Tai Chi in Central Park

I rented a place in Winter Park two summers ago. Since I lived there, I started looking for local events to sketch and when I found out that Tai Chi was offered in Central Park, I had to go out and sketch. I arrived early, sat on a bench in the shade and started sketching where I assumed they would set up in the grass.

Back in 1998 I was working for Disney Feature Animation on the film, Mulan which is set in China. During the making of that film I studied Tai Chi as a way to unwind from the stress of production. I knew the moves and could have joined in on this day, but I decided instead to focus on the zen of creating the sketch.

When the Tai Chi participants showed up they set up on the main stage which is usually reserved for musical performances. Rather than start the sketch over, I just placed them on the green grass where I felt they belonged. Of course Tai Chi could be interpreted as a form of dance and an art form.

Creating art is forbidden by city ordinance in Winter Park. According to the Ordinance, artists a lumped together with street performers…”Perform and performance means to engage in any of the following activities: acting; singing; playing musical instruments; puppetry; pantomiming, miming; performing or demonstrating magic or acts of illusion; dancing; juggling; or the public display of and composition or creation of crafts, sculpture, artistry, writings, or compositions, including the application of brush, pastel, crayon, pencil, or other similar objects applied to paper, cardboard, canvas, cloth or to other similar medium.” I still wonder if a digital sketch is exempt.

“Prohibited public area means the pedestrian accessed public areas of the Central Business and Hannibal Square Districts along Park Avenue from Fairbanks Avenue to Swoope Avenue, and along New England Avenue from Park Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue including the area within fifty (50) feet of the public right-of-way of Park A venue and New England Avenue on the public lanes, streets, thoroughfares, and ways, including the Winter Park train station and the public property at

what is  known as the Winter Park Farmer’s Market and the Winter Park Historical Association located at 200 West New England Avenue, excluding public performance zones as provided in subsection ( d)(2). ”

The city of Winter Park does allow for a “Weekend of the Arts” in February. Thankfully, no police wrestled me to the ground to take my pencil and the shops on Park Avenue hummed and generated profits despite my anarchistic decision to sketch performers at their craft.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for June 30th and July 1st

Saturday June 30, 2018

8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free. Fashion, Food and Architecture – Urban Sketching On Location. The Mall at Millenia 4200 Conroy Rd, Orlando, Florida 32839. This is the Orlando Urban Sketchers June sketch-out gathering. We Sketch on location, from observation, capturing time and places into our sketchbooks.

 In this session our goal is to combine small stories of trendy
fashion as showcased at the store fronts and by the shoppers passing by, to
capture the colorful food vendors and activity, all in the
context of the modern architectural design of the Mall at the Millenia
as a background.

This is a great place to go vignettes sketching, focusing on small composed scenes!

It is an indoor sketch out as we try to avoid the Florida summer’s high temperatures.

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Free. Brewery Tour. Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, FL.

Sunday July 1, 2018

9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuition $275. Crealde Urban Sketching Class. Class two of six.

Instructor: Thomas Thorspecken

Location: Main Everest Campus, 600 St Andrews Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32792

Duration: 6 Weeks

Learn
to sketch from subject to the environment. Classroom sessions will
focus on sketching clothed models and progress towards sketching the
model and classroom environment. Learn how to incorporate storytelling
into your sketches in our location sessions. These trips to local venues
will challenge you to use your sketchbook the way a photojournalist
uses a camera. The six-week goal is to produce finished sketches using
pencil, pen, and watercolor within two hours. Skill level: Intermediate.

10 a.m. to Noon. Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness. A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources.

4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Free. Market2Park. Shady Park Hannibal Square New England and Pennsylvania Ave. Small outdoor Farmer’s Market.

310 Park Avenue

At a recent Oral History interview it took three of us to pin down the time and date of a particular vigil. For most people memories are tied in with children’s milestones or changes of address or jobs. My memories play back as sketches. Sunday was my birthday back in 2016. I had just sketched the Jason Calhoun wedding at the Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum. I did a detailed sketch of the ceremony and the reception. The month before I had separated from my wife and I was renting a condo from a snow bird in Winter Park. For the first time I was living on my own since my college years in New York City.

Rather than go back to the condo, I decided to do one more sketch for the day at 310 Park Avenue (310 Park Avenue Winter Park FL). I sat at a side table alone and sketched people out having their first drink for the night. I was fascinated by the backless dress with the red bra. The bartender stopped to listen to the couples story. I assumed this was their first stop before heading out to a club for the evening.

Sometimes waiting for a friend offers just enough time to finish a sketch. 21 days later, the Pulse nightclub massacre would occur. Never again would I sit in a bar with my back to the entrance. In this sketch I was firmly aware of the exit through the kitchen. Rather than focusing just on some isolated vignette, my sketches seem to always point out the best means of escape.

Beth Marshall Presented Wilds as part of the New Works Series

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.

The Companion and Safe Word at Fringe

These two short one act operas came from the Opera, Three Way. Music was by Robert Paterson and lyrics by David Cote in an arrangement with Bill Holab Music. The music Director was Deniz Uz and the stage director was Eric Pinder.

The Companion was set in the near future in a comfortably appointed apartment. A single smartly dresses business woman, Maya (Samantha Barnes Daniel) returned home to a perfectly prepared dinner and wine served by her perfect boyfriend, Joe (Johnathan Lee Iverson). it became clear that he was perfect because he was a carefully programed robot. His programing also included hundreds of sexual positions, but he did have a tendency to slip into mechanical speech patterns.

The woman decided she wanted a programing upgrade. The live tech support guy, Dax (Jacob Pence) flirted a bit and was a reminder that perhaps she should consider the real deal. When the sex robot was fully upgraded, he began to  ignore the heroine playing video games constantly. When she called the company to complain, she was told that every aspect of the programing was designed to make him seem like a true to life boyfriend. It was a fun premise and the music carried the show beautifully.

The second one act opera, Safe Word, was about a dominatrix, Mistress Salome (Sarah Purser). I have seen Sarah perform in many other operas and I didn’t realize she was performing in this opera until she took her wig off to take a bow after the show. You have to admire an opera singer who can transform so completely. I hope to get to see her in leading roles more often.

Salome was waiting on a client (Jacob Pence) and when he did knock at the door, she let him wait. She insisted that anticipation is needed before pain and pleasure.

The client was a businessman who wanted to dress in pantaloons and act like a child needing punishment. I resisted sketching but had to jump in when she tied him to a restraining cross. Of course, a safe word is agreed upon in case anything gets out of hand. Things do indeed get out of hand with more pain than pleasure involved. In the end however, we realize that the dominatrix is actually the client and she has had the most empowering experience of her life.

I love that Opera Orlando is bringing such edgy modern productions to the Fringe and Orlando in general. A  month after Fringe they presented Star Trek Abduction which is based on Mozart‘s The Abduction from the Seraglio. They are going where no opera has gone before. Who doesn’t want to hear an aria sung in Klingon?

Spilled Milk Open Mic

The Milk Bar Lounge (2424 E Robinson St, Orlando, Florida 32803) supports local poets by hosting a monthly poetry night.  The poetry started around started around 9pm. That is when the poetry and drinks started flowing.The signup slot time length was around 5 minutes or 2 poems, whichever came first. This might change depending on how many poets show up.

I started sketching before the first poet took to the stage. They arrive notoriously late and usually sit and start writing when they arrive. The Milk Bar’s public relations puppy wanders from table to table welcoming each poet. It gradually grew dark outside making the warm glow inside all the more inviting. After a few drinks every poem seems inspired and meaningful. An impartial member of the audience is invited to judge, and each poet in turn weighs in for the bragging rights to become the top poet for the night.

The next poetry event is the Orlando Poetry Team Slam with Jay Salazar. This will be on July 5th, 2018. Each poet must buy a drink/support the venue to sign up! Sign Up at 8pm, and the slam starts at 9p.m.

Two rounds! 3minute poems, no props or costumes.

Round One, 12 teams, top five move on!

Round Two, 5 teams, Best poem wins!

Winner gets $50 and major bragging rights!

Here’s the catch. Solo pieces are not allowed. Every poem must be a group piece. You can have 2 to 3 people per team.

The feature poet is Jay Salazar! Salazar is a spoken word poet out of New
Jersey and New York City. He writes about food, addiction, alcohol, and
family. When he is not writing he is probably cooking, working out,
eating, or binging some Netflix show that isn’t that good.

Flip at Fringe

Local artist Adam McCabe wrote and directed Flip which is a bleak look at America’s future in which very citizen is given a bluetooth  switch at birth which can be flipped to bring about their death. The scene opened at the dinner table where the working mom, Jeanine (Janice Fisher) is trying to enjoy a glass of red wine after a hard day’s work.  Noah, (Daniel Cooksley) her second husband is jobless. Her children are Malory,
(Chelsea Talmadge), and Caleb, (Indigo Frost) a bullied middle-schooler.

No one is happy in this play. Hope is a long lost concept. This insular family is just a speck of dust in an unforgiving universe. We get to learn the most about Malory who is desperate and depressed. She clutches an urn full of her grandfathers ashes. He had flipped his own switch. Without a shred of hope it was hard to want to know the characters. They went through the motions in their senseless lives.

In a long monologue, it became clear that Malory had likely been raped. She had dropped out of college to try and recover, but the depression never left. Noah, her step dad wanted to comfort her but that desire was misguided and turned to lust. His desire to help was really a desire for a moment’s pleasure. In the fumbling and confusion it is possible he flipped his daughters switch. This point wasn’t clear. Perhaps she had flipped her own switch. The American anthem played to announce her departure and she crumpled to the floor.

Jeanine and he son Caleb returned and somehow the son knew of his dads guilt and be beat him with a bat. The son had the habit of smiling at the most inappropriate times making him a bit creepy. Once again, the switch was flipped and the American anthem played as Noah died. There wasn’t an uplifting moment in the entire show. I suppose that was the point.

Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly
30 years, a federal data analysis has found, with increases in every age
group. The rise was particularly steep for women.
It was also substantial among middle-aged Americans. There were over 44,000 deaths by suicide in 2016. The program listed a suicide prevention hotline…1-800-273-TALK. www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Central Florida Community Arts presented Symphonic Cinema

Joshua Vickery the founder and Executive Director
Central Florida Community Arts suggested I sketch a dress rehearsal for a big orchestra concert called Symphonic Cinema. This concert featured film scores and movie music and was truly EPIC.

The concert was at the huge  Calvary Assembly Orlando (1199 Clay St Winter Park, Florida 32789). I parked in a smallish lot and made my way inside as people exited from what looked like a yoga class. There was a large open floor space but the room was empty. A gentleman offered me assistance in finding the Symphony rehearsal and he said, “It is a good thing you are wearing hiking boots because it is quite a hike to the main worship hall. As I walked up to that main entrance I realized I was in the right place because lots of musicians dressed in black were carting their instrument cases inside.

 Joshua introduced me to the marketing director, Matt Heim who suggested I sit on the upper level to get an overview of the stage. The stage was incredibly large to accommodate the 150 piece orchestra along with a huge chorus illuminated red behind them. To me the stage resembled shark jaws with the black curtains acting a sharp teeth. Sure enough, Jaws was one of the scores that was being rehearsed. Lighting was being worked out o the theater went completely dark on occasion and I had to find ways to  keep the sketch moving forward. The chorus was let go while the orchestra worked on various cinema scores. A large still from the musical La La Land was on the screens above the orchestra as they performed. The images changed for each new score. Last of the Mohicans was followed by Prince of Egypt. For one number the entire orchestra marched up the aisles of the auditorium to give the audience a taste of surround sound.

Directing such a huge group of artists must be a Herculean task. The director spoke quickly and succinctly to keep the rehearsal moving at the needed fast clip. My sketch ended as the orchestra was given a 15 minute break. They were going to then do a full run through of the show but I decided one sketch was enough. I could tell that the concert would be epic. All who attended would have experienced an unforgettable concert. BIG things are happening in Orlando.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for June 23rd and 24th

Saturday June 23, 2018

3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Beth Marshall Presents New Works Series (Wilds). ClassAct Studios 11561 Lake Underhill Road, Orlando, Florida 32825.

WILDS

By Lisa VillaMil

Director: Tara Kromer

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 plotlines.

Dinah – Alexia Correa

Phoebe – Arianna Aviles

Man 1 – Nick Serino

Man 2 – Joshua Huff

Boy/Stage Manager- Jazzlyn Whiddon

Post Show Talk-Back!

Visit BethMarshallPresents.com for more details and to book your tickets.

Class Act Studios is located in the Harrington Center on the backside of the building.

6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Free but get a brew. The Bloody Jug Band. The Veranda Live 111 N Summerlin Ave, Orlando, Florida 32801. Drawing inspiration from historic JUG bands of the 1920’s and 30’s as
well as the darker side of Blues and Rock n’ Roll, the BLOODY JUG Band
carves out its own niche in a genre of music that has never seen such a
bloody incarnation.

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Beth Marshall Presents New Works Series (Stuck). ClassAct Studios 11561 Lake Underhill Road, Orlando, Florida 32825.

STUCK

By Paris Crayton lll

Director: Clark Levi

Stage Manager: Gabriel Neil Barnert

From
the writer of BMP’s HOODIES and Trayvon Martin Project’s: Worthless,
and Spare The Rod comes Stuck. The story of thirty-something, Jacob who
is struggling with the acceptance of his homosexuality later in life
while at the same time discovering his girlfriend is pregnant. He seeks
counsel from his therapist who is battling her own demons. When faced
with what to do, Jacob’s life and mind are a whirlwind of poetry and
overwhelm. How will he move forward?

Cast:

Jacob – Stelson Telfort

Whitney – Kate Murray

Patricia – Dernika David

Jessica –Lizzie Black

Mike – Coletyn Hentz

Post show talk-back!

Visit BethMarshallPresents.com for more details and to book your tickets.

Class Act Studios is located in the Harrington Center on the backside of the building.

Sunday June 24, 2018

9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  Crealde Urban Sketching Class 1 of 6. Crealde School of Art, 600 St Andrews Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32792. Tuition $275.

Instructor: Thomas Thorspecken

Location: Main Everest Campus

Duration: 6 Weeks

Learn to sketch from subject to the environment. Classroom sessions will
focus on sketching clothed models and progress towards sketching the
model and classroom environment. Learn how to incorporate storytelling
into your sketches in our location sessions. These trips to local venues
will challenge you to use your sketchbook the way a photojournalist
uses a camera. The six-week goal is to produce finished sketches using
pencil, pen, and watercolor within two hours. Skill level: Intermediate.

2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Irish Music. Olivia’s Coffee House, 108 N Bay St, Eustis, Fl. http://www.oliviascoffeehouse.com/

10 p.m. to Midnight Free but get a drink. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out and laugh, or give it a try yourself. 

Gideon’s Knot hits hard at Theater on the Edge

The set was a hyper real children’s 5th grade classroom in the Lake Forest suburb of Chicago. Bright colors filled the room. A poster shouted, “Feel the Learn!” The house lights faded and a single spot light illuminated a poster in the center of the wall about the Gordian Knot. In this legend it was announced that anyone who could undo a particularly intricate knot would rule Asia. Alexander the Great stepped up and cut the knot with his sword.

Johanna Adams play, Gideon’s Knot is about a simple parent teacher meeting. The teacher, Heather, (Krystal Glover) was sobbing alone at her desk when the lights came up.She is startled by a knock on the classroom door and she dyed her eyes to see who was there. Corryn, a mom (Natalie Bulajic) was at the door seeking assistance since she had showed up for a parent teacher conference. Heather sent her to the front desk but Corryn returned since the meeting was with heather.

In the awkward exchange that followed it became clear that this was the mom of a child who had just committed suicide. Both actresses were visibly upset for the duration of the play, each harboring their own inner guilt and uncertainty. The play tackled a wide variety of themes straight on like freedom of expression, the purpose of art, innocence, responsibility, cowardice, rage, bullying and love.

Corryn’s son Gideon had been expelled from school for writing a school paper that incorporated grizzly detailed descriptions of teachers being dismembered and raped by students. The mom insisted that the teacher read her excerpts from the story. Rather than being repulsed, she recognized themes of Greek battle literature that she herself taught masters degree students. She loved what she heard, and she hated the teacher for censoring her child. More important she blamed Heather for her child’s death.

However it later surfaced that her son was attracted to other boys and may have been bullied because of that attraction. She realized that he had kept the paper from her and more importantly he couldn’t come out to her. She sobbed realizing she wasn’t a good enough mother to earn his trust. Although never discussed, Gideon had easy access to a gun which is a theme so relevant today after Pulse and Parkland took so many lives here in Florida.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youths from ages 10 to 24. LGBT youth are almost five times more likely to attempt suicide compare to heterosexual youth. This play will leave you thinking long after you leave the theater. Once again Theater on the Edge has delivered a stunning relevant production.

Gideon’s Knot remaining show times…

Theater on the Edge 5542 Hansel Ave, Orlando, FL 32809

Tickets are $18 to $22

8 p.m. Friday June 22, 2018

3 p.m. Saturday June 23, 2018

8 p.m. Saturday June 23, 2018

2 p.m. Sunday June 24, 2018

8 p.m. Wednesday June 27, 2018

8 p.m. Friday June 29, 2018

2 p.m. Saturday June 30, 2018

8 p.m. Saturday June 30, 2018

2 p.m. Sunday July 1, 2018

8 p.m. Friday July 6, 2018

2 p.m. Saturday July 7, 2018

8 p.m. Saturday July 7, 2018

2 p.m. Sunday July 8, 2018 (Closing Show)