The 18th Annual BareBones Halloween Extravaganza

Co-Directed by Lelis Brito and Kristi Ternes

October 22, 23, 29, 30, and 31, 2011

This year, we turn our eyes towards the possibility of life without death, of the life-cycle dismembered, of the worms left with no food. No worms, no fertilizing poop, no life-giving soil, no raspberries in summer.

BareBones Halloween 2011 postcard

Art by Munir Kahar - Graphic Design by Giuliana Ciabo

 

Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinochle on your snout! At some point we return to the primordial soup from which we came.

This year, we turn our eyes towards the possibility of life without death, of the life-cycle dismembered, of the worms left with no food. No worms, no fertilizing poop, no life-giving soil, no raspberries in summer. How can we accept death, when we suffer so much from missing those we have loved and who have passed on?

We’d like to introduce you to our lonely traveler. She’s been on a long winding road, wild with her passion for life and with the sorrow of losing a loved one. And despite traveling the road less traveled, she connects with the Tengu- tricksters who live between the two worlds, in a nexus, a junction- where the outside world seemingly doesn’t exist and they can play for eternity. No responsibilities. No problems. Doesn’t that sound great?

As directors of this mammoth cast of performers and volunteers, we cannot help but be awed by the generosity of spirit, hard work, creative drive, lost sleep, and community support offered by this otherwordly and life-giving community called Barebones. Since August, section designers, community members, board members, the production team, riggers, musicians, performers, aeralists, writers, stilters, puppeteers, children, elders, techies, and foodies have gathered regularly to contemplate the nature of death through conversation, imagery, puppets, and shared community. What a privilege to get the wide-angle view and to be asked to listen to people’s visions. Thanks to every volunteer for welcoming us and trusting us.

Dedication to Roy McBride

The 2011 Halloween Show was dedicated to the life of Roy McBride who, as we say, "crossed the veil" between this world and the next on July 29th. Roy was a long-time poet and visual artist on the local spoken word and puppetry scenes and was a colleague, friend, teacher, and inspiration to many of us. In BareBones circles, Roy is immortalized as a Beat Poet Rat in the "Trail" scene from Petrafied: A Puppet Fairytale, improvising ten years ago on how "still we survive".

Roy believed that each one of us is an artist and that art brings all of us into community.

Tonight, call Roy's name, improvise a line of poetry of your own, and listen for that quietest voice behind the biggest smile that the world has known, riffing back across the shortest distance between here and the farthest place that love will reach.

Wounded eyes of history. Light.
Touch in the shadow of the steel beams.
Bright eyes; fields of harvest, fields of flowers,
fields of wildness beside roads.
Dark adventure of morning. Alien landscape.
Creatures of herding anon. And none. And none.
Touch. Touch.
Light.

- From the poem MN City by Roy McBride, 1976

Roy McBride
Roy McBride

REHEARSAL AND SHOW PHOTOS

(Will be added soon. Check Back!)

CO-DIRECTORS NOTE

Lelis Brito & Kristi Ternes

A roar of “Thank You All!” to the following 258 known Aerialists, Artists, Board Members, Builders, Carpenters, Cooks, Coordinators, Directors, Editors, Fire Performers, Fundraisers, Graphics Designers, Kitchen Hands, Lighting Designers, Managers, Musicians, Organizers, Painters, Papier-Maché Engineers, Parking Lot Hands, Photographers, Police Officers, Performers, Puppeteers, Riggers, Site Hands, Sound Engineers, Stage Hands, Stilters, Storyboarders, Ushers, Videographers, Visiting Artists, Writers and various Cooperators, Helpers, Key Collaborators, and Supporters of all kinds, plus another dozen or two unable-toget- named Excellent Others who all helped to create this remarkable 2011 Halloween Outdoor Puppet Extravaganza:

Amber, Autumn, Finley, Kelly, Klint, Max, Murray, Muskrat, Nick, Paul, Paul #2, Rob, Song, Riva, Tick, Vince, Waffle, Trevor Adams, Christopher Allen, Nicole Amaris, Brent Anderson, Emily Anderson, Joel Arce, Owen Arthur, Lisa Baker, Jamie Barber, Boe Bauman, Jackie Beckey, Erin Belfry, Andrew Bendzick, Rachel Blomgren, Gustavo Boada, Justin Boeke, Thomas Boguszewski, Andrew Boos, Alina Breneman, Angela Brewer, Joe Bridge, Megan Bridges, Lelis Brito, Simon Buley, Joe Burns, Betsy Burr, Elizabeth Cain, Pete Callahan, Lisa Carlson, Laurel Chapman, Allen Christian, Carrie Christensen, Kim Christensen, Giuliana Ciabo, Anna Cioffi, Beatrice Collard, Nicolas Collard, Amber Collett, Bahiyyah Comeau, Willow Cordes- Ecklund, Kat Corrigan, Kevin Cosgrove, Angie Courchaine, Sarah Cunningham, Joe Cypher, Brian Dahl, Brently M Davis, Zander Davis, Katey Dolezal, Erica Dossa, Mitchell Dose, Sam Dunkley, Ryan Dunlop, Ila Duntemann, Alicia Dvorak, Ea Eckwall, Heidi Eckwall, Ulli Eckwall, Ben Egerman, Deb Ervin, Mike Fahey, Tara Fahey, Mary Farrell, Carrie Feldman, Geneva Finn, Rosemary Fister, Dylan Fluncker, Yana Frank, Peter Frey, Katie Fritz, Isa Gagarin, Cully Gallagher, Chris Gamm, Rosa Garcia, Sean Geherty, Patty Gille, Renee Goneau, Journey Gosselin, Sam Granum, Jayme Halbritter, scottie hall, Elysia Hansel, Ashley Hanson, Sarah Hanson, Brent Harring, Bryce Harring, Mike Harris, Tim Harlan-Marks, Starri Hedges, Josh Journey Heniz, David Heitzman, Soozin Hirschmugl, Pam Hoffler, Eric Hofstad, Chloe Hollister-LaPointe, Willow Hollister-LaPointe, Lela Horst Bauman, David Hoyt, Xena Huff, Nathan Hurley, Brian Ioni, Julie JAO, Rosie Jablonsky, Ynes Jennings, Lisa Johnson, Olli Johnson, Oliver Kilgore Jones, Julia K, Munir Kahar, April Kaisen, Andy Kedl, Tynan Kerr, Lucy Kervin, Charlie Koecher, Rah Kojis, Jim Koplin, Robert Kucera, Walter LaMay, Marc Lamm, Tracey LaPointe, Sarah Lazarewicz, Greg Leierwood, Mina Leierwood, Nick Lethert, John Lozoya, Andy Looze, Gina Louise, Alex Lundberg, Sarah M, Angela Maki Jones, Jennifer Mars, Derek Maxwell, Amanda Mayer, Andy Mazarol, Kelley Meister, Sharon Meister, Anna Michalke, Carol Michalke, Paul Michalke, Sarah Frances Michaelson, Pasha Milbrath, Matthew Miller, Stephanie Molstad, Amber Moore, Henry Montplaisir, Arielah Moskow, Will Munger, Emrys Muriel, Sheila Nelsen, Nell Nere, T.J. O’Connor, Alan Olson, Jason Overby, Laurie Pape-Hadley, Kristi Papenfuss, Heather Pavlu, Nick Pawlowski, Krista Pearson, Gator Pete, Casey Peterson, Svetlana Petrovich, Barbara Peterson, Tracey Peterson, Sean Petteway, Amber Phelps-Bandaroff, Daniel Polnau, Cassie Pupovac, Lyndsay R, Eric Raven, Serena Raven, Tina Raven, Soma Raye, Kelley Reierson, Renae Rentz, Ryan Rentz, Friede Rica, Colleen Rice, Sarita Riddle-Bencriscutta, Hannah Rivenburgh, Chris Roberts, Elizabeth Rosenberg, Angelina Roslik, Spencer Roth, Ben Ruby, Emily Ryan, Mark Safford, Douglas Saldana, Alli Schorn, Alex Schroeter, Peter Schulze, Rocky Schulze, Richard Schuster, Rachel Schwalbach, Kurt Seaberg, Donna Sellinger, Kait Sergenian, Lindy Sexton, Leesh Sharkstar, Noah Simcox, Violet Soule-Fahey, Kevin Springer, Sarah Steinman, Elise Stern, Huckleberry Stoike, Abe Stroock, Gretchen Strobel, Joe Sullivan, Natalie Taber, Anwen Taber-Buley, Amy Taylor, Emily May Taylor, Kristi Ternes, Nicole Terry, Telsche Thiessen, Stefan Thust, Duane Tougas, Nick Tousley, Flor Trevino, Liz Turan, Annie U’Ren, Genaro Valentine, Jami Viergets, Sarah Vig, Jes Vos, Rachel W, Andrew Wagner, Vanessa Walek, Maren Ward, Kirsten Weigmann, Trevor Wennblom, Isaac West, Kirstin Wiegman, Martin Wigert, Arwen Wilder, Inga Wing, Aaron Wise, Sarah Wolbert, Aby Wolf, Carlos Wong, Alexandra Zavyalova, Forrest Zoll

AUDIENCE COMMENTS ABOUT A Fistful of Dirt

"So enjoyed you 2011 Halloween show. Went twice and told everyone I know."

- David Kaiser, 10/31/11

"I came to your celebration on Halloween. It was my first time, and I have to tell you how powerful, emotional, and deeply spiritual the experience was. I don’t always like to express powerful experiences in words, but I want you to know how deeply felt my gratitude is to you for creating this ceremony. From a more intellectual perspective, it was brilliantly concepted and ably executed. I have a Christian past, but haven’t been to church since the 90s. My spirituality tends toward the pagan and yoga. I have a small number of family and friends I consider close, but I rarely have an opportunity to experience earth-based community rituals like this. I will be coming back for more. Perhaps I will be able to participate in planning or volunteering next year.

I want to mention the specific elements that were meaningful to me that I hope you might be able to repeat or incorporate into next year’s celebration. The music was utterly fantastic. The part where the audience was directed to breathe was very cool. The singing, lovely. The horses. Culminating in the burning of a symbolic body was extremely moving to me, it really brought the message home that we die. It was interesting to feel how it might be if we as a people could have meaningful ceremonies for our dead like this instead of the sterile funeral home and casket, etc. The message urging us to know how short our time here is, the message “The dead want you to know that you are alive!” Speaking the names of our dead at the end, and hearing others do so, made me realize how we are all the same and how connected we are. Singing “We remember,” I never thought to communicate like this with my collective dead, and others’. I feel the ceremony really brought individuals together as one."

- Anne, 11/3/11

Have a memory you'd like to share about this show? Use the comments box below. If you were involved in this production, but don't see your name and would like it listed, send us a message from our Contact page. Thanks!

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