Pulse Editor
Jacquelyn Lewis
jacquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com
Thursday, February 6,2003
Oregon Daily Emerald
On Tflbsday
Chocolates, hearts
|nd disasters: Pulse's
Valentine's
edition!
Television twins,
movie multiples
rarely redundant
Mason West
Movies/Music/TV Columnist
Nothing draws a crowd like TV guest appearances by Oscar
nominated actors. And so I found myself watching “Alias” Sun
day night to see my beloved Ethan Hawke.
Like any boy born in the early 1980s,
Ethan Hawke reached out to me as the idyl
lic hero in the 1985 film “Explorers,” where
he and three friends go on a journey in space
... for some reason I have since forgotten.
But that does not demean its impact on my
supple young mind.
But back to “Alias.” Knowing they only had
one shot with the Hawke, the show’s screen
writers had him doing double time as a CIA
agent and an evil doctor who had used gene
altering technology to copy his face. Like
salmon returning upriver to spawn, the show
followed its only natural course to the scene where the two Hawkes
pointed guns at each other and CIA agent Sydney Bristow was left
to figure out which was the real one.
Disregarding hackneyed climax devices, the show got me think
ing about actors playing twins or look-alikes of some other nature.
The other current example is Nicolas Gage in “Adaptation,” where
hisfwo screen personae are so expertly integrated, it’s almost be
lievable that there are two Gages. But movie twins—or twinema—
is a phenomenon dating back to great action heroes such as Jean
Glaude Van Damme in the classic “Double Impact” and Jackie
Chan’s “Twin Dragons.”
Of course, these examples follow “long lost twin” scenarios.
There is also the “honey I cloned myself’ premise that made
Michael Keaton’s “Multiplicity” one for the books. This year’s “Tree
house of Horror” Simpsons episode comes to mind, where Homer
uses a cursed hammock to clone himself. And then I remember
that he is a cartoon.
Time travel also makes for good twinema, as demonstrated by
Michael J. Fox in “Back to the Future Part II.” Evil robots are also
acceptable, such as in “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.” You want
more? ‘Cause I’ve got ‘em. So I don’t want to hear anybody com
plaining they can’t justify twins on screen.
But you ask, “What is all this driving at?” It’s time we demand
more from our actors. In our negligence, look what we have let
those lazy “artists” get away with: the Olsen twins playing one baby
on “Full House.” Outrageous. Child labor laws. Pfft!
In my new, perfect world, those jail bait floozies would have to
give us at least four Olsens to warrant any notice. Here’s the pitch:
Hayley Mills of “The Parent Trap” reprises her role as twin sisters
who have now grown up and each simultaneously give birth to
twins that miraculously look the same—perhaps twin fathers? —
and will be played by Mary-Kate and Ashley. Let me know where to
collect my Oscar.
Now, I’m probably crazy. That or I’ve hyperbolized hyperbole.
But I figure we’ve already discovered all the talent out there, and
from here on out I just want to see movies with Brendan Fraser
playing every part.
Contact the Pulse columnist at masonwest@dailyemeraId.com.
His views do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald.
Courtesy ComedySportz
The ComedySportz troupe is a national comedy organization,
and just one of many improv groups performing around town.
Stash of trash turned art cache
MECCA bridges the narrow spaces
between materials, art and community
with recycled art supplies
Helen Schumacher
Pulse Reporter
One of Eugene’s best-kept art secrets sits unassumingly
behind a cluster of parked cars on a lot far from campus. The
Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts, located at
1235 Railroad Blvd., is dedicated to making art affordable
and environmentally friendly.
Jennifer Fogerty-Gibson has served as MECCA’S execu
tive director since summer 2002.
“MECCA specializes in diverting reusable materials from
the waste stream and teaching people how to make some
thing fun with it,” she said. “We’re an environmental organi
zation, but the cornerstone of the organization is giving ac
cess to art to those that don’t have it.”
The inside of the building is crammed with trash-tumed
art supplies. Five-gallon buckets overflow with colored straws;
empty film canisters and medicine bottles, wood scraps, wires
and small tins line one wall. Cardboard boxes burst at the
seams with light bulbs, glass panes and hand-dyed yam.
Crowded film reels rest on one shelf; fabric scraps fill another.
More shelving, running from floor to ceiling, sags from the
weight of old tiles. Mosaic tile projects from a group of elemen
tary students dry on a table in the center of the room.
Last August, all these materials were moved here from
Lizzy Hughes’ garage. Hughes and Sara Grimm founded
MECCA two and a half years ago — creating a place to di
vert reusable material from the BRING Recycling program,
which had no indoor storage.
The idea for the materials exchange was inspired by
SCRAP, a similar Portland organization.
“Sara knew about SCRAP; her sister was one of the
founders,” Fogerty-Gibson said. “ And Lizzy saw a need for
access to arts education and materials.”
The organization has grown from providing collage-making
workshops for children to needing a second location. In addi
tion to the existing warehouse, the arts group will soon open a
studio and art gallery at 449 Blair Blvd. The new building will
house art education programs and the “Junk Art Gallery.”
MECCA maintains its services through grants, volunteers
and donations. A grant the group received in 2001 helped
build the mosaic statue that stands at 4th Avenue and Blair
Boulevard. Local crafters built the statue to symbolize the
spirit of community in the Whiteaker area.
Fogerty-Gibson said the materials exchange focuses
on community.
“Arts bridge a gap,” she said. “When people get together
and start creating things, they get inspired by each oth
er’s ideas. It’s a place to form a bond. It gives people own
ership of the community and a way of talking to each other
that’s nonverbal.”
Fogerty-Gibson said the exchange also benefits the com
munity as a source for low-cost art supplies. People who may
not otherwise be able to afford to participate in art can get in
volved without draining their bank accounts.
University junior and MECCA intern Liz Edwards agreed.
“I really want people, especially art students and people
who are into crafts, to know about this place as a resource for
Jessica Waters Emerald
MECCA Executive Director Jennifer Fogerty-Gibson helps
children make art projects out of recycled materials, which
are available at the store.
buying art supplies so their first resource isn’t Oregon Art
Supply or the bookstore,” Edwards said.
The warehouse is open Tuesday and Thursday from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesdays from noon to 6 p.m. and Satur
days from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Materials range in price from
around 10 cents to a few dollars. People can also bring in do
nations for store credit. Fogerty-Gibson said those who plan
to exchange items should call ahead to make sure the ware
house can use the articles.
Montana Rohrback has patronized MECCA since Octo
ber, amassing CDs.
“I’m taking CDs and riveting them together to make a gi
ant geodesic dome,” Rohrback said. He is using the discs to
fill in the panels that make up the dome, which he will use to
reflect light for photography projects. He plans on taking the
dome to the Burning Man celebration.
“Creativity gives me an outlet to relax and to release my
self,” Rohrback said.
Fogerty-Gibson credits people like Rohrback with mak
ing her job enjoyable.
“The energy of everyone’s excitement makes this a nice
place to work,” she said. “People will come in, and their en
tire face lights up. That sounds cheesy, but it really happens.
People get really excited about finding a new way to do some
thing with ordinary materials.”
Contact the Pulse reporter
athelenschumacher@dailyemerald.com.
J
Improv earns local recognition
Comedy and improv organizations in Eugene are
gaining acknowledgment and appeal, following
successful shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?*
Ryan Bornheimer
Senior Pulse Reporter
Mention the word theater, and many people might imagine
the well-rehearsed production of a carefully written play. How
ever, the more adventurous theater-goer craving a truly spon
taneous stage experience shouldn’t lose heart. There’s a grow
ing scene in Eugene that’s summed up in one very illustrative
word — improv.
Improv exhibitions have become an increasingly popular
and immediately recognizable form of entertainment all over
the world, riding on the success of improvisational shows
like “Whose Line is It Anyway?” Eugene is no exception, and
improv shows playing across the city vary in length, style
and content.
ComedySportz is a national comedy organization with per
formances in Eugene. Kent McCarty and Rob Rock founded
the local troupe in 1999 after meeting during a stint in Port
land. The group jumped from venue to venue for the first few
years and finally found a permanent home at 1030 Oak St.,
with performances every Saturday at 8 p.m.
ComedySportz, which is celebrating its national 20th an
niversary, hosts competitive shows where comedy teams bat
tle on stage for the most laughter. A referee stands in the wings
ready to call “fouls” if the skit is running long or isn’t funny.
It could be argued that ComedySportz gave birth to another
high-profile improv troupe in Eugene — Absolute Improv.
Founded by former San Jose ComedySportz performer Kevin
Bradshaw seven years ago, this group, containing eight mem
bers, performs both short and long-form shows.
Absolute Improv manager Curtis Williams said the high
wire nature of improv is what makes the performances excit
ing for both the audience and the performers.
“In the short-form shows, there’s a lot of audience interac
tion, and that just makes the show a lot of fun,” Williams said.
. ■ ■ •- ■ < Turn to Improv, page 7 - .< ■>