rain
  • DRIP ticket giveaways
  • Dancing
  • Interactive Paint Station
  • Body Painting
  • Gay Days themed visual art show
  • Art Sales

Mitzi Morris in “If Looks Could Kill”

I decided to slip in and sketch “If Looks Could Kill” at Fringe simply because I noticed the line to get into the yellow venue was long and it started to move. “That’s what she said!” Bikini Katie was in the front row along with Logan Donahoo. Logan’s show, “A Field Guide to Gays” was constantly sold out. Anyway back to the stage. Mitzi Morris played a 60’s style American spy who seduces her way to the truth. She battled a ferocious Russian spy, played by Jamie-Lyn Markos, who poured out of her tight leather outfit. The most hilarious moments in the production were when this lusty Russian spy spoke like a sexy Natasha from the Bullwinkle cartoons, to her henchman on her cell phone and his every response to her orders was “Da”.

There was mystery and intrigue and Mitzi Morris squeezing in a musical dance number. She lost one of the orbs that decorated her hair as she danced. As it bounced into the audience, I began to suspect that this spy just might be a guy. No, impossible, since every guy onstage instantly fell in love with her. It was a fun hour and Mitzi triumphed over evil.

Poe & Mathews

Grumble Productions from Los Angeles presented “Poe and Mathews: A Misadventure in the Middle of Nowhere” in the Gold Venue at this years Fringe. The premise was that Edgar Allen Poe was deserted on a desert island with a bungling fool. This comedy of errors was hung on stages of grief, like denial, anger and acceptance. In the preview, the over weight fool ate an apple as Poe tried to concentrate. Poe lost his patience and yelled at Mathews to eat quieter. Mathews tried taking delicate baby bites but even that pushed Poe over the edge. The production reminded me quite a bit of “Waiting for Godot”, with physical comedy thrown into the mix.

These actors worked the lines of other shows incessantly. They won an award at the Fringe for being the most diligent marketers.  I was surprised to find out that Poe was a female actor. The production was pleasant enough, but I began loosing patience, wishing the story would take me somewhere else.

All the Patron’s Picks are now in, so be sure to get out and see your favorite shows!

Black – Blue and Tod: In the Black

Blue – Fetish

Brown – TJ and Mr. Oaksite

Gold – Macbeth

Green – Loon

Orange – Celebrity Match Game: The Musical (5/28, 9:30pm)

Pink – The Boxer: A Silent Movie Onstage (5/28, 8pm)

Purple (tie) – Pillow Talk ((5/27, 10am) / A Field Guide to the Gays (5/28, 6:30pm)

Red – Eating Pasta Off the Floor

Silver – Piranha the Musical!

Yellow – God is a Scottish Drag Queen

Jett Backpack and the Battle at the End of the Universe

I went to the Jett Backpack tech rehearsal to see the cast in costume. I was impressed by the backpack itself which was built with cardboard tubes and the ends of liter soda bottles along with tubing snaking from component to component, all of this was anchored to a roll along suitcase and worn, the backpack looked like it might work.

Dancers rehearsed the opening scene in which they held planets that zoomed down the isles and onto the stage narrowly missing Jennifer Guhl as she flew a pretend shuttle through space. Dorothy Massey was busey cutting a foam tail for a reptilian villain named Dr. Saurian played by Stephen Lima. When the tail was secured with a belt she and the cast had a good laugh. Later the reptile was fighting Jett Backpack, played by John Bateman, and the tail struck Jett in the balls immobilizing him. In a second rehearsal of the same fight, Jett’s knees came together when he was struck and the tail snapped off remaining between his clenched knees. It was a hilarious mistake.

This Fringe show was campy and fun offering rolls where local actors could cut loose and be silly. Sadly the show’s run is over and yesterday I saw the cast relaxing over beers in the beer tent. The earth itself was saved from certain doom so it was time to down some ale and admit the battle was now part on Intergalactic history.

This show won TheDailyCity.com’s Audience Choice Award for the best show in the yellow venue.

Boogie Shoes

Quiet Desperation Productions presents “Boogie Shoes”, written and performed by Marcie Schwailm and directed by Tara Corless in the Red Venue. The red venue this year was in a rehearsal space on the second floor of the Shakes. Based on posters I had seen around the Fringe Festival, I expected to see a goofy comedy about a dancer with little coordination. Marcie walked on stage and began talking about how she loved to dance as a small child. Her mother told her that she could be anything she wanted to be when she grew up. “I want to be Wonder Woman!” “Well Wonder Woman is a pretend character, you can be anything real.” “A shark?” “No.” The next best thing was to become a ballerina.

Her mom supported her dream and enrolled her in a ballet class. Unfortunately some snotty ballet student told Marcie she was too fat to be a ballerina. Deflated, she dropped out of the class. Bulimic girlfriends told her she should barf up any food she ate to stay thin.  She couldn’t do it. Bitchy adolescence set in and she resented her own body. She took to cutting herself. The razor’s edge was one thing she had absolute control over. Thankfully, she eventually put that behind her. In her 20’s she met the man of her dreams and she read endless brides magazines to plan the wedding. When she tried on a wedding dress and looked in a mirror, she didn’t like what she saw. Depression set in for years because she didn’t see herself as a Cinderella ideal.

Then she discovered belly dancing. The teacher had students isolate upper body movements by asking the students to imagine they were washing a window with their breasts. She had students move their chest as if then were writing a word. Marcie demonstrated for us. Amazingly someone in the audience guessed the right word. I was too modest to venture a guess although she wrote 5 letters. To isolate hip movements the teacher suggested students imagine they had a pencil in their vaginas with which they wrote on the floor. Those would be some long pencils!

After a quick costume change Marcie came out in a belly dancer’s outfit. She sparkled and a thin gossamer blue veil flowed around her as she danced. Now when she looks in a mirror she knows she is beautiful. The audience clapped and shouted their support. I was glowing, happy to have heard this story of overcoming the odds imposed by society, and rediscovering a child’s joy that can always be rekindled. Some people go through their whole life never finding that innocent passion again. This show was a life affirming miracle. Some dreams do come true as long as you keep searching and never give up. This was without a doubt the most inspiring true life story I’ve heard at this year’s Fringe.

A portion of the sales for “Boogie Shoes” will be donated to the non-profit organization, “To Write Love on Her Arms“. This organization is dedicated to presenting hope and find help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. They encourage, inform, inspire and invest in treatment and recovery.

When:

Sunday May 26 at 5:45PM

Where:

Red Venue

Tickets:

$8 plus a Fringe button.

The Boxer – A Silent Movie On Stage

 The Patron’s Picks have been announced for the Orlando Fringe. These shows sold the most tickets in their respective venues and they get to stage one more show at the end of the festival.

Green venue: “Loon,” 11 a.m. Monday May 27.

Pink venue: “The Boxer,” 8 p.m. Tuesday May 28.

Purple venue: “Pillow Talk,” 10 a.m. Monday May 27.

Silver venue: “Piranha The Musical,” 12:15 p.m. Monday May 27.

Yellow venue: “God Is a Scottish Drag Queen,” 9 p.m. Monday 27.



Jester Theater Company presents Brandon Roberts and some of Orlando’s most
brilliant comedic actors and musicians in this laugh-filled silent movie
onstage. A live ragtime soundtrack is provided  by Blake Braswell and Anthony Riley. I love Brandon Roberts physical comedy, so I had to see The Boxer written by Matt Lyle. The play began by introducing the heroine played by Gemma Fearn. She is dressed as a man so she can get a job in depression era hard times.  She is incredibly endearing from the start as she tries to imitate men’s gestures. The boxer enters being beat down repeatedly. In a slow motion moment he is hit by a punch. His head snaps and he slowly spins. The expression on Gemma’s face as she watches, turns from horror’ to compassion’ to love, all within that knockout blow that sends the boxer to the floor.

She decides to train the boxer herself. In a hilarious training montage projected on the stage backdrop,  she blows soap bubbles which overwhelm the boxer sending him to the mat. Although she falls for the boxer, he treats her like any other guy. the boxer needs to win a match for his dear old mom.  I don’t want to give too much away. This show is as endearing as any Charlie Chaplin classic. It will melt your heart. Just go. You wild laugh till your sides hurt. The show I went to was completely sold out.

When:

Saturday May 25 at 6:15PM

Sunday May 26 at 11:15PM

Tuesday May 28 at 8PM

Where:

Pink Venue in the Shakes

Tickets:

$11 plus a Fringe button

Onomatopoeia

Entering the Black venue on Virginia Drive we were greeted by the music of Miss Laney Jones and her band, Bill Jickell on mandolin and Chris Campbell on upright bass. Their sweet bluegrass music wove its way through the whole show. Onomatopoeia, written by Anthony Bolante, is a bitter sweet story set in 1929. On a back lit screen, a young couple meet and fall in love in a small mid West town. The title came from a conversation the young couple had about how two words could join together to have a whole new meaning. The analogy being, that two people in love could weather any storm.

At a town celebration and dance, the boy played by Adam Scharf proposes to the girl, played by Melina Countryman, by hiding a ring in a red balloon. Their fates change when the stock market crashes sending the country into the great depression. The boy has to leave the town and his girl with hopes of finding work. The girl returns his ring saying he might need to sell it. He leaves with his possessions in a satchel on a stick and he learns how to survive as a hobo.

There are odd jobs and comic moments. The boy looses his voice and has to communicate in mime. Audience member Michael Poley was called on stage to help him stack boxes. He had to learn the boy’s hand signals to comic effect. The young hobo never manages to find his fortune and ultimately returns to his home town, defeated. All the while he held on to the hope that his girl would be there when he returned. His town was situated in the dust bowl and everyone, including his girl, had suffered. She blames him for not being there when she needed him most. Dejected he leaves his satchel behind and walks away. She opens it and finds nothing but a red balloon.

The music of Laney Jones and the band really makes this show shine. I’ve been a fan of her music ever since I heard her play on a rainy day in a parking lot in College Park. Over a dozen songs punctuated the show. Many were written by Laney, one was by Chris Campbell and several others were by Anthony Bolante along with several classics. Elisabeth Drake-Forbes was the Music Supervisor and Producer. I drove the whole way home humming “It’s Only a Paper Moon.”  Two thumbs up for this production. You only have one last chance to catch this show.

When:

Saturday May 25 at 11:15PM

Where:

Black Venue,  511 Virginia Drive

Tickets:

$11 plus a Fringe button

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday May 25th 2013

11AM – Midnight FRINGE! Both Days. http://orlandofringe.org/

Noon — 5PM FREE: Food Truck Fiesta for People and Pets at Fleet Peeples Park, 2000 S Lakemont Ave Winter Park FL 32789 Live music, great food, pet-friendly!

INFO: (407)296-5882 www.foodtruckcrazy.com

2PM – 4PM March Against Monsanto, City Hall 400 South Orange Avenue. https://www.facebook.com/notes/march-against-monsanto/mission-statement/579359972082527

10PM – Midnight FREE: FRINGE Toast Off, Outdoor tent, Lock Haven Park. Is it poetry? Is it a drinking game? Is it improv comedy? Is it some unholy human centipede of all the above? (Poetry is the 2.) Find out when host Tod Caviness gets Orlando’s finest comedians (and a few Fringe favorites) drunk for your amusement on the outdoor stage at the Orlando Fringe Festival. Did we mention that it’s free? We probably should. You’re going to need the money for the beer tent.

Sunday May 26th 2013

9AM – 4PM Kiwi Camera Swap, Kiwi Camera Service, 18808 Kentucky Avenue Winter Park I’m pretty sure this photography thing is a passing fad. Prime sketching of photographers and their large lenses.

Noon- 2PM Broadway Brunch at Hamburger Mary’s! Hot buns and Broadway tunes. Need I say more? 110 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801

Shut Up Emily Dickenson

The two minute Fringe preview for this show was hilarious. A male announcer described how utterly annoying Emily Dickinson was as she looked over her shoulder at the audience with contempt. Her nose was rubbed raw from a cold and she put lotion on her chaffed elbows. Emily was performed by Tanya O’Debra from Brooklyn NY.

Stretching that two minute joke out for the eternity of an hour was problematic. Emily was consistently annoying and reclusive. The only writing she did was of morbid condolence letters to friends and family suffering loss. Never leaving her room, she begins to fantasize about the narrator. There was one precious comic moment when she decided to let her hair down. She began removing one hair pin after another. She must have had 50 hair pins in that tight bun. Ultimately however, I was left bored. As a character, Emily didn’t change in any way. I can laugh at an annoying character for a few minutes but I have no desire to watch them for an hour. I need some sort of character development if I’m to become involved. I was a bit annoyed at myself for going to the show.

When:

Thursday May 23 at 9:15PM

Sunday May 26 at 2:30PM

Where:

Green Venue Rep Black box theater

Tickets:

$11 plus a Fringe Button

A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup

One of the most colorful characters of the Fringe has to be Miss Hiccup who I’ve seen many times on the Lockhaven park green lawn of fabulousness always in character. The program described her show as,  “Fringe favorites Paul Strickland and Chase Padgett combine their talents…” wait a minute, they have nothing to do with this show! Major typo!  Let me look online, … “The mysterious Miss Hiccup lives alone, but is definitely not lonely. She is forever accompanied by a raucous cast of sounds and music that make her life an absurd adventure. A hilarious and beautiful physical comedy by award-winning Japanese performer Shoshinz from Tokyo.”

Miss Hiccup performs in the Blue venue which is the Shakes black box theater. The performance was absurd and endearing.  When she unrolled a whole roll of toilet paper with childish delight, she decided to ensure I was paying attention by kicking the pile of paper onto my sketch pad. She does indeed hiccup her way throughout the show. She came onstage in a crouched crab like position, I’m not sure why. In one cute bit she held a tiny umbrella, maybe twice the size of a drink umbrella over her head. The sound of water leaking would be different if it hit the umbrella. She ran about trying to have every water drop hit her umbrella. While much of the performance was mime along with physical comedy, Hiccup does also sing.

The audience at 5:15PM Friday May 17th was rather small, perhaps 10 people, but everyone could have a front row seat. I’m sure the folks expecting Chase and Paul were confused. The show is light hearted fun and quite kid friendly. As a matter of fact you need to be ready to channel your inner child to fully appreciate the show.

Remaining shows:

Wednesday May 22 at 8PM

Friday May 24 at 6:45PM

Saturday May 25 at 2:15PM

Sunday May 26 at 2:00PM

Where:

Blue Venue at the  John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center.

Tickets:

$11 plus a Fringe Button