Castles in the Sand

Like most people, I have vague memories of spending time at the beach as a kid making sand castles that would be swept out to sea with the next high tide. Some people have never outgrown that stage of their lives. Luckily for them, sand sculpting has become an art form of sorts, with competitions like the 29th Annual Sand Sculpting Championship recently held in Fort Myers Beach. How could I resist?

I had envisioned walking down the beach with water lapping at my feet while admiring sculptors at work on their creations. Instead, the event is held in a roped off area with a demonstration tent and vendors galore. (How else to make sure they get the $5 admission fee from gawkers?) Once inside the ropes, Bruce, Dorrit and I headed in to see what the event was all about.

There are categories in the competition for both "professional" and amateur sand sculptors. The day we checked it out, the advanced amateur and master doubles competitions were underway. Unlike the artists at the Sarasota Chalk Festival, these participants weren't keen to talk with visitors. Sure, they were working on deadline. But I also had the (snobby) sense that their views about their art weren't as well formulated as the articulate chalk artists. When I asked one amateur how he decided what to sculpt, he mumbled something about "too many recreational drugs" and went back to play in his sand.  

That's not to say that the creations--and the amount of sand that went into them--weren't mind-boggling. The competition boasts using more than 1000 tons (yes, tons) of sand. Each of the master double teams, for instance, starts with 24 tons of sand. Working within their allocated space, their first job is to shovel the sand into the general area where they will be sculpting, saturate it with water and tamp it down using a 25 lb. tamper.  (I would have loved to have to have seen this part of the process.)  It's a little hard to tell from the program how much time participants are allowed to sculpt their creations. It looks, however, as if several days are allotted for each category.

The demo tent was home to music, quick sand competitions (which we missed) and daily demonstrations.  Bill Knight and his wife Marianne are the owners and operators of the company that organized the event (aptly called The Sand Lovers).  Knight was on hand to give a demo that let the audience in on some of the tricks of the trade.

The question on everyone's minds was, "What do you put in the sand to make it stay in place?"  The answer is simple: water. While a concoction of one part Elmer's Glue to ten parts water is spritzed on the final sculpture, its purpose is to prevent wind and sand erosion, not to hold the sculpture together.  Knight analogized it to paint on a house (which, he pointed out, has nothing to do with the construction of the building).  And in case you're wondering, Elmer's Glue is apparently bio-degradable and environmentally friendly.  Who knew?

Knight shared some handy tips on how to make your own sand castle using some simple tools.  The first step is to make sure your sand is totally wet. For your base, use a pail with the bottom cut out. (The bottom traps the air and makes the sand stick to the pail.) Once the sand has set--about five minutes--tap the bucket and then remove. Voila!  If you want to get fancy, build a double

or triple decker using increasingly smaller buckets. A funnel can be used to create the perfect top to your castle.

Once you're ready to get sculpting, make sure to start at the top. (This isn't for reasons of stability, but because you don't want the sand you are carving away to fall into work you've already done.)  Offset spatulas and trowels are great tools for shaping. Windows can be made using offset knives or melon ballers. Don't forget straws, paintbrushes and make-up brushes to get rid of loose sand.

Knight assured us that if we followed these easy instructions, we would be able to make an awe inspiring sand castle. Sounds like a plan for my next outing to the beach.

Flower Child -- Not

Syreeta Banks in "Hair"

I am a child of the ‘60s.  And when I say this, I literally mean that I was a child then.  I was born in 1961, so I came of age in the Reagan era.  Youth then (myself certainly included) bore little resemblance to the free-loving flower children who took it upon themselves to protest the Vietnam War and other social injustices.  

 

I vividly remember researching sit-ins and protests from the 1960s for a paper I wrote in college. It was very eye-opening. It sounded exciting and energizing to fight for a cause, and I wished I had grown up just a few years earlier. (Of course, there might have been a bit of romanticizing going on.)

Fast forward to 2015 and Venice Theatre’s production of “Hair: An American Tribal Rock Musical.” I was thrilled to see the show, not only because it evoked those memories, but because it was directed by the amazing Ben Vereen.  

Ben Vereen at aaCT WorldFest

People who know me may recall that I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Vereen last year when he appeared at Venice Theatre at the American Association of Community Theater's WorldFest. Talking with him was a true pleasure.  He was just so zen and cool. 

During the Festival, Mr. Vereen taught a master class to five young actors with a theater full of people looking on. I was amazed at how transformative his quiet words were to the actors.  If just a few words could have such an impact, what would community actors be able to achieve after working with him for an extended period? 

Vera Samuels in "Hair" 

We arrived at the theater early and took our seats. The actors were hanging out with the audience, and several took advantage of an open seat by Dorrit to talk to her (and, quite literally, get in her face).  By the time the first notes were sung, I was definitely in the mood for what I expected to be an upbeat show.  

While the performance gets high marks for a community theater production, I found myself depressed by the end of the show about how much anger these young people felt. (To add insult to injury, “Let the Sunshine In” is a real bummer of a song in context.) Everyone I mentioned this to who lived through those days had the same response. “Yeah, “ they said. “It was a very angry time.”  

Maybe I grew up at the right time after all. 

The Seafarer at Florida Rep

Just because I love to spend time in dark theaters doesn't mean that I actually enjoy dark theater. You know the type of show I mean. The kind that makes you squirm in your seat as family dysfunction or alcoholic binges or [insert whatever makes you cringe] plays out on stage.

And while Florida Rep's "The Seafarer" is a show that makes ordinary family dysfunction fueled by too much wine look like the stuff of happy memories, the quality of the acting drew me in enough to make me come back after intermission. And I'm glad I did. Although this play about a group of friends gathering for a friendly game of poker and a holiday libation is definitely dark, the production was well done. And as a bonus, artistic director Bob Cacioppo led a surprise talk-back with actors James Clarke (Sharky), Graham Smith (Richard) and Peter Thomasson (Mr. Lockhart). Here's a bit of what they talked about.

On dialect -- Unlike the young actors I watched last week at Asolo Conservatory, these guys are old pros at adopting different accents. And so the services of Florida Rep's dialect coach were not required. The actors did confess, though, that it becomes harder to speak in dialect (and, for that matter, to remember lines) as they get older. 
 

Thomasson, Smith and Clarke at talk-back

On playing a blind man -- Smith was very believable in his role as a blind codger who uses an upside down golf club as a cane. Smith's research revealed that the newly blind move around more than people who've been blind for a long time. This fact made it easier for him to play Richard, who lost his sight only a couple of months prior to the events played out onstage. Smith found it challenging, though, to overcome his natural instinct to connect with other characters by making eye contact.

On the role played by alcohol (which is consumed in copious amounts) -- In theater as in life, a bit of alcohol can ease the way. Smith enjoys playing roles in which the characters are drinking because it gives him the opportunity to over-act (or, in this case, to speak just a wee bit too loudly). Clarke, just back from two months in Ireland, talked about how meeting friends for a pint or a harder libation is an integral part of the way the Irish communicate.   

On language -- While the use of profanity didn't even register with me, one audience member noted that another theater-goer counted the number of times the word "f**k" was uttered (73). Cacioppo said Florida Rep has never sanitized a script, but noted that the information on Florida Rep's website indicates that the show is for mature audiences only.

On theater in the round -- When Janice and I sat down, the set was so close we literally could have used this table to hold our beverages. Cacioppo had originally slated this show to play on the main stage, but realized the play would work better in the more intimate setting of Florida Rep's ArtStage Studio Theater. Good call! He pointed out that the staging for theater in the round has to take advantage of the "sweet spots" on the stage - the corners from which most of the audience can see the actor's face. (This is something I'll notice in the future.) One audience member commented that even when Clarke's back was to her, she could see the tension in his back and enjoyed this different perspective. Acting at its finest.

On casting -- Cacioppo is in charge of casting for all shows, and this was an easy one for him. Clarke, Smith and Thomasson, as well as Craig Bockhorn in the role of Ivan Curry, were cast based on Cacioppo's knowledge of their work. Approximately 25 actors auditioned in New York for the role of Nicky Giblin, with William Zielinski winning the part. One audience member noted--with apologies to Thomasson--that his appearance was perfect for the role of Mr. Lockhart (who is the human manifestation of the devil).Thomasson responded with a, well, devilish grin. 

The "Seafarer" is playing at Florida Rep through December 13th.

Listening in on Asolo Conservatory Voice Training

There's always a bit of a thrill using the Stage Door to enter the world of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. Sure, it's just a canopy with writing on it, but it makes me feel like a theater insider. Besides, sitting in on one of the Conservatory students' showings is always interesting and fun.

The kick-off session for this year was a window into the world of voice training. When we entered the room, the first year students were lying on a large cushioned mat that you'd typically find in a gym.They were in a variety of yoga-like positions and began to work on their "tremor" training once we settled in. It was a bit disorienting to see the students shaking as if possessed (particularly the woman with her legs in the air making--well--orgasmic noises), but it's all part of the process of teaching the students to connect with their breath and their impulse.

Instructor Patricia Delorey explained that Fitzmaurice Voicework provides the basis for this part of the curriculum. (To read more about this program, including the "destructuring" exercises we watched, click here.) Students typically hold each position for 10-15 minutes while working on their breathing and making "breathy fluffy sounds" that help them find the connection to their stage voices. Eventually, Delorey instructed the class to  move into "an approved position of rest." With that, the first year students were done and the second years took over the mat.

The Conservatory students just wrapped their first production of the season -- the hilarious double bill of "The Actor's Nightmare" by Christopher Durang and "The Real Inspector Hound" by Tom Stoppard. Delorey noted that the second year students' curriculum is organized based on production requirements. In this case, the actors all had to speak with British dialects (which they did to perfection). Delorey and the students walked us through their training to learn "RP" or "Received Pronunciation). RP is the Standard English accent in the UK, with the word "received" meaning "as heard."

The students listened to "signature sounds" and learned how to shape their mouths and where to place their tongues to replicate them. Then they turned to Paul Meier's book "Accents and Dialects for Stage and Screen" and his accompanying free website IDEA (International Dialects of English Archive). The website contains audio clips of people around the world speaking English -- and sharing their backgrounds to help students with the context. Playing a Bermudian male?  Click here for a sample. An Indonesian or Australian woman? A Salvadoran male? IDEA has it all. The goal is to sound authentic rather than a stereotype (unless, of course, the role calls for it, like Robin Williams in the wonderful "Mrs. Doubtfire.") 

Transcribing sentences into British dialect is another component of the students' training. (The sample sentence seemed a bit ironic with Thanksgiving feasts looming.) Before working on scenes for class, the students would transcribe their dialogue.

Finally, the students paired up and performed excerpts from the scenes they'd been working on from a Harold Pinter play. It was funny to hear British accents coming from the students as they sat on the mat in work-out clothing. And I loved the fact that a couple of pairs got the giggles halfway through.  It was a reminder that these actors are just kids training in a craft they love. 

This Thanksgiving, as always, I'm thankful to have the chance to take a peek into their process. 

Visiting the Sarasota Chalk Festival -- in Venice!

I've been looking forward to this year's Sarasota Chalk Festival since my first Festival experience last year.  The creativity of these artists -- who travel from around the world to participate -- is phenomenal.  And this year I think I did it the "right" way by attending on both Friday and Sunday. 

On Friday, we had the chance to talk with the artists as they were working on their creations.  (While some of the artwork was done, most of it was underway.) Perhaps the most interesting conversation I had was with Gary Palmer, an artist from Venice Beach, California. When I asked how he got into the ephemeral genre of chalk art, he said he once saw a group of Tibetan monks create a sand mandala in honor of a visit by the Dalai Lama. Once the ceremony was completed, the sand was swept away into the ocean. While chalk art doesn't carry the same spiritual connotations as sand mandalas, it does force people to focus on the moment. To Palmer, that's all too rare in our commercially-oriented society.

Kathy Grey takes a sip of her cocktail

Many of the artists were still at work when I returned on Sunday, but they were much less chatty with a deadline looming. It was great fun, though, to see how works had progressed from Friday to Sunday. And I loved the number of interactive opportunities to enjoy the art.  Artist Ilona Fries was doubling as photographers for spectators, lining us up to enjoy her tropical libation. Serious fun.  

Before the Festival began, I had the pleasure of writing a feature about it for Florida Weekly.  It was so much fun to chat with founder Denise Kowal and artist Lori Escalera about the Festival that I thought I'd share the article here.  (Besides, it's an opportunity to include lots of pictures of this year's artwork, although there are way too many to include here!) 

Eat, Drink and Be Merry at the Chalk Festival

By Nanette Crist, Florida Weekly Correspondent

On Nov. 9, the Sarasota Chalk Festival will once again open its gates in Venice. Artists from more than 30 countries, including Bosnia, China and Peru, will create artwork that will wash away with the next rain. 

The Festival adopts a theme each year to spark participants’ creativity. This year’s artists and attendees are invited to “Eat, Drink and Be Merry.”

 Chalking as performance art

The Sarasota Chalk Festival was established by Denise Kowal in 2007 with 22 artists creating pavement art in Burns Square. Only three of the participants had any prior experience chalking. The Festival has grown exponentially since then and now welcomes hundreds of chalk artists, both professional and amateur, to Southwest Florida each November.  

Art lovers have responded in kind. In 2007, the Festival drew an estimated 5,000 people. This number has swelled to over 200,000 in recent years.  

Ms. Kowal attributes the popularity of the Festival to visitors’ fascination with watching works of art come into existence. It’s an accessible form of performance art.

“Everyone can go to a museum and see finished artwork,” Ms. Kowal said. “The Chalk Festival is a unique opportunity to see the process of creation from beginning to end and to understand the artists' excitement and struggles in creating their work.” 

And struggle they do. Chalk artists spend innumerable hours on their hands and knees creating their masterpieces. Inevitably, they find themselves at the end of the day with sore backs, stiff shoulders, scraped knees and covered in chalk dust. 

California artist Lori Escalera is a Festival regular who says the end product far outweighs the aches and pains. Despite two hip replacements, Ms. Escalera continues to participate in chalk festivals around the world. She thrives on sharing both her completed art and her creative process with festivalgoers. Plus, she said, creating in the midst of an artistic community is a nice change of pace from the solitary life of a studio artist.

Here today, gone tomorrow

Pavement art dates back to 16^th century Italy, when artists—known as madonnaris--would create temporary artwork on the streets using tile, coal and chalk. The name comes from the artists’ frequent depictions of the Madonna and other religious figures.

The most frequent question posed to current day madonnaris is why create artwork with such a short lifespan. (A rainstorm destroyed last year’s pavement art before the Festival was even over.) To these artists, the ephemeral nature of their work is an important aspect of the genre.

“You can’t think about chalk art in conventional visual art terms,” Ms. Escalera said. “It’s a process, an experiential way to enjoy art. Going to a chalk festival is more like an outing to the theater or a ballet than a visit to a museum. You can only recreate what you’ve seen in your memory.”

World record attempt

While the Festival will be chock-full of amazing creations, the anamorphic—or 3D illusion—pavement paintings may well be the most awe inspiring. In 1984, Kurt Wenner invented this artistic genre, which builds on the Old Masters’ use of perspective to create the illusion that figures are rising from or falling into the ground. 

Dorrit, Janice and John

At last year’s Festival, artists used Mr. Wenner’s design to paint a 3D illusion megalodon shark measuring more than 22,000 square feet. Festivalgoers climbed a viewing tower from which they could peer down into the shark’s gaping mouth. The work secured a Guinness World Record title as the world’s largest work of anamorphic pavement art. (The title has since been lost to a 28,000+ square foot pavement painting in Qingdao, China.)

Mr. Wenner will be onsite this year to instruct more than 90 artists in the creation of his anamorphic “Feast of the Gods.” Bringing the feast to life—from gridding to the last brushstroke--will take a minimum of eight full days. When the work has been completed, the hope is that Venice will once again be the home of the world’s largest 3D illusion painting.  

More than 30 large scale 3D illusion works will be created in addition to the “Feast of the Gods.” Art lovers are invited to watch the installations take shape from Nov. 9-12. All 3D works will be completed by Nov. 13 when the Festival fully opens. The megalodon shark, which was created using house paint rather than chalk, will be on display as well.    

Seniors Going Vertical

Janice and John

In 2011, the Festival expanded to include vertical works of art, known as “street art” in the vernacular. The inclusion of street art seemed both a natural extension of the Festival and the perfect accommodation for chalk artists who no longer can spend the time on their hands and knees required to create large scale pavement art. While artists chalked their art on buildings in earlier festivals, plywood panels now serve as their canvases.

This year’s Festival will introduce the “Seniors Going Vertical” program. A large cube will be constructed from four 8’x20’ plywood walls just waiting to be covered with chalk art, graffiti, spray painted stencils and splatter paintings. Materials and safety gear, including protective glasses and smocks, will be available to enable spur-of-the-moment participation.

When asked who qualifies as a “senior,” Ms. Kowal said the concept was an event for people aged 60 and higher. Attendees will determine their own eligibility.

Creating a memorable cultural experience

The economic impact of the Festival is significant. Extrapolating from a 2010 impact study, the Festival is expected to bring $6-$10 million of revenue into Southwest Florida.

While Ms. Kowal is delighted with these results, she considers the economic benefits “icing on the cake” (pun intended). “The main purpose of the Festival,” Ms. Kowal said, “Is to bring people together to share an amazing cultural experience they will talk about for years to come.” 

With the Festival line-up Ms. Kowal and her army of volunteers have put together, achieving this goal seems inevitable.  Now we just cross our fingers for no rain.

Inside Asolo Rep: West Side Story

I have somehow made it well into my adult life without having seen "West Side Story." Since I don't actually live under a rock, I of course have heard a lot of the music (and am consistently moved by the beauty of "Somewhere.") And I saw "Jerome Robbins' Broadway" when I lived in New York, which included the wonderful "West Side Story Suite" of dances. But I've never seen an entire performance from start to finish. That's all about to change when Asolo Repertory Theatre kicks off its 2015-2016 season.

I was already looking forward to filling this gap in my cultural resume when an email hit my inbox about an "Inside Asolo Rep" panel discussion with director/choreographer Joey McKneely and set designer Lee Savage. I set my car on auto-pilot and headed up to Sarasota. It was a real treat.

Director/choreographer Joey McKneely

Joey McKneely brings a 25 year history with "West Side Story" to the production. He was first introduced to Jerome Robbins as a 19 year old dancer when he was cast in "Jerome Robbins' Broadway."  He shared that he had no idea who Robbins was; he was just happy to dance. McKneely discovered that his body was able to do what Robbins wanted it to do. (I love the way he talked about "his body" as if it were a separate being.) As a result, he was featured in a number of the dances, including the Suite. The experience, he said, was about "living inside the choreography," and it is this all-encompassing feeling that he hopes to instill in his cast. 

McKneely's transition from dancer to choreographer was met with accolades. He received Tony nominations for his first two shows--"Smokey Joe's Café" and "The Life." But it's "West Side Story" that serves as the signature piece of his career. 

In 2000, McKneely was invited to reproduce Robbins' choreography for a production of "West Side Story" at the La Scala Opera House in Milan. As he said in an interview with Broadway.com, "All of a sudden it wasn't just the dance steps. I had to understand the entire script...There was now all of Mr. Laurents’ rich character history and emotional plot to inform the choreography. Diving into each scene made me understand where the dances came from, and vice versa."  Since then, McKneely has directed productions of the play around the world, including Laurent's 2009 revival in New York. (To read the entire Broadway.com interview, click here.)

Set designer Lee Savage

Listening to Lee Savage's approach to set design was equally fascinating. Savage's goal was to "try and forget what I've seen, heard and read about the play and bring something current to the production." He talked about the importance of understanding the needs of the choreography before beginning to think about the set. (Interestingly, McKneely said he felt the production could be done in a black box.)

The two men had an easy conversation led by dramaturg Lauryn Sasso. 
To McKneely, the streets of New York are a character in the show. "The city is the witness, judge, jury and survivor," he said. "It's what they're fighting over." Both men envisioned a set that was unique, not just bricks and a couple of fire escapes.

Savage built on "the conflict and tension in the show, the sense of pending disaster." It's a realistic space, but tilted five degrees to add a feeling of unease. 

Costume design is also an integral element of the production. McKneely didn't want a 1957 look, believing that poodle skirts and t-shirts with cigarettes in a rolled shirt sleeve would date a show whose themes of racism and conflict over the status quo are relevant today. The Jets will wear black and white and gray which, in part, is a reference to the way we see the past. The Sharks' clothing will include pops of reds and blues as they introduce color into this world in two ways.

The young cast members -- aged 16 to 26 -- have told McKneely they can't feel the hate imbedded in the play. While encouraging in a broader sense, McKneely has urged them to give themselves over to the characters in order to tell the important lessons of "West Side Story."

Hearing McKneely's and Savage's perspectives has made me even more eager to see "West Side Story." The show runs from November 13-December 27.  Click here to get tickets and to read about the rest of Asolo Rep's season, which continues to explore the theme of the American Character. 

Visiting Southeastern Guide Dogs, Part 2

Talulah taking a break from her training

Southeastern Guide Dogs "employs the latest in canine development and behavior research to create and nurture partnerships between visually impaired individuals and extraordinary guide dogs." During our visit, we had the chance to meet two dogs -- Talulah, a 12-week old puppy in training, and Champy, a graduate ready to team up with a visually impaired student. 

Because the facility breeds its own dogs, the puppies start their training early. At two days old--well before they can see or hear--the tiny pups are already being socialized. They begin their formal education when they are four weeks old, learning different textures and being exposed to sounds like thunder and vacuum cleaners and blow dryers. 

At six weeks, puppies become part of the "Hug a Puppy" program. Visitors get the chance to play with the dogs in a supervised setting. What seems like fun is really an opportunity for the dogs to be exposed to new people who smell and sound and feel different from their trainers. I would love to go back and "help out" by participating in this program!

Talulah figuring out a skateboard

Around the ten week mark, the dogs are sent home with a puppy trainer. In order to partner with a visually impaired person, the dogs have to know what's out there in the world. Being a puppy trainer sounds like fun, but it's also a big responsibility. There's a 200 page manual to help trainers work with their dogs on the skills they need to develop. Trainers and their dogs meet twice a month with other teams and folks from Southeastern Guide Dogs to give progress reports and get support. (There are 29 different puppy training areas across the Southeastern United States, so it's not necessary to live in Southwestern Florida to participate.)  At 16 weeks, the puppies are given a blue guide dog vest, and trainers start taking their dogs with them to the grocery store and doctor and football games. The idea is to expose the puppy to any experience it might have with its owner. 

Despite what's bound to be a high level of attachment, the puppies are brought back to Palmetto at 16 months and "graduate" into the next level of the program. (They analogize the emotions a raiser feels to when you drop off your child at college.)  The dogs go through extensive medical testing and behavioral assessments.  Daily report cards are completed with notations about activity levels and obedience.  It's all part of the process of making sure that the dogs are ready to be matched with a student and that the partnership will be a good one. Home visits are conducted with students as well to look at factors like walking pace and strength. Again, the goal is to gather as much information as possible to put together a compatible match between dog and owner. 

Champy is ready to partner with a student

Students arrive at the campus more or less monthly for their own training. They settle into the dorms for 26 days during which they live and work with their guide dogs. After a couple of days of getting to know their new best friends, the students head out to Freedom Walk with their dogs (and, of course, handlers to help every step of the way). Trust is established as the students work up from a straight path to a curving path to obstacles like bridges and hoses snaked across the road. They walk in areas with 17 different textures, from gravel to sand to concrete to grass. 

Week two of the training finds the teams in Bradenton for an urban walk.  In week three, each student and dog cross a street in Tampa with eight lanes of traffic without any assistance from the handler. Accomplishing this daunting task is a prerequisite to going home.

Lifetime follow-up is provided for every student (including replacement dogs, as necessary).  I neglected to mention that all of these services are provided to the students at no charge. Southeastern Guide Dogs operates exclusively through private donations. 

Needless to say, I was highly impressed with Southeastern Guide Dogs' facility and programs. Information about tours, puppy hugging visits and speakers is available on their website.  (Fees go towards buying the 44,000 pounds of dog food consumed each year.)  A big thanks to Mary Frances Adair for organizing our eye-opening visit to this incredible facility.