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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2004)
Spoken Word Say it, hear it, do it. W Monster Dreams Imaginary creatures take shape. By Aleta Raphael-Brock I t’s time again for Jeff Lake and Tamara Crafts to step out of their daily reality as Lane County nurses and into a world of imaginary characters, masked theater and enchant- ing melodies. As longtime fair-goers, puppeteers, mask-makers, and musicians, Lake, Craft and the other six members of their theater group, Trunkful of Faces, will join the hundreds of performers this weekend at the Oregon Country Fair, what Lake consid- ers to be the Mardi Gras of the Northwest. Masked theater and puppetry has become a fair trademark and embodies the grand theme of expanding the imagination, releasing inner fantasy, and expressing hidden realities. As Lake explains, “You don’t have to be a hippie to enjoy the fair. You can be anyone you want.” This year, Lake will be the Ring Master, a pig pirate monster that hides under a young girl’s bed in Bilirubin’s Dream, a vaudevillian musical dealing with the monsters that people face, both real and imagined. Before a final confrontation with the Ring Master, Bilirubin is approached by Valliant Pipeline, a businessman; Cranium, an academic; and Crafts’ character, Delicious Dernum, a fashion model. All these “monsters” try to persuade the young girl that she will be happy and have all she needs if only she becomes something that she isn’t. “The monsters in our society don’t always look like this,” Lake says, pointing to his hand- crafted gray and white Ring Master mask. They can be anyone from the guy next door who molests children to those who persuade people not to think for themselves. In April’s Drunk Puppet Night at Sam Bond’s Garage, Lake and Crafts featured George W. Bush as the monster in Twinkie Boy Slim, the story of a chubby baby who couldn’t share with others. Lake’s background in sculpture has been particularly helpful in designing the original cos- tumes and props for their shows. Past props include illuminated puppets and props that shine from the inside out and a huge moon creature that is worn as a backpack, covers the upper body, and has extendable arms that are operated from the inside. Lake and Crafts use these props in parades as well as shows. Together, Lake and Crafts love of parade puppetry and masks naturally led to an interest in theater, where their creatures could be put to life. The entertainment remains significantly visu- al. In deciding on this year’s theme, Lake explained, “Really, I just wanted to make funny masks. So I thought ‘monsters!’” Bilirubin’s Dream will show Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Laughing Oak Stage in Chela Mela Meadows on Fun Way at 1:30 and 4:30 pm. Even though the show is not necessarily a children’s show, the theater group will feature maskmaking workshops for children a half hour before each performance so that others can join in on the excitement of exploring their fan- tasies. 12 JULY 8, 2004 \ hile some may see the Oregon Country Fair as a three-day respite from the main- stream routine, a chance to soak in the sun, old friends, good tunes and great vibes, others attend for that and more. In these politically tumultuous times, when many are scratching their heads wondering, “What can I do?” the fair, naturally, offers some answers. This year’s Spoken Word lineup includes poets, activists, inventors, authors, scientists and many others committed to creating positive change in the world. Here’s a chance to get inspired and hear from the leaders in the progressive move- ment who come to offer positive solutions and opportunities for becoming involved. For a complete schedule of speakers and for times and loca- tions of those listed here, see the Peach Pit or OCF website (www.oregoncountryfair.org/TheFair/spokenword.html). Updated schedules will be posted at each stage during the fair. Here are just a few of the speakers who will set some sparks aflame. ETHAN SCHAFFER FRANCISCO LETELIER is the creator of Organic Volunteers (www.GrowFood.org), a national outreach and education program for sustainability and organic food s y s t e m s . Surviving lym- phoma at age 15 led Ethan to explore healthy ETHAN SCHAEFFER and sustainable living by working on organic farms in New Zealand. In 2002, Ethan won the Earth Island Institute’s Brower Youth Award for environmental leadership. Organic Volunteers now has more than 7,000 members in 47 states, with more than 600 educational opportunities avail- able to those who wish to live, eat, and grow food more sustainably. is a painter, muralist, graphic artist and writer and is well known for his powerful spoken word, poetry and lectures. He is the son of Orlando Letelier, former Chilean ambassador to the U.S. who was brutally assassi- nated in Washington, DC. For more than 25 years, Letelier has created sociopolitical art using various media. His broad brush strokes many cultures, from Cambodian gang members living in the Bay Area to Ecuadorean farm workers to Appalachian coal miners. His tile murals adorn the Los Angeles Metro Rail Station and the historic Pioneer Bakery in Venice. Letelier produced a mural in Belfast, Northern Ireland for the peace accords. He also created “The FRANCISCO LETELIER
