Monday, March 31, 2014

Creators & Collectors Studio Tour

While I always enjoy going to a gallery or a museum, there's something special about visiting artists in their studios and having the chance to talk with them about their creative process.  That's what the annual Creators & Collectors Studio Tour in Sarasota is all about.  Having been on a similar studio tour in Fort Myers a couple of years back, Dorrit and I were keen to check it out.

There were seven stops on the tour -- five artist homes/studios, the mysterious HuB building, and the Galleria Exhibit at The Ringling College of Art + Design.  In total, we saw the work of 18 artists along the way.  (Sadly, we missed one studio in our rush to get to the Asolo for the Conservatory students' mime performance.  Sometimes you have to make choices!)

Pamela Sumner with her ink paintings
Pamela Sumner's ink paintings were my favorite discovery of the day.  She characterizes her work as "combining Asian materials and influences with a background in Abstract Expressionism."  Sumner shared that she starts each day in the studio with a standing meditation while she grinds her ink.  (She showed us the process, and it's quite interesting.)  Her collection of brushes, which varied in size and were made from materials ranging from horse to leopard hair, was something to behold.   Some of her works were multiple layers of diaphanous fabric, and they were stunning.  Sumner said that to create them she repeats the "choreography" of her strokes on the first piece of fabric.  Very cool.

Linda Heath with her fish rubs
Dorrit and I were practically sprinting through the Galleria when I came upon Linda Heath and her gyataku fish rubs.  While Heath's process is considerably more delicate and complicated, at its heart, the concept of a fish rub is not so different from the crayon rubbings of leaves you probably made as a kid.  And though Heath's work is lovely -- I particularly liked the prints of the skate -- it was her story of creating "sustainable art" that really caught my interest.

In addition to being an artist, Heath is an expert fisherwoman and diver.  So, in most instances, she personally catches the subject matter of her work (often in the Manatee River). Once the fish is ashore, she inks it and makes a print.  If the fish is a tasty species, Heath then cleans the ink off and the fish becomes dinner, with the bones going back into the river in the crab pot.  Her unique approach to the time-honored medium of gyataku has resulted in her work being written about in publications like "edible Sarasota."  (Click here to read the story, complete with Heath's signature Hogfish with Key Lime Aioli recipe.)

Brian Braun demonstrating his craft
Brian Braun is a photographer whose works were on display at the HuB Building (a space that houses more than 80 artists and entrepreneurs and proclaims itself the "center of innovation and creativity in the region").   The first thing Dorrit and I noticed when we walked in was a table overflowing with old cameras.  The cameras weren't there just as an homage to the history of his medium.  Braun uses them in his work, attaching an antique camera to a digital camera to create atmospheric images that are evocative of days past.  (Apparently this isn't a unique concept, but I thought it was pretty innovative.)   I was a bit surprised when Dorrit started talking with Braun about lenses and other photography "stuff" that was over my head.  Apparently, she is actually listening to what hubby Bruce tells her about his new hobby/obsession!

If your schedule permits, I definitely recommend making the effort to get to next year's Creators & Collectors' Studio Tour. I understand that the name of the event comes from Sarasota art collectors opening their homes to share their collections with the public in prior years.   Wouldn't THAT be interesting???  In the meantime, I've heard some rumblings about trying to get together a similar tour in Punta Gorda.  Fingers crossed on that!


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Maestro Raffaele Ponti Wraps First Season with CSO

Maestro Ponti and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra concluded this season's repertoire with Howard Hanson's "Symphony No. 2."   I have to admit to a bit of apprehension about the choice. Hanson's credentials include serving as the director of the Eastman School for Music for over 40 years, but he's not exactly a household name.  And when I listened to parts of the work in advance, it didn't get my juices flowing.  It just goes to show how different an experience it can be to listen to music being performed live.

Hanson's Symphony No. 2 is also known as '"Romantic," and a more apt name could not be found. From its opening bars, the music was lush, and I envisioned crashing waves and lovers running towards one another across a beach.  As I sat enjoying the music, it made me think of the love affair that developed this season between Maestro Ponti and the CSO, on one hand, and the CSO's audience, on the other.

People are abuzz about the energy that Maestro Ponti has brought to the community and the musicianship he is extracting from his players.  For the first time ever, the CSO performed each of its concerts to a sold-out house.  It has been a wonderful season, with highlights too numerous to mention (but I'll give it a try!)

Maestro Ponti with artists
For me, of course, the collaboration between the Visual Arts Center and the CSO for Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" stands out.  Ten artists from the Visual Arts Center created beautiful works interpreting each of Mussorgsky's ten movements (which were themselves inspired by the artwork of Viktor Hartmann).  It was a true demonstration of the way in which, in the words of Maestro Ponti, "Art and music have influenced and catapulted each other throughout history."  As I listened to the CSO perform this amazing work, I envisioned the paintings the artists had created, an exercise that brought even more depth to the music.

Barbara Albin's "Sacred Subway" 
To add icing to the cake, at the "afterglow" party following the final concert, CSO Chairman Ken Barber presented Maestro Ponti with the painting created by Barbara Albin for "Pictures at an Exhibition."  Her work--entitled "Sacred Subway"--was inspired by the eighth movement, which is entitled "Catacombs."  Maestro Ponti was thrilled with his gift, quipping that being the subject of subway graffiti made him feel he had finally arrived.  (If you look closely, the graffiti in the painting includes "Pictures at an Exhibition...Mussorgksy... Raffaele Ponti.")

Jeffrey Biegel at play
The guest soloists this season were excellent.  Virtuoso pianist Jeffrey Beigel's rendition of Gershwin's original version of "Rhapsody in Blue" was wonderful.  I had the pleasure of talking with Biegel and hearing him play at a private event.  I was struck by the fact that Biegel was kind of an unassuming character until he sat down on the piano bench.  Then his fingers flew and his cheeks flushed with color as his passion became evident.

Robert Bonfiglio, guest harmonicist, introduced the CSO audience to something truly different:  the harmonica concerto.  The concerto was not my favorite music of the season, but I am all in favor of Maestro Ponti stretching the audience's musical ear--and I'm thrilled that the audience has been receptive to his approach.

I am already looking forward to the 2014-2015 season, which the Maestro unveiled at last Sunday's pre-concert lecture. The repertoire will include a combination of music by well-known composers and composers who don't get much air time on classical radio.  There will be a night of music from the Oscars.  There will be a night of music from the ballet and the flamenco. Marvin Stamm, former trumpet player with the Beatles, will be on hand for what promises to be an exuberant night of music.  Gerardo Perez Capdavila, a classical guitarist, will take the stage to perform a guitar concerto, an ear-opening experience in the making.  Mostly, though, I'm looking forward to hearing the CSO as the musicians continue to gel as a group and grow under the baton of Maestro Ponti.   I'm only sorry that we have to wait until November for our musical adventure to continue.


Thursday, March 20, 2014

Channeling Marcel Marceau

While I enjoy all types of theater, mime has always kind of creeped me out. I think it's the white face.  What's that all about anyway?  While I understand that the make-up is just a type of costume, the immediate association is with clowns and, as I've said before, clowns are not my thing.

Bill Bowers
Despite this mindset, I was thrilled to be invited to a mime recital of sorts put on by the first and second year students at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory.  The students had been working for a week with Bill Bowers, a master of mime who studied with Marcel Marceau. (Bowers is also a traditional actor who appeared on Broadway in The Lion King, in film in Two Weeks Notice and in numerous TV shows including, of course, Law and Order.)  When asked how he came to work in mime, Bowers explained that he grew up in Montana, a place with open spaces and vast silences.  Telling stories without words seemed a natural form of communication to him.

Bowers started the presentation with the somewhat surprising information that mime and pantomime are two different things.  Really???  Pantomime is the art of telling silent stories for which Marcel Marceau is known. The classic example is the person trapped in an invisible box. In mime, on the other hand, actors can incorporate sounds and words as they use their bodies to create a shape, an image or an idea.  With this explanation, it was time for the students to show off what they had been working on all week.

"Eiffel left"
First up was some pantomime. The students started with some isolation exercises in which they "articulated" different parts of their bodies.  (People who watched this season's So You Think You Can Dance might remember Fik Shun's audition in which his head moved in ways that made it seem entirely separate from his body. It was astonishing, and it was fun to watch the actors work on this skill.)

Then the students were prompted to move their entire bodies as a single unit. This is called "Eiffeling" (yes, like the Tower -- Marceau was French after all). The students swayed to and fro as they reacted to a wind that the audience was unable to feel.  The "story telling" then progressed to bicycling and climbing ladders and pulling on ropes.  They ran in slow motion (with Bowers singing the theme from Chariots of Fire).  With that warm up, we were on to some mime.

Helicopter
The students began by miming different modes of transportation.  The audience was asked to close its eyes and count down from five as the actors got into place.  (Interestingly, I found that this process significantly enhanced my anticipation.)  In the skit pictured here, the transporation in question was a helicopter.  Andrea Adnoff, the pilot, welcomed her passengers and suggested they don their headsets because it might be a bit loud.  As the scene progressed, the helicopter's main and tail rotor blades (played, respectively, by Ally Farzetta's arms and Olivia Williamson's leg) began to spin.  The audience clapped appreciatively when Bowers called out, "End scene."

The students acted out forms of transportation as varied as a ski lift to a Prius to a hot air balloon.  One of my favorites was their creation of a space shuttle (with one student singing "Ground control to Major Tom" and another mimicking the rocket booster as it detached after lift-off).

Next up was the personification of household items.  The rendition of an old fashioned two bell alarm clock was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.  Trust me when I say that this was one snooze button you didn't want to hit.

From the myth of Icarus
The final portion of the presentation was the performance of three stories from mythology:  Icarus' flight too close to the sun, the opening of Pandora's box, and Narcissus' echo.  Each group of students had had less than 30 minutes to figure out how to present their assigned myth.  It is way too complicated to try to describe here how the stories unfolded, but each was wonderful and surprising and extremely well done.

When Bowers was asked about how the students would use their new skills, I anticipated that he would talk about the importance of body language and facial expressions in traditional theater.  Instead, he talked about productions with minimal -- or no -- sets in which the actors are required to use mime to create a sense of place.  One example he gave was Peter and the Starcatcher, a play that I saw in New York last year.  Interestingly, when I looked back at my post about the show, I had mentioned that Steven Hogett received a credit for "movement" in the playbill and had commented that "cast members use a rope to define both space and mood throughout the play."  Little did I realize that I was seeing mime in action -- and loving it!  Bowers also mentioned that the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night has been made into a play that will open on Broadway next fall.  Again, the actors will be called upon to create the set through their movement.  I hope I get a chance to see the show.

The afternoon was great fun, and it was a privilege to have the opportunity to see these young actors working on their craft.  I came away with both a better understanding of the art of mime and an appreciation of how powerful a tool it can be in an actor's arsenal.  I'll be on the look-out in future Conservatory productions to see how the students put their new skills to work.   I can't wait.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Hobnobbing with the Authors at the Southwest Florida Reading Fest

Inexplicably, the Southwest Florida Reading Festival hasn't made its way onto my radar screen until this year.  The Festival, which is hosted by the Lee County Library System (and paid for entirely by sponsors), made its debut back in 2000.  With an expected attendance of 18,000 people this year, I clearly have been living under a rock.  The Festival schedule included free talks by many of the participating authors as well as the chance to buy books and get them signed for posterity.

The sheer number of projected attendees diminished my enthusiasm about braving the event proper last Saturday.  (I will, of course, be getting my own avid reader experience when I head to New York for the Book Expo in May.)  But a closer reading of the Festival website yielded another opportunity -- an Evening with the Authors.  My friend Janice and I decided to check it out after a call to Festival organizers indicated that fewer than 200 people attend this event (which had an admission price of $45).  With 30 scheduled authors to be in attendance, that sounded like a pretty favorable ratio to actually get to visit with some real writers.

Alafair Burke with Janice Reuther
We arrived at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center at 6:00, and the doors weren't open yet, not even for the authors.  The night got off to a good start when we saw Alafair Burke, Andrew Gross, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Wiley Cash, and Phillip Margolin gather on the steps for a group photo.  (With the exception of Wiley Cash, I was familiar with all of these folks, both from their thrillers and from Book Expo.)  Janice and I hovered, and Alafair Burke headed right over to us and stuck out her hand to introduce herself.  What???!!!   We had a great time talking with Burke, who fits in her writing around her schedule teaching criminal law at Hofstra.

Me with Burke, Gross, Margolin and Phillippi Ryan
As we made our way inside, the reception area was jammed with readers and writers.  Janice and I had an interesting extneded conversation with Andy Gross.  We chatted about Book Expo, and he said he'd almost rather be one of the people directing traffic to the authors than the guy signing books.  (His family owned the Leslie Fay clothing label, so he has a background in retail.)  We talked about how the industry is changing with the prevalence of e-readers and how the role of the publisher is diminishing as a result.  While Gross is known for his thrillers (which include a series co-written with James Patterson), he shared his desire to write historical fiction as well, with a book set in the garment trade in the 1930s at the top of his list.

We totally hit the jackpot with Hank Phillippi Ryan, whom we spoke with both during the cocktail hour and over dinner.  Phillippi Ryan is an investigative reporter with Boston's NBC affiliate.  She has won 30 EMMYs and 12 Edward R. Murrow Awards for her journalism.  So it comes as no surprise that she has attacked the world of fiction with both vigor and focus.

In addition to working as a journalist and penning six works of crime fiction, Hank (we are now on a first name basis) was the President of Sisters in Crime in 2013 and is on the board of the Mystery Writers of America.  Janice and I talked with her about the two organizations.  Hank told us that when Sisters in Crime was organized in 1987, its objective was to bring attention and provide support to women who write, review, buy or sell crime fiction.  Its founders had noticed a distinct lack of female nominations for mystery writer awards, likely due to the lack of reviews of crime novels written by women.  Over time, the landscape has changed, and the organization's mission statement was revised accordingly.  It now reads: "To promote the ongoing advancement, recognition and professional development of women crime writers."  (As an FYI for all you thriller readers out there, membership is not limited to women, and readers are welcome to join.)

By way of contrast, Mystery Writers of America's motto is "Crime doesn't pay... enough."  Hank said that MWA is "union-esque" in some ways as it strives to level the (financial) playing field between literary fiction and mysteries.  The MWA sponsors the Edgar Awards each year (named, of course, after Edgar Allen Poe).  Having an Edgar Award on your resume is a true badge of honor for writers of mystery, crime, suspense and intrigue.  Hank has been involved in reviewing the books nominated for the Awards, and it sounds like a fun--but herculean--task.

It was a great evening, and I was amazed that we couldn't purchase books written by the authors we were chatting up even if we had wanted to.  In fact, as you can probably tell, there was a lot of talk about writing and the literary industry without specifics about the books written by the talented authors with whom we had the chance to spend time.  It was quite a unique experience, and I will definitely attend the event in the future.  In the meantime, I am looking forward to this year's Book Expo, where I hope to see my new author friends again.  



Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Girlfriend Getaway to Naples

While it's great to have company or to visit someone at their home, there's something special about a true getaway.  There's the obvious benefit of no cooking or cleaning.  But it's a lot more than that.  You get to explore together rather than one person leading the others.  And the intimacy of sharing a hotel room harkens back to days of sleepovers and college roommates.

Pat, Pam and me 
Last week I had the chance to spend a couple of days in Naples with two friends from Nova Scotia who, happily, spend their winters on the east coast of Florida.  Our plan had been to have a biking adventure.  And so, on Friday morning, we set out from our hotel down to Gulfshore Blvd., just one block off the beach.  Of course we had to check out the surf, which was fairly dramatic on the cool and windy day.  Then we were off.

In January I biked on Casey Key with a group from the Isles Yacht Club.  The homes there were absolutely incredible.  The houses on Gulfshore Blvd. and the adjacent Gordon Drive are like the Casey Key homes on steroids.  Without a wide angle lens, I had no hope of getting any good pictures, so I settled for gawking as I pedaled.  As we rode by a fenced in property, Pat said, "Oh, look, it's a park."  Nope.  Just someone's huge house with a yard and gardens that boggle the mind.   There was a home on a lot so large that there were three separate driveways; hence, the need for instructions to people arriving as to which drive to use.  My personal favorite was a fenced-in lot on the beach approximately a city block wide with a sign that read "Private Beach Facility."  Not just a private beach, mind you.  No, this was a facility, with kayaks and a grill and a pagoda.  I think I've figured out where the 1% live.

Pat and Pam (and Alfred???)
Our plans for a long bike ride were derailed as soon as we stopped for breakfast at Jane's Cafe on 3rd Street South.  It's tucked away in a little courtyard, with two separate outside areas for dining.  After a generous breakfast, we opted to explore some of the shops rather than risk burning any calories by getting back on our bikes, and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day.  None of us cared that we were deviating from our intentions.  We were not on a schedule, and had nobody to account to except ourselves.

We hit shoe stores and galleries and even a consignment store or two.  (True Fashionistas on Vanderbilt is a real gem.)  We ate well, although perhaps not the cuisine one might typically enjoy in Naples.  Instead of a trendy place on 5th Avenue, we opted for more exotic cuisine -- an Indian place one night and the European Bakery Cafe the other.  The Cafe (located on the corner of Central Avenue and 41) is a charming Polish restaurant run by a couple who came to the United States about 12 years ago.  We loved the place the moment we stepped in the door with its mismatched furniture and piano sitting in the corner.  The meal was great from start to finish.

Biking or no biking, we accomplished our mission -- having the chance to catch up in a leisurely fashion, talking about everything from books and movies to relationships and aging.  As always, our time together was much too short.  I'm already looking forward to next year's getaway.

Monday, March 10, 2014

'Tis the Season

Although I often have difficulty remembering what month it is, I have not totally lost track of the fact that it's March rather than December.  Trust me, though, that the "season" in Southwest Florida makes the demands of the holiday season seem paltry by comparison.  Here's my line-up for a 24 hour period last week-end.

Ralph Yankwitt as Zero
Saturday night: Zero Hour at the Charlotte Players' Langdon House. Ralph Yankwitt assumed the role of Zero Mostel in this one man show.  The year is 1977, and Zero is being interviewed by a reporter from the New York Times.

I have always thought of Zero Mostel as a comedic actor.  This is probably because I had the great pleasure of seeing Nathan Lane portray the characters Mostel played in both The Producers and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. And so I somehow expected that this persona extended to his personal life.  Wrong.  While the play had its comedic moments, much of it was about the McCarthy era and the effect blacklisting had on Mostel and his friends.  (Mostel was blacklisted for ten years as a result of allegedly attending a Communist meeting.)

I was disappointed to learn that Jerome Robbins (born Rabinowitz) was one of the people who "named names" before the House Un-American Activities Committee.  Ironically, it was Robbins who was called in to fix A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum when it was falling flat.  This put Mostel in a difficult position.  He comments in the play that, while he despises Robbins, he doesn't feel that he should refuse to work with him because of his actions.  Wouldn't that be akin to blacklisting? (There is the question of whether you want to put money in the pocket of someone whose views/actions you find repugnant, but that is well beyond the scope of this blog.)

Ralph Yankwitt did an excellent job in the role of Zero.  He has good timing and wasn't distracted by having friends and family in the audience or by someone's cell phone going off -- twice.   Definitely an interesting and enjoyable evening of theater.

George Mancini on trombone
and Peter Orfanello on bass
Sunday late morning:  Jazz brunch at the Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club to benefit the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.  What could be more pleasant than spending two hours enjoying good friends and good food while listening to a jazz quartet perform old standards?

Sunday early evening:  Performance of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters at the Women's Club to benefit the Punta Gorda Historical Society.  Sherry Campbell Bechtold and George Sullivan performed together in a production of The Cemetery Club at a theater on Cape Cod.  When they realized that they both spent their winters in Southwest Florida, they decided to team up to put on Love Letters.

I have had the chance to see Love Letters on any number of occasions.  When the show was on Broadway, an assortment of big names played the roles of Melissa and Andy, the pair who exchange letters for more than 40 years.  The show never made it to my "must see" list, probably because I expected the letters to be flowery rather than funny. In any event, my previous reluctance allowed me to come fresh to Sherry and George's performance, which I loved from start to finish.

Sherry Campbell Bechtold and George Sullivan
in Love Letters
From the first moments of the show, I was enthralled.  The letter writing began when the duo was in second grade, and their running conversation was hilarious.  I loved many of the lines, but one of my favorites has to have been when the pair recited, in unison, "I will not write personal notes in class.  I will not write personal notes in class.  I will not write personal notes in class."

Melissa is full of spunk and has no qualms about telling George that his letters are boring or too long.  A budding artist, she often includes a drawing with her note.  The descriptions are often laugh out loud funny.  Andy is much more serious in his approach to both life and his writing.  A lawyer in the making, he is quite earnest, and a great counterpoint to Melissa's somewhat flighty nature.

Both Sherry and George fully inhabited their characters.  Their voices and expressions hit just the right chords.  It was truly a magical performance.

And here's some good news.  If you're in the Punta Gorda area, there will be an encore performance of Love Letters at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26th, at the Punta Gorda Isles Civic Association.  This is one performance you shouldn't miss.  It will be a wonderful evening of theater presented by two of our talented local actors.  Who knows -- I might even see you there!

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Speed Dating -- Copperfish Books Style

Cathy Graham
I couldn't resist checking out Copperfish Books' most recent event, which was their own take on speed dating.  Ten local authors promoted their books in three minutes or less.  I envisioned mass chaos and a large hook to snag long-winded authors away from the podium.  No such luck.  Everyone was extremely well-behaved, and Cathy only had to give a stage whispered "30 seconds" on one or two occasions to remind authors of their time limit.  Still, it was great fun.

The range of authors was representative of the talent in our community.  There were writers of memoirs and romance novels and thrillers.  There was poetry and historical fiction and a book for kids aged 8 to 108.  I was familiar with many of the authors, and in fact had included several of them in an article I wrote for Florida Weekly last December.  (Click here to read "Local Lit.") 

Williams, Qualls, Smith, Griffith and Cappiello
Still, there were a couple of surprises.  Thomas Noel Smith is a local poet of a certain age.  His Irish accent lent a sense of mischief as he read two of his poems with great enthusiasm.  The first poem was entitled "Somewhere between the Setting and Rising of the Sun" and was quite lovely.  I actually jotted down one line referring to the "ghostly calls of all who've gone before."   When I chatted with Tom after the reading, he told me that he's also doing some acting.  A quick google search came up with three recent shorts -- Silent Thief of Sight, The Novelist, and The Couch -- that are listed in IMDb and the tidbit that he was a professional clown with Circus Bartok for six months! 

Tiseo, Goodwin, Stackpole, Czaja and Taylor
I also appreciated the reading that Tom Cappiello did from his book Living with Lung Cancer:  My Journey.  He analogized the experience to the "Poseidon Adventure."  Cappiello and his wife were cruising towards retirement when he received his diagnosis.  The news was like a giant wave that turned their lives upside down, and they had to make numerous life or death decisions as they explored different treatment options. He has an amazing and inspirational story. 

The area has so many local authors that Copperfish is hosting a second "speed dating" event on April 7th.  A totally different group of authors will share their writing with the always attentive and welcoming audience.  It's a great opportunity to sample the work of our local authors.  And, as was pointed out, all purchases benefited both our own indie bookstore and our local talent.  Now that's a win-win situation.

Participating authors:

Tom Williams - Setting of the Rising Sun trilogy
Josephine Qualls - Black Pearls; Incredible Journey
Thomas Noel Smith -- Dust and Other Poems; Words of the Times
Leah Griffith - Cosette's Tribe
Tom Cappiello - Living with Lung Cancer:  My Journey

Albert Tiseo - Sunset Park
Melissa Goodwin - The Christmas Village; Return to Canterbury
Valerie Stackpole - How Bernie Madoff Saved My Life: Diary of a Ponzi Scheme Survivor
Virginia Czaja (Crane) - Starting Over; The Snow Concerto (and others)
Bob Taylor - Hardship Post

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Theater at Home Resource presents "Is It Feasible?"

Sometimes the calendar conspires in my favor.  As a "friend" of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory Theater, I hear about events that would otherwise fly under my radar.  In January, an email hit my inbox about a performance of a one man play by third year Conservatory student Zhlatomir Moldovanski.  The show--entitled "Is It Feasible?"--is an adaptation of four short stories by Bulgarian humorist Chudomir.  I'll admit to not being familiar with Chudomir (are you?), but I've been so impressed with the productions put on by the second year Conservatory students that I was intrigued.  Sadly, my calendar did not permit me to attend the show, which was staged in the Cook Theater at the Asolo.

With Wendi at Theater at Home Resource
The production of "Is It Feasible?" was so well-received that two encore performances were put on last week at the Theater at Home Resource in Sarasota.  My friend Wendi was in town, and we headed north for an evening of great theater in an intimate setting.

I admit to being a bit confused when we pulled into the parking lot.  As it turns out, Home Resource is a furniture store.  Owners Kathy and Michael Bush became avid theater-goers while living in London.  They now use their store to host periodic events that "recreate the fringe theater experience" they so enjoyed.  Works for me!  After buying our tickets (the proceeds of which went to the actor), we made our way back to the "theater," which was a large room in which comfy couches had been arranged for our viewing pleasure.  With our complimentary beverages in hand, we settled into our front row seats and waited for the show to start.  It was hard not to kick off my shoes and curl up!

Zlatomir Modovanksi relaxing post-performance
From the opening moments of the performance, I was fully engaged. Moldovanski plays a representative of the city of Sofia, which is the capital of and largest city in Bulgaria.  The time is 1965, and people from outside the city are required to obtain special permission in order to move to Sofia.  The representative's job is to welcome the lucky new residents.  After a few words, he begins to relay his real message, which is essentially "Get out while you can!"  You see, his life in the city feels like that of a traveling bell hop as he runs errands for his wife and walks to and from the train station to greet and drop off visitors.  He longs for his life in the countryside.

Moldovanski utilized both emotional intensity and physical humor in his portrayal of the hapless "bell hop."  The stories were quite funny, and at times I found myself laughing out loud.  My favorite vignette featured the effects of plum moonshine and included audience participation.  With the words to a Bulgarian drinking song flashing on a screen behind him, Modovanski engaged in a drunken dance that brought him perilously close to tromping on my toes.

There was a talkback after the performance, which is always a treat. Moldovanski talked a bit about the dynamics of a one man show and how the audience becomes his partner in the performance.  The prior night's show had been his first in a non-stage setting, and he said it was a great learning experience to be so up close and personal with the audience members.

Moldovanski also spoke a bit about Bulgarian culture. As a child, his mother read him Chudomir's stories about the differences between city life and village life under communist rule.  Moldovanski said that Bulgarians learned to laugh at themselves and their plight, and that Chudomir's satirical stories capture that humor perfectly.  

In "Is It Feasible?," Moldovanski bridges the gap between the two cultures within him. He hopes to have the opportunity to perform the play in his native country someday.  He also hopes to take the show to New York.  (He has submitted the work for inclusion in the United Solo Theater Festival.  Something else to add to my bucket list!)  For now, though, be on the look out for additional performances of the show in the Sarasota area.

Revisiting the Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo

Rodeo competitors (photo credit to Bruce Tompkins)  It had been more than a decade since I last attended the Arcadia Rodeo, known as "T...