Live Active Cultures

BY SETH KUBERSKY

‘Live All in Love’ is creative kismet: an evening exploring the concept of love through spoken word, movement and visual projections, created by a couple 14 years in the making

I’ve experienced my share of sad

milestones over the quarter-century I’ve been involved in Orlando’s performing arts scene, from saying premature farewells to cherished colleagues to watching beloved institutions go extinct. But the flip side of such longevity in this community is the opportunity to witness artists I’ve followed for years as individuals finally coming together, creating a wonderful new whole that’s more than the sum of their already impressive parts.

This weekend (Aug. 20-27), ME Theatre will present a perfect example of such creative kismet: Live All in Love, an original “passion project” from one of Central Florida theater’s most photogenic power couples, dancer/choreographer Elaine Hoxie and performer/photographer Daniel Cooksley. I’ve known them both too long to pretend journalistic objectivity, so I recently invited them over for a chat on my porch about their first-ever co-production, and was surprised to learn in the process how I’m unwittingly woven into their romantic journey.

I first became aware of Daniel Cooksley in the early aughts, when he attracted attention for his sensitive portrayal of Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. That was followed by a string of acclaimed performances; Orlando Weekly’s Steve Schneider named Cooksley “Best Young Actor” in 2005. But what I never realized was that prior to that turn in Cuckoo’s Nest — which was only his second on-stage role — Cooksley had already enjoyed a full career as a fisherman in the Caribbean before the acting bug bit and he (unsuccessfully) auditioned for a play in Key West with Kelly McGillis. “I was a licensed captain, 100-ton Near Coastal Master’s, that I’d been working for 16 years. And I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to hang up that hat to pursue acting.’”

Elaine Hoxie, who grew up studying dance in the Midwest and credits “a wild hair up [her] ass” for her 2003 move here, came on my radar not long after Cooksley for her work with Casey Saxon’s CineDance, as well as the theme parks and Orlando’s then-nascent burlesque scene. As it turns out, Hoxie and Cooksley first met in 2007 in the Orlando Shakes greenroom for Bent, a Holocaust drama I co-produced through Empty Spaces Theatre Co. With Cooksley playing a tortured concentration camp prisoner and Hoxie performing a dance preshow, Cooksley recalls their contact was “just in passing [because of] the context and the content of the show. It wasn’t like we were backstage and everyone was like all happy and joyous.”

After that brief encounter, both went their separate ways. Cooksley became a bird trainer and a skilled carpenter, and focused on getting sober after years of struggles with substances, recently celebrating 10 years of sobriety. Hoxie sojourned in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, stunt-doubling for Pink (which she calls “one of my favorite jobs I’ve ever had: We’re close in age, we’re both Virgos, we vibe”) and co-starring in sexy shows on the Strip. But each eventually made their way back to Florida. Cooksley starred in some of Theatre Downtown’s final productions before concentrating on his photography business; and Hoxie has danced with troupes across the region, including her own Foxy’s Den, who are weekly fixtures at Mathers Social Gathering.

The pair came together again in 2019 on the cast of Phantasmagoria — yet another show I co-produced — and quickly became close platonic friends, finally making the transition to romantic partners during the 2021 Orlando Fringe Festival. Hoxie has also become the muse for Cooksley’s striking photographs, which he posts on Instagram at @allin_photography1. One of those pictures — featuring Hoxie with flowers Band-aid-ed across her body — was selected for an art expo in Tampa last year, sowing the seeds for their new show after she choreographed a dance for its debut.

Inspired by Alice in Wonderland and their favorite art-rock band, the duo nurtured that single piece into an entire evening exploring the abstract concept of love through spoken word, movement and visual projections, all created by the couple. With Cooksley serving as narrator, Hoxie embodies the love-seeking protagonist, joined onstage by Carlos Dimas and Kim Matovina in a dance-driven narrative inspired by her own story.

Since the subject is so personal, Hoxie says she and Cooksley “have literally done everything from the editing, the video, the photography, the promotions, the marketing,” because as Cooksley says, “It’s hard to hand that over to somebody who may not be as passionate, and put as much emotional truthful effort into it.”

“We are not in any way saying we’re gurus or life coaches, or anything like that,” Cooksley disclaims in his opening monologue, insisting “all we’re doing is just telling a story that is important to us,” but don’t be surprised if his and Hoxie’s radiant glow — which is evident in the way each listens with laser focus while the other speaks — rubs off you on a little.

“I think that there are times when we focus on the negative, especially in these fucking times,” observes Cooksley in closing. “It’s so easy and you get inundated and consumed by that, but there’s just as much love; there’s just as much positive energy out there as there is negative if you choose to focus on that.”

‘Live All in Love’ premieres at ME Theatre this weekend | photo by Daniel Cooksley

skubersky@orlandoweekly.com